I never saw a Canned-Ham go through any mud so I can't say how good or bad they are, but me and another stock Sportsman went through a hole where 2 Grizzlys couldn't. The least experienced rider was the other guy on a Sportsman and the most experienced by 15 years was on a a Griz.

 

Mostly in mudholes it's the quad with good tires and a talented driver that gets through. Given all things being equal, I don't see anything that is going to get a CanAm or a Polaris through a mudhole any better than any other quad. In other words, if they all have the same tire, same ground clearance, good low gear, equally talented riders, and full 4wd of some sort, they probably will all get through.

That being said, I've come close to getting stuck out on the trails but haven't yet. There have been some small and deep mudholes that have been more challenging than big ones. One I didn't get through but was able to back out.

The CanAm frame is most susceptible in taking a hard hit to a front tire and causing a bend behind the A-arm. We put a frame insert in and I don't think it will be as much a concern. But, one of the big reasons the Polaris are heavy is the full metal skid plate under the Sportsman line. I've skidded the quad over rocks and downed trees that were almost as tall as the tires and never had a care about undercarriage damage.

Also, no one has the onboard storage options like the enclosed front box that comes standard on some Sportman models and is an option on others. You can store a ton of stuff and still use the high beam on the handlebars. Great stuff for long trail rides.

 

Sorry, don't buy it.

 

Here comes the pissing contest.

 

I did travel with two young guys in a Rally that they both had the big Can-Am 800 Renagade with rims and tire up-grades......Very loud exhaust up-grades also.
One thing I did notice is the HUGE amount of power these have
twice I noticed this.
1. Went up a large very loose gravel/stone hill on the trail.....They threw stones a long way and whey they were done they left two tire marks that were right down to the wet/damp stuff ....The surface changed color....LOL..

2.came upon a new rough-cut lumber bridge (just made that season from the club) and seen smoke,Thought someone was having a cook-out........No two rubber strips on the new wood from the 800 can-Am ......I was impressed even though they were young riders not worried about running it for us down the road..........

they did over-heat from the MUD and needed to stop quite a bit on the trails to cool.............But my Wife's Sp 450 also did this on me too..........Caper......

 

the popo does have some nice storage capacity- I used to keep an air compressor, mini crank jack, tool kit and snacks under the lid. The feeling I got when riding a popo is like you're riding "in" it- whereas the feeling you get when riding an outlander is like you're "on" it- neither is better or worse- just different.

The thing I like most about the can-am is the absence of rear a-arms to get caught up on anything- even though the center height might be similar to the polaris, ther's less obstruction near the tires- which gives a noticeable result when trudging through a bog or swamp. my honda rincon gc was the worst, even with 27" itp's. The only reason my popo got stuck in that photo was because the large fender well was acting like a plow- couldn't go forward anymore.

If I remember correctly (I've owned 13 atv's in the past 2 years so things get a little fuzzy ) The can-am had 27" swamplites, the rincon had 27" mudlites and the sp had 28" (brand name ?) But if I'm going to give an honest review- and I've ridden (or owned) every big bore atv out there (except for an AC)- nothing comes close to the power (bottom & top end) of the can-am's twin rotax engine. Straight up wheelies with 27" itp's in high gear off the line- even my BF 750 lost that bottom end when going from a 25" tire to a 27" tire-

no pissing contest here- I respect everyone's atv- and that's one of the reasons why I like the group of guys I ride with- none of us could care less what anyone else rides... even if it's a grizzly

 

I will agree the power on the can-am is impressive but shot I can ride wheelies with 27" ITP Muf Lite XRT's on my 550 XP! And to me I can honestly say a 800 is overkill... I ride mine down the trail, I don't care if it doesn't go 75 mph! I have plenty of power to do absolutely everything I will ever need. If you wanna spend an extra 3k on a can am 800 feel free, but I will be ridding just as smooth down the trail with a fatter wallet :-)

 

Well beergut you just proved to me your inteligence. The thread asked why I bought a polaris. It didn't say how many times has your polaris pulled something else out of mud. I told you why I bought a polaris and listed pros and cons compared to it's close competition (the can-am). I never once slamed other brands by saying they can't get through mud yet thats all that you can do? If you don't own a polaris why would you post a bunch of slams on the thread? Oh and if I get stuck the only time I will get pulled out by an outty is if there is NOTHING to winch to and the outty drives around the hole. Just sayin!

 

there's no way your 550 pulls wheelies with 27" in high gear- without an 80lb bag of cement on the rear rack!

 

Zeeb- You’re being a tool, dude.

First- I didn't slam any atv, I actually complimented polaris, then brought up a design flaw I experienced on said atv. Reread the posts.
Second- I was responding to another post that was slamming can-am (from someone who’s obviously never been on one- hmmm, you), reread the posts.
Third- there’s other post in this thread that slam polaris, again.... reread the posts.
Fourth- how does my intelligence equate to me posting experiences I've had with both my sportsman 800's compared to my can-am?

and fifth- stop being such a sensitive tool- this board is for discussions, which is what everyone here is doing. If you can't handle other peoples experiences and opinions, go read the comics.