I currently ride a 2008 Honda Rancher 420 4x4 foot shift with a solid rear axle. What I like most about the Honda is its midsize chassis and it has proven to be bullet proof (over 5000 miles not one issue). However now that I am older and tend to take a more sever beating on the trails I am looking for something that offers a more supple ride than the Honda, one where I can ride my usual 50-80 miles and be able to get out of bed the next day. Unfortunately the Honda gives my body a beating, especially my back and wrists (no as resilient as I used to be). Looking at the new 450L and 500L it appears to be a midsize chassis like the Honda but will have better suspension, brakes, and ground clearance. Can Am has definitely got my attention. Anyone know when these will be available? I would love to test ride one. I wonder how the seat-of-the-pant comparision would be versus the Honda. The specs read that the 450 is pushing 38hp while the Honda I thing is pushing 26hp so at first the Can Am looks like the clear power leader but I know Honda with their transversely mounted engine and efficient centrifuge clutch are more efficient and rob less power than a CVT. So I wonder if the CVT would balance out the 12hp bump the Can Am has over the Honda. So many things to consider..... All thoughts and advice are welcome, I would love to hear peoples' perspectives on the Can Am versus Honda and pros and cons, I need help deciding.

 

If you have a solid rear axle the IRS of the Outlander will give you a softer ride with more suspension travel to soak up the bumps. I can tell you my son's 500 cc in his Renegade is a great engine that will do anything the bigger bores can except for top end speed. I looked at the L models on Can-Ams website and they appear to be a little bit shorter than the regular Outlander models. Couldn't see any major differences other than that and lack of extras. The best thing would be to wait until they come out and see if you can take a test drive for a seat of the pants experience. I have a bad disk in my back and can ride all day on an Outlander. Haven't been on a solid axle Rancher in a couple years. I did ride an IRS Foreman or Rancher out in Utah for a day and it wasn't bad. It was a model with IRS rear and power steering. It didn't have adjustability in the rear suspension though so it bottomed with my weight on it. Outlanders have adjustable shocks front and rear. You will also have better ground clearance so you won't be bottoming out as much as a solid rear axle. IRS, because of the ground clearance, gives you an advantage in the mud.

 

For some reason the slightly smaller 450 Outlander is heavier then the 400 Outlander it replaced. 2015 Can-Am Outlander™ L 450 ATVs

Not a chance my CVT 35hp 500 eats my friends 28hp 5speed 500 foreman in acceleration and top speed and the Sportsman weights 100lbs more then the Foreman.

 

Honda will never admit it, but all of their utility engines are detuned a bit to make them last forever. Honda could squeeze more power out of them as can-am has done. I predict we'll never see any 15 year old can-ams still running, maybe very few after 10 years. Check out any local craigslist site, you'll see tons of older Honda's for sale that still run well. Honda sacrifices some power for long-term reliability and since they're the sales leader, most buyers are willing to make that trade-off. The 5 year warranty on the new L models is a nice touch but no machine should need major repairs in the first 5 years. What about after 7, 8 or more years. Guess we'll have to see.