Almost all the catastrophic Outlander frame failures I have seen have been at or very near points of previous minor denting or damage to the frame.

The frame is just as strong as it needs to be. No more. All the Outlander frame failures I have looked at personally have been either at or near points where the frame had already taken small dings and impacts from normal trail riding. Due to the nature of the design and the composition of materials every small defect weakens the frame. Not a lot always, but just enough to lower it's threshold for absorbing force without failing. That is why it is extremely important to have skidplates on it. The frame. while sturdy enough for it's intended purpose, degrades significantly with each ding and dent.

You can't have everything. You can't make the frame lightweight and have it overly resilient to damage. It just isn't going to work with the materials at hand and in the price range you would prefer it the finished product to sell at. With the Outty it is a tradeoff. Yes it is lighter but at the price of lower durability. It doesn't make it bad. It is what it is.

If you protect and Outty frame from damage with skidplates and you ride within its intended design parameters it will most likely work perfectly fine. You get lightweight and it performs wonderfully. However, there isn't a safety margin with it. If you're going to run one with no skids or subject it to hard impacts and severe use you are going to run into problems eventually. It's simple engineering, mechanics and physics. It's just the nature of the beast. Yes, other heavier ATVs could shrug off such damage but they are heavier and slower. It is the compromise made when designing the outty and the compromise you must consider when buying one.

 

There is some truth to what you're saying, that's why it's as light as it is, despite what some people think. However, the ATV is only as durable as it's weakest link, and if the weakest link is the frame, then guess what, that's what's going to give if you hit a tree, whether it's 7mph, or 25mph. I personally, would rather see a couple bent a arms. On any other ATV, chances are the a arms would give long before the frame itself would be compromised, not the case with the single spar frames though. I think the frame should be the strongest component, or at least as strong as the tie rods etc. Does anyone else see the problem with this? Has anyone ever seen a frame bend before a set of a arms and tie rods. They could have made the frame much stronger without sacrificing much more in weight. Fact is, the frames are very very thin. This may be a weird analogy, but they're like an egg shell, as a whole they're durable, but too much leverage on one area from a minor impact, and that thin rectangular frame will bend like a coat hanger. That's why with the exception of a few dents, they hold up pretty well to trail obstacles because of the larger surface area absorbing the impact when "sliding" over rocks etc, but if there is a lot of stress placed on an area from the leverage caused by an impact, (even a slow impact) the integrity of the frame as a whole is compromised. I have to wonder if Can Am designed the DS450 the way it did because of this. There is a reason why they used those additional cross members, and I'm thinking that's why.

 

I am a very huge can am fan, but I have been very skeptical of the frame on my renegade. I added the skids as quick as I could afford them because the terrain in S.W. Virginia is nasty. I noticed a couple of minor dents in the bottom of mine in the first 2 weeks of riding, and have worried that they would be a fail point in the future as CaptainQuint mentioned. Since adding the skids, I have not had any trouble and I ride hard. I will probably join ya on the replacement frame list someday. I jump mine alot, and the terrain here is very vertical and rocky. 550 miles in 4 months and still going strong.


I think they should all come from factory with skid plates mounted.

I appreciate the information Kas.

 

my frame did the same thing. it bent way to easy. all i did was scrub a tree with right right front going no more than5-6mph. you would not believe the frame is bent like it is. all my buddies could not believe their eyes. right in the same spot as described. i love my outlander but i am pissed. anyone know the cheapest place to get a frame???

 

Dont be shy about it, tell as many people as you can. By the way, I'm going to post a pic or two of mine soon, if you could do the same that would be great. I'd almost bet money it is in the same spot. No doubt other's have bent in the same place as well. Probably not a coincidence, ya think?

 

Now the vendetta.... Tell as many people as you can. Crusader's or just someone who has crashed there quad and are trying to get someone else (CanAm) to take the heat for the crashes? I don't think it will work because there are way, way, way more Outlanders with no frame problems than the few posting on the forums.

 

Just another thought. I wonder how many of the guys that have frame problems are running lifts or big mud tires?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Cardiac

Now the vendetta.... Tell as many people as you can. Crusader's or just someone who has crashed there quad and are trying to get someone else (CanAm) to take the heat for the crashes? I don't think it will work because there are way, way, way more Outlanders with no frame problems than the few posting on the forums.</end quote></div>

listen cardiac.......i am not some idiot in here whining that i should get a new frame from brp. i love my outlander and have and will keep on praising them. any of my friends that i have let try it (many of whom have been riding for 10 plus years) are dying to get one. i drive hard and have put mine through hell with not a problem. i barely brush a tree going 5-6 mph no more and the frame bends. it was not a crash by any means and was not because of the tires. it was the angle that it was on it has to be. not mark on the tire or rim. nothing else is wrong but for some reason it bent. we are not in here to bash them at all or get free parts. it is something that should be adressed in future models. i have ordered a frame...i am going to fix it and i will keep riding it!!

 

You can't have everything. You can't make the frame lightweight and have it overly resilient to damage
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&g t;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&g t;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

maybe you cant have everything but the frame should not bend like this if this is true. lightweight frames on sport bikes dont bend this easily. ive seen some collisions on several diff makes/models and yes it tears up a-arms but the frame is generally intact. i know someone with a banshee that hit the right side of a sand bar going up hill in 5th gear - tore it up but the frame was suprisingly fine. was it 100% intact - maybe not (didnt have an xray machine to see) but it certainly is lighter than a 4x4 frame and takes a beating pretty well. and with can am charging these premium prices and me considering a renegade/outlander, yes this post does help saise concerns for me from buying one.

i am not going to buy a over priced breakable turd and be told to live with it. that's ridiculous. the dealer or can am will buy it back or we will go to court over it then they will be forced to do something about it. this is one time where i agree that the CPSC should issue a recall. it does raise a concern over safety. they've recalled hondas for lesser things that most people will never see; stuff they only recreated at a test facillity with thousands of hours of blatant abuse and the CPSC issues a recall over it b/c it 'could' happen. this is not about hating on can am either. if its a real problem they need to be honerable with their products and correct the problem without someone telling them to.

 

I see some people here are a little more open minded than others. I haven't seen frames bend before anything else in my experience either, that was the purpose of letting others know and maybe even getting someone at Can Am to consider how they can improve them. I honestly can't find much wrong with my Renegade otherwise, and as long as you never have a minor encounter with a tree or any other object with the front or rear wheels and can guarantee that will never happen, then you have nothing to worry about. Fact is, minor incidents will happen whether it's your fault or someone else's who might have borrowed it. If something does happen, I'd like to know the damages will be realistic and not leave me scratching my head asking how the hell did the frame bend. Bottom line is, I'd like to see Can Am improve their design so their products could withstand relatively minor incidents with only reasonable damage. Bent frames should be expected after serious accidents, and should be the last thing to get twisted, and buckled. By the way, a good friend of mine bought a 08 Outlander after I got my Renegade, he was a few quads behind me before I clipped the tree, and he can't believe the frame bent the way it did either. If you were there and saw how minor the incident was, and how much damage was caused to the frame, you would be scratching your head too. Oh and Cardiac, I haven't changed any of the wheels or tires on mine, still the original. I'd still like to know if they changed how thick the frame walls are in the 2008s vs the 2007s. If anyone can find that out somewhere I'd like to know. If I know they improved the 2008 frames, I might want to trade mine in for a 2007 after I get it fixed.