Can Am Quads,Good? Bad?

crazydave said:
If the Can am 650 was on par with the grizzly 660 there was something wrong with it, the 650 i had actually had more top end speed than my friends Can am 800 and would leave my friends brute force 750 (with mods clutch kit,chip,and performance exhaust in the dust) Also hard to beat the 42 month warranty on the Can am.
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I agree that the 650 is a major over achiever but there must be something wrong with that 800, likely needs a belt. I can smoke all the 650's around here.

Ok, 'smoke' is a little strong. But my 800 (and my wife's) are quicker than the 650 by a noticable margin.

The CanAm's really do kick the crap out of all the other stuff on the trail though, out in the real world.
 
I was out with my old mans CanAm 800 Outlander Max (2-up seat) this weekend. We were up in the hills west of Cardston, AB near the border. Around Police Lake if anyone knows the area. There was still lots of drifts in the trees. This quad is a tank, its long and heavy. But it has ITP mud lites on it. I was breaking trail for the other 2 hondas all day long. In most Places If I didn't go first to cut the trail, my buddies weren't going anywhere.

The 800 has tons of power, my dads had it since '05 and has had no issues. I think they're great quads.
 
Well I don't know much about Can but I do know I would not buy another Kawasaki. I've had three of them a 360, 650 and now 750 and i've had problems with all three. Don't get me wrong if my Kawasaki was reliable I wouldn't trade it for anything, I love the ride and power but it has to be reliable. My next quad will be a Honda or a yam rhino.
 
Back to the original question, which is......that you want a machine for hunting.

Base your decision on what meets YOUR hunting needs. You will be very surprised where any of these machines can go, before you even need to think about going into 4wd.

-towing ability (dragging moose? or smaller, such as deer?)
-suspension/comfort of ride.
-accessories you might need - (I admit Polaris has some great accessories!)
-reliability ... I swear by the Yamahas, my opinion.
- get a winch on it!
-you don't necessarily need a machine that will out-mud-bog the mudboggers!

Lots of good machines out there, and lots of opinions!
 
You want a work machine get something with a straight axle.
Baiting bear last fall with my buddy I saw for myself him bottom out way more with his 700 Polaris than I did with my 500 Honda loaded with bear bait.Loaded with bait he had far less clearance than I had with the staight axle as his suspension worked. I was however jealous watching him ride ahead of me empty on the rough trail...Not enough to buy a Polaris though.;)
 
I have owned two Hondas,and two Yamahas,and none have ever had to be towed home.I currently ride a 700 Grizzly that rides smooth,handles well,and is very light for a 700cc machine.The light weight really helps when crossing muskeg.On the other hand,I have had to tow two different Polaris Sportsman quads home after they broke down on the trail.The Can Ams seem to perform well,but a few have broken frames in rocky terrain.
 
popcan said:
Back to the original question, which is......that you want a machine for hunting.

Base your decision on what meets YOUR hunting needs. You will be very surprised where any of these machines can go, before you even need to think about going into 4wd.

-towing ability (dragging moose? or smaller, such as deer?)
-suspension/comfort of ride.
-accessories you might need - (I admit Polaris has some great accessories!)
-reliability ... I swear by the Yamahas, my opinion.
- get a winch on it!
-you don't necessarily need a machine that will out-mud-bog the mudboggers!

Lots of good machines out there, and lots of opinions!
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You said it. Our camp has older Yamahas, and Hondas, nothing over 400 CC, the 300 Honda has pulled several moose by itself. I prefer my old 350 Yamaha Big Bear. Hell, I went in with a 2Wd polaris 2 cycle a few years ago, and I got through just fine. Get stuck, get off, and pick it up. No big deal. We are not sport riders, we want them to do work, and transport our fat butts to the field.
One guy got a 650 Arctic cat a year ago. It accomplishes nothing we can't do with the other machines, except that it burns twice as much fuel.
Yes, it will pull more, but we always got by, we might use two machines if we had to, but it worked. The older machines don't tear up the trail like his does either.
 
popcan said:
Vote here for Yamaha.... as an "older guy" I really appreciate the independent rear suspension!
Mine is an older 660, but the 450 Kodiak has the IR suspension, and the 700 as well, if you are thinking bigger with power steering.

Never had a moment's problem with the Yamaha, and I know of at least 8 other owners around our lake who would say the same.



(That's not me, by the way.... it's my grizzled veteran partner, sitting on a Yamaha Grizzly, beside my 870 Grizzly shotgun, in case of grizzlies). ;)

DSC02566.jpg


.
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This picture about sums up where I'm coming from , though I am afraid I'm I'm "large boned" compared to that gentleman in the pic (6"3",295lbs, on a good day, 310 the rest of the time) Not into going fast, just want to get there and back. Driving through small lakes does not appeal to me and most of the time I will be solo, so reliability is a must. From comments so far am I correct in thinking a canAm 400 with skid plate might just do the trick?I don't go fast but I seem to be hard on machines so tough is critical. No Polaris dealers around here but I think there is a Yamaha dealer within 100km.It also appear nobody likes Hondas.Should I just say the heck with it and look for an old Suzuki mini jeep and put lifts on it and add a winch?
 
big bear said:
This picture about sums up where I'm coming from , though I am afraid I'm I'm "large boned" compared to that gentleman in the pic (6"3",295lbs, on a good day, 310 the rest of the time) Not into going fast, just want to get there and back. Driving through small lakes does not appeal to me and most of the time I will be solo, so reliability is a must. From comments so far am I correct in thinking a canAm 400 with skid plate might just do the trick?I don't go fast but I seem to be hard on machines so tough is critical. No Polaris dealers around here but I think there is a Yamaha dealer within 100km.It also appear nobody likes Hondas.Should I just say the heck with it and look for an old Suzuki mini jeep and put lifts on it and add a winch?
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One of my other buddies would make you look petite.. and he rides the yamaha 660 as well, for what that's worth. Don't worry about that part!

