There's something alluring about a blank canvas. Sure, it can incite panic, anxiety, and stress if you're under a deadline or need to get a story out ASAP. But when you're unburdened by time constraints or necessary work, it becomes this otherworldly, ethereal thing.
A siren song of what could be.
Gearheads have this, too, as machines in their stock form, or those waiting to be rebuilt from the ashes, are all blank canvases waiting for you to make your mark on them. A motorcycle's bars and seats and fairings can be changed, a snowmobile's graphics and lights and tracks, or rebuilding a barn-find Chevy Camaro and swapping out the original small block for some cammed-out monstrosity are all on the table. They're just sitting there in your garage, waiting for you to turn the first wrench and bust your first knuckle. Waiting to be worked over and made yours.
That's the feeling I had after picking up a new Can-Am Defender XT for a story I have coming out in the next few weeks, as the base-model UTV called to me as it sat idle on the trailer. I started imagining all the things I could do, would do, if it were mine. How there were no limits, no pretense to the machine, as it was as stock as stock could be.
It beckoned to me, calling out, "What if?" Well, here's if, here's what I would do to make the Defender my own. Plus, it's just an idea, I don't have to fork over all the cash I don't have to do it. At least not yet...
If you've read my coverage about our current Can-Am Maverick X3 Max DS Turbo R, you'll know I 1) live in Utah where these machines are street legal, and 2) I want something that'll do all the things. I want a machine that'll comfortably carry myself and my family, go fast, and still have the capability of going into the backcountry and to these gnarly locales that are difficult to get to.
Given those wants/needs, as I started clicking through Can-Am's site, I found myself drawn to not the base model Defender Max XT, but rather the Defender Max Limited, which features an enclosed cab, HVAC, a factory winch, and a square tire setup. It's more money than the base model, but that, as a starting point for my insanity, was perfect, as our Maverick X3 is likely not going to work in the coming years as my three kids grow and grow out of the jump seat that I've installed there.
Plus, it'd be perfect for plowing our mountain compound's roads and driveway. But it's not perfect, perfect, you know? There's stuff I'd want to do to it to make it as capable and functional for what we love to do as I've made our Maverick X3.
First and foremost, I'm changing the suspension. The stock ride height, stock stance, and stock arms aren't built for some of the treacherous terrain we have around here. Even in Limited spec, I wouldn't be able to take the Defender into where I arrowed my deer last year, and that's definitely somewhere I want to go back given I have another tag for the area. To get into the deep, deep woods, I'm swapping out the suspension for Thumper Fab's Long Travel Suspension kit, along with a set of remote reservoir Fox Shocks that'll both raise the ride height, as well as widen the UTV's stance, which is perfect for going over some of the boulders and through streams around here.
Likewise, I'm taking the Black Rhino rims shod in the Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 tires off my Maverick X3 and throwing them onto here. That'd add probably another two to three inches of clearance, and a lot more grip than the factory tires.
The Defender also needs more horsepower, as I've become accustomed to having the 170-odd horsepower (I added a few things like a Yoshimura exhaust) of my Maverick X3, so a flash tune from Evolution Powersports is a must. It won't net me a lot over the 82 horsepower and 69 pound-feet of torque the Defender Max Limited makes, but even a little will go a long way into still having a modicum of fun the Maverick X3 allows for.
Where I'd go next is adding some further functionality, in that I'd throw on Thumper Fab's roof rack for more storage, as well as a set of those new Rigid Industries light bars we talked about a few months ago. Guess what, there are no lights in the forest, and it gets real dark around here. What I also like about Thumper Fab's rack is that it looks like I could make it work for our Roofnest rooftop tent with some small modifications. Perfect for backcountry excursions, or late-night hunts that turn into long night tracking.
Other than that, however—which is still a lot and totals something like $13,000—that's about it to make this Defender ours. Sure, I started off fantasizing about the base model, then immediately started with the highest trim, only to then go even wilder, but that's how this all works, right? That's the allure. That's the hook. You look upon your canvas and just go wild with all the possibilities.
Plus, I haven't pulled out my credit card...yet.
