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The Rzr S is pretty fun. The power to weight ratio isn't so great, but it is at least adequate, which is better than the Rhino. The suspension is incredible. But the Polaris belt drive in the Rzr is terrible in my opinion. Polaris is using their old style belt drive in the Rzr, that they used on their Scrambler ATVs with no engine braking. On downhills the belt dissengages and free wheels, and makes a terrible squealing noise. The belt also is very jerky with its engagement at slow speeds, which makes it difficult to finesse your way through tough terrain at slow speed. Polaris has at least two versions of their belt drive transmission that are more modern than this one. One has engine braking to the rear wheels, and the newest has engine braking to all four wheels. Both work much better than the old style belt drive in the Rzr. Polaris has the better transmissions, so why didn't they use them in the Rzr. When Polaris puts the 850 XP motor and its transmission in the Rzr S I'll consider buying one.
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Testing fields everywhere
2012 Polaris Rzr XP 900
2012 Can Am Outlander 1000 XT
Here are a few impressions after the first 45 mile ride:
Remember the first time you ever rode a Kawi 650 V-twin? And all you had ever ridden before were single cylinder 400cc and 500cc ATVs. And from the very first moment on that 650 V-twin you were in love with the smooth torquey power that was so good it was almost sexual. Well fast forward a few years until everyone has gotten used to how good the 650, 700, and even 800 v-twins feel, and we all think that is normal at this point. Then get on a 950 v-twin. Its that same oh my god this is good feeling all over again.
For my first ride on the Tcat I did the crazy trail our local group has built. This is the trail that climbs the mountain in back of the house, starting at 6,000 ft altitude, and ending at 10,000 ft altitude a few miles later. It is the trail that causes all the rollovers, and that most people just avoid.
This Tcat is going to be the easiest quad to break in that I have ever owned. Generally I try to keep it at less than half throttle for the first two tanks of gas, and then call it good for break in. Less that half throttle on a Tcat? That was easy, because at anything more than 1/4 throttle on a trail like this you couldn't stay on the trail. I can't see where you would ever need more than half throttle with this ATV.
The Tcat did good on the tough trail. It is one tall ATV though, and after the first mile I stopped and dialed the shock preload as soft as it would go to drop it down to the ground a bit. That really helped on the offcambers. Even with the suspension as low as it would go the Tcat only drug its frame one time in ten miles. My Renegade drags its frame every ten feet. Maybe thats why the Renegade feels lower on sidehills, because it is.
The Tcat climbs really really good. Arctic Cat extended the wheelbase on the Tcat by two inches. And they did it by moving the rear axle two inches farther back, like an extended swingarm would do on a sport quad. The Tcat feels like it will climb a wall, and keeps the front end planted easier than the Renegade or the Grizzly does.
The locker works just fine. And despite no power steering the ATV is no harder to steer with the locker engaged than the Grizzly was. Mud may be different, but in the rocks on a vertical mountain side the Tcat is fine without power steering.
After the tight technical crazy trail part of my ride I went to an area where developers have cut ATV trails all through a new development for cabins. The trails are cut by ATV width dozers, but are very steep, and go straight up and down the mountains. Whoever cut in these trails either had no idea what an ATV could do, or was themselves a very good ATVer. Many of the climbs are a make it or break it kind of affair. The Tcat climbs these long ultra steep hills easier than any ATV I've ever owned. Its like riding a freight train to the top of the mountain, and it doesn't even need to work to do it (remember, I was keeping the ATV at less than 1/2 throttle).
After these trails I took a ten mile section of pavement back to a gravel frontage road, and followed the frontage road for another 6 miles. At half throttle this ATV will cruise at 70 mph, not even turning significant engine RPM. It feels like it is just loping along. Top speed must be 80+.
The shift linkage is amazing. I have never owned an ATV that is so smooth and easy to shift. The lever just glides from one gear to the next, instead of the stiff notchy shifing I am used to. The other manufacturers need to buy an Arctic Cat and take apart the shift linkage to see why it works so much better.
Single lever braking is dumb. Come on manufacturers, if you build a performance machine put separate front and rear braking on it. Single lever braking is not a safety feature, it is a hazard.
No swaybars means lots of body roll in turns. It takes some getting used to.
The stock tires are light weight, but provide only marginal traction, and contribute to body roll in turns.
Overall I think its a good ATV. The engine is perfect for a sport ute ATV, and it is the ATVs best feature (obviously).
3TV
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Testing fields everywhere
2012 Polaris Rzr XP 900
2012 Can Am Outlander 1000 XT
Great report 3TV. I've often wondered what the 950 would feel like as far as the throttle is concerned. About your comment on the braking. I thought manufacturers were doing the single leaver brake thing to prevent knuckle heads from grabbing the wrong break when decending steep terrain. So I think it was "supposed" to be a safety feature. For those who are more familiar with which brake is which, I agree, it can be just as dangerous.
GRIZZLYWIZZARD, I feel confident someone has already built the ultimate machine. It was just done in someones garage and not on an assembly line.
No, I suppose I'll just live with it, begrudgingly. Single lever braking is for rank novices, and first time newbies that don't know which lever to pull, and those riders will never get into a situation where they need separate front and rear braking. The ATV manufacturers should not plan on selling their top performance model to a rank novice, or first time newbies. My gripe with single lever braking comes up whenever the ATV is used in more difficult terrain, specifically, very very steep downhills. These big bore ATVs have enough engine braking to skid the rear tires when decending very steep loose hills in two wheel drive. With single lever braking you only have one lever to pull, and it is going to apply brakes to both the front and rear axle equally. So you still have much more braking going to the rear axle, because you have the engine braking plus the hydraulic brakes, while you only have the hydraulic brakes going to the front axle. No matter what you do you have more braking going to the axle that has essentially no weight on it, and less braking going to the axle with all the traction. It is a stupid and dangerous situation. Yes you can put the ATV in four wheel drive for downhills that are that steep, but that increases steering effort significantly, especially on steep downhill switchbacks. Separate front and rear braking is so much more safe that there is no comparison.
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Testing fields everywhere
2012 Polaris Rzr XP 900
2012 Can Am Outlander 1000 XT
Linear Mode
