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/126800
CAN-AM TAKES THE UNDER-200cc CLASS TO THE LIMIT! New R.A.V.E. valve fromRotax reshapes eXhaust flow as you ride It's no secret that small changes in a bike's exhaust system can make a big difference in the way its engine performs. The system that delivers peak, charging-down-a-straight power is not the same system that pumps out maximum torque for blasting out of slow corners. , A That's why most bikes -"'- come with a f. middle-of-the+ road pipe: not ideal at top speed, but not hopeless at low. Now Rotax has added a remarkable device to the new Can-Am 125 and 250cc liquid-cooled powerplants. It's called the Rotax Automatic Variable Exhaust. ' 8 RAV.E. I changes the I .... flow pattern of your exhaust system as you race. Automatically. At high engine speeds (FIG. Al, RAV.E. offers the high-volume and effective extraction properties of a peak power system. At lower engine speeds (FIG. Bl, a guillotine valve, mounted in the port and activated by exhaust pressure, progressively closes to help maintain the flow velocity necessary for good extraction. RAV.E. is a highly effective, yet remarkably simple device. And there lies its advantage over other designs. There are no complicated linkages to break, no delicate mechanisms to carbon up. Simply excellent performance. At any engine speed. ri o Meet the 200 ASE from Can-Am, a new enduro bike that is going to create a significant balance-of·power swing in the ongoing class struggle! The Can-Am 175 ASE was an exceptional bike. But. every time they competed on it, Can-Am riders were giving away 25cc to the class limit. The new Can-Am 200 ASE puts an end to all that unfairness. Those extra 25cc's are no ordinary cc's. They're from Rotax. And they were IS NEW QUAD UNK II THE LAST WORD IN RISING RATE SUSPENSION? The ideal dirt bike suspension should react perfectly to everything from ripple bumps to stutter bumps to whoops ... to absorbing the force of a high altitude landing. Working with just a few inches of suspension travel and some neat tricks of lever mechanics, the best . . - produced, not by opening out the old 175, but by sleeving the oversquare, rotary-valve 250. The result is an engine that is incredibly strong, as well as impressively powerful. Handling has been improved too, with the new Quad Link II rear suspension and a lighter, alloy swingarm. In the toughest woods sections or the fastest hare scrambles, Can-Am's new 200 ASE is going to make a big dif· ference.ln greater rider comfort, in lower point scores. And in results columns all across the country. any real suspension can do is cover that part of the surface deflection range the designer thinks is most important. Take some other popular suspension designs. They're Real Comfort· able on lesser bumps but "look out below" when you land ajump. On the other hand, last year's CanAm suspensign was built to swallow almost any landing short of atmosphere re-entry. Now, new Quad Link II offers the best of both worlds: exceptional rider comfort and heavy-dUty disaster protection-.-. It's on every new Can-Am motocross and enduro bike. And it will make a noticeable difference wherever you ride. mUADLINKl1 The ASE's from Can-Am just. keep getting better unsprung weight. But there's a lot more you notice when you ride these bikes. The gentle but positive action of the new Quad Link II rear suspension. The confidence-building power of the double leading-shoe front brake on the 500 ASE. The improved comfort and cornering potential of the new seat/tank combination. All these things make the new ASE's better ASE's. But they've still got what Martin and Ballard and every other CanAm rider likes best: the kind of bedrock From New England forests to ments have been made that reliability that lets you comCalifornia deserts, Can-Am will make ASE performance pete every weekend without ASE's have had an impressive even better. a teardown every other Some of them you can season across the country in week. see just looking at the bikes. the hands of both factory Rotax reliability It's the Air-deflector wings and porriders like John Martin and heart of these new Can-Am cupined cylinder fins for bet- ASE's. And the logic behind Geoff Ballard as well as hunter cooling. Answer products your next successful season. dreds of 100% privateers. muffler/spark arrestor for What all those riders liked improved exhaust efficiency. best about the ASE's is still there. Bufdozens of improve- New alloy swingarm for less ,~ ....... How to turn the deepest woods into a motocross track The Can·Am liquid-cooled 250 ASE LlC is the ultimate in built-to-win enduro machinery. It is, in effect, a motocross bike with a few refinements to make it suitably civilized in the woods - 6-speed gearbox, medium-weight flywheel, odometer, lights and an Answer products low- restriction spark arrestor/ muffler. The 250 ASE LlC is available only on special order from your Can-Am dealer. When you get it, you roll it straight out of the box and into battle. And the only extra YOU'll have to buy is the trophy case.