DirtRider

My Defender Limited did the same thing two rides ago. We were riding in the high desert, where temps were in the 90s. Several miles from the trailer, as I slowed to a stop at a fork in the road, my Defender just quit. It would not restart for 15 minutes, then just fired up and ran normal, until the next stop several miles down the road, where it died again. It did this six times that day, each time requiring 15 minutes cool down before it would restart again. I took it to the dealer, explaining that I thought it was vapor locking. It had thrown no codes, and no dash lights were on. The dealer did not find any problems with the fuel system, but instead said that with just 600 miles on the machine the clutch was dirty and two washers inside the clutch had worn, so the clutch wasn't disengaging fully, which caused the engine to stall, and the still partially engaged belt would not let the engine restart. They rebuilt the clutch for $345 🙄. The next trip the Defender ran fine, with no problems at all. But the next trip was at 9000 ft elevation and was 25 degrees cooler than the previous trip. I'm not completely convinced it was a clutch problem, because the clutch had been working fine, and didn't feel like it was hanging up at all. And the Defender wouldn't start, no matter what gear the transmission was in. I guess I'll find out the next trip in warm weather.

Looks like a really nice machine. Have fun with it.

I have bought machines from this dealership all the way back to 1997, and have never purchased an extended warranty from them. They don't even ask anymore. Have fun with your Defender when you finally get it home.

I think I got super lucky here in Utah. Our local dealer didn't have a Defender Limited in stock, so I called another dealer I have bought from for decades, that is 130 miles away. Their web page said they had one in inventory, but the salesman I always work with checked, and it had sold earlier that same day. The buyer had just picked it up an hour before I called. The salesman then said "but, I have one coming in, that should be here by the end of the month". It was the 28th. We agreed on a price and I said I would take it. The machine didn't make it by the end of the month, but within one week of when I said I would take it, he called me and told me it was there. I picked it up the next day.

That is one seriously nice looking Defender. One of the best I've seen.

Here you go. This will do the trick. The price is crazy, but I think they would take 25% off. <b>READY 6/8</b> 2021 Perfect For LQ for Side-by-Sides Sleeps up to 6 2021 26' Millennium Silver Includes All The Amenities - Millennium Trailers (milltrailers.com)

Ob One, Do you still like your Defender? I'm wondering why you are planning on selling something that you just spent a whole lot of money on, and will sell for a substantial loss if you sell it now. If you are thinking of switching to a Polaris Ranger, ... don't. I just switched from a one year old Polaris Ranger Northstar to a Defender Limited, and although neither machine is perfect, the Defender is a better overall machine. If you are unhappy with your Defender I would think you would be even more unhappy with a Ranger. If it is the dealer that is the problem, then find a different dealer, but keep your Defender. I don't buy from our local Can Am dealer because of their overall poor attitude. I don't buy from the next closest Can Am dealer, which is 50 miles away, for the same reason. I do buy from the third closest Can Am dealer, which is 150 miles away. I always get treated fairly, they know who I am, and they always provide good service. I've owned all of the major brands over the last 25 years, and Can Am provides the best performance and build quality. Keep the Can Am, replace the dealership with a better one. I would hope you have other Can Am dealers to choose from within a 150 mile radius of where you live.

I finished the project, and I like the way it turned out. This little 10" light bar throws down some serious lighting. I drove around the block to check it out, and when I was almost home I turned off the light bar, and for a second there I thought I didn't even have the regular headlights on. They were actually on high beam, but they were so much dimmer that it takes a second or so to realize you still have lights on after switching off the light bar.

Make sure the foam is water proof and does not absorb water. I knew a person that used the self expanding foam inside the unibody frame rails of a Jeep Cherokee because he was trying to decrease vibration and harmonic noise. The foam got wet, never dried out, and rotted his frame.

Less air means less power, so the way around that is to force feed the air into the engine. Hence, the turbo or supercharger that Andystoy19 mentioned. No carburetor to replace jets in with these engines.

I have a 2021 Defender Limited with the 1000cc engine in it. It is a little soon in the year to be seeing how power is affected at 10,000 ft elevation though. Snow still prevents you from getting above 8,000 feet around here. By June the 10,000 ft elevation trails will be open. Based on air density decreasing with altitude an engine should lose about 1/3 of its power at 10,000 ft, relative to what it would be at sea level though.

