Here's How You Can Get More Horsepower In Your New Can-Am Defender

EVP has a new tune and clutch weight kit to give you that extra oomph.

Photo by: Can-Am

By: Jonathon Klein

Jul 2, at 8:15am ET

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When I tested the new Can-Am Defender HD11 last year, I wasn't really left wanting more power. Sure, everything could use a few more horses—apart from the Stark Varg, which needs fewer—but a small bump here and there wouldn't kill anyone. I wasn't expecting, though I probably should've, that Evolution Powersports would drop a basic ECU tune and clutch kit worth 25+ horsepower for the machine so soon.

If you know the name Evolution Powersports, or its more colloquial "EVP" nom de plume, you'll have likely seen how it turns Can-Ams and Polaris' into literal fire-breathing monsters. Billet internals and blocks, big-ass turbochargers and squirrel-sucking wastegates, and machines that spit flames, shred dunes, and some of which can even pop wheelies.

Thankfully, the new kit doesn't do that to the more utilitarian Defender HD11. It just adds a handful of ponies to make life easier, and slightly more fun. Who's ready to drift the backend out while hauling out a deer?

"The all-new Can-Am Defender HD11 has quickly become one of the most talked-about utility side-by-sides of the year, thanks to its completely redesigned powertrain and improved refinement," states the press release, adding, "Now, Evolution Powersports (EVP) is offering one of the first major aftermarket performance packages for the new platform, giving owners the opportunity to unlock even more performance."

That performance is through the brand's Stage 1 ECU Power Flash and Clicker Clutch Weight Kit, the duo "designed to work together, delivering a claimed gain of more than 25 horsepower while improving throttle response, acceleration, and overall drivability." That's a sizable increase for strictly a tune and clutch kit, but one I'd love to feel myself.

As for the numbers, the stock Rotax 3-cylinder engine produces 95 horsepower and 70 pound-feet of torque. This new EVP setup bumps that to 120 horsepower and some more amount of torque, though EVP doesn't state how much. That said, the tune also increases the top speed to 93 mph, and increases the rev limit by 250 rpm.

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With the clutch kit, there are two options: a Shift-Tek-P Clicker Clutch Weights setup, and a Low Engagement Clutch Weight Kit, with the latter of the two being what you'd need to get the most out of the tune and your machine. Moreover, EVP is also working on further mods, including a turbo setup for the Defender HD11, so that 120 horsepower figure might (will) get a massive boost here in the near future.

Pricing for the ECU kit will set you back $1,000, while the clutch kits are either $520 for the heavy-duty setup or $250 for the more everyday kit. Either way, not terrible for the amount of performance you're getting...and setting yourself up for in the coming weeks and months when that turbo setup drops.