Race-Worthy from the showroom floor
photos by John Pellan and Can-Am BRP
video by Joe Tolle
As with its moto cousin we were unfortunately unimpressed with the power delivery. Cross country races are long and grueling. Clutching your way through gets old fast. The DS XC badly needs a snappier powerband. We simply want to lug the quad through the woods with smooth effortless power, but it’s just not there, especially in stock form. While we’re picking on Can-Am we should probably mention our only other pet peeve. Low speed maneuverability is best in class by far, which is especially nice in tight cross country terrain, but the DS carves and turns so well it almost becomes “twitchy” at high speed. The MX does this as well, it’s just not as noticeable with the wider front end. A stabilizer will surely correct a lot of this, and this is a big reason we feel a stabilizer is an absolute must have on this quad.
Yeah, we feel that there are a few issues that need to be addressed for Pro and Pro-Am level cross country racing, but once dialed in you’ll be hard pressed to find anything out there, OEM or aftermarket that man-handles terrain like the DS 450 XC. It performs especially well on rough-winding-lower-speed-technical terrain. This is where the fun-factor really seems to exceed the price tag.
Break it down
Okay let’s break it down. The new Can-Am MX and XC quads don’t offer the effortless snappy powerband that we like to have in a race quad, but they are the best handling stock ATVs we’ve ever ridden! They’re predictable, stable, and precisely corner and handle on par with the equipment you’d find in today’s pro class! With new styling improvements and new colors they also look cooler than last year’s models. If you’re planning on chasing points at one of the top tier classes at the motocross or cross country nationals, yes you will need to buy a few aftermarket items such as an exhaust system, a steering stabilizer, perhaps an aftermarket clutch system and you may want to coax a little more grunt out of the engine, but add up what it will cost in both time and money to build up a less expensive 450. In the end we think you’ll find at under $9k retail for the Can-Am MX or XC you’ll save money and spend more of your time on the track and less bolting on cumbersome aftermarket products in your garage.
With Can-Am’s impressive new DS 450 X Packages, we predict we’ll see far more Can-Ams at race tracks in 2009.
For more information and specs click to can-am.brp.com