Thanks for the replies. I got to looking into the Baja Designs lights in more detail, and as of 2/17/21 they had to change suppliers on their LEDs, because of covid related supply problems. The new LEDs will change from their usual 5000K to a cooler 4200K. The new LEDs will give the light a less white color that is more yellow in appearance. I'm not sure I like the different color. I have not heard that Rigid has had to change their LED supplier, or downgrade to a cooler and more yellow light. So I went with Rigid, and ordered an E-Series Pro 10" dual row 24 LED Spot/Driving Combo light bar that puts out 19,008 Lumens. It draws 174 watts, so hopefully the Defender will handle that. I just got an email saying my order shipped today.

My 2021 Defender Limited came with a street legal kit, under seat storage containers, and mirrors, and I paid $6239 out the door after tax and street legal license. Oh, and I should also mention that it cost me a 2020 Polaris Ranger Northstar as well.

Thanks for the pics. I actually like the looks of that 10" light bar on the Defender more than I thought I would. And that last picture sure shows how well it lights up the night.

I hope you made the right choice as well, because I just made the same choice. I just traded from a Polaris Ranger Northstar to a Defender Limited, mainly due to constant difficulty with catching and sticking transmission linkage and belt burning on the Polaris. I've owned lots of ATVs and UTVs over the last 25 years, and so far have changed to Can Am for every segment I own a machine in. I used to have Polaris Sportsmans, and changed to Can Am Renegades and Outlanders, and the Can Am's have been better. I used to have Polaris Rzr XPs and switched to Can Am Maverick X3s, and the Can Am's have been better. I used to have Polaris Rzr 900 Trail UTVs, and switched to a Can Am Maverick Trail 1000, and the Can Am is better. And now I've switched from a Polaris Ranger to a Can Am Defender. So I guess that pretty much completes the available ATV/UTV segments. So far I like the Can Am Defender more than the Polaris Ranger. Quality is just better than Polaris, all across the line up with Can Am. I can't give you any tips for the new Defender, though, because my Defender itself is just 4 days old. All I have done so far is add a street legal kit, side view and rear view mirrors, and the under seat storage containers. I plan to add additional lighting for off road use, but haven't decided what to add yet. I also plan to change from 27" Bighorn 2.0 tires to 29" Bighorn tires. I already have the tires, but haven't had the time to switch them over to the stock wheels yet. Good luck with the new Defender, and welcome to the forum.

If you have pictures of lights on your Defender, lets see them.

Here is the Defender I am asking about. Lights would be mounted on the stock from bumper. Which lights would you choose? 1. Two of the Baja Designs LP4s. 8750 Lumens each 2. Baja Designs OnX6. 12,640 Lumens I have the larger version of the LP4, called the LP6 on my Jeep, and they are amazing lights. But they are too big to fit the front bumper of my Defender. I am an old school type person that prefers the look of round lights over a light bar. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the world has a light bar on their machine these days, so as far as aesthetics goes, I prefer the LP4s. But the light bar is half the price. Which would you choose, or what other lights would you recommend?

I just traded a 2020 Polaris Ranger Northstar for a 2021 Can Am Defender Limited. Both machines work well, but the main differences I've noticed so far in mechanical function are that the Polaris has more power and feels significantly quicker. The Can Am feels a little slow in comparison. But the clutching and transmission shifting/linkage is much better on the Can Am. And pretty much everything else is better on the Can Am. The cab interior in particular is much better on the Can Am, and the HVAC system on the Can Am is better.

DefenderMax, I'm picking up my Defender Limited on Saturday, so I've been spending the past few days looking around on the web for things that would be nice to put on the new machine. I looked at Baja Designs LP4 and LP6 lighting, Rigid lighting, 29" Bighorn tires, and just got off of the Elka web page. I had found stage 1 shocks for a Defender on their web page, but didn't realize you could get the higher end shocks as well. So it was good to see this thread. I haven't decided yet on Elka's for this machine, but have used them on several other machines over the years. They build good quality shocks, that is for sure. I have found that the setting I have most frequently needed to adjust are preload/ride height, high speed compression damping, and rebound damping. Elka is pretty smart with their marketing, because in order to get those adjustments you need stage 5 shocks. I cant see anyone putting stage 5 Elka's on a cruising machine like a Defender though. Maybe stage 3 would be a reasonable compromise. If you go with the Elka shocks be sure and post a follow up. I would be very interested in hearing how they work out.

I'm in Utah. Only extras are a snow plow and a street legal kit. Now just waiting to see what gets here first, the snow plow, or the snow.🐧

I put a deposit on one last week. Dealer didn't know delivery date yet, but was hoping for just a few more weeks. Everything I read says January or later though. Looking forward to taking delivery as soon as possible, because I have some winter work I want to get done.