So, here we go. Earlier this year, Can-Am told us it was working on a new lineup of electric motorcycles—real motorcycles, not re-badged ebikes from third-party manufacturers, aimed at slow-speed urban use. Now, we see two of these new Can-Ams, the first two-wheeled motorcycles from Can-Am since the 1980s, and one of them is intended to draw a line back to the company’s off-road history.
The Can-Am Origin
The Origin is intended to be a dual sport/adventure/scrambler model. Officially, Can-Am says “Designed to bring new exhilaration to the street and the trail, this dual sport model is a tribute to our motocross heritage.” Welp, definitely not an MXer, but you can see how Can-Am draws this line back to its history, with what appear to be proper 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels, which are necessities for proper off-road performance!
The Can-Am Pulse
This is a sporty naked bike (or is it a naked sportbike?). Whatever, it’s made for the streets, not street-and-trail. Can-Am’s marketing tips it as more of an urban bike: “Balanced and nimble to immerse you in the energy of the city, and transfer your daily commute into an electric joyride.” It makes sense; offroad riding and city commuting are the two uses where you can get away with less battery range, and by the look of the exterior of these bikes, they’re not packing oversized batteries by any means. Visuals don’t tell all the story of battery performance and capacity, but the reality is that if you’ve got massive range, you generally have a massive battery to boot. Still, taking a rough guesstimate by quickly looking at these machines, they certainly don’t have any indication they lack range either. And remember, they’re still two years away from market, and much may change.
Can-Am didn’t share much for details. Company reps wouldn’t even tell us if the bikes run a chain drive or belt drive (it sure looks like an enclosed belt drive), and a reveal of any other specs or MSRP was not happening. They did say, though, that these machines will be fully unveiled in mid-2023 and that they’ll be on the market in 2024.
