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By: Jason Giacchino
Email: offthepegs @ atvsource.com
September 2008 - Off The Pegs
A Tale of Suffering
and Financial Ruin: My New 450
Polaris Outlaw 450 |
True story (because even an imagination as
twisted as my own couldn’t make this one up): I
test a lot of ATVs, too many as my finance likes
to remind me; and although it’s a great way to
establish a hold on what the industry has to
offer, it can also get really ugly when I happen
to fall in love with one of the models tested.
Case in point--those darn Austrians over at
KTM somehow managed to catch me hook, line, and
sinker with their new ATV models (the 450 in
particular). I spent a solid day roosting around
on both the XC and SX variations and came away
with a very simple thought: I think I have to
get one of those.
As is always the procedure, once I become
obsessed with a particular machine, the next few
weeks will be spent in intense research mode:
eBay, Craigslist, local classifieds, our own ATV
Source archives--what’s really sick is that I
even resort to rereading my own reviews just to
remind myself of the actual experience! Well,
low and behold; when the earliest possible
incarnation of a given model is nary a year old,
there aren’t a whole lot of options on the used
market scene. Try as I may, I simply couldn’t
scrape together the $11,398 asking price for the
450 SX (or the slightly more affordable XC model
at $10,698). Before abandoning all hope,
something I’m usually quite good at, I happened
to stumble upon reports of the 2008 Polaris
Outlaw 450 MXR: Liquid cooled KTM 448cc
powerplant, check. Magura Hydraulic clutch,
check. Electric start, check. Maxxis RAZR MX
tires mounted on Douglas Wheels, check. Ohlins
suspension, well, not exactly, but aftermarket
Fox units all around will work just fine. Best
of all $7,199 MSRP (for a 2008), we were getting
closer.
A trip to the local (and by local I mean 80
miles each way) Polaris dealer with an ’08
leftover on the floor revealed a tasty tidbit of
information: To make room for the forthcoming
2009s, he could knock a few buck off the list
price. Just how many? A little shy of a grand;
Doable!
Polaris Outlaw 450 |
So last night, the rearview of the old pickup
truck was filled with the menacing image of
those dual headlights and very face-like front
bodywork. It was after dark when I finally made
it back to home base and despite the close
proximity of my neighborhood; it was impossible
to resist just a single test ride around the
yard before turning in. As if the day simply
wouldn’t be complete without some sort of
let-down, I made it a solid eight feet down the
driveway before the front end of the quad locked
up solid and nearly threw me into a spin.
I hopped off the machine to assess the
situation. For whatever reason the front left
wheel refused to turn as if the brake was being
applied full force but only to that wheel
somehow. After fiddling with it as best as I
could in the dark, I eventually gave up (with a
little cussing out of sheer frustration) and
left the machine right there in the middle of
the driveway until morning for a better look
inside. Once I removed the wheel and caliper, a
stone came tumbling out of the assembly and
rolled to a stop near my sandaled toe. Yes, the
odds of picking up a stone and having it lodge
into the softer material of the brake pads are
probably the same as hitting the lottery yet at
present, the lotto still eludes me. Problem
solved but not before the obstruction managed to
severely score the pad, but then again I suppose
I should be grateful the rotor wasn’t ruined as
well. It was back to the dealer for a new set of
pads. While I was there, I happened upon a
Yoshimura slip-on in slick chrome finish that
was simply begging to be purchased. Out came the
credit card once more--I can still feel it
smoldering in my wallet.
So now, here we are in day two and I’ve yet
to officially sample my latest steed; ironic
considering this whole mess began on account of
a successful test ride. The good news is here in
New York some of our best riding happens to take
place in the fall, and there are few sounds as
soothing as the woodpecker in the tree on a cold
crisp autumn morning with a shiny new Yosh-pipe
barking on the trails below.
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