In 1975 I had one of the first Can Am 250 Enduro bikes. Loved that bike for my first six weeks of ownership. Took the bike to a large sand quarry to test some new tires and gearing. After an hour of thrashing and adjustments I had the bike behaving the way I wanted so I could race at my first NETRA Enduro Event. As I wrapped up the day I was climbing the walls of the quarry with ease. As I turned around at the top of a wall I was 20 feet from the edge when the entire wall collapsed underneath me and the bike. Following a 70+ foot fall me and the bike landed on the quarry floor. It was the last mili-second I would feel anything below the knees. After 2 plus hours of yelling for help I was finally found and rescued then taken to the ER for what would be a two year process of recovery with a L-1 Spinal Cord Injury and associated body damage. I've now lived 49 years as a paraplegic and I've been fortunate to live an awesome life despite needing a wheelchair for mobility. Loved my Can Am and thank you so much for this video about Can Am. Growing up in the MX and Enduro crazy environment of New England as soon as I saw Jimmy Ellis on a Can Am at Southwick I dumped my Honda 250 Enduro for the Can Am. Never regretted my switch of bikes or my accident. We were all young and stupid at one time. Thanks for listening and all the best with your channel.
My friend had a Can Am MX1 and sold it and got a 77 Honda CR125... FULL FMF Factory Replica, Cross up swingarm, Fox air shocks, FMF Red down pipe, Fork air-caps, FMF Porcupine head, FMF graphics, bigger carb. He also had full Marty Smith riding gear, Electro helmet, Carrera goggles, snap-on face guard, High-Point boots and Hondaline gear. He was the COOLEST LOOKING and FASTEST Guy at the track except when one time when Magoo showed up on his MAICO. Remember those days like it was yesterday ✌😎
This is an absolutely brilliant presentation of our history. The wordsmithing is exceptional, and the delivery is dry, clever and humorous. I stood next to the fences, watching this all happen in real-time, always wondering what was happening in the backroom. Thank you for closing the circle.
When I was 17 I bought a brand new 250 CAN AM TNT Enduro, it had the head & tail lights with turn signals. Had it licensed for the street and imbaressed larger bikes on the road. The only upgrade was a set of KONI rear shocks, I loved that exhaust pipe which I called the "stove pipe", the engine had a power band hit that you had better hang on to the handle bars. I sold the bike in 1988 for $400, wished I still had it in the garage!
Always knew Cam-Am were great bikes but never knew why they still weren't in production. Thanks Neil, for filling the gaps in the story. As always, great script.
I had a 1979 MX 250. One of all orange ones .Bike made far more power than I could ever use to full potential. Those Rotax rotary valve induction motors were really good. When racing it at the local moto track , it had a bad habit of breaking the rear brake rod that went from pedal to activate the rear brake. Went thru the fence on some corners a couple of times. Dealer couldn’t fix it. Tried a few times. He called the factory and they were no help. Their service was pretty bad. The rest of the bike was solid. I wound up rigging up a cable to replace the rod and it was good after that. It’s to bad , they really made a decent bike.
I picked up a Can Am 175 from the side of the road for $75 around 1991. Had never heard of them but I finally had a bike! I got it running after a few hours. Kickstarter on other side was stripped out, push start it was! I was 16 who cared and friend had a new KDX200. That old air cooled bike would smoke him! It had a electrical gremlin and liked to stop at the worst times but burned many tanks. A hurricane flooded it that was the end, I never knew anything about them until now. Heard they were first with plastic tank, didn’t have Internet back then so I didn’t even know where to get parts. Wish I still had it!
Great video/Thank you! I bought a brand new 1975 Can-Am 250 MX. It was amazing, except it handled like "shit". I took my Maico 250 GP entire front end (had triple crown machined to fit tubes) Fox shocks, Metzler tires, made an up-pipe, and turned it into a BEAST! Loved that bike, fast, reliable, and a ton of fun to race.. Now to think it was 50 years ago-WOW!
Can-Am motorcycles provided a young impressionable me with two moments of intense national pride which I have never forgotten even 50 years later. The first occurred when fourteen year-old me discovered the October 1974 issue of Cycle magazine in the school's library. The cover announced the test of the new Can Am 250 T'NT with the blurb "instant king of the 250 enduros", the test itself contained the following line: "On the Kerker dyno the Canadian bombshell exploded with 27bhp". OMG, this was a Canadian motorcycle and it was the king of its category, not only that, but it was the CANADIAN BOMBSHELL. I had to tell everyone ! A couple of years later, I was in the stands at the very first Montréal Super Motocross (the term Supercross had not yet been invented) when Jimmy Ellis won astride a Can Am. I didn't even care that the rider was American, a Canadian bike had won.
