Skid plates generally assist in gliding over obstacles...don't think I've ever seen one act as frame bracing...but anything is possible...

 

Looks like there is some skid plating. Looks like it took a pretty hard hit too. Not enough to break a frame in my mind though.

 

Repaired!

Frame welded - Simple addition - Better than factory.

<img src="https://goo.gl/photos/oWJz2nS33Y1nrVwaA">

 

So This may not just be an issue with the 2016 WMR if it's a welding issue, could be an issue with all 1000 frames and others. Wonder if it showed up sooner because most WMR's are used more aggressively? I'll be checking mine, it has just over 200 miles and I'm the new owner and haven't ridden yet.

 

I highly doubt an alum skid plate would have stopped this. Either a bad weld or you hit one heck of a big rock! From the appearance of the welded area I agree it looks like painted surface so their robot welder messed up.
So where do you go from here....keep after the mfg with pics and post them on every single CanAm forum you can find and there are a lot of them. Find the CanAm factory forum, most all makers have them and post it on there as well. With enough publicity it ay catch their attention. This is another reason I chose the brand I have...fewest customer complaints in the industry!!

 

My XMR had a skid plate.

The XMR frame is longer than a standard chassis frame. The additional length (approx 5 inches) in the frame is the section just in front of where mine broke.

CanAm should have done something similar to the repair that my weld shop did. By adding an angle gusset, it spreads the load over an entire area rather than at one point - that being at the 2 welds that failed.

 

It just seems that Can-Am is so concerned with the HP to weight ratio that they make frames on the weak side. I'm glad I stuffed my first generation Can-Am frame with box aluminum to strengthen it. Taken some pretty good hits and is surviving almost as good as a Polaris frame would.

 

I thought the current generation frame was supposed to be stronger. I guess in the case of the XMR models, its still not quite where it needs to be. If only Polaris built everything else as good as their frames. I guess that's why every atv they build is so freaking heavy.

 

These were older 500 Sportsman models. One is a regular Sportsman, the other a Sportsman ATP 500 HO. They were jumped every time we went riding. Never had anything more than a small dent in the frames.