Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

pegged to avoid front wheel wash. R ide aggressively and there is no problem. Steering this precise with a tall , heavy engine at the front of the bike is an accomplishment that Can-Am and CCM can be proud o f. The bike sl ides or berms without a real preference for either. Jumps ar e co ntro lled a nd panic free if th e susp en sion is set co rrectly for the rider's weight. , The So n ic rarely gets sidewa ys in the ai r, but handles the situation with aplomb. Power that is in stantly on tap helps a ll these maneu vers pass under the wheels with a min im um of trouble. For a thumper , th e Sonic does no t h ave an a bu n dance of low end to rq ue. There is a lot, a whole lot co m pared to a twostroke, but th e So nic does n ot rea lly ge t wi th th e pro gram until th e revs are up. Power bu ilds steadi ly from idl e to th e rather su bsta ntia l to p en d. The hallam line is that the Sonic sim p ly has n o warts on its ch aracter , in th e handling. an d pow er departm ent, wh en co m pa ri ng in th e spectrum o f o th er four-strokes . T he overwhelming differen ce between th e So nic a nd other thumpers is th e feeling o f lightness th e So n ic h as. It goes away on ly when loadin g th e bik e in an d ou t o f th e truck. We took th e So nic to th e desert an d ran it throu gh mi les of whoops and up th e sides o f sa ndwashes . T he sus pen sio n had a n o vera ll firm feel to heavi er testers, but riders in th e 120-150 p ound range felt th e sus pension was exce ll ent. The faster an d lighter a rider was, th e better he liked the Can-Am. Three MX Pros put som e lap s on the bike, one of wh om ra ced in the fo ur -stro ke Nationals on a $5000 one-off. H e rat ed the Sonic as a ver y good bike, say in g th e Son ic ha d a little less bo tto m en d torque th an his special , but th e h andlin g and sus pe ns ion were as good or better. One Pro sa id th e So n ic wa s nearly as fast as hi s '82 Ma ico 490 an d handl ed as well. The last Pro conta cted Ca n -Am abo ut ge tt ing a produ ction bike for the major four-stroke rac es this yea r. Im p ressive praise. Still, our slower and h eavi er riders felt th e suspension was harsh. Some observa tio n revea led th at th e rear suspension was pack ing down. Also, th e first haH of the travel was being ' used up while just sitt ing on th e machine. Some of th e rebound dampin g was dialed out of the sh ock and the pre-load was bumped up. We would have opted for a heavier spring, but did not have th e sp ring or the tim e with the bike. Those changes made ' a world -of-difference for the heavier riders, but did not adversely affect the riders of lesser weight. Our bike was set up by John Martin, Can-Am's diminutive enduro ace . H e is a light rider and may have had the light spring installed. Riders who were in th e sa me weight range as J ohn had virtuall y nothing but praise for the sus pe n ders . Our heav ier testers still felt th at th e Ma rzoc ch i fork was n ot up to sta te o f th e art levels, but was as good as any Marzocch i fork we have ridden with. Bits and pieces While we lik ed the bik e an d th e rider in charge of th e im p ressio n is a n ac know ledged thumper freak , we did h ave a few co m p la in ts. The sea t foam wa s entirely toO soft. An y bumps encou n teredw hi le si tt ing landed th e rider 's hindquarter s right o n th e sea t _ base. Needl ess to say , th at mad e long rid es in th e desert less th an desirable. Can-Am says th at the problem has been corr ected in the full produ ction m od els . The Magura levers are as wonderful as th e grips are bad. H and cra m ps were in evitabl e with th e stoc kers. Those, a lso , are reputed to be cha nged. With th e good grips, a den ser sea t foam an d a muffler , th e Can-Am would be a dr eam co me true. As it is, it 's th e king of th e four-stroke hill. Away from th e Son ic 's power pulses a nd high-flying jumps, we can look a t the issu e a little more sanelv . There is a lot o f bik e here. T he re is a lso a lot o f price: It worked well as a tra il bik e, a n d whil e we did n ot rac e it, we rode it o n race tracks. It is durabl e an d well made. We feel th a t th e suspen sio n will require ca refu l set-up as any heav y bi ke does, but o ther th an th at , o u r bike had no mech ani cal problems or quirks . Ro u tine maintenance was easily accomplished. Fuel ca pacity wa s a probl em in the desert, because th e Sonic was thirsty when ridden hard. When weighing th e pros again st the co n s, there is va lue here . We would buy o ne. Many people will. T hos e peopl e w i II be pl ea sed owners.': . . t ' • I ' • ' • • , S pacifications Engine Type : Displacement Bo re x stroke Oil capacity Compression ratio Starting system Igni t ion system Spark plug Tra nsmission Carb uretor A ir coohid SOHC four-stroke single. ',' .. 493cc. 89mm x 79 .4mm. 3 quarts. 10.5 :1 . ; . . .. .. . Kick (prim ary) . C .D .! . N ippondenso . Constant mesh. fiv e-speed . 36mm M ikuni. Frame Type Front suspens ion /travel Rear suspens ion /travel Front t ire Rear t ire Tubular. stressed engine. Telescopic fork /1 1.8 in. Ohlins single shock/ 12.59 in. Dunlop. D unlop. Dimensions Wheelbase Seat height M inimum grou nd clearance D ry w eight (cl ai m ed) Fue l capacity Su ggested retail price 59.3 in. 39 in. 1 4 .9 5 in. 268 Ibs . 2.3 gal. $3.120. 7

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