I purchased a 250 MX when my local Yamaha dealer got the product line. The bike was fast and heavy and had a crappy suspension. I later bought a Husky 250 which I raced for quite some time. I always wondered what the Can Am would do with a great light weight frame and good suspension. Always first to the first turn......usually finished in the top five.
In the middle of restoring my 79 mx5. Stiff clutch,marginal handling,poor brakes. But fox air shocks,thor aluminum swingarm,simons forks and the 10 plus hp they made than anyone explains why I love this bike. Thanks for the video.
Rotax power put this marque on the map. I remember stepping off my '74 suzuki 185 on to the Can Am 175. The power increase throughout the band was unbelieveable!
One of my best friends had a 250 in the 70s. We MX raced together. I had a Maico MC 400. He was tough competition! I loved his bike. It had a power band! You had to really hold on! My cousin had a 250 too. He broke his leg on it. He didn’t ride MX, so he had no business on it! I wish I had a Can Am 350 now. ♥️🏍️💨🏁
They had the best motor back then, which was really a Sachs snowmobile motor but they were heavy and not too well suspended. I still love the magic pumpkins of the late 70’s I had a 79’ Qualifier 250 ✌️🇺🇸
Had to check out this video since I almost bought a brand new 1986 250ASE. I wound up buying a Kawasaki KDX200. To bad you didn't have John Martin at your Can Am gathering.
have owned an mx4 since new , pig to start but once it's warmed up no problems , never raced it just rode the trails in northern ontario , great dirtbike with lots of power and suspension travel
I raced against the only Can-am I every saw in New Zealand way back in the 70s..I was wow..But nobody in my Town sold them and the rider was from out oftown..so never saw it again except in Magazines...
I started riding dirt bikes in the mid '70s, at age 16. I had a several year old Bultaco. I remember the Can Ams. Seems like most of them were orange. I never rode one, but I remember them looking very rough compared to the Japanese bikes of the time. European bikes like the Bultaco, Husky, and Maico were like that too. The Japanese bikes just had a fit and finish that nobody else had. I really liked the looks of the first Victory, the V92C. I wanted one, but the first ones had issues. I thought I would wait until they got the bugs worked out. Sadly that never happened. They replaced the V92C with the disgusting Vegas, the Ness Mess got involved, and I lost all interest in Victory motorcycles. And you couldn't give me a modern KTM, or any other modern bike for that matter. Everything I love about motorcycles is missing form modern bikes.
I knew the CanAm boys in the UK really well, their headquarters were down the road from my shop and yeah, they died in the late 70's, just no development. The big problem (apart from minimal improvements) was in the enduro/trail world where I was involved is they had no exclusive engines and a flurry of small boutique companies like Moto Gori and Kramer were building up to date machines at a lower price and when Rotax brought out a 500 2-stroke to compete with the big-bore Japanese bikes the engine was basically horrible. The only success CanAm had was supplying the British Army biikes.
The first batch of British army CanAms were assembled by BSA in Birmingham but after they finally crumbled I believe that the rest were built by Jeff Clewes at CCM.
I had 2 250 , 1 125 , mx2 I believe, extended swingarm ohlins suspension Simon’s fork kits . They were polished and ported by mongoose machine in British Columbia Canada . Super fast , handled great but had the worst breaks , the counter shaft would break on a big jump , dnf more than I finished, bought 1981 Yamahas
In the 70s, the Can-Am were competitive. By the early 80s, not so much. The Japanese had motocross wrapped up with far better technology. Europeans, i.e. Husky and KTM, had the Eastern United States, off-road wrapped up. In the west and more open, the Huskies had some stiff competition from the Japanese motocross bikes. The can ams were not in the fight at all. Look at results for the ISDT even in the late 70s, but also the early 80s, barely a Can-Am in the field.
didnt need to watch this to know the reason why they failed.......i thought he was going to tell us something i didnt know......i liked my 1976 honda cr125......Japanese are a visual breed of people and know how things should look......
my first bike was a verey used Can An 175 tnt that i baught for $ 400.00 long story short I blew away the Canadian moto cross champion on his own track with that old Can Am he was riding a brand new rm 250 race bike he was not a happy person that day !!!!
They were ok but chassis cost alot they make alot other stuff gas crunch and sales went less n they make literaly everyrhin. Else trains jets. Atk did continue makin bikes w best frame sold thru can am. Ccm owms can am now they make bikes still. Also buell
Ill-handling beast that spat Jimmy (Man Of Steel) Ellis off at every opportunity and destroyed my knee, hindering my career. But that's just me. (The motors were great in a Champion/Redline short track frame, tho*)
9:48 "The man knocking on Jeff Smith's door, Gary Rougerson, who is actually American, but there is no reason to ruin a good story." Then it goes on to say he was the man at the top who got the bike company started. So take that "American story destroyer" out of the picture---and there would be no story son. I don't blame him for not going to the 50th year celebration. No appreciation from people who never built a thing.
