First off, this is my first Can-Am. I’m coming from a 2013 Polaris Sportsman XP 850. So far I’ve put about 30 hours and ~450km’s on my bike.
These are the upgrades I put on:
– Rear Cargo box
– Kolpin Lin-Q Grips
– Gun Boot and Mount
– Hand and Thumb Warmers
– Changed out the handguards
– 28" Swamp Lites
So far I’ve been very impressed with my bike. I love the power and find that the power is "snappier" than my Polaris was. I’ve already noticed and like the advantages of having the slightly longer wheel base. I love the tri-mode power steering as my Polaris didn’t have it.
There are a few things that I’m not a fan of but I’m not sure if they’re normal for Can-Ams but will take some getting used to.
1. The amount of heat that this thing puts off is bad. I remember my Polaris putting some heat off on the right side but I don’t remember it being that hot. If I ride with my 4 year old sitting in front of me he actually complains and asks to put his feet up on top of my legs.
2. The amount of noise that comes out of my CVT is CRAZY!!! I bought my bike just before hunting season. If I’m driving down a trail hunting for grouse or in cuts looking for moose at about 13km/h or less, the squeeking and high pitch squeeling are enough to drive me bat shit crazy. If I accelerate and bring my speed up it goes away. I’m not sure if something is breaking in on my clutch or what but JESUS! And yes I am driving in low gear.
3. Today I head out hunting with my wife. I get stuck in a hole, nothing serious but too steep to back out of and I’d get hung up when I went forward. My first time really getting stuck. Again in low gear, my wife sees blue smoke come out of the front of the bike. I smell it right, my belt is slipping and burning. I had talked to my dealer about installing a clutch kit seeing as I went up to 28" tires and he says I should be fine. So now I’m thinking in the spring when I pull my bike out of storage for the winter buying a Dayco XTX belt (served me well in my Polaris) and installing the clutch kit like I had originally wanted. I’m looking a just getting a Dalton DBO 850 kit. Nothing too serious for mudding but enough to help me along in the regular mud I’d encounter during hunting.
So far I love my bike and it’s been better than I expected but if I could deal with these few small problems I’d be happier than a pig in shit.
