Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Anyone here ever played with Bombadier or CanAM 4 wheelers?

After posting "want to trade for" ads several times, I finally found myself the owner of a 10 year old but low miles Bombadier Outlander 400. Has push button on and off 4WD, high and low range, CVT transmission, Rotax 400cc OHV 4 stroke engine, backup pull starter in case a battery goes bad mid hunt, seems to have lots of ground clearance and independant suspension all the way around. I still love my Rokon, especially in trail less deep timber etc, but my goodness this thing is SMOOTH riding! And quick wqhen I want it to be.

I did not draw a spring bear tag but my freind Rufous from here (Brian Carlson) did so the Bombadier is out on loan to him for a while. He seems to be pretty impressed with it so far.

Anyone here ever had one? Got some intel or scoop on them for me? It was all I could get with the trade bait I had avaialble, but so far it seems like I did OK.

Now that I am legally classified as a disabled hunter, I can actually hunt from this with a loaded gun aboard. For safety's sake I would not have a round in the chamber, though. In WA state a firearm cannot have rounds in an atached magazine so my placard gets me out of THAT snafu. I am hoping this one can serve me well for a long time as I will not be able to replace it in the forseeeable future with my new reality as to income.

I have the same Bombadier 400. I've been very pleased with it. They did things well with the Rotax engine...lots of power. Designed a lot of things well on the machine. I hope it serves you as well as mine has (and still is) served me.

I bought a outlander max 650 last fall, its a beast, even with 2 people on it, it feels like the front end is coming off the ground when your romp on it, tackles the hills and mud in WV like its on a paved road, the only grip I have is how warm it gets.

I have the Outlander 500XT great machines.The Rotax engines are very impressive.I think you will enjoy that 400 for many years Safariman.

Don't know all that much on details but a friend of mine loves his

I have a 2009 outlander xt 400efi that I bought new. The only mods I have put on is skid plates and heated grips. Use it for hunting in the fall, clearing snow in the winter, and just goofin' around whenever I get the chance.

Update.....

First off to allanh, WELCOME to 24hrcf!

I loaned my Outlander to two buddies who each drew a spring bear tag. They used it 2-3x a week to get into some awful terrain and then haul two dead bears out with. They are mightlily impressed with it. Power, soft riding suspension, traction, so far extremely reliable and best of all LIGHTWEIGHT compared to many others in its cc class. I just got it back and some black bear backstrap is coming my way as 'payment' or rental fee

JJ Hack and I took it for a long ride, he on his SxS ATV, and went through some nasty rock ridden washed out and deep muddy trails including some late surviving snow fields. I was very pleased with this rig to say the least.

Had a 400 Outty of that vintage.

Things to watch for.
1. Make sure it has the voltage reg relocation, I went thru 3 before it was done. (Watch for "Fail" to pop up on LED display, indicates the VG has failed"
2. Watch for frame breakage right under the motor, strangely enough right between the two motor mounts. At the time they would provide a new Spar free but had to be dealer installed (estimated $2,200. labor cost) I was fortunate to have the skills to repair my own & several others.
3. Primary clutch will wear grooves & the little pins that work the anti-free wheel will stick in, they are near impossible to get back out & free again!
4. All rubber components must be made of biodegradable material, fuel lines, CVT connector hoses will rot & crack.
5. A large portion of those 03-04s had U-joint yokes welded on the drive shafts out of phase & wore U-joints bad (you can feel the vibs thru the running board).
6. Brakes will vibrate bad & wear out fast, nothing seems to work to cure them.
7. I had to replace both front struts before 4,000 miles.
8. Bomb neglected to filter the air entering the bellows to the top of the carb, so if you ride dusty conditions you'll need to remove & clean often or it won't idle right. Bomb came up with an updated additional bellows filter, course they charged for it but it's only about $10.
9. Just recently know of a couple the motor gave up in, one at 4,500 miles, & I know it was regularly maintained & driven by 45 yr old woman.

Other than the above & probably some other minor problems I've forgotten..... you should be good to go

For the record, my opinion is Outtys had the cleanest, simplest, best working rear suspension in the business, but you'd have to supply me with all the $$...free...to by another one

Senior,

All good stuff to know! Mine only had 1,100 miles on it when I did the trade, so maybe I can do some pre failure work on it like re locate the Voltage Regulator, and a stiffening spar at the weak point under the frame. Add a bellows air filter, and upgrade the fuel lines etc. with new ones. none of that sounds very expensive if done BEFORE a failure pops up.

Might change over to full synthetic oil with a PTFE treatment to give the motor a longer life, too.

Thanks for the heads up, I very well might print off this thread and take it to my MC and ATV mechanic with instructions to fix as per above in advance of a breakdown or failure.

My buds who borrowed it and myself DO love the soft ride and great suspension.

