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New owner, old Outlander 400

5K views 23 replies 6 participants last post by  BombardierBomb 
#1 ·
I recently bought a 2005 Outlander 400 XT for $500. This is my first Can Am product, and I have to say I'm impressed with the overall build quality. This machine had a broken lower steering column mount, broken off the frame when I bought it, so I stripped the machine down to the frame and had a welder/fabricator weld it back in place and we reinforced the mounting as well. Been gradually reassembling and replacing worn parts, mostly rubber things like front driveshaft boots and fuel tank pickup grommets that have not stood up to the ravages of time. Carb cleaning was required as well.
It's been fun, I've got it mostly back together now and have done couple short test rides around the neighborhood and so far no major issues. The muffler has some rust holes which is par for the course by all accounts, and it has the factory camo body panels which are pretty faded but the panels are sound, thinking maybe one of those DIY custom camo spray bomb jobs with ferns and branches might be the best as all other options are expensive and I'm frugal.
I really like the way it handles so far, can't wait to finish assembly and ride it on the trails, the suspension feels incredible and the turning radius is amazing.
 
#4 ·
Thank you. It's been a journey for sure. Been voraciously reading everything I can find on this forum about my vintage and model of machine, anticipating issues that may come up, but for the most part other than some pattern failures like rusty mufflers, decompression devices and speedometer cluster malfunction, nothing horrible.
 
#5 ·
Welcome to the site, where are the pics? :p

Those little 400's punch well above their weight class, very simple and easy to work on, but lots of power and ground clearance.
 
#6 ·
Welcome to the site, where are the pics? :p

Those little 400's punch well above their weight class, very simple and easy to work on, but lots of power and ground clearance.
Thank you sir, I'll have to see if I can dig up some pics of the initial damage and the weld repair process. Definitely can post a couple of partially assembled "work in progress" pics though. Still some work to do but it's mostly fiddly things and cosmetic now which is good. I get a lot of satisfaction out of rescuing ATV's that others have lost hope of fixing. And ya just can't say no to a $500 ATV... in our market area it might fetch $4500. The plan is to hang on to this one for now though. Soon it will be ready for action and I'll park it with the $100 Yamaha Kodiak 400 and the $1800 Polaris Sportsman 500.
I think this rig is going to be a great woods machine. Looks like lots of suspension travel front and rear. Fairly short wheelbase as well.
I like that the lower control arm bushings are greaseable too.
 
#7 ·
So the reason I only paid $500 for this rig was due to the fact that the lower steering column bracket had just about left the chat. The previous owner had ridden it like this, noticed the steering was feeling a bit loose, then it must have really let go. Here are some before and after repair pics for those who are interested. It looked pretty bad at the start. Easy to get at with everything removed.
I'll post some other pics soon.
 

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#8 ·
He was testing that new "bluetooth steering" option :oops: :ROFLMAO:
 
#9 ·
I think you're spot on with that assessment sir. Bluetooth steering lol maybe EPS (Extra Precarious Steering) There were signs that the bracket had been cracked for awhile but the PO didn't clue in until it was totally unrideable. It is sort of buried. It wasn't easy getting it into the back of my pickup I tell ya... and then out of the truck into the shop. Had to keep kicking the front wheels in the direction you want to go.
 
#11 ·
Shoot that don't look as bad as I thought it would, let it ride
 
#12 ·
Ya know BBomb I'm leaning that way myself now that it's nearly complete. Its looking more capable every day. This morning i received a set of used 2006 metal cargo racks off eBay to replace the chintzy plastic 2005 version ones. Looks pretty burly now. Until I went to bolt up the front rack...
Of course the seller neglected to disclose the crash damage to the front rack mounting point, so I went back and started looking closer at the listing pictures. I discovered that the rack I got isn't even the same one as in the listing pics. Go figure on that one. FleaBay has some strict policies regarding the accuracy of listing pictures and disclosure of damage in listing descriptions.
Earlier today I let the seller know about my concerns with the undisclosed damage to the part, the inaccurate description, and the incorrect pics. No reply yet but I'll give them until tomorrow, should be enough time to process, and see what they have to say.
 
