2010 polaris outlaw 525s review

[Mr_RPM]

today i tested a Polaris Outlaw 525s (solid axle)
it is a 525cc KTM engine slapped into what is Polaris'es idea of a top of the line race quad to compete with anything of today.

the guy had it over for us to do a valve adjustment and he complained of it running a little lean.
this is suppost to be the fastest production quad build today (only with the KTM525xc being as fast since it features the same engine)
i have owned plenty of quads and my peak quad was a modded 400ex, and at the time i was used to my atc110, so i was quite excited to give myself a scare and have some fun blasting around.
well to my disappointment i was able to go all balls and even top it out within 5 mins of riding it without scaring myself. simply put is it did not satisfy my need for speed. now without a doubt its freaking fast, the way it smoothly puts it's power down to accelerate you to a very fast intense yet controllable speed. this machine is all stock other than a small jet up. idk what it is, maybe i expected more since its "the fastest quad made" (stock for stock that is) or maybe because its pretty controllable and easy to ride.

now on a side not, this thing is poorly built, trademark Polaris! its been nothing but problems, backfiring horribly from factory. the airfilter its running is a thin sheet of foam (my t-shirt could filter better, needs a UNI lol) the airbox on the Independent rear suspension model is great with a fullsize filter, but on the solid model because of the sock going where the airbox goes they just slapped on a super small cheap airbox with a super small filter, the engineers of Polaris were to lazy to fab up a proper Intake!
the plasics are very chintzy and all snap together rather than bolts, this is hard to work on and doesn't hold as solid giving it a cheap feel.
the KTM built model actually has 4 more horse power simply because it doesnt have such a crappy air box and crappy exhaust. and the KTMs exhaust is not much louder either. now yes the KTM model is much more expensive but im just using that as a example of where Polaris went wrong.

im very confident a mildly built banshee will beat this thing in a drag race, showing ATVs technology hasn't gone very far.
now the machine handled very well, im used to my trike and even compared to my old 400ex it was very smooth riding. it comes stock with fox shocks (because Polaris cant build their own, as with the engine) and maxxis Razr tires on the rear and some maxxis tires on front (not razrs) which gave it supreme traction.

idk guys dont buy one, if you ask me buy a Honda TRX 450 and put in the HRC kit or just cam it, pipe it, and other small things. you will have a much better built quad thats just as fast or even faster. or any 450 that is. and there is of coarse buying the KTM 525, but its like 11,000. i could just buy a 450 a use the extra on modding it. but hell there is many alternatives, banshees and 250r...ect....

idk i felt like giving you guys a little review. lol

[Rm250RF900R]

Good thing I did because Ive been looking at them. I think Ill stick with the can am ds450 or the lt450r. The looks of the outlaw are pretty bad also but I dont really care about that.

[smokinwrench]

I had a 525 IRS, it handled unreal for my type of riding. I ride long rides at wide open speeds and race hare scrambles. I loved the power and handling. Problem was the IRS was always loose. I took it to the shop 9 times for warranty work in the 2 years I owned it.

I had the full alba pipe on it and aftermarket intake. It will blow the doors off of any other piped atv in a drag race. I know what your talking about it not feeling that fast but I'm sure its because the power is so smooth. Get on the drag strip and you will know how fast it is.

I did get rid of mine right as warranty was running out and went back to a 250r.

[LT80]

I don't recall the KTM's listed as the fastest, but they (the KTM's) are the most race ready quad out of the box.
My daughter raced the 450s and had 0 issues. It had very little motor work. She says it handled awsome. She won every womens class race in the WORCS and Quadcross series in 08 and was running 7th in Worcs pro-am class till she had a fancy get-off and got hurt a lil.
I did ride it once (the slowest of her 3). I thought my 250R was faster altho a side by side prolly would have showed me different.
Last I looked, nobody uses bolts only for the plastic now. They use some bolts and the 2 piece lock thingies that makes plastic removal oh so easy.
Anyways, I'm getting one of my daughters 450s race quads. I'm hoping it's a great quad. I am 52, bout time I get a slow stroke eh!!?? LOL
To be honest, I've never been a "P" fan, but I gotta give Polaris Industries props. When other big names are abandoning racing, Polaris is stepping it up.

[Mr_RPM]

yeah, im pretty biased with polaris lol. im sure most of the polaris 525s are great quads and have no problems, its just the fact that this one is new and having problems. makes me wonder how consitent they are at making them. i mean it was a super fun quad, its power delivery was great and it was very easy to just get on and ride (unlike everyones first time on a banshee who was a 4-stroke guy before hand) and maybe thats why it seemed slow, because i wasent falling off everytime i pinned it lol. just for me, out of all the other race type quads its the last i would buy along with the KFX450. im a fan of all the quads and would buy anyone over the other with the proper deal. sure the polaris isnt the most reliable in keeping in top shape for long (needs constant adjustment) but i dont mind doing the work as ill check it anyway with any race quad. it just seems the desighn is rushed and not perfected or thought out very well.

i will recomend any of the race type quads with the proper deal because they are all cose enough to eachother it barley matters and its all about the rider at that point.