[cycleworld.com] - Can-Am Motorcycles Return

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Can-Am announced its return to two wheels with two electric models, slated for production in 2024.

Click here to view on their site.


Can-Am says the dual-purpose Origin and naked Pulse electric motorcycles will arrive 2024. (Can-Am/)Bombardier Recreational Products, the parent company of Can-Am, has contemplated a return to motorcycles almost since it left two-wheelers in 1987. That return was just announced at its 2022 Reno, Nevada, dealer show, where the company showed off two prototype emotorcycles, the dual-purpose Origin and the naked sportbike Pulse. The announcement came with very few details of the bikes, though both are obviously part of a family, with apparent commonality in battery pack and driveline.

According to BRP, the Can-Am Origin is “a throwback to the Can-Am TNT dual-purpose motorcycle: as capable off-road as on,” while the Can-Am Pulse is “perfect for rides in and out of the city.” Both feature the same high-performance LED headlights; both are powered by “Rotax e-power,” according to stickers prominently displayed on the battery packs.

According to BRP, Rotax e-power technology will eventually be shared across all its product lines from watercraft to ATVs to road-going three-wheelers. The two motorcycles can be charged at home or on standard automotive Level 2 public chargers and would have online connectivity through the next generation of BRP Connect.

About the only fact BRP presented on the motorcycles’ drivetrain was that it required “no clutching or gearshifting,” so it’s a typical electric drive system in that regard. The company did say, “We’re in full-blown development of the Pulse and Origin, with availability in the summer of 2024.”

Related: 2021 Electric Motorcycles With the Best Range


Can-Am says the Pulse can be charged via Level 2 chargers. (Can-Am/)The day after the dealer announcement, BRP held an online press conference on its Can-Am street products and offered a few more details, such as BRP having already committed $300 million to vehicle electrification. BRP Design Director Alain Massicotte said the two new motorcycles were building on the Can-Am heritage and talked about how Can-Am motorcycles won both the ISDE and US motocross championships in 1974, the first year after they were introduced. Massicotte explained that the prototypes being shown were about “finding the balance between innovation, functionality, and the ‘wow’ factor.” They would be part of a family of vehicles, and express “forward movement and power through design.” They would be based on a flexible architecture, allowing more motorcycles to come in the future.

Interestingly, the Origin was described as “dual purpose,” not “adventure-touring,” which may suggest something about its range capabilities, while the Pulse was described as a “speed motorcycle.” When asked how much speed this speed motorcycle could achieve, Massicotte said only, “It’s highway-worthy.”


Can-Am would only say that the speeds achieved by the Origin (shown here) and the Pulse would be “highway-worthy.” (Can-Am/)That’s generally the level of detail given at the press conference. Technical questions of battery capacity or motor power weren’t answered. When asked if the final drive within the single-sided swingarm on the two bikes was by shaft or belt, the BRP spokesman said, “Final drive is enclosed; that’s all we can say.”

And while BRP bought the patents and intellectual property of the defunct Alta Motors, which produced a much-missed competitive emotocrosser, no mention of that or its significance was made in any of the BRP presentations.

Full specs and details were promised to be released coincident with the next BRP dealer show in August 2023, the 50th anniversary of Can-Am’s introduction, with production the next year and availability of the bikes in the summer of 2024. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of the Pulse and Origin prototypes.

And know this: BRP is deadly serious, even if it’s only teasing out details. BRP president and chief executive José Boisjoli is committed to doubling BRP’s sales in the next few years and sees the $15B over-500cc motorcycle market as one of the keys to that growth. These are only the first motorcycles from the revival of Can-Am.