So, you're saying the accounts of riders bending their frames on Can-Ams were not factual???? Or are you saying no one has had the problems. I'm on Can-Am Talk just about every day and there are plenty of people who have had frame issues. From their descriptions it didn't sound like the kind of hit that should produce the kind of frame damage they described. I can tell you I've hit things hard enough that I almost broke my wrists and have had no issues with the frame of my Sportsman X2.

And, again, why did Can-Am add the bracing in the last couple of model years if there was no issue with them? Maybe they got tired of expensive warranty claims. I don't know why they did it, but it tells me they know about the frame issues.

 

Beergut,

I am giving serious thought of selling my 750 Brute Force and buying a 2012 can am 650 max xt. I see you have owned as many quads as I have motorcycles so I was hoping you could give me your opion.

Thanks
Bob

 

I've ridden Beergut's 650 Outlander. Had really good power and felt really nimble compared to my Polaris Sportsman X2 (just about anything feels nimble compared to the beast). I felt it had the power to wheelie if you got your weight back but didn't try. Was a good comfortable ride too. Maybe not as good as a regular Polaris Sportsman but a quad you could ride all day. It would be a step up from the pre-2012 Brutes as far as ride quality goes. And a bit better in my mind than the 2012. Power is probably pretty close. I've ridden both but not seen them in a drag race. I'm sure BG will chime in soon.

 

I am going to be selling my 2012 polaris and was looking hard at outy 800xt's...from what I am reading on the canam forum, I am not so sure now...might be a 2012 Brute with eps now??

 

welcome to the forums bob

yep- I've owned many can-am's and a couple of brutes.

what year is your bf?

it's a natural transition to upgrade from a bf to an outlander. both atv's have amazing bottom end power, so you'll appreciate the rotax and the way it pulls from low to high. The 650 rotax has about the same power as your 750 bf, but... IMO, comparing a bf to an outlander is like comparing a japanese atv to a chinese atv

I can't comment on the newer brutes because I have not ridden one- moose has a better idea since he was a tester for the 2012 brutes... but both my 05 & 06 brutes drove like they had solid suspensions compared to the outlander's suspension. the brutes rode hard no matter how the shocks were adjusted, the seat was hard ( moose reports they are a little better on the new brutes), and the steering deflection was annoying with any tire over 26". The diff-loc lever on the brute made me want to punch their engineers in the face! Who needs "variable" front diff lock? either lock it in with a switch (like the grizz & KQ) or make it auto so I don't have to think about it (like the outty & sportsman)

the cvt toggle switch was always tripping and putting my bf in "limp home mode" (only had 350 miles on the atv) so I removed it. The stupid jumper cable under the seat you had to use to reset the ecm after tripping the "LHM" was super annoying also... some of their motors had serious bearing issues, and the 05 & 06 carbs needed to be rejetted or you'd get the famous brute force "pop & sputter" then you also had to be careful trudging through a puddle and splashing water up behind the airbox- and, there was zero storage except for those silly map pockets on the fender -
out of all my atv's I hated the brutes the most. Both my 05 & 06 were nothing but issue after issue and neither had over a few hundred miles on them. sorry- didn't mean to go on a brute bash there

my last outlander was an 09 650 xt- I sold it and bought my current 2011 800 max xt.
You'll love the outty 650- for a little extra $$ you could get the 800 but even with the 650, you won't feel underpowdered at all-

you'll notice how comfortable the outty is over the bf, and the engine brake will blow your mind. some people who try my outty don't like the EB, it does take some getting used to, but, I never have to touch the brakes when descending a steep hill, which allows me to remain in control. The TTI is more desirable to me over the rear double A-arms found on all the other IRS atv's- With the TTI, you have no lower a-arm to get caught up on rocks & roots. in the pic below you'll notice the TTI (B) has more clearance without the lower a-arm like in (A) - also, this pic illustrates how the TTI keeps the tire totally verticle when compressing the suspension, where as the double a-arm creates a "rolling" effect-







anyway-
there are some things you should know about the rotax...
They are noisey as hell! especially when breaking in a new one. they whistle and humm- you'll swear there's an F-18 following you the cvt cover gets real hot also- the 650 isn't as bad as the 800, but forget about shorts on a hot day. Also, the brakes chatter- they have on every single outlander I've owned from the 07 - 2011. even with new pads they still chatter a bit when applied- no biggie tho-
Although I don't use any skids- most people put them on their spar. One of the greatest things about the spar chassis is how it will slide over obstacles like a ski- skid plates probably are a good idea. The other thing is- they (all can-am's) have a wide saddle- so if you're a smaller dude, you might get a bit uncomfortable after mile 60... polaris redesigned their xp with a very narrow saddle, and I loved it. Felt like riding on a dirtbike. I have a feeling BRP will be following their suit real soon in the next few years...

the 650 or 800 you'll love either one- I have pics in my albums of most of my can-am's. The only other atv I'd ever consider buying again is the polaris 850 xp- I liked my 09 850 xp a lot, but it was a lemon- I bought it as a dealer demo and they f'ed it up good riding it on tar (needed new axles & all new bushings at 200 miles!) then I rolled it and scratched the plastic- so it had to go

IMO- just reading up on all the other japanese brands and comparing their features with the innovations & features recently found on can-am (BRP) and polaris 4x4's... I Honestly feel the other 4 japanese manufacturers are behind quite a bit and need to play some "ketchup"- The Japanese atv's were cutting edge in 05 - 06 (except the bf's ) but over the last few years-BRP & Polaris have just dominated the 4x4 market with features and out of the box thinking... that's just my opinion and observation.