#13 ·
Sheesh... other than the steering "having left the chat", that machine looks great. Upholstery, plastics, tires, etc. no problem.

I looked at your member photo. You in Western Canada?
 
#14 ·
Yes I figure I got a pretty decent deal. I like these ones you sometimes pick up that need more labor than parts. I had the seat reupholstered locally, the factory cover was torn. Yes western Canada for sure, top end of Vancouver Island in BC. I'm going on a longer test ride this weekend.
 
#17 ·
Just signed up after I seen your post. I actually just got done doing the samething with a 2005 max 400 I got for free. Didn't run and looked in bad shape but was able to save it and add it to our collection of bikes. Runs perfect and no smoke. I'm up to $1300 in parts right now.. had alot to fix but it was a solid machine that was worth it. Cool to see people still using the forums. Here is a pic on mine
 

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#18 ·
Free is a good price! I'm glad to see others breathing life back into these old beauties. This is the third one I've done in the last four years.
I also have an '06 Polaris Sportsman 500 that needed a transmission rebuild, and a 2000 Yamaha Kodiak 400 that really needed some love. I think 3 machines is my wife's saturation point though. The next one will have to be sold once it's finished. Thanks for the pic.
 
#19 ·
The seller denied that the rack mounting legs were bent. I disagreed and sent him supporting pictures. We went back and forth a bit but he did actually offer a full refund for the rack and half the shipping. I thought that was pretty decent of him. I met him halfway and suggested that a partial refund would be more suitable in this situation. He agreed and refunded about half the price. I straightened the bent legs and installed the rack today, fits perfectly now.
 
#21 ·
Hey I wanted to ask you about the rack. I want to get ride on my plastic ones aswell.. do they bolt on without issues ? Did you do the front and rear ? What did you do about the outer bolts that bolt through the factory plastic ones ? I wanna upgrade but haven't bought them yet cause I know the mounting is a little different. Thanks
 
#22 ·
Well I just bought them because the original ones were not awe inspiring, I like to pack camping gear and a powersaw, and I read about another guy doing the upgrade to steel with minor, if any issues. The 2006 steel racks only use four mounting points (legs) each, not the eight of the plastic ones, but they are perfectly lined up with the factory mounting holes in the subframes. This is of course assuming your frame is straight and so is the rack. Since they still needed to fasten the fenders securely using the other unused bolt holes, the factory came up with these rubber or maybe plastic caps which acted like a big threaded washer, I believe they had a female thread and actually were a type of nut with a bolt coming up from underneath. No longer available in my area and I wasn't going to buy from the US and pay some ridiculous shipping fee. My machinist friend turned me 8 custom washers from a chunk of aluminum round stock, and we powder coated them black, they look great and fit into the pockets in the plastic nicely using a smple nut and bolt. The storage and tool access lids at the front and rear aren't flush with the top of the steel racks, they're about an inch lower than the top surface of the rack now. The rear storage access lid is a bit snug to remove and install but it does work. I can post a couple pics later this week if you like. The other thing, cosmetic mostly, is that there are 3" factory clearance holes in the plastic for the top of the front upper strut mount nuts. The 2006 models had a black plastic trim cover that snapped into place over the hole. Again not available from my can am dealer, pricy from anywhere else if they're even still available. I'll end up making something, they aren't super obvious with the rack installed but might let a bit of water through when hitting water at speed.
 
#23 ·
Yeah thats exactly what I was imagining with what you described. I appreciate the detailed explanation though it was helpful. Wonder if I could finds those caps and stuff on ebay, I will have to look. I know what you are talking about with shipping. I needed a gear for my warn winch and it was in Canada and the $19 gear cost me $44 US shipped. But I wanted the winch to work and there was nobody else that had one since it's no longer available from warn. I got lucky but had to pay. But yeah post some pictures up when you get a chance. I'm gonna have to make a post about my bike.. man I had alot of stuff to fix, I need to do the steering mount like you did. Mines bent but not broken but im sure eventually it will break, Poor design there where it mounts. Needs more support very weak.
 
#24 ·
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