I would suggest using only oils rated expressly by what the engine manufacturer requires. They all like to sell their brand name oil. However, there is a rating requirement that really should be followed. I know a lot of people use automotive oil in the newer Hondas, oil that isn't rated correctly, and sometimes have engine problems. (Older Hondas only required automotive rated and worked just fine with that.) The present Suzuki and Yamaha motors we're running specify an automotive oil standard, and have given us several thousand miles with that. There really is nothing like a properly rated 10W-30, a quality dino-oil is just fine, and keep it changed at the specified interval. Plenty of machines (ATVs) locally have 20-30,000 miles on them with rather ordinary oils.

A big NO on the PTFE treatment if you have a wet clutch setup. Actually, I'm not sure I'd use it even if you don't. PTFE was not the success that it was hyped up to be, and if memory serves more than one manufacturer denied engine warranty claims because of PTFE contamination.

I am very aware of no friction modifiers on wet clutch systems. Not sure that a constant velocity type transmission like I have will be adversly affected, will for sure find out before I add anything. I have found the various PTFE treatments to be quite effective in my (admitedly limited) experience and especially when used along with a good full synthetic oil. I mentioned this because of the report above RE early engine failures.

The early engine failure comment did surprise me greatly because the experimental aircraft guys - of which I used to be one - all use Rotax motors nearly exclusivly. Bigger experimentals sometimes using the Subaru air cooled pancake 4 cylinder. Flyboys will not tolerate early engine mishaps or failures.

BTW, how DOES a CVT transmission work, essentially? New concept to me even though I have had a couple of rigs so equipped.

Just to point out, the comment on the oil wasn't mine.
Besides, no wet clutch on a Bomb, just a cheap S-L-I-P the belt & your under way system.

SAFARI: "BTW, how DOES a CVT transmission work, essentially? "

Primary(engine) clutch & Secondary (transmission) clutch have spring pressure pressing the sheaves together, the primary has an additional weight mechanism that is thrown outward as the rpms increase causing the sheave to squeeze together forcing belt to move from smaller dia(low gear) to a larger dia(high gear), the secondary works exactly opposite. As you let off on the throttle the spring in the secondary overcomes the weighted inertia & spring tension of the primary & shifts back to a lower gear.
Yamaha, Suzuki & Arctic Cats->with Suz or Cat motors have a "wet clutch" (same as Honda's with auto clutch, running in engine oil to keep them cool & the clutches never let go of the belt so you get no slippage. Yam goes slightly further & has a semi-sealed primary to keep the grease in the roller guides.
The rest, Pol, Kaw & Bombs use a cheaper slip-the-belt to get under way system, pretty much exactly the same as a snowmobile.

Grammar is not my forte, hope it's "clearer than mud"

THAT, is very helpful.

Thank you!

A good synthetic oil doesn't need any additive IME/O. I have a doge 3500 turbo Diesel with a limited slip rear. With conventional gear oil a friction modifier is require to prevent clunking. With Amsoil synthetic no additive is required and it works perfectly

I don't support the use of special engine lubricants in ATVs for general use. If the use your ATV gets is only lengthy hard use conditions, perhaps a synthetic might be advantageous. However, for general purpose uses, probably the best idea is to use a quality standard mineral oil and change it regularly (as specified on the owner's manual). Many of these small engines develop included moisture inside the crankcase when used lightly and/or periodically. It doesn't hurt so much to replace the oil when it doesn't cost as much.

I have a '98 Honda 300 TRX sitting out in the yard - (yeah, it's always been 'babied' by outdoor living). It lacks an odometer, but I know I would be way underestimating the miles if I said that it has had 3000 miles/year on it. Even only 2000 miles puts it at 30,000 miles. The motor has never been opened (other than to check the valves, making only a minor adjustment). I also changed the plug once. That engine has run steadily on a diet of Pennzoil 10W-30, mostly, or an equivalent quality oil. I have tried to follow a once-a-month schedule on the changes, however, something which is especially important in winter when the choke gets used and the oil gets adulterated with gasoline and tends to trap combustion by-product moisture.

I have an older 650 quest XT all wheel drive. I use it to plow snow, and for chores around the farm. My boy takes it into the Rockies west of here and says it will climb anything. The older ones had a more robust frame, but less underside clearance.

Our 2 Bombardiers are the older Traxter models. One is a 2000 and one is a 2001. They are work tools and do a great job, with few problems. We never want to replace them because we bought them specifically since you don't have to lift a leg over the fuel tank to get on board. It makes a big difference during the winter when our boots get caked with mud.

Ross Seyfreid mentioned this feature when he wrote about buying one for his Elk Song hunting ranch in NE Oregon. His writing had a lot to do with my decision to go with htis brand. He and our own Mule Deer her are about the only two gunwriters whose writings and opinions I trust and give weight.

Glad yours are doing good, mine is an '03