[Crawgator]

He'll all,

my wife and I are trail riders. We have a 2011 Can am outlander 800 max ltd. It's been a great ride. Comfy, powerful and reliable so far. My biggest gripe is the heat from the motor. During the summer months in Mississippi it is Hot! Not enough to keep me from riding but something To be aware of.
that being said, we are selling our bike to get a sxs. I have read about heat issues and various ways to mitigate it (exhaust wrap, dynomat the tunnel, etc...). It would seem the heat would be worse on the sxs since the motor is completely encased in body work vs ATV with some exposed. We are considering then Maverick XXC since we trail ride. The other one in the running is the Polaris 900 LE.

Now to The questions I mentioned.

For those of you in hotter climates how does this effect you? Can you ride in comfort stock or do you need to do the mods to make it comfortable?

If you need to do the mods which ones work the best for you?

If you own the XXC what are your thoughts on slow speed riding (maneuverability among trees, tight turns, modulation of throttle.)

what repair issues have you had? Anything to be aware of?

Finally, where did you purchase your maverick? Abernathy's in Tennessee beats all other Polaris dealers by thousands and is only 5 hours from me. Is there such a place for Can Am's?

Please don't turn this into a brand discussion with useless rhetoric. I want the facts and not a lot of fanboy posts. I am not a brand fanatic and pick what works best for us. That is why I am posting here. I want the facts from actual owners.


Thanks!

 

[Tomcat]

The mav does have some heat that comes up from the engine bay, I can honestly say that I barely notice it when riding, I would say that if your doing real slow trail riding with not a lot of air movement then you might notice it. There are inexpensive mods that you can do to dissipate it, my opinion is that these two bikes are not comparable (mav and 900 le) the mav is far better built and ride qaulity is superb and the cabin is much larger. Good luck, hope to see you back here with a new mav.

 

[cholber1]

Ya guys on here have really alleviated the heat thru some inexpensive mods. I think Heavysledz has done a really good job on his do a search in his post he has detailed what he did. I haven't noticed it bad but I live in Michigan and don't really have issues with it but I'm sure if you live down south or out west it's something you want to look at. I do know can am has addressed this on there 2014 models with heat barrier under the center console. Check this post out

http://www.maverickforums.net/forum/20-can-am-maverick-accessories/3758-quieter-solution.html

 

[Xchamp]

Cant respond about the heat on my xxc ive only had it for a month in PA winter! As far as the slow speed handling it is awesome. Although I don't go slow unless it is very tight. But with the power steering and 60" width it is a blast in the tight stuff, its also very easy to throttle around tight turns. The front tracks very well unlike the "push" associated with rear engine rzrs.

 

[desertdog]

The engine heat issue should be a NON-issue IMO, if you install heat shield under the console. It is super easy to do and depending on the material you use, it will make it a little quieter. I also wrapped my exhaust but I dont think that is needed after doing the console.

 

[justlookin]

The 900 is the same width as a regular maverick. Is width an issue where you ride?

 

[Crawgator]

The 900 is the same width as a regular maverick. Is width an issue where you ride?

I would like to stay as close to 60" width and That is the biggest issue I have with the 900 now. 64" wide. I'd need to get wheels with a different offset. That would get me to 62". The only reason this is feasible is I can get a new 900 LE for $15500 from Abernathy's. Wheels for around $1200 or a full blown suspension kit to convert to a 60" for around $4k that will take it to 57". I wouldn't go the full kit route but just rims is affordable.

 

[Crawgator]

The engine heat issue should be a NON-issue IMO, if you install heat shield under the console. It is super easy to do and depending on the material you use, it will make it a little quieter. I also wrapped my exhaust but I dont think that is needed after doing the console.

is the console the only area the heat is noticeable? What is the average temp when you ride? Here it will be 92-98 average during summer months with 85% humidity.

 

[heavysledz]

I bought my Maverick in the dead of summer and have ridden in temps as hot as 111'. The engine will radiate some heat especially at lower driving speeds due to lack of airflow thru the engine compartment. cholber1 posted a link to a thread with some pictures of what I, as well as several others have done and it works great. You can also wrap your headers but I think they helps keep your belt temps down more than the cabin but every little bit helps. After insulating and wrapping everything, the temps in the cab are pretty close to ambient air temps and you can feel very little heat on the center console panels. Also, Can Am took notice of this on the 2013 models and added their own additional heat barrier on the 2014's. I don't know how effective the OEM barrier is but I know the aftermarket barrier works amazing and should make engine heat a non-issue.

