With 85 HP, the Can-Am Commander 1000XT puts out
plenty of power for just about any application and
has good throttle response. We like the Intelligent
Throttle Control system, which worked great out on
the rougher trails.
| |
|
A
976cc V-twin liquid-cooled Rotax Engine puts
the power to the ground. The Commander handles
well at high speeds, but it could benefit
from power steering at lower speeds
|
The Commander 1000XT performed great on open tails
and fire roads and handled well at high speeds where
the steering was quite responsive and provided good
feedback through the wheel, but at slower speeds,
the steering was a bit hard. We feel the Commander
could really benefit from power steering and we hope
to see this improvement in future models as it will
only add to the already good riding experience the
Commander provides.
We did some towing with the Commander 1000XT and
it worked great once you got going, but we felt it
was a bit jerky off the start as there is a slight
hesitation and then a hit of power, which we hope
can be improved upon in future releases.
While Can-Am offers an upgraded Fox Shox suspension
package for the Commander, our test unit was equipped
with stock suspension, which we were pleased to find
worked very well. “It rode better than my truck!”
exclaimed Hill, who also put the Commander to the
test out on the track at Breezewood.
“It did well, but it would definitely benefit
from upgraded suspension if you were going to ride
it aggressively. The stock suspension soaked up the
impacts and handled bumps well,” stated Hill.
| |
|
The
Can-Am Commander 1000 XT stock suspension
provided a smooth ride with 10 inches of travel
|
The
Commander 1000 XT comes with 14 in. aluminum
wheels wrapped in 26 in. Maxxis Bighorn 2.0
Tires |
The addition of the Maxxis Bighorn tires on the XT
package helps the Commander really dig in and get
great traction in any kind of terrain and work well
for most riding applications. The Commander also offers
good ground clearance and can go over fairly large
sized obstacles without getting hung up.
