Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126481
Can-Am's prototype 496cc four-stroke offers a twin exhaust pipe, four-valve overhead cam and 46 horses. A belt-driven cam is used. The Marzocchi 38mm fork assembly may be replaced by production time. The Ohlins remote reservoir shocks are not final. either. Though the motor looked large in the frame, handling didn't seem to be bothered--the bike won one mota, but broke a chain in the second. Can~Am Officia ls fro m th e Bombardierowne d manufacturer were on hand to see their la test offspring take its first racing laps. Ma rcel Perreault who is head of R&D a t Can-Am seeme d pleased wit h the bike's well-beh aved pe rfo rmance . and also with th e attention it drew to itself from th e crowd on ha nd . Of the bike, Perr eau lt said that the company had firs t aimed for a 1981 introduc tion but had la ter decided on ca m paigning a full Nation al-force team of green (motocross) and blu e (end uro) fourstroke Can-Ams beginning as soon as th e fall of 1980 a nd hi tt ing th e cha m pionship trail in full force for the 1981 season. "W e plan on producing some 50 motorcycles for next spring," said Perreault. " and they will be put in very capable hands. There are talks going on right now . so we cannot as yet divulge any big names . but the team should be right in the championship ballpark." There are no figures available yet as to weight and other critical specs. although some company officials hav e been reported as saying the bore and stroke of the 500 Can-Am 's mill are just about th e same as Honda's successful XR's. The engine do es ca rry a four-valve OHC head with twin , exha ust pipe in XR fashion. Contrary to the Japanese thumper though , it uses a belt to d rive its cam on th e left side . According to R&D chief Perreault, th e 500 puts out some 46 -47 thumper makes debut appearance By Marc Lachapelle The first four-stroke motorcycle to wear the name Can-Am made its entrance In quite honorable fashion , some fifty miles from Valcourt, Quebec, the place of its birth, Ron Mathews, an Expert enduro and motocross rider, entered the 496 . 1 r d hi cc smg e cy m er mac me m the Support Class at the July 13 26 final of the USA ·Canada Motocross Challenge. He ' will be ridi ng th e enduro version of this motocross machine in th is fall 's ISDT in France . The green motorcycle he brought to Coaticook had the on ly third -ser ies fou r-stroke Rotax engine in existence, cradled in . a singl e-downru be, conventionally-suspe nd ed prototype frame. Mathews took th e lead in the first turn of his first Support cla ss heat and smooth!y ro~e the b i~ four -stroke to a theorc: ucal victory, smce ~e was la ter penalized on e lap for havmg cut the course. Nevertheless, his pu rpose had been fulfilled as the quiet and ob viously powerful bike had rounded th e track at race speeds without a hint of discontent. The red- ha ired veteran of Canadian motocross and enduro war s was back on th e track later but th is time on th e Canadian Challenge team. H is luc k was not as good th is tim e a round . He fell once and la ter had to retire with a b roken chai n. St ill, no sign of incompetence from th e rnassive-engined ground shaker. h.p , on t he d yno , a figure qu ite rea sonable conside ring th e trad ition of power sustained by th e Canadian firm since it introd uced its first motor cycles in 1973 . Fu rthermore, Mr. Perr eault states that the enduro a nd mo tocr oss versions of t he bi ke should differ onl y very sligh tly from one an other , m ainly in th e tra nsm ission ratios a nd cam timing departments. T he bike seen at Coaticook carried a Marz occhi 38mm fork bu t sho uld be equi pped with a 42m m or 44 mm u nit for p roduction , b rand unstated . Sam e thi ng for shocks: the 500 now uses Ohlin's remote reservoir shocks bu t tha t is not final. Still th e same wit h ca rb ureti on : a Mikuni is now utilized but tests are being made with Lectron carbs. Rear brake is conical and full floating and mention should also be made of the fact that the engine uses a counter- balancing system to smooth out the power impulses. It is driven by gear at the crank. When asked about Can-Am and Rotax's experience with four-strokes , company president Robert Leboeuf, in a previous interview had answered that the engineer responsible for designing the C·A two-strokes is responsible for the four- stroke also . The former ha ve never been known to lack power and innovation and still , that m an ea rn ed his PhD not in two stroke but rather in four-stroke engine design. All sceptics are thus warned of .the Can-Am 's com ing. •