It's funny how certain areas favor certain brands... it's like snowmobiles.... people tend to ride and support the brand that they can get their hands on nearby, and get serviced easily. Our area is big on skidoo and arctic cat, because we have those dealers near.

As far as suspension goes, choose carefully! A buddy of mine has a Honda - and I like all honda products - but he can't ride with us all day because of the straight axel. He is beat up at the end of a ride, and it's not like we are young guns flying around.

Suzuki mini jeep won't go all the places a quad can go.
But you'll be laughing at me in the rain and snow, though, with your heater on. ;)

You should go with a quad... just have to pick one!
 
I have owned a Bombardier (Can Am)Outlander XT 800 Max since May 2006. I have not had any breakdowns or been stranded since day one. Very fast bike and easy to ride. The ride is very comfortable for me on long rides of 3-4 hours. The suspension on middle shock setting works great for me (6" 220 lbs). I feel that the Visco-lock four wheel drive system is one of the best for average riders. Extreme rock crawlers and mud runners may not agree. I do think you should consider a step up in power though. While a 400 is adequate, you will soon find yourself wanting more. Also, take a good look at the Max version. The increased wheelbase makes for a lot more versatility as well as uphill stability. Most of my riding is done alone but if I was buying again today I would purchase the Max version without hesitation. One thing that some people aren't aware of is the extra weight that the North American machines have. Import restrictions limit the foreign bikes to 600 pounds dry weight IIRC. It seems that some of these weight savings come at the expense of parts durability, ie: axle thickness etc.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
You said it. Our camp has older Yamahas, and Hondas, nothing over 400 CC, the 300 Honda has pulled several moose by itself. I prefer my old 350 Yamaha Big Bear. Hell, I went in with a 2Wd polaris 2 cycle a few years ago, and I got through just fine. Get stuck, get off, and pick it up. No big deal. We are not sport riders, we want them to do work, and transport our fat butts to the field.
One guy got a 650 Arctic cat a year ago. It accomplishes nothing we can't do with the other machines, except that it burns twice as much fuel.
Yes, it will pull more, but we always got by, we might use two machines if we had to, but it worked. The older machines don't tear up the trail like his does either.
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Smaller machines will work, they worked for many years without a problem but the terrain hunted can affect the machine, Where there are a lot of steep hills the smaller machines can end up burning more fuel because they have to be worked harder. Also if the terrain is steep or soft the excess strain can cause the smaller machine to break down or cause premature wear. You don't have to use all the power all the time but it is nice to have when needed.
 
TwoTone said:
The frames on the CanAm's are vulnerable to physical damage. Bombardier really dropped the ball on this by not including skid plates as standard. The frames do not break due to inherent weakness. They break after being holed and dented by impacts with rocks. They are aluminum and well designed and light but they can't take impact at all. If they don't get damaged they are very strong.

The addition of the 'optional' skid plate or the excellent aftermarket set by Ricochet make the bike nearly undamagable by bottom impacts.

Regarding the plugs: I didn't find mine hard to get at?
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With regards to the plug thing a friend of mine sank his 650 Can-am and he said the plugs were not all the easy to remove as some others- I just took his word for it. As for the frame breaking, a few guys had been cutting the welds off around the trailer hitch and exposing the tube portion of the main frame and driving in 2x 54"(I think that's the length) pieces of square 1/4 wall tube to strengthen the chassis tube that keeps on bending. Then they just re-weld the trailer hitch cap back on and no one knows any different. I can get more details if someone wants.
 
DIGGER2 said:
As for the frame breaking, a few guys had been cutting the welds off around the trailer hitch and exposing the tube portion of the main frame and driving in 2x 54"(I think that's the length) pieces of square 1/4 wall tube to strengthen the chassis tube that keeps on bending. Then they just re-weld the trailer hitch cap back on and no one knows any different. I can get more details if someone wants.
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This is a good to know fix, but it should have been a factory fix. These frame issues arent new, and you would have thought Bombi would have corrected the problem by now. Seven of my friends own Bombi ATVs, of which three have frame issues. One is a 650 Max just over a year old, and the dealer says its from abuse. I just don't see that!
My brother has a Honda 450 Foreman that has been beat from day #1. Over 26,000K on it, and all its seen for $ put into it is, tires oil,gas, and one battery.This 650 has just over 2000K on it. Big issue IMO.

Go Yama, Honda, or Suzuki If you want an issue free bike.
 
DIGGER2 said:
With regards to the plug thing a friend of mine sank his 650 Can-am and he said the plugs were not all the easy to remove as some others- I just took his word for it. As for the frame breaking, a few guys had been cutting the welds off around the trailer hitch and exposing the tube portion of the main frame and driving in 2x 54"(I think that's the length) pieces of square 1/4 wall tube to strengthen the chassis tube that keeps on bending. Then they just re-weld the trailer hitch cap back on and no one knows any different. I can get more details if someone wants.
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I've heard of this but as far as I know it's not necessary if you put skidplates on when new. It's like they designed it never to touch bottom or something.

The main frame beam that runs down the center of the bike depends on it's shape for it's strength. Once it gets dented up it loses it's strength and can bend / break.

Good skid plates totally eliminate that worry. I've been pounding hard on mine for 3 years and not a problem, no problems with any of the 5 other CanAms that run with me. We ain't tame and none of us are lighweights either.

The biggest problem we have is waiting for the other pigs to catch up.
 
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