BTW- other than a fuel pump that was replaced under warranty on my 08 800xt, I've never had any mechanical or structural failures on any of my can-am's- and I jump, flip over, climb rocks and ride some fairly deep water & mud I also just recently did a 185 mile trail ride with wilson911 up in jackman, maine- in one day! That outty max was very comfortable (well, about as comfortable as you could ask for after 185 miles of trail riding )

post your first impressions after you buy your new can-am

 

in regards to the can-am frames breaking... I've watched video after video, and read post after post...

from what I've seen, "most" of these failures happened to riders who were riding a bit extreme, or hit something going too fast, or rolled it......

this issue they are having with the new G2 frames has me surprised- as it seems these particular issues are happening whether or not they are being ridden hard.

I just did some welding on a friends new KQ AXI 750 and was surprised by how much thinner the steel is than on quads even 10 years ago-
I was told that the japanese have some weight issue- which is why you don't see any japanese 2-ups. Maybe this also explaines the thinner steel... as they add more weight in options, they reduce the weight of the frames by using thinner steel ???? I dunno

can-am is getting on my nerves with the DPS bracket welds cracking- I really want to believe that the BRP engineers are smarter than that- and would know what kind of stress the DPS would place on that section of the frame- I'm always getting atv surveys to submit to manufacturers- and I've never seen a question asking

"would you allow an extra 20lbs of steel on your frame to improve duribility?"
because I feel just about everyone who rides atv's would welcome that extra steel!


But- as ponted out in other forums on other sites... BRP is stepping up and assisting these owners with these issues- which can't be said about outher manufacturers. Like moose mentioned above- it's a risk buying first & second year models... which is why I'm happy with my 2011; most of the major issues should be ironed out by the last model year.

btw- I think I remember reading BRP was giving the 2 year BEST warranty on all their 2012 & 13 models- and if you are financing it- you get the 2 year BEST automatically on any 2010 & 11 model year.
My 2011 came with the 2yr B.E.S.T warranty just because I financed it.

so- what's the worst that can happen....? you get a new bike for $50 ???

 

you have an xp or sportsman?

 

Beergut,

Thanks for that review of the Can Am. I felt like I was reading an article in dirt wheels.

Don't laugh but my Brute is a 2012.

What dealer do you have the best luck with the Can Am, To date Troy Artic Cat has been the most helpful to me.
If this was another dirt or street motorcycle hands down it is always Razee in RI for me.

Thanks
Bob

 

Sportsman. Has not let me down or done anything wrong, but I am looking for more power, better handling, lighter feel on the trail. The frame thing has me worried on the Outy, and I like the looks of the new Brute with EPS...seems they have updated quite a few things on the Brute for 2012...I still think the Outy xt is a good deal, considering a lot of folks install winch, bumpers, handguards, etc. Just dont know about the frames now

 

no prob bob

I start to ramble on sometimes and have to ground myself

Here's another long ramble on my experience with local dealers

I bought my new outlander at Higgins- the guys over there have always treated me well and have gone above & beyond helping me out. Their showroom for atv's isn't that large. It's a smaller dealer owned by a local family.

I've also had great experiences with the guys over at Kawasaki of Putnam (Ct)
They are just really attentive and all around cool bunch of guys. I once called them looking for a rack bag- they didn't have it in stock so I left my # and thought nothing of it... theye called me 1 hr later and said they found one for me- I got there to buy it and the bag fabric had a minor blemish- it was really no bid deal- he actually pointed it out to me! Then gave me 25% off on the bag! I was very happy.

Motorsports International in auburn I try to avoid at all costs- horrible & rude service dept. The guys at the parts counter are cool- but everyone in that place walks around like their **** don't stink and like they are there doing you a favor I have lots of stories about them.

And a long story about M.O.M.S (Nh)- the staff was polite when I bought my 09 XP 850 from them. I found it in Attleboro, ma, where the service guy said he owned it and it never left the dealer-and he’d transfer the atv to NH for tax reasons he said a lot of mass people buy bikes from them in mass and transfer them to their NH store to complete the sale - but I quickly became annoyed when first, I asked if the atv came with a title and the lady looked at me like I was asking for a bag of crack cocaine- she said Nh is a non-titling state, which is fine- but when I asked for a "non-titling disclaimer form” she gave me attitude and said "why do you need that?” I told her because I live in mass and the RMV will be looking for a title on all newer atv’s. she said she's never heard of any problems reg'ing an atv in mass without a title I told her every atv comes with a "certificate of origin" and when I sell it in the future the buyer will want it- so after arguing with her for 20 minutes over this- she opens up a book, tears out a "non-titling" disclaimer- fills it out and notarized it right there!!!! I was like "WTF"!
Then I had nothing but issues with the new xp from day one- and when I made the 4 hour round trip 4 days later to hav'em check it out- the salesman gave me crap about how the grinding in the rear diff was normal- and he didn't even ride it to verify the complaint I was having!!! (like I'm a noob ) then HE told me he was the actual owner of the atv! I caught these people in so many lies. I eventually sold it a short while later after replacing the axles and 50+ bushings.
A month after I sold it the buyer sent me a nasty email about how I f’ed him over because the second time he had it out in the trails the rear diff blew apart! I felt horrible- so I called M.O.M.S bitching at them about how I brought it in 4 days after I bought it to get checked out and the service guy wouldn’t even look at it- as I’m on the phone- that same service guy picks up and asks how I like the new xp!!!! I told him I sold it and the new owner has a blown rear diff- then the service guy says “well, warranty should cover that” ??????? huh? Warranty?

The service guy says he bought an extended warranty for it and it’s transferable- So I called the guy back who bought my xp and told him to bring it to M.O.M.s and they will fix it under warranty… so he brings it to them… then I get another phone call from the guy saying M.O.M.s told him it has no warranty!!!!

So- I'll never buy another thing from "Motorcycles of Manchester" they bitch slapped me from the moment I gave them a wad of cash.