Off-road leader Can-Am adds new farm steed
The Canadian off-road vehicle maker Can-Am, which claims the top spot in the side-by-side sector with its Defender range, went on tour recently to show its machines NZ-wide.
In New Zealand we readily recognise the brand Can Am, with model names such as Outlander, Defender and Maverick, so an offer to ride a Maverick for a week in the Waikato had us keen to see what it was all about.
Our ride was an Outlander 570 PRO, a high-spec machine offering plenty of grunt, go and carrying and towing capacity. That grunt is delivered by a V-twin, liquid-cooled Rotax engine, sporting 4 valves per cylinder, fuel injection and 48hp on tap.
Offering smooth power delivery from tick-over and throughout the rev range, this engine was never wanting during solo riding, carrying small square bales or towing a meal trailer.
Interestingly, the Outlander is supplied with a speed-limiting safety key, limiting top speed to 40km/h but with maximum engine torque, so ideal for novices or onfarm speed control, while a performance key allows maximum output and speed at all times.
Towing and carrying capacity, important onfarm, particularly with livestock farmers, gives a useful 590kg at the tow bar and a combined rack total of 163kg -- 54kgs up front and 109kg at the rear.
Mated to the engine is a CVT drive system that offers smooth, progressive build-up of speed, is very quiet, and importantly offers engine braking on downhill sections when the throttle is released.
Suspension takes the form of a double A-arm set-up at the front, offering 230mm of travel, whereas at the rear, a clever torsional trailing arm layout is fully independent, with 220mm travel and five adjustable pre-load settings. This latter feature, dubbed TTI, is claimed to eliminate tyre scrubbing caused by changes in camber angles as the suspension works; in practice this means the suspension and wheels move straight up and down as terrain changes.
During our test, we encountered paved rural roads, metalled tracks, farm races and sticky paddocks, but can confirm that the ride quality was excellent, remaining neutral always, probably helped as well by a beefy anti-roll bar.
Stopping the khaki green machine -- it weighs 320kg -- was never an issue, with a twin-disc set up at the front end and a single disc at the rear, combining to deliver good stopping power in a straight and uncomplicated manner.
Hitting difficult terrain was also easy with a choice of 2 or 4WD select via handlebar switch, and very sticky situations taken in the machine’s stride with the Visco-Lok QE auto locking differential up front.
Contact with the ground comes from aggressively-treaded 25-inch tyres mounted on 12-inch cast aluminium wheel rims, said to reduce weight, whilst improving durability.
The electrically actuated DPS power steering system has three modes, all offering increased assistance at low speed and diminishing as speed increases.
Heavy-duty front and rear bumper bars take care of day-to-day knocks from immoveable objects, a heavy-duty seat cover keeps thing tidy, and high-grade plastics make the machine easy to clean and durable.
Given that information is the key to most things, a multi-function digital display gives clear visibility of speed, engine revs, odometer, time, fuel, gear selection and the 4WD status.
Add to this a useful, watertight storage bin of 12 litres under the rear rack and pre-wiring for retro-fitting of a winch, and the Can-Am Outlander looks a useful package well worth a closer look.
BRP profile
- Founded in Canada in 1942
- Factories in Canada, USA, Mexico, Finland, Austria
- 10,000+ employees
- 40%+ of output is quads or side-by-sides
- 33% of production exported
- 4% of total sales revenue spent on R&D.
