Maffer has been talking about getting an ATV for quite awhile This year, after much research and shopping around he finally pulled the trigger on a 2012 Can Am Outlander 800xt. It's a beautiful bike, a leader in its class with lots of features and 71 horsepower! This XT model adds Dynamic Power Steering, Warn 3000lb winch, Front/Rear Bumpers, Fender Extensions, Visco-Lok Front Differential, and upgraded 26" tires over the base model Outlander.

The 800 V-twin sounds crazy and pulls like a train, wheelies are effortless and often unexpected! The suspension consists of Front A-Arms with anti dive geometry so you don't nose plant when braking hard, and in the rear you have a Torsion Trailing Arm Independent Suspension for a very smooth ride. The Dynamic Power steering works great at reducing steering effort, can be adjusted for different riding situations, and prevents unwanted feedback when you encounter obstacles on the trail.

Not only is this a great performing bike, but it looks fantastic too. This bike features Can Am's brand new G2 chassis and plastics with Renegade style dual headlights, dual tail lights, and composite racks front and back. The only mod on the way so far is a set of Ricochet Aluminum skid plates to replace the small factory plastic pieces for full under body protection.

Well the newness of the bike has worn off and so has a lot of the tire tread! Not thrilled with the mild treaded narrow stock tires, Maffer ordered a set of 27" Maxxis Mud Zilla tires mounted on 12" ITP wheels with more positive offset to clear the wider tires. As these tires are much more aggressive than stock, they played havoc with the stock axels so Maffer has since nstalled 4 Gorilla heavy duty axels.

While installing the Axels he also replaced the stock plastic skid plates with a full set of Ricochet Aluminum Skid plates to fully protect the underside of the bike from trail damage.

Maffer's bike has continued to work well over the last couple years. The Gorilla Axels are truly the solution to fixing the weak axle problems on these high horsepower bikes. Last winter Maffer also proved how well the bike works in dense snow & slush at the annual cabin trip, its like trying to follow a snowstorm being anywhere near this bike! This year Maffer installed a Bombardier Hand Warmer / Thumb warmer kit which like most BRP accessories, is a fantastic well thought out great fitting product. The kit replaces the stock throttle lever entirely, as well as the stock grips. The module containing the buttons fits right in place on the left handlebar, and the whole assembly plugs into a harness pre installed on the bike from the factory. The end result is a super clean, easy and reliable installation.

The only other work completed at this time was the replacement of a broken CV boot clamp on one of the rear axels.

After sinking the Outlander in the first year of ownership, Maffer had been talking about installing a snorkel kit for awhile. One downside to buying a newly designed bike is that it takes awhile for the aftermarket to catch up. This year he finally found a Snorkel he liked and ordered a complete kit from Highlifter. He also ordered a BRP accessory radiator relocation kit which moves the rad from under the front fenders to the front rack. This will provide better cooling because it wont be prone to clogging up with mud.

Last winter Maffer had a rear axle pop out which not only tore up the end of the Gorilla Axel but severely damaged the rear differential. Since he had to replace the diff, he decided to upgrade and install the much stronger XMR differential from CanAm's mud bike. This diff features heavier bearings, helical cut gears and a reinforced case. The Differential is longer so it requires a shorter driveshaft. A local shop Horizon Machining cut and welded the shaft for a perfect fit. A replacement inner CV was ordered from Gorilla Axel and installed.

The last item on the list for this year was a BRP front mount receiver hitch. One problem with the G2 CanAms is there isn't really a place to tie down or hook on for extraction in the front. The receiver hitch with Shackle solves that problem and proved invaluable in August when the bike ended up on its side in 3' of water.

2017 Update:

Cheers, MIKE