2008 Polaris Outlaw 525 IRS ATV Test

The 2009 Polaris Press Launch took all of us in the off road media by surprise. First they showed us one all-new and one majorly-upgraded side-x-side, then major news from the Sportsman Utility ATV family. By the time Polaris came to show us the Outlaw sport offerings, we were pretty sure there couldn’t be anything newer than maybe a color change or some new graphics. How big is Polaris’s R&D budget anyway? But for the fourth time in an hour, the folks from Minnesota surprised us with a host of updates and an entirely new look to the Outlaw line of sport ATVs.

Polaris has really stepped up its race team in recent years, signing top riders like Doug Eichner, Daryl Rath, Brock Lyons and Dana Creech. Undoubtedly these factory riders have played a big part in the changes to the '09 Outlaws. According to Polaris, the racers were telling them they wanted the seat height as low as possible. So on the 450MXR, the shock body itself has been cut-down, effectively lowering the seat height - even if only a fraction

Aesthetically the new Outlaws are completely different than before. The bodywork has been completely redesigned to be narrower and lower at the front. The old two headlight design with large front fenders that has been around since the Predator days, is replaced with a much cleaner-looking single headlight bodywork. The bodywork is race-inspired with more compact fenders and a slimmer seat. One of our complaints with the old Outlaw and Predator was how flimsy the front fenders were - they would flap like wings when you went over bumps so we are not sad to see the plastics replaced for 09. The new single headlight design is much lower than the previous design, placing the headlight just in front of the shocks. This saves weight and makes the quad "look" lighter.

Polaris RZR Hot Bikes Rviews

When Polaris invited the Media to a new Ranger intro a couple months ago, we of course started guessing what they would reveal to us. We had pretty much come to the conclusion that it would be a sport-orientated Ranger to better compete head-to-head with the Rhino. Well, we got what we expected and much, much more. The new Ranger RZR is a truly innovative design that is going to have a deep and lasting impact on the side-by-side market.

The current side-by-sides, including the Yamaha Rhino, came out of the utility side of the market. When Polaris designed the RZR they designed it for the sport market first and the utility market second. From this came a much different side-by-side than is currently available. It is smaller, faster, and lighter.

The RZR has a dry weight of 945 lbs, more than 100 lbs lighter than the Rhino. Now combine that with an unrestricted 800 EFI twin and you have a power to weight ratio that can't be touched. I am guessing that out of the box it will easily outrun most modified Rhino's.

And now for the "smaller" part. A stock RZR comes in at only 50 inches wide. Some of you will immediately be concerned about a narrower side-by-side and the increased risk of rollover. Polaris has addressed this head-on with an innovative mid-engine design that puts the engine behind the driver, still in front of the rear axle, and seats the driver lower in the chassis. This creates a lower center of gravity than any other vehicle in it's class.

The real benefit of the 50" width is that allows you to access any normal ATV trail. If you live in the desert southwest and ride open desert or dunes this will probably not be a selling point, but official Forest Service rules restrict ATV's to 50" widths and many areas have trail entrances that are intentionally physically only 50 inches wide. With a current sxs you would have to leave it in the truck. Don't plan to use your RZR on restricted trails? Then you can bolt on a set of different wheels and tires available from the Polaris accessory division and your RZR will instantly be 4 inches wider.

The new Polaris RZR comes with a double a-arm setup front and rear with 9" of travel in the front and 9.5" of travel in the rear. This is significantly more travel than what is available on the competition and it is very evident. We had a couple hours to drive the RZR in a BLM area just north of Phoenix, AZ. While there weren't a lot of tight tree-lined trails, there were plenty of whoops to test the suspension on.

We hit some deep whoops and it was amazing how well the RZR suspension handled the terrain. It is evident that the suspension was valved and setup for the aggressive sport driver. It was very difficult to get the suspension to bottom out.

Polaris in fact had two stock competitive products available for comparison. After driving all three, we have to admit there really was no comparison. The handling and suspension of the Polaris RZR was superior and nothing short of amazing.

The Polaris Ranger RZR is a ground-breaking product for 2007 (Although in some ways it reminds us of the Honda Pilot introduced back in 1989, which was in production for just under two years.) and is sure to win many awards in the coming year. We can't wait to get our hands on a production unit and do some long-term testing on the durability of the newest side-by-side that puts fun first.

Polaris 800 Sportsman EFI

Unless you’ve been in a cave or on a tropical island for the past couple of months you have heard the big news from Polaris for 2010 is the RUSH. There is no doubt that the RUSH is a big deal in the Polaris lineup, but don’t make the mistake in assuming that the only thing Polaris is doing for 2010 is giving us a new trail weapon. That would be... well, you know what they say about ‘assumptions’.

A few years back Polaris got a pretty big black eye for some of the sleds they released and the lack of quality. We know the team at Polaris and the pride they take in their work so those were surely dark times in Roseau. Looking back now, that’s a distant bad memory and the 2010 offerings make good on Polaris’ commitment to offer quality snowmobiles that deliver on great ride and performance.

For 2010 Polaris has simplified their approach to the different models. We applaud that because it can be so difficult to know which model to get for the options you want. Polaris is putting some of the optional items off to their dealers. If you buy a sled that doesn’t have electric start, no problem - the dealer can put it on for you. Again, we like this approach.

The other thing we need to give Polaris credit for this year is their work on the total package. When comparing all the models across the whole lineup we can easily argue that Polaris has the best looking packages available. Yes, there are other bright spots from the other OEMs, but as a whole the Polaris lineup is about the sharpest bunch there is.

And lest we give you the impression it’s all about looks, hands-down Polaris has the best brake in the business and they use that brake on every model in their lineup. So you get the best feel and performance whether you are on the big Widetrack or on the RUSH. Bravo Polaris, because going quick on a snowmobile is also about being able to stop.

Polaris Mountain Bikes Reviews and Photos Gallery

Polaris RZR accessories like a winch, brush guards, gun scabbards, and fuel cans might appeal to the owner looking to equip their RZR for deep woods hunting expeditions. A spare tire holder, rock slider nerf bars, upgrade wheels and tires might appeal to the owner that wants a serious off road recreation machine. Rally lights can help light up the night regardless of how you use your machine. Accessories from the factory are abundant, and you can be sure that aftermarket companies are also developing and producing even more exciting Polaris RZR accessories!

Polaris has already developed a wide variety of parts to customize their new side by side, and many of the prices on these factory Polaris accessories are very reasonable. With these upgrades, it will be possible for each owner to customize their machine for the specific purpose which it will be used. A good variety of Polaris RZR accessories will make this great machine an even more appealing machine.

Roehr Sports Bike Images

Roehr Motorcycles has revealed their new V-roehr 1130 superbike, powered by the Harley-Davidson Revolution engine, the same engine found in all of Harley's V-Rod variations. Housed in carbon fiber bodywork with strong hints of Ducati, this new bike looks to have a lot of potential. As we've said many times, big twins need something other than a cruiser frame to show their stuff and this could do it. Production of the first 50 units is slated to begin next year with a price of $39,995.

We've reported on the Roehr Motorcycle company before and the long gestation period for this bike. It looks like they are getting a lot closer to getting the bike out the door. I really like the current choice of the Revolution engine, especially since there are so many performance upgrades available, some of which will be offered by Roehr raising power to as much as 180 hp.

The price is very reasonable, the design, while not spectacular is certainly nice and I have to believe the V-Rod power could make this a pretty sweet ride. It will be ve