At 71 HP, the Can Am Renegade 800R is already the most powerful sport 4x4 ATV you can buy. And the Renegade already has the best suspension of any sport 4x4 ATV. So Can Am upped the ante this year by improving handling, with power steering and a front swaybar.
But Can Am continues to leave one vulnerability unaddressed, their exposed center spar frame that can be damaged by contact with rocks, stumps, and other immovable objects. In stock form, the standard model Renegade has only a paper thin sheet of aluminum right at the very front of the frame. The Renegade X Xc model has very minimal skid plate protection that covers the front 2/3rds of the center spar, but they do not protect the floorboard supports, and they are literally paper thin, and provide essentially NO protection. Seriously, the protection from the stock skid plates is about what you would get from fastening an aluminum beer can to the bottom of your frame.
Here's what the belly of a stock 2010 Renegade X Xc looks like.
You can see from this side view how paper thin the skid plate is.
And from this view you can see that the last part of the center spar is not protected at all with the stock X Xc skid plates. I have landed my Renegade from jumps with this portion of the frame landing directly on a large rock. The impact would have destroyed the frame had it not had Ricochet skid plates protecting it. I don't understand why Can Am does not think this portion of the frame needs skid plating with the stock skid plates. This is an obvious oversight with the stock X Xc skid plates.
Luckily for those of us that ride in the rocks, Ricochet Off Road Armor makes an excellent set of skid plates for the Can Am Renegade. Here's what the set we installed on our Renegade 800 X Xc looks like. They provide full protection of the center spar and the floorboard supports.
The front of the center spar is double plated for extra strength.
Ricochet made some changes for the 2010 Renegade X Xc , to accommodate the change in the frame Can Am made for their sway bar mount. The two tabs along the side of the center spar, in front of the floorboard skid plate section provide protection for the new sway bar mount.
A-arm guards provide excellent CV boot protection.
In summary, Can Am builds an excellent ATV, but an ATV that needs aftermarket skid plates. Ricochet makes the best skid plates you can get for your Can Am.
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