The Outlaw 525 is somewhere in the middle here. The looks appeal to some, and everyone will fancy its muscular motor. However, our first date could have gone better. Blame some of it on the location. Polaris chose Jawbone Canyon for the debut location-probably for its bounty of rocks and because a good chunk of the ATV media is based within driving distance. But after some time aboard a 500 on hand and the new 525, I'm pretty certain that it is a tight-and-rocky-trail machine. In the big, rolling desert whoops infesting the location, life wasn't as much fun. We hit a long stretch of whoops right out of base camp, and at first things on the older 500 were OK, but within a short time, the back end started to hop around and suddenly I was in a rodeo on a bucking bronco. Not a good place to be in bounding along in fourth gear. The suspension packed and kicked, and I wished my tester, Adam Campbell, on the new 525, and I could swap. After a roundabout trail that took us to the top of one of Jawbone's impressive hills, we finally switched off so we could compare the old Outlaw with the new one. After meandering over and around rocky outcroppings and down to the valley floor and the sand, I got to see how well the newer RydeFX shocks soaked up the Western rollers. But I was still not ready to blitz any whoop sections-instead of blowing all the way through the stroke and bottoming out like on the 500, the 525's rear shocks compressed halfway, then stiffened practically to immobility. The following kick wasn't as bad as on the 500, but no warm and fuzzies here. Add in some body lean-common on IRS machines-in the corners and speed simply wasn't a place we wanted to take the Polaris to just yet. We need a bit more time to work out the complexities of the Outlaw's suspension personality.
And before I tell you what you really want to know, I have to talk about the front brake lever. If ever there was doubt about the existence of Paul Bunyan, I can assuage it: He is alive and testing for Polaris. No really, the lever is so far away from the bar that Campbell and I (both of us wear XL gloves) had to slide our hands forward to grasp the slimmed-down-for-'07 lever. The ergos were way off here-I'm afraid to shake hands with the guy who felt this worked. He probably has a blue ox named Babe at home. Fortunately, the new dual-caliper brakes work fast and make up for time lost reaching for them.
A bit more refinement and the Polaris could really shine; the KTM engine is a good first step.
"Yeah, yeah, but what about the motor?" you ask. It rocks! The 11cc larger mill feels like a big-bore motor should, with major oomph off the bottom and a healthy dose in the middle. Where the 500 was soft and took a while to spool up, the 525 comes on immediately and with gusto. In fact, I could go just as fast in a gear lower on the newer Polaris. Less weight means quicker acceleration and also translates into better turning aptitude, not to mention easier loading and unloading from the back of a pickup. Although the motor was easily our favorite part of the new Outlaw, Campbell still managed to find something to snivel at-the inability to shift while on the gas. With the plentiful assortment of exhausts developed for this popular motor, once the companies have adapted them to this unique frame geometry, enhancing the 510cc engine further should be easy. And its five gears are plenty-we never took it over fourth during our brief date.
Final Say
The Polaris Outlaw faces a tough peer group today. Its strengths are its rock-friendly IRS and healthy engine. However, it gets killed in the details. From the utilitylike shocks to the mishmash of fasteners (still!), this unique sport ATV has room for improvement. Things that were permissible even a few years ago will get a model relegated to last place in a flash considering the polished ATVs hitting the showroom floors now. Sure, Polaris fans will still flock to it regardless of what we say, but those on the fence who plan to hit the rocky Eastern trails-well, this is where the Outlaw does shine-might waver before taking the plunge. On a positive note, we'll get to know the Outlaw 525 more intimately during our 24-Hour torture test appearing in our June issue and then perhaps afterward as a Long-Term. And we'll work on coaxing the beauty out of the Outlaw while we are at it.