Do Can-Am’s Electric Motorcycles Make Sense? – CleanTechnica

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A recent video from the Electric Cycle Rider channel on YouTube gives us a look at a really cool bike that you can get from Can-Am. Yes, that Can-Am! Normally, the name Can-Am makes people think of three-wheeled vehicles (two in the front, one in the back for stability), but the brand has also been getting into electric two-wheeled vehicles.

Let’s start by watching the video, and then I’ll summarize it and share my thoughts on it further down.

The Can-Am Origin is a dual-sport bike, or one that’s made for a mix of on-pavement and off-road fun. Instead of having to trailer it to the dirt, you can ride it the whole way there (assuming it’s within range, of course). It comes in at a whopping $14,999 before any accessories or additional packages. This alone makes it a tough value proposition in an industry where you can buy a capable used ICE bike for one tenth the price!

So, the big question here is this: does it perform enough to justify the price? Instead of having to buy one and then sell it at a loss if it doesn’t work out, we can watch Electric Cycle Rider put it through its paces first. To test this, they headed out to Austin, Texas, and got some seat time.

The bike is Can-Am’s first motorcycle in quite some time, but the brand was once at the top of the stack for motocross. First, the company stepped away from two-wheeled vehicles into the water and snow sports scene. Then, a few years ago, it came back to wheels, but in sets of three. Now, instead of going back to motorcycles, the company plans on taking its ancient reputation into the electric motorcycle world to compete against all of the niche and startup bikes that are out there.

The bike has what you’d expect from an old-school brand. Knobby tires, long-travel suspension, and tough wheels all give the bike the kind of off-road performance you’d expect. But, these are electric bikes, so the company felt a need to deliver on technology as well. It has a 10” touchscreen that even includes Apple CarPlay! It has adjustable ride modes. It has adjustable regenerative braking. Other things you might not expect from a bike but get here includes ABS, traction control, and even a reverse “gear.”

While testing the dirtbike, they also got a chance to check out a road-oriented version of the bike for comparison. Both bikes have a nearly maintenance-free chain case, allowing for riders to focus on riding instead of maintaining. This technology came from Can-Am’s experience with other vehicles, including snowmobiles. With an enclosed chaincase and electric drive, both bikes were super quiet.

One downside to the 420-pound Origin (the dual-sport) is that it lacks an adjustable suspension. This made it tough for ECR to avoiding diving, bottoming out, and other issues that can be solved by stiffening things up a bit. The bike also can’t disable the front ABS in “off road” mode, leading to tricky riding when you’d otherwise expect to let it slide.

Overall, the bike produces 47 horsepower and 53 lb-ft of torque, making for a fairly potent ride, especially down low where it can gather those 53 pounds faster than an ICE bike. ECR described it as “quick, but not overwhelming.”

Range was a lot less impressive, unfortunately. Small vehicles like a motorcycle don’t have a lot of room for batteries, even if the motor and other gear is easy to put in them. By the time they’d driven 30 miles, the bike had only half of its range left and there were no chargers. Can-Am claims 70 miles of mixed-use range and 50-minute 20–80% charging at any Level 2 station, but the real-world results were a bit less than that. So, in the real world, shorter rides closer to home aren’t a big deal, but if you’re going further away, you’ll probably want to carry the bike out in a truck or on a cargo rack/trailer.

Despite range being pretty limited, the battery pack is liquid cooled and can charge up both quickly and immediately after stopping. There’s no need for cool-down time or for waiting after charging to take off again. You can simply stop, Level 2 charge (which isn’t bad for a small battery like this), and then go again. While the 20–80% figure probably yields 35–4o miles, a full charge adding back 0–100% range is only supposed to take 1.5 hours (charging up over lunch). The other thing is that Level 1 charging should take around 4× longer, yielding good overnight charging on any plug. So, it may be a decent commuter.

In the end, ECR was left wondering what the overall purpose of the bike is supposed to be. It doesn’t have a lot of range, making it a tough sell for adventures and a tougher sell for road trips. It’s not the fastest bike in the world, either. It’s also very expensive by most motorcycle standards. They end up looking best for urban riders, who don’t really need the off-road chops.

What I Figure It’s Good For

My take on this is that it’s probably a bike with two purposes, both of which can be great.

The first thing he mentions is the city commuter role. Both bikes, the off-road version and the on-road version, are capable of doing commuting work. For someone who has access to a 120-volt power plug in the US, it’s more than enough vehicle for the average commute, which is about 26 miles. It can go highway speeds, making it an option for that kind of riding, too. So, it’s probably a bike you’d take out on good days to save energy going to the office and have a little fun along the way.

The other use it has is as a trailer queen. That sounds like an insult, but it’s really not. Sometimes, it’s better to enjoy the comfort of a closed cockpit before and after a ride. Driving a car, truck, or SUV up to the trailhead and then letting loose for a few dozen miles makes a lot of sense, much like an e-bike. Then, load it up and go home. If you’re out camping, it can even take a charge from a generator or even a larger solar generator.

For some buyers, it will be a mix of the two things above. During the week, take it out on rain-free days and head to the office in style and fun. But when the weather apps are showing rain, drive your normal vehicle to work. On the weekend, take it out on some short adventures.

Featured image by Can-Am.