No clue?

[outlaw91]

Ok so i have an 08 Outlaw 525 s. I took it out to the dunes this past weekend, she ran great except for one thing. The electronic display tells me i am in neutral, and the bike will actually roll so i know for sure its in neutral. However when i go down to first gear, i feel a slight pull in the bike, and then it shifts back up to neutral, now this doesnt always happen but it is a pain when it does happen. I find that if i keep the bike running and put it in neutral and kill the bike when i start it up and put it in first i have no problem.


Could this just be a fluid problem? Transmission problem? all my gears work fine with that exception. Could it be a chain problem?


Any feedback would help alot i am in a dead spot.

[blueline15]

how many miles are on the unit?

i know you dont have an ODO but what would be your guess?

[outlaw91]

Heck, that is a tough question to answer the only thing i can say is i have about 60 hours on it. I dont rag the thing around, and i Usually shift right, every once in awhile ill miss a shift. I can't really guestimate how many miles i have on it, because i have only taken it to the track 2 times (2-3 hours there total) the rest of the time i spend at some farily small sand dunes. So idk what would be a good guess?

It may help if i describe it like this, ill be riding around in 4th gear, and coming to a stop so i start braking and down shifting, when i come to a complete stop ill put it in first gear obviously and kill the engine with the switch. Then when i turn it back on i should be in first like i said ill be taking off slowly, and ill feel a slight pull, then it will jump into neutral. Keep in mind this only happens maybe 1 out of every 5 times.

An example of how i cope with this problem is, ill be riding around in 4th gear, as i am coming to a stop i am down shifting and braking, but now i put the quad in neutral then kill the engine with the switch. When i start it back up ill shift into first, and take off slowly and i will have no problems.

[blueline15]

well mmm, im on the fence here. if this machine is still under warranty, i would get a couple dealer opinonings if you could. here is what i have to say about this...

not only was the shop i worked at a polaris dealer, we were also a full fledged KTM dealer as well. as im sure you know, the engine and gearbox on your quad is 100% KTM, and those are built by hand in one factory in austria. so needless to say, KTM is very damn reliable, much more so then polaris. (im sorry, i love polaris, but it is just the truth) i have rode the 525 outlaw, and spend a day on the 450MXR outlaw although that is a different gearbox. what i do know is that your motor and gearbox are ready to go racing in the GNCC if you wanted to. KTM literally builds race-ready machines, and so, it is common that on the KTM gearbox, it is very sensitive to that shift from first to second. the reason is because they know in both hole-shots and coming out of corners, if you are in first, you want to get to second fast, to get the power back to the wheels, so the gearbox is very sensitive for a "quick shift" between those gears. much more so then 2-3 and 3-4 and 4-5 gears. i never had this problem on the 450MXR i rode, but thats a short throw 4 speed gearbox, so its a little different. this might get better as the machine breaks in a little more. thats why i was asking how much time or miles was on the machine. commonly, everything is stiff, or sensitive when brand new, but when all the tranny gears mesh together, this problem might go away.

what i dont want to do though is say, that it will get better and it doesnt. so thats why im kinda on the fence here. what i will do though is text my ex-coworker. shes been at the parts counter for 7 years, bleeds orange. she has a KTM streetbike and dirtbike, she knows KTM inside and out. i also have a buddy that works at the shop who picked up an 08 525 outlaw himself, so ill facebook him and see if he has had similiar issues, and ill let you know what they both say. the more opinions about this, the better