Want a machine to last get a honda/yamaha/suzuki. Want features and a raw power get something else..

if you buy a new wheeler everything 3 years get whatever you want..

 

Can't speak for anyone but me, however my 06 Outlander 800 has been awesome. About 7000 miles now and the only problem was a blown stator at 5000 miles that Can Am replaced under warranty. There are threads on other Can Am forums about reliability and there were some reports of over 20,000 miles with just minor issues.

 

My opinion, popo vs. outty:
Can-Am's twin Rotax vtech motors are unstoppable! The only problem I had to get a dealer to fix was a bad fuel sending unit (pump) & speedo- which was under warranty and didn't cost me a single penny.

The polaris SP XP with awd is a great machine and gives you a very nice ride in the trails, but it's a heavy unit, which you don't want for a mudding machine. The Can-Am outty 800 is hundreds of pounds lighter with a violent motor to move it and a front locking diff (sorry honda), it's great in the mud for those reasons alone- the big difference between the outty & sp is the chassis. The outty is much lighter due to it being built mostly with aluminum alloy around a spar chassis- whereas the popo is basically all steel with McPherson Struts up front and more of a traditional chassis.

They both have the strongest drivetrain in the industry. The outty & popo's axle's are over 25% thicker then all other (Japanese) brands, and they both have pretty accessible grease fittings for the a-arms & drive shafts which is very important when mudding. There have been some complaints on the popo's diff's roller cage failing but I'm convinced 90% of that is due to operator error.

Both give a totally different ride- I've owned both machines. The only way to choose is to ride each one and see for yourself. I personally love the can-am's nimbleness and light feeling, but I do miss blazing new trails with the popo- that popo would take trees down and not flinch- I wouldn't try blazing new trails with an outty, too much aluminum up front.

The outty's cvt is noisey and hot- if you're wearing shorts you'll eventually end up moving your leg to the outside of the foot well because it starts to get very uncomfortable- the popo's drivetrain is noisey and clunky. The popo does offer an absolutly sweet stainless steel dual exhaust on the sp 800.

on another note- I liked my 06 brute force 750- but the carbs & cvt were high maintenance and wasn't nearly as comfortable on the trails as my outty or popo.

hey, did I mention that my outty once cured a woman of maleria? Yep- all she did was touch the yellow fender and BOOM! she was cured




-

 

Not to get down on Beergut. Just want to correct a couple things. There's a 90lb. dry weight difference between an XP 850 and an Outlander 800 in stock trim, not hundreds of pounds. Heavy is good in a mud pit to get down to the hard bottom. Aggressive tires are a big key in mudding. Given both quads with, say ITP Mudlite XTRs I bet it would be about even in a mud pit. Just a guess. Also, the XP line did away with the soft McPherson struts. They now have a dual A-arm setup in the front and rear. Still, an Outlander 800 will leave the 850XP behind in a straight out race.

 

My first sport is snowmobiling, all ATV seem slow and underpowered in comparison, its like arguing who has the fastest tractor.

 

True... And that is why I now have a street bike motor in my DS

 

I don't know why for some reason I thought the outty 800 was 800lbs dry, and the popo 850xp was 990 dry - I didn't know polaris ditched the struts and went to a-arms- I kinda lost touch when I sold my popo.

I would think you'd want a lighter bike for mudding- keep you on top, not plowing into it and easier for the tire lugs to propell the bike forward rather then plowing through the mud and pushing it out of the way. I guess either way the 90 lbs won't make much of a difference and it will likely come down to tire selection and rider expertise.

at least my yellow atv can cure the ill


-

 

Thanks for that fair honest review. I do not feel so bad now, saving $2,500 by not buying an Outty 400, gonna get a 2011 400HO.

 

Hay thanks everybody for the responses. I saw a video of a can am pullin a grizzly 660 the other day. I was kind of considering a 660 or 700 til I saw this. Do yamahas really suck that bad?

 

Oh god- I can see the yammy riders cracking their knuckels already... I wouldn't make a decision based on the video you saw.
I like the yamaha grizz personally. They are a little soft and tipsy- but that can be fixed. The grizz gives a
Pretty nice ride but the axles are way thinner then a stock outty or polo.