New Polaris Sports Quad

[TYLER329]

Heard from a very relaiable source today the Polaris is flying Eichner and the other Polaris riders to Missouri to test a new quad. That is all I have heard. Has anybody else heard anything?

[OutlawBill]

KTM 450 in a Predator may be

[PlayHard]

I'd say redesigned Predator reborn with a KTM450.

There is a reason we haven't seen the 525 in a Predator frame don't you think?

KTM has been testing their 450 quad so the engine is ready for Polaris as well with the engine alliance.

[katch26]

its gonna be a reborn predator with a 525 engine....with honda, suzuki, yamaha, kawi, KTM (coming) and the can am there is NO WAY Polaris is coming with a 450. Donwoods said awhile ago sometihng to the effect of how does a redesigned predator with the 525 and a weight of around 365 sound.....then later said some people will be happy with the 07 lineup others will have to wait until 08 to get what theyre looking for.


The 450 market is a finicky one and Polaris doesnt have the best name in the pot----early poorly designed quads and now customer service issues with their quad of choice (the outlaw) is enough to force loyal Poalris buyers elsewhere.

[Evasiveone]

If I was a betting man, which I am not, I agree with Katch26. I am predicting a Predator with the KTM 525. It will come with the typical steel brake lines, name brand tires and accessories and name brand shocks.

Also KTM is going to release their 525 first aren't they?

[TYLER329]

Totally off the wall idea, but I could see Polaris try a 50" 450 with IRS. They always do something different and I dont think this is out of the question. I'm saying it's a good idea, but its an idea!

[katch26]

I cant even see them trying that either......the IRS idea is nice but with the market 99% sra one would think that polaris would follow suit and at least offer one model with it. IRS isnt the best alternative and also isnt for everyone but with rumors of suzuki releasing a xc version of the ltr450 at least they were smart enough to realize that they were eliminating more than half of the potential purchasing market.


mx buyers are very weight concience and are even worried about their quad having the additional weight of the reverse gear.....the additional weight of the IRS would make for alot of dusty quads.
IMO

[OutlawBill]

The 08 KTM dirt bike will have new engines may be the quad will too and KTM can sell all the old engines too Polaris.

[bsmith106]

Part of me thinks that this new machine , if there is one ,will sport a sra. But on the other hand it seems to be a step backwards after all of there marketing hype of the outlaws irs. I would like to see them move forward with the irs platform. They have made good progress in one year by losing lbs and increasing power. Back in 1996 polaris introduced the sportsman500 with long travel irs. {Suzuki had short travel irs since around 88.] Back then there were the same concerns of weight and cornerning stability. Fast forward 11 years and every brand has there version of irs and some of them weigh the same as sra quads from a few years back. I am aware of the design differences between sport/race machines and utility4x4s as well as what the riders expect from them. The cornering with proper design should be better with the added traction of irs. Of course it will need refinement and tuning. They seem to be running into a performance wall with pro level riders aboard, besides eichner. There seems to be a problem with how it handles the bumps when pushed hard. I have many ideas on how to improve upon their initial design that I would like to develop after I get a few other projects out of the way. Maybe I or someone else will prove me wrong, but at least then I will know.

[GE4x4]

It's a Outlaw 450 with a KTM in it. Now the question is, is this the Pred replacement in a Outlaw name with a SRA? Also, with KTM 450 just coming out, is this quad the same with Polaris on the side instead of KTM? If this 450 is set up like the KTM 450 pic I saw, then it looks to be awesome.

[katch26]

dumb...

[MentalState]

nice

[katch26]

the real question is.....is it the exact same quad with a 450 cylinder? If thats the case youll have a 400 lb 450 which is of no real benefit. If it is indeed a straight axle 450 thats competitive weight wise to everything else that they may have something but it would have to be significantly cheaper than the ktm which is fully loaded. I still think they would sell more units with a big bore Raptor killer being that theres really only 2 big bore sport quads and only one that more of a competitive racer.