Polaris' Independent Rear Suspension-equipped sport quad left industry insiders waiting in suspense for the chance to give the revolutionary new concept a go. Thad Josey drew that lucky straw, and the rest of us were forced to ride vicariously through his report while we waited for our turns. But before Polaris could set us up with our own, we stumbled upon the White Brothers' test unit at our 24-hour torture test. We were able to sample the Outlaw on the 21-mile course, and the short stint left us even more anxious to get some time on this ATV. So our plan evolved, and we decided to not only try it out in California but also examine it in the tight Eastern woods.
+ With IRS, rough trail is nonthreatening+ Fox shocks let suspension work wonders- Mixed bag of nuts- Pillow-soft seat comes off too easily= A generally good trail ATV
The Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina, turned out to be a perfect choice to wring out the Outlaw. The course-with its abundance of stumps at just the height to rip the axle right out from an ATV and nearly 12 miles of open, high-speed terrain intermixed with tight, winding wooded trails-was the ideal location to test the newest member of the Polaris stable. The Outlaw's climbing abilities were put to the test shortly after the start with one of the many rocky hillclimbs, and the infamous creek jumps permitted me to assess its suspension and flight characteristics.
Thanks to the rapid starting ability, getting the Outlaw off the line and to the front of the pack required minimal effort. Maintaining the speed needed to hold that position proved to be a different matter, due to the sheer weight of the machine. It was comfortable and very predictable blazing through sweeping turns and hammering the fast, choppy, open trails. As the trees closed in and turns appeared suddenly, throwing the machine around in quick succession eventually took its toll on my body. Off-camber and really sharp turns made the Outlaw a bit tipsy, and it usually wanted to bicycle around the corners. This took a little getting used to, but once I got my technique dialed in and knew what to expect, I just took the turns a little slower and made up time in other areas where the machine had clear advantages.
This brings me to the massive 11.5 inches of ground clearance that allowed me to soar right over gnarly stumps, rocks and roots that the straight-axle competition had to avoid and lost time by darting around them. The IRS kept the sprocket out of danger while still getting the power to the ground and launched the Outlaw up any rutted line that I chose to take. All of this hardware added pounds, but this may be the only place the extra weight may have been an advantage by giving the machine more traction. Keeping the rpm high was unnecessary; the power delivery was smooth, allowing the Outlaw to lug up hills at low rpm. When the shorter, faster lines became rutted and machines were losing traction because of their dragging bellies, the IRS came into play again. Riders were forced to choose alternate yet longer paths to keep up their momentum, while I was able remain on course without fear of bottoming out.
Although the Polaris does provide a balanced in-flight feel, corrections at altitude resemble that of a 747 rather than a nimble F-16. On a typical cross-country course, the hang time is kept to a minimum, leaving me feeling confident that the machine is capable of soaking up any harsh landings that may occur.
Chain adjustment was one of the rather unique features of the Outlaw. While most swingarms incorporate Honda's tried-and-true round housing that allows the chain to be adjusted simply, Polaris was confronted with achieving the same results with a chain-driven independent rear suspension. The Outlaw's engineers designed a system that allows the rider to simply loosen two nuts on the rear end and rotate a protruding adjustment bolt to tighten the chain. Other features included an emergency brake that operates the front tires via a locking mechanism in the front brake lever, thus eliminating the added complexity of long lines and brake assembly extras that are needed for rear E-brake applications.
Eight hours in race conditions, and the Outlaw has suffered only minimal casualties (the seat and the rear sway bar). The seat is a problem, due to inadequate fastening (there's only one hook at the nose and a latch on the seat rear). This leaves the center loose and flexing, which can cause the seat to unlatch. Another hook/L-bracket in the middle would add the support needed to keep the saddle firmly in position and prevent accidental ejection while riding. The rear sway bar broke at some point while we were testing the unit. I am unsure of what caused this component to break because I didn't immediately notice the failure. It may have simply suffered in an impact, which caused a fracture that went unnoticed, leaving the bar weak and susceptible to failure during a later outing.
Overall, my experience with the Outlaw in a Western setting mirrored Newsom's East Coast discoveries. I rode it on a variety of terrains-from narrow, rock-strewn hillside pathways that were barely wider than the wheels to wide, fast, whooped-infested trails. The suspension was, without a doubt, the best part of this package. It worked so well that I found myself constantly seeking out rock gardens and uneven trail conditions that I would normally avoid on a straight-axle quad. I did get the rear to buck in the whoops when I pushed the speed envelope, but I think that might be curable with more time spent dialing in the shocks.
Turning ability is much improved over the Predator and the front sticks better, but it takes some finesse to do it at speed. Fast turns make the tall machine attempt to tip and a considerable amount of body English is required to compensate. The pillow-soft seat doesn't help in the side-to-side transitions, either. It needs to be a touch firmer-even though riders who sit in the same spot and never move might argue-to enable body movement. Speaking of the seat, I too had issues with the mounting system or lack thereof; it needs more than a rubber grommet to sit on in the middle. It never came off on me, but it's not the most secure feeling here. The rest of the body work was an improvement over the Predator, as well, without the odd plastic interfering with knees. Its skull-shaped front styling elicits a love-it-or-hate-it reaction, so the jury is still out on that one.