ECX Outburst Motorcycle Review
Shipping now is the first motorcycle to hit the ECX RC line-up, the 1/14th scale Outburst. The Outburst is on the most affordable side of the rc spectrum at just a $39 street price, so you have to wonder a few things. How easy it is to drive? Does it break easily? Is it fast? We’ve been driving the tires off a pair of the Outbursts to find out. You know the drill, scroll on down to get the full scoop.
From: ECX RC
Direct Link: Outburst 1/14th Motorycle
Review By: Cubby
Pictures By: Tim Mohr
Specs:
RTR or Kit: RTR
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: One wheel (the rear)
Electric or Gas: Electric
Scale: 1/14th
Length: 5.5″
Wheelbase: 3.86″
Motor: Brushed
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes
Radio: ECX 2.4GHz
Stability Control: Built in gyro
Sound Module: No
Slipper Clutch: No
Shocks: Working friction forks and rear shock
Screws: Phillips
Tires: ECX, rubber
Battery: 1S 120mAh LiPo with USB charger
Part Number: #ECX01004T2 (red)
Bashing Specs:
Wheelie on demand: No
Backflip off ramps: No
Top Speed (measured by BSRC): 8 mph
Runtime (measured by BSRC): 12 minutes
Charge Time (measured by BSRC): 22 minutes
Street Price: $39
Primary Competition: Ummmmm…. ya, there is none in the hobby grade world.
What’s Needed To Complete: Nothing. Zero. Nada. Everything you need, including a charger, comes in the box.
Build Quality: We found no issues with our review bikes out of the box.
Test Drivers: Iron Mikeee, T-$$$, and yours truly. And yes, all 3 testers are long time full scale motorcycle riders (read- fanatics).
Test Venues: Our friendly local CostCo parking lot, a neighborhood cul-de-sac, and a carpeted man-cave.
Set-up Notes: We ran our test bikes 100% bone stock. For charging we used the included USB charger.
General Handling: Very good, in fact, perhaps the best handling motorcycle we’ve ever driven. Yes, the Outburst might be one of the least expensive motorcycles on the market, but it just might drive the best. The gyro spools up the second you turn the bike on and does a fantastic job of making the Outburst easy to drive. Calling it the best driving motorcycle that we’ve ever driven is a pretty big statement, especially at its price point, but here is why. “Most” motorcycles fall over in corners if you let off the gas, but if you stay on the throttle they take a country mile to get turned around. With the Outburst you can pin it around wide corners, or you can let off slightly for a medium sized corner, or you can come to nearly a dead stop and make a well executed tight corner. While most rc motorcycles are frustrating to drive, the Outburst is just plain fun.
Jumping: Hey, we jumped our test units and they lived afterwards. No, they can’t get much air, and yes, they land like a hay wagon, but boy are they fun to catch airtime with.
Grass: Ya… not happening. Look elsewhere if driving on grass is your thing.
Tires: They did a fine job on both carpet and asphalt.
Power: No, the Outburst doesn’t have a lot of power, but it has enough for the scale of the motorcycle, and enough to actually be fun. The top speed of the Outburst runs out about the same time that its chassis/suspension/raw size does.
Radio: Hey, the entire package is only 39 clams, so corners have to be cut. Thankfully range is excellent (perhaps even stellar) and we never experienced a glitch. The transmitter is a bit on the small size, but it gets the job done.
Broken Parts: Zero nada, none. We drove a pair of the bikes like we stole them with absolute no breakage.
Misc Notes:
There is a learning curve to driving an rc motorcycle. You don’t really want to come to a dead stop at any time, and all the corners must be taken in more of a sweeping manner. Thankfully the learning curve with the Outburst was extremely easy, taking about a pack to get really comfortable with what the bike could, and could not, do.
Btw, some rc motorcycles are a real pain to take off from a dead stop with. That isn’t the case with the Outburst, just pin the gas and it immediately gets up on its wheels and straightens out. No, you don’t have to hand launch the Outburst.
Most motorcycles need some extra space to be driven around in and the Outburst is no exception. We found a 12′ x 10′ man-cave to be a bit on the small size, while a 20′ x 20′ driveway felt like a ton of space.
While the Outburst is priced very close to the the ECX Beatbox and Kickflip, we found the Outburst to drive more smoothly and to be more fun to drive. But then, that could just be us and our wacky tastes.
The Outburst is intended to be at the very lowest level of our hobby. In fact, it can pretty much be considered “toy grade” due to the lack of being able to fix a broken part.
How does the Outburst get around on carpet? Fairly well as long as it is really short.
The Outburst actually has enough control to where we could line up and be able hit another bike head on at full speed. For an rc motorcycle that is pretty good handling. And no, we still couldn’t break it.
The range of the radio is pretty dern stellar. We stepped off the range at a 250 foot radius. In fact, we could no longer even see the tiny Outburst during our range test, but we were in a big open area and just kept it pinned until it lost contact with the transmitter. Btw, when it loses contact the headlight will flash and once it gets back in range the headlight will go back to solid.
Best Mod Under: Well, it isn’t really intended to be modded (in any way, shape, or form), so a set of BSRC stickers would make for a nice add-on.
The Final Scoop: Ok, so yes, all three of our testers are full sized motorcycle riders, therefore they are a bit biased. However, all three have driven numerous other rc motorcycles without really liking them. We really, REALLY liked the Outburst. It drives extremely well and was the most fun vehicle that our 3 testers have driven in a very long time. Yes, we can highly recommend the Outburst to you, but we even more highly recommend buying a pair so that you and your kids/wife/homeskillet/rc-bro can get in some trigger time together.
