It looks more like it took a head-on right on the left front tire. I don't want to start anything here, but when one of the the traditional framed quads takes a hit and get bent/broken, it is normal. When an Outlander/Renegade takes a good hit, it is the "weak" frame.

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I've hit a lot of trees in the 20 years of riding- and rolled a quad or two... and some of those impacts have thrown me as far as 20' off the atv braking my wrists and ribs, and some impacts have destroyed rims, broken tie-rods and bent a-arms, but none, none have ever bent the frame the way the can-am spar bends. I've rolled my 440 ex down hills end over end, and have come down off jumps landing almost verticle on the front bumper blowing both beads on the front tires and bending the steering shaft, and not a single tweak to the chassis...

I'm not getting down on can-am, but the chassis has a flaw(s) A $12k atv (vehicle) should be able to hit a tree or a rock without destroying the chassis at a reasonable speed. These are "all terrain vehicles" not uni-terrain-

CaptainQuint I think hit it smack on the money- the spar frame works well for what it was designed to do- but once there's a tweak in that spar frame, it gets a lot weaker (more so then a tube frame).
What other atv has a main stream chassis mod to prevent it from twisting after hitting a rock or bumping a tree...? None I can think of- that says it all.

 

I thought I saw somewhere that they put an X-shaped piece of metal in the frame by the front end to try to stop the frame bending in that area. It would be best in my mind if they did that the whole length.

 

Don't know about other's experiences but I was riding up a root strewn trail at about 25 mph and hit a root that had about a 10" drop on the side I hit. Not only did I almost break my wrist, but the Polaris didn't suffer any damage. It did come to a complete stop, but the front end was fine and the frame still straight. Just my own experience.

 

At least this part of your argument is not a good point to bring... I agree with you that within its tolerances it's a good frame. I live in rocky New England where we deal with dropping off 3 foot high rocks in places or climbing back over them (this is where a 2 up shines). We also have tons of trees that come down. To me a strong frame on a 4wd machine is a no-brainer. Especially one built with a full metal skidplate stock from the factory. My putting the UHMW piece into the frame is to try to make the Renegade as able as the Polaris to take the abuse of riding in our area. If we were in the sand all the time I wouldn't bother with it.

 

MH I can appreciate what you are saying. We all have stories. I have an 06 Outlander 800 with Richochet skids. I have put it thru hell. I hit a 2' boulder at about 50 mph. It darn near thru me over the bars. It broke the "lever" on the rear trailing arm but no damage to the frame. A friend rides a King Quad and had his frame completly break apart back by the rear diff about 60 miles into a ride. The only thing holding the quad together was the wiring and brake lines. My Popo never broke the frame, but about everything else. I guess that is why there are different quad designs available. Each has it's strong/weak points. Lets just ride!

 

I agree totally. Drive what you got. I'm just recommending something for people with CanAms to stop and think about. I love the Renegade. The combination of speed and 4wd is fantastic. I just wish they put a few more pounds of metal to strengthen the frame a bit. Other than that I think they are one of the top quads in my book.

 

ha! not one hour ago today I just broke the aluminum brace under the headlights that comes through the front of the bumper- it clipped a rock and ripped it right off!

it's very thin aluminum that basically keeps the headlights from shaking around- it's attached only by one clip under the light- it snapped right off damn it! now I have to find a tig welder!

 

LOL Guess you found out those rocks dont give hu LOL Sorry bout that!