 

[Blownhotrodder]

Stock you will notice the heat alittle. Its not as bad as the commander was cause the head pipes are double walled. Its very simple and cheap to wrap the head pipes and cover the inside of the plastic panels with some thermal and acoustic barrier. Its a non issue. Forget about it. Look on the atv trader for dealers with the best deals although they may not be allowed to advertise anything lower then msrp. I just found the dealers around me within a 300 mile radius and started calling till I found the best price.

 

[bulldogs101]

I have a 14 max, we don't have any real heat issues at all, with one exception. down around your ankle/foot area gets hot if your wearing shorts. seems as if heat is filtering in there somewhere pretty good

 

[PLAY-DOH]

We noticed most heat in summer was on passengers left leg. So I doubled the insulation there and it helped a bunch. Buy what you like but the maverick is the better machine

 

[vquad]

Seeing that you ride in mississippi do not wrap the exhaust.
The combination of water and the heat will eat the exhaust up.
Ceramic coating the exhaust is a much better solution for us southern riders.
Ceramic coating made a huge difference on my Yamaha.
I have the "mr" edition which is 68" wide so i cant compare apples to apples but the maverick does create heat in the cabin.
We run no windshield in the summer to keep the air flowing.

 

[vquad]

My brother in law has a rzr900 and its a blast to ride.
Hes had nothing but good luck with it.
So lets break it down shall we?
cockpit:maverick by a mile(this ones not even close)
Roll cage:mav
Power:mav
Handling:even
Looks:even(personal preference)
Fit and finish:mav
Aftermarket and customization support:rzr
Suspension:depends on which package you purchase
Tires:depends on which package you purchase

 

[Canamxteam]

Seeing that you ride in mississippi do not wrap the exhaust.
The combination of water and the heat will eat the exhaust up.
Ceramic coating the exhaust is a much better solution for us southern riders.
Ceramic coating made a huge difference on my Yamaha.
I have the "mr" edition which is 68" wide so i cant compare apples to apples but the maverick does create heat in the cabin.
We run no windshield in the summer to keep the air flowing.

I thought that too but had my header wrap on since 2011 on my commander and the exhaust looks just fine no rust


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[atvrider07]

I have also noticed the worst is on the passenger side as well. I notice it when its 90-95 degrees outside but its not unbearable. I haven't done anything to my 13 to try to make it a little better. I do know if u get a fan switch and run the fan a lot that will help some too. But for me, it's not a problem and definitely not a deal breaker by any means. I had a rzr-s before I had my Mav. Loved my rzr and it was very reliable for me (4500 miles). Others have had some issues with theirs but that's part of it when offroading.

 

[heavysledz]

Can't speak for the MAX but on the 2 seaters the coolant line coming off of the motor is right next to the passengers left foot/ankle. And if you are wearing shorts and ankle socks or flip-flops, you are gonna feel it. I have all of my interior panels covered and it helped tremendously. But if you really want to shield the heat in this area, wrap the hose with foam pipe insulation and you will get almost no radiant heat thru to the foot/ankle area.

 

[desertdog]

Seeing that you ride in mississippi do not wrap the exhaust.
The combination of water and the heat will eat the exhaust up.
Ceramic coating the exhaust is a much better solution for us southern riders.
Ceramic coating made a huge difference on my Yamaha.
I have the "mr" edition which is 68" wide so i cant compare apples to apples but the maverick does create heat in the cabin.
We run no windshield in the summer to keep the air flowing.

Ceramic coating does work the best. I coated my exhaust and wrapped it, but I would only ceramic coat it if I was riding alot in wet areas or mudding.

 

[Crawgator]

Thanks for the replies folks. I went by my local dealer today and looked at the XXC. Very nice looking. Soon as it warms up a bit I will go for a test ride.

 

[Crawgator]

Thanks for all the info folks. We bought the XXC.