I found the stock can am's with no upgrades on suspension were a super nice ride it was like riding in a Cadillac lol.. The ones i have rode i found the suspension a little on the soft side but i could take em around corners pinned no problem. I have rode the xmr with the fox shocks. unfortunately the shocks are not set up properly so it was a pretty stiff ride. A little tweaking and it would be a great ride. I have rode another can am with the fox shock upgrade properly set up and the ride was amazing. Even side hilling it felt pretty stable. Just like any machine once you get used to it you will not notice the little quirks. Im so used to my little 500 cat that people cannot believe its only a 500 and the crazy places i can take it. A few people are scared to ride with me as i may take them some ware that they cannot negotiate lol.. When i bite the bullet and get a new machine i will probably go with a base model 800 or 1000 with the fox shock, snorkel, skid plate, heavy duty bumper, and gps upgrades. With my no fear riding style i have been caught a few times with the water up and over my machine with only the bars visible. Iv just been extremely lucky the machine never took in any water as the intakes were submerged..LOL

 

Same here. The key is to keep going and hope the bow wave keeps the water out of the intakes. It would be a lot easier with the XMR or the Polaris High Lifter packages. I've heard mixed emotions from owners as far as how they ride other than mud.

Some of my scariest rides were on my Polaris Sportsman X2 500. Only reason I got rid of it is I couldn't keep up with the higher cc machines on snow rides. We have a couple trail systems in NH that allow ATV's on groomed trails. Some of them are wide open straight shot road width trails that you can open it up on. The 500 just would not keep up. The 650 Rotax in the Outlander has gotten me up to 68 mph on snow. Exciting....

 

Well I agree you have to get comfortable on a new ride, I rode a Polaris Xplorer 400 for a couple years and I felt like a racing pro. Now I ride a YFZ450 and I probably go slower on it lol. As far as mud machines out of the mud, my uncles RZR 1000 highlifter is fun anywhere, going through mud, the dunes, or difficult trails.

 

Yes that would be my only complante on my 500. I cannot get enough wheel speed to keep up with the big boys in the snow

 

Ha that was the same case with my 400 it just dragged through the snow

 

There is NO one machine that can do it all...so you will have to narrow your choices down to what your going to do with it. From the added accessories your talking about be prepared to spend 10 grand....good stuff don't come cheap and cheap stuff keeps on costing you. You really need to go out and sit on and actually drive some of the models you are thinking about. Each different machine has its little differences that may or may not suit you. Only an actual sit on and try will let you know if you have the right machine. I have a friend that searched and decided he wanted a particular model Honda from all the reviews he had read. Went out and spent big bucks for his dream machine. However after having it for only a short while he finds it quite uncomfortable to his liking. Nothing wrong with the machine it just doesn't fit him like he wants it to. Now he is talking about taking the big loss and trading it in on something else. Go sit on and ride before you decide....be prepared to spend some big bucks for all the bells and whistles and yes be prepared to do some work! When you go muddin...serious muddin...you will have a lot of maintenance to do to keep that machine running right!!

 

yes definitely get out and ride the machines or at least sit on them in the show room... ignore that sign that says do not sit on machines.... i find my cat the most comfortable seating out of any machine.

 

As far as stock packages go, the XT package on the Can-Am Outlander models is a good deal. You get nicer wheels with more aggressive tires, a 3000lb warn winch and much beefier front and rear bumpers for about $800 more than a regular Outlander.

 

X2 The XT package is very competitive with others' machines with similar equipment.