Cycle News

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 15 APRIL 14, 2020 P91 and-yellow machines. Can-Am's efforts bore instant fruit, as Ellis gave the brand its first AMA National MX win on Au- gust 11, 1974, at Delta Motorsport Park in Delta, Ohio. Ellis went 1-1 in the 250cc class, earning the first-moto win and getting the second moto dropped in his lap when Tripes suffered an engine meltdown while leading. Unfortu- nately for Ellis, he had his share of mechanical ills during the season as well. Though he would go 1-1 again two weeks later at Highland Hills in Hillsboro, Ohio, he would fall short of winning the title. Instead, that honor fell to the more consistent Jones, who copped his third career AMA 250cc National Motocross Championship crown—and the first for Can-Am—without win- ning an overall round. Tripes, who switched to Can-Am late in the year, finished second, with Ellis third, making for a Can-Am sweep of the top three positions in the 250cc class, a record that stood alone in the 250cc class until Honda repeated the feat with Rick Johnson, David Bailey and Johnny O'Mara during the 1986 season. Honda had pulled off the triple in the 125cc class in 1974, the first year of the all- conquering CR125 Elsinore, but it could be argued that was to be expected. Can-Am's success was not. Nor was Ellis' 1975 AMA Su- percross Championship expect- ed, though it happened just the same. By that time, Can-Am had worked more of the bugs out of the works versions of its GP250 motocrosser, and Ellis was reaching the peak of his abili- ties. He went undefeated in the four-race 1975 series, en route to the title–while it must be pointed out that the more rounds there are to race, the more chances there are to lose, undefeated is undefeated, and Ellis and Can- Am were undefeated. In fact, Ellis and Can-Am would go on to win in both Supercross and Moto- cross through the 1977 season, with Ellis finishing third in the 1976 AMA Supercross Series, and sixth in the 1977 AMA 250cc National Motocross Series, the same year that he gave the brand its final AMA National win, on April 17, 1977. So, what happened? Much like Indian decades before it, Can-Am was too slow in chang- ing to really keep pace with the competition. The Japanese were relentless in their pursuit of both technology and victory and Can- Am simply couldn't or wouldn't keep up. Honda grabbed Ellis for the 1978 season and Can-Am failed to fill that void. Despite producing a 250cc motocross bike that was capable enough to win the category in Cycle World magazine's "10 Best Bikes" issue as late as 1980, Can-Am quickly faded into the background while the Japanese continued forward. Mexican rider Juan Benavidez was Can-Am's last factory-sponsored motocrosser, receiving support during the 1981 season before the company suspended its motocross-racing pursuits in favor of off-road racing and enduros. When Bombar- dier wanted to pull the plug on Can-Am, the crafty Smith was able to keep the brand alive by getting England's Armstrong/ CCM to produce bikes under the Can-Am name for Bombardier. This bought the brand a slight reprieve from the inevitable. Still, despite great publicity from the efforts of woods riders such as Johnny Martin and Geoff Ballard, sales continued to slump, and Can-Am ceased to exist after the 1987 model year. Rumors of a comeback by Can-Am have been floating since late 2004, though they appear to be just rumors, as little in the way of details has followed. Can-Am may have had a brief moment in the sun, but it did pull off something that no other non- Japanese brand has been able to do against the Japanese: win an AMA Supercross and Motocross title. CN This Archives edition is reprinted from 2006. CN has hundreds of past Archives editions in our files, too many destined to be archives themselves. To prevent that from happening, we will be revisiting past Archives articles while still planning to keep fresh ones coming down the road. -Editor. Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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