My 800XT review

My 800 XT Impressions
Bought it in April 2006
Have 314 miles and 32 engine hours
I am 6'3" 256 lbs. 59 yrs old and have owned several grizzlys prior.
My Opinions:
Shocks/suspension - poor, excessive body roll, rear wheel comes off the ground when making sharp right or left turn. Ride is soft and smooth at trail speeds.

Tires - stock ACT's - good - no vibration at high speed, run with 5 psi. Next tires will be mud lights 27", 9"wide fronts and 12" wide rears, plan on staying with stock rims to keep weight to a minimum.

Stuck in mudbog once - had to winch out - mud up to headlights - water got onto drive belt - slipped for 15-20 minutes dried out - worked fine afterwards, later removed drive cover, checked belt, was fine.

Performance - accleration is awesome and will pull front wheelies easily - top speed about 71 mph. - handling was a little squirrelly at that speed - required full concentration. I like the instant "hold on for dear life accleration" with no hesitation or lag time - big difference when compared to my 660 Griz. I like the exhaust rumble of the twin cylinder motor. Motor is smooth - no vibration felt.

Most of my riding is trails, hills, creekbeds - don't see any advantage Outlander has over previous Grizzly when doing this type of riding.

Don't like having to come to a complete stop when switching from 2 wheel to 4 wheel drive and back. No full time 4 wheek drive lock in, but automatic 4 wheel drive seems to work good.

Don't get into it hard on loose gravel roads - sooner or later you will lose control!

Need to bring it to dealer to get "maintennance soon" message taken off gauge. Message comes on at initial 10 hours. No valve noise - valves cost $300 bucks to have dealer check and adjust if necessary.

Frame is subject to damage - especially if you pull a wheelie trying to climb over a fallen tree trunk and fall down on top the tree directly on frame. I'd advise skid plates.

For the type of riding I do mainly trails, don't know that I'd spend another 10 grand for this unit.

Overral impression - needs suspension improvements especially for us big and tall guys.

Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Very nice review of the bike. Maybe this will help someone coming here looking for information on this particular bike.

Good review.
But I watched the show the other day that let us know how good the bike really is. LMFAO
Yeah, that was sarcasm just then.

Thanks Smartbomb...very informative.
We've had numerous questions regarding Bombardier's performance. This should help those that are still undecided.
Anything else that you can think of, just let us know

Seems to be a very fast and strong bike from what I have seen, but lots of minor problems. The belt houseing leaks on most of the ones down here.

I'm still not sure of their frame.
I do like the idea of putting the disk brakes up by the diffs though.

I've banged my frame up pretty good. Dented it, but no affect on handling,or suspension. I recommend skid plates.

SB

I was reviewing the Bomb 800 for over six months now in different forums. I plan on purchasing one in April of next year. From what I have read there are serious issues with the frame. Tearing, cracking, breaking but those same sources recommend skid plate made by ricochet in Utah. That seems to solve this issue. The other issue is melting plastic near the seat from the exhaust most people have had their exhaust epoxy coated to reduce this complaint. But I also had a chance to ride one over the summer when Bombardier traveling trailer made its way near my home in upstate New York. I can tell you this when the commercial say's "once you ride it you'll get it" is Fact!! Even with its faults I was totally impressed with the ride and the handling and I can't wait to get it next year. Just some thoughts.

Here are a couple posts from a previous thread regarding the heat problem.

Now I've heard that these heat shields are now available but have been unable to confirm. You might want to contact the Bombardier dealer to find out. There is still no recall for this listed on Bombardier's website.

I remember seeing some heat shield kit that could be bought online. Just don't have any idea where I've seen it though.
Still, BRP (burp as I like to call em now, can-am just doesn't sound right to me) should be fixing these problems without charging the customer anything.