CanAm  Outlander 650 Max XT

""WorkHorse""

Part Two

So our project WorkHorse continues to evolve with yet another great product that will make our project a step closer to being the ultimate working and hunting machine.

  When the idea of a working class ATV came to our minds there were a few things to look for. We needed to know what we could add to our already awesome Can-Am Outlander 650 Max that would make it even more user friendly. Our thoughts instantly turned to the stock lighting and how it would be really nice to have an abundance of clean HID lighting to add even more visability in the late nights or early morning rides. The size was never a consideration though as we knew that to keep the lights simple and as compact as possible was how it needed to be.

  This is where the Baja Designs Fuego HID lights came into play. These little beautys put out an abundance of light for their size. The same ballast and bulb that is used in the larger Soltek lights is used in the Fuego 4 inch housing. This means awesome lighting power while using half the wattage of halogen bulbs. The Fuego lights are offered in halogen and HID with a choice of colored ring on the front of the light and even chrome outer shells for those who just need the bling factor. These lights also have special brackets to fit most any sport quad and side by side. The handlebar brackets that are used in most applications will fit on utilitys without the larger instrument clusters.

  Lets get on with the install. So when we received our Fuego lights we noticed that the peeps over at Baja Designs had sent one ""wide cornering"" and one ""driving"" light. This is so we get the most distance and coverage from our lights for the project. The wiring harness that comes with the lighting kit doesn't necessarily fit every application but being the engineering minded electricians we are it was easy to come up with a solution for our specific setup. Pulling the plastics off our Can-Am was not effortless but they do remove easier than other utilitys on the market. Most of the panels connect with push/pull pin and grommet style fasteners.

   We ran a main power line directly from the battery ensuring that the wires had been well insulated and covered in a mesh wire loom to keep them from getting chaffed during ride time. The wiring harness comes with a 30amp fusable link in-line and this will keep us from frying the ""lectrics"" on our stallion. We decided to remove the ring terminals that had been installed on our wiring harness and installed some insulated bullet style terminals for easy install and removal of the entire harness. Remember when you install electrical wires through the framework of an off road vehicle make sure each and every place the wire could get against anything is well protected. Chaffing will cause shorts and eventually equiptment failure.

   The next cool feature that comes along with our Fuego lights is the simple hi, low and off switch that we mounted right beside the 4x4 selector on the right handlebars. The switch comes with a kill button on the front but since this was not for our application we opted to remove the button and seal up the hole with black silicone. This thumb switch makes turning our lights on and off a cinch. The guys over at Baja Designs suggest that the Wide cornering lamp be on during the low selection and then both will be on in the high selector position.  This was great advice and with the lights coming off and on during our install we decided to paint a very distinct yellow dot on the wide cornering light switch so I would be sure to get the right plug where it needed to be. These plugs are water tight and very durable.

    After the wiring of our lights we had to turn our attention to the mounting of our Fuego HIDs. This is where we really had to get creative because the Can-Am Outlander rack system really had no desirable position to mount our lights. This is when I knew I had to call an expert in metal fabrication. The very first ATV racer to go all the way from Ensenada to LaPaz in the Baja 1000, Mr. Richie Brown in Dahlonega Georgia would be our Light bar manufacturer for the workhorse.

 Richie was able to come to the rescue with a section of inch and one quarter chromoly tubing and a few pieces of flat steel. Bending the Tubing in master fabricator style he had our main section complete. Then Brown welded a pair of tabs onto the main beam for our lights to mount to. We both agreed that the bar might need some support so two down legs were added to fix this problem. The tabs on the down tubes would bolt directly over the stock bumper mounts so we did not have to drill into our racks at all but instead just added longer bolts to get through the tab and existing bumper mount. The mount in the rear will be bolted to the rack with a flat piece of steel essentially clamping the rear to the existing rack.

      After we thanked Richie it was off to the auto parts store for some bedliner spray paint to make the bar look worthy of greatness. The lights are easily adjusted by a twist of the custom knobs on the back of each light. The lights can be adjusted up or down and need to be centered left to right before tightening of the bolts that hold them to the rack. Remember that when installing any wired device such as our Baja Design Fuego lights, take your time and be sure to use the wire size that is considered right for the power draw on the system and properly tie up all wires and connectors so they do not create a problem on the trail. Patience is always the key to a good clean looking install!

  We are all painted up and ready to ride now so we will be doing some testing to get our lights focused right down the center thanks to our friends over at Baja Designs. Look for the testing to begin with our Fuego lights leading the way. Visit the guys at Baja Designs by logging onto the web at www.bajadesigns.com or call them at (760) 560-2252 and tell them Off-Road.com sent ya.

   Look for part three of our project ""WorkHorse"" coming soon as we try out some new rubber from our friends at Maxxis and custom wheels from OMF Performance.

  RS

 Here are a few more pictures of our installation.