CT Racing's Top 10 Things To Do To Make Your Outlaw Better...
Below is a list of 10 things to make your Outlaw better. This was written in 2007 by CT's Allen Knowles after racing the Polaris Cup with the '07 model Outlaw. Some of the things could have been addressed by Polaris on the '08 and '09 models, but much of it still applies.
The KTM 525 responds very well to a pipe. The CT Sonic Pipe has been the choice of most of the top riders racing the Outlaw including Jeff Hancock for his off road racing effort, Daryl Rath to win the Stateline Supermoto Championship, Nick Nelson for his Polaris Cup effort, among others. The CT Sonic Pipe utilizes the spark arrestor disc system so you can tune it for both performance and sound.
Heat can be an issue in slow tight woods riding and racing. We've found that a motor can actually run cooler if you pull the thermostat off of it and run the hose just straight to the top of the head, eliminating the Y section of the radiator hose altogether. You will need to plug off where the hose leads to the cylinder.
The foot pegs seem to be a bit too far back with the seat arrangement. When you slide forward on the seat, it actually is hard to stand up and ride aggressively. We had an upholstery shop add 1” of 00 foam to the front half of the seat, then blend it in toward the back. We then covered it with a CT graphics kit with seat cover.
Change the front wheel hub bearings. The stock bearings are on the marginal side for serious off road racing. If they fail, it leaves you with a junk brake rotor and ruins the spindle and hub. Pick up some quality Japanese bearings at a bearing house. Spend a couple of bucks now to eliminate a big bill later.
Install a set of Fasst Flexx bars along with their anti vibration bar inserts. This combo can really save you some energy and they'll take some of the pounding away from your hands and arms.
A steering stabilizer is pretty much mandatory for off road riding on the Outlaw. It does not have a lot of caster. This makes it quicker turning which is is good, but it also wants to rip the bars out of your hands when you're pounding through the rocks and tree roots. The Precision is arguably the best damper you can buy. It's adjustable for range of motion along with stiffness. The expensive dampers like the Precision are stiff when the bars are straight, but they brake free when you have the bars turned. So you don’t waste energy cranking the bars when the quad is sideways.
A PWR radiator can add some margin of protection for heat issues, especially if you run a lot of tight trails where the radiator is not getting lots of air. We also recommend putting screen or residential heater element foam in front of the radiator in muddy conditions. If you let a radiator get packed with mud, it stops working and you will eventually cook your motor.
Stiffer anti-sway bars let you be more aggressive with your cornering so it doesn’t roll over in the corners. We tested two, one from Rath Racing and one from Cross Country veteran John Gallagher Sr. Both worked well.
Aftermarket suspension will help any quad. We turned to TCS/Race Tech Suspension to make our Outlaw better. Their shocks will let you plane the top of the whoops instead of wallowing through them. They'll also provide a plusher ride and more wheel travel.
An IMS tank might be a good move on this quad. IMS is making a high capacity tank that allows you to run a million miles before you need to refuel. It’s nice to have the capacity so you don’t have to worry about fuel on the long rides.
