Can Am - crack brat to respectable stripper

Sand Shark

Sand Shark

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2021
Messages
4,361
Reaction score
4,424
Well after 8,000 miles with my X3 the frame said no more on my last ride from Barstow to State Line.  I came off a drop off and she was done. The transmission mounts broke and the frame rear down tubes completely cracked.  The muffler tubing said enough is enough.  The transmission was making some funny noises and a leaking SOB.   The car was done and deemed a total loss. 

damage 1.jpg

damage 5.png

damage 3.jpg

 
The hunt for a new Can Am was on and I was initially going to wait until the end of summer.  No I was not going to put a deposit down on a Speed UTV and pray I see it a year from now.  Polaris does not have anything out there that appealed to me.  If they had a 72" wide XP Pro I would of considered it.  I like the X3 and how it drives and know what needs to be done.  Plus I have a bunch of parts I could transfer over.   

I quickly figured out inventory was extremely low and not going to be getting better anytime soon.  I started searching the local dealers to see what they had available.  They were asking for your first born, soul and a ton of money over MSRP.   

My friend's dad works at the dealership in Lake Havasu.  He knew I was going to be looking for a new ride and he happen to see a new X3 was being delivered and it was not pre-sold.  So he called me up and told me.  I said get me the OTD price and we will see if we can make it happen.  Surprisingly there were no crazy up charges and I was able to knock a little off the MSRP.  So over the phone and through some email I struck a deal on a 2021 X3 RC.  This is the rock crawl edition for those that are not familiar with Can Am.  It comes with a lot of extra stuff over the other models.   Winch, thicker skid plates, full doors, aluminum roof, intrusion bar for the cage, 32" tires (which means the clutching is all set up for bigger tires) and a some other features.  A really nice package and car.

I did a one day trip to Lake Havasu yesterday.  Left my house in So. Cal where it was overcast and 69 degrees to Lake Havasu and a blazing 112.  LOL!

They had the car all ready when I got there and the paperwork was pretty much done other than for me to sign.  I was in and out of there pretty quick.   Had lunch with my friend's dad and then loaded up and headed home.

The drive was not too bad and I was not tired from all that driving.  I guess the excitement of a new ride took over. 

Now the fun of a new build will begin shortly. 

new ride 1.jpg

new ride 2.jpg

new ride 3.jpg

new ride 4.jpg

new ride 5.jpg

 
I did notice the new X3 has some cross bracing in the frame under the seats that my other X3 did not have and allegedly Can Am used thicker material in some critical areas and added some gusseting.  

Also learned with the Smart Lock front diff you can shift on the fly from 2wd to 4wd and even lock the front completely.  Just have to let off the throttle for a second or two.  I will probably never use the full lock mode.  Also has a rock mode and trail mode for regular 4wd.  Pretty cool set up compared to my regular visco lock front diff I had on my other X3. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Even with Team Industries' sketchy QC, Smart Lock is pretty nice. In trail mode at the dunes I didn't feel it in the steering at all.

 
You said car deemed at total loss so what did the insurance company pay or was it covered under warranty how were you treated 

 
That winch will come in handy for all the repairs on people in the group's RZR's, LOL.  Looks great, and congrats on your deal!

 
Congrats on the new ride! 

I'm a little confused...

First you have to buy it, then you have to build it?

:lmao:

 
Nice choice on the RC model. Did you ever consider buying a aftermarket frame and just swapping your parts over? There seems to be a few guys now making replacement X3 frames. Just asking as you already had so many good upgrades in your X3, and many were brand new too! I’d figure the frame swap cost would be way cheaper then starting over and you could end up with a great car. 
 

I know you are negative & bitter about Robby, Todd and the Speed car, not really sure why?  But you just spent pretty close to what the Speed car cost and you still have the same design flaws your old X3 had. And you will be spending several thousand more in upgrades to make the X3 stronger and safer. Just saying as you like to talk sh!t about what Speed is building, instead of supporting what others are excited about. 
 

There’s nothing wrong with liking the Can Am X3 and buying another one. I think it’s great you like the X3. Im happy you found exactly what you wanted, and could get it during these inventory shortages.  
 

But whats funny is all the negativity that comes out of your mouth about Speed, and now you have to build up a new vehicle with a bunch of known design flaw issues that Can Am knows about and ignores. Not a business model I like. 
 

But I look forward to seeing your build and hope you enjoy your new machine while I continue to wait for mine. 

 
Nikal, take your Speed crap back to the other thread which you haven’t responded to in quite sometime, we all know the Speed car is the best in the world,  just can’t sit in one yet. He had 8,000 miles on it for crying out loud, get back to us when you have 8,000 miles on your new Speed and see if you have any issues, oh wait that could be in the year 2025. (Maybe)

 
Congrats on the new ride. That is the exact car a buddy is wanting. How much was it OTD ? 

 
DOGGY said:
Nikal, take your Speed crap back to the other thread which you haven’t responded to in quite sometime, we all know the Speed car is the best in the world,  just can’t sit in one yet. He had 8,000 miles on it for crying out loud, get back to us when you have 8,000 miles on your new Speed and see if you have any issues, oh wait that could be in the year 2025. (Maybe)
Click to expand...
Doggy, 

Dont get your panties in a wad! 

I thought what I said was very nice. I thought the RC was a great choice.  Asked about a frame swap. Was happy he found one with the inventory shortage, and I look forward to seeing him spend more money making it his own. 

 If I said something else that you took as crap! Then just look at it as I’m crashing the party and stirring the Sh!t pot like Sand Shark does in both the original and current Speed threads. It’s not like I’m proposing we get to 200 pages for all the fixes that is needed to make the X3 better. 

Your right it will probably take me till 2025 to put 8K miles on my UTV. When I get there I’ll let you know what I think. 

 
1HasBeen said:
Even with Team Industries' sketchy QC, Smart Lock is pretty nice. In trail mode at the dunes I didn't feel it in the steering at all.
Click to expand...
I thought Can Am used a different source for the front diff.  

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top