No one raced MX These.. Terrible suspension and motor was like a trail bike. Only in pre 1978 were they ok . My friend had a 1978 250 orange MX . I had RM250 far far better bike .
I was a teenager in the 70s and those early Can-Am were bad ass bikes. Their motors were unbeatable. Their handling was pretty good. I had a friend with a Yamaha 1974 MX 250 and another friend with a 75 Can-Am 175 They drag raced and the Can am walked away from the Yamaha. Thinking it was just a fluke, my friend on the MX 250 lined up again only to lose again. He handed the bike over to me since I was slightly more skilled. We did the start drag race again and the Can-Am one again won. The other guy wasn’t better than me, but that Can-Am 175 was better than that Yamaha in a straight line. In late 1975 when this Suzuki RM showed up as 76 models pretty much put Can-Am on the trailer. Those Suzuki’s were just better at the same time, the Yamaha YZ’s were out.
i lived in new england and grew up riding in the 70's and beyond. i used to frequent local motorcycle shops. When i saw the Can-Ams i laughed. Ugliest bikes i ever saw. wasnt even on my radar after seeing them. sorry
I must have missed they Greatest part ? Rotax was okay , the rest was pretty marginal . By the time things started to evolve they were toast . Now BRP totally sucks ass .
Yeah, H-D still makes motorcycles, over in Thailand...I just read they're shuttin down the facilities in Wisconsin, layin every employee before the move...🤷🏻♂️ #IndianOverHarley
In 1979 I bought a MX-5 250 at a dealership in Long Beach California when I walked into this motorcycle shop 40 Can-Am 250 and 400 370 in the front window of the shop the reason I bought one at the time it had 10 more horsepower than any other bike made okay that was cool at about 7 months of race in this bike in Southern California it started having engine failure after engine failure after engine I had to 2250 and a 400 they were MX-6 is if I were to buy a mako would have been better off even though they didn't have the horsepower they handled better and were more reliable have a nice day they were a pile of s***
![[DRAGON BALL LEGENDS REVEALS ＆ STUFF] LEGENDS FESTIVAL 2024 Special Edition Part 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mV5bGIswTtQ/mqdefault.jpg)
In 1975 I had one of the first Can Am 250 Enduro bikes. Loved that bike for my first six weeks of ownership. Took the bike to a large sand quarry to test some new tires and gearing. After an hour of thrashing and adjustments I had the bike behaving the way I wanted so I could race at my first NETRA Enduro Event. As I wrapped up the day I was climbing the walls of the quarry with ease. As I turned around at the top of a wall I was 20 feet from the edge when the entire wall collapsed underneath me and the bike. Following a 70+ foot fall me and the bike landed on the quarry floor. It was the last mili-second I would feel anything below the knees. After 2 plus hours of yelling for help I was finally found and rescued then taken to the ER for what would be a two year process of recovery with a L-1 Spinal Cord Injury and associated body damage. I've now lived 49 years as a paraplegic and I've been fortunate to live an awesome life despite needing a wheelchair for mobility. Loved my Can Am and thank you so much for this video about Can Am. Growing up in the MX and Enduro crazy environment of New England as soon as I saw Jimmy Ellis on a Can Am at Southwick I dumped my Honda 250 Enduro for the Can Am. Never regretted my switch of bikes or my accident. We were all young and stupid at one time. Thanks for listening and all the best with your channel.
🙂👍 from New Zealand.
Boo hoo
@@kevinreichheld236 What ????
You are a tough winner and I wish you luck, great attitude and story.
@@mattrohr1266 Thank you sir!
My friend had a Can Am MX1 and sold it and got a 77 Honda CR125... FULL FMF Factory Replica, Cross up swingarm, Fox air shocks, FMF Red down pipe, Fork air-caps, FMF Porcupine head, FMF graphics, bigger carb. He also had full Marty Smith riding gear, Electro helmet, Carrera goggles, snap-on face guard, High-Point boots and Hondaline gear. He was the COOLEST LOOKING and FASTEST Guy at the track except when one time when Magoo showed up on his MAICO. Remember those days like it was yesterday ✌😎
I had a Maico 400 MC. It had a hole shot getter! ♥️🏍️💨🏁
This is an absolutely brilliant presentation of our history. The wordsmithing is exceptional, and the delivery is dry, clever and humorous. I stood next to the fences, watching this all happen in real-time, always wondering what was happening in the backroom. Thank you for closing the circle.
When I was 17 I bought a brand new 250 CAN AM TNT Enduro, it had the head & tail lights with turn signals. Had it licensed for the street and imbaressed larger bikes on the road. The only upgrade was a set of KONI rear shocks, I loved that exhaust pipe which I called the "stove pipe", the engine had a power band hit that you had better hang on to the handle bars. I sold the bike in 1988 for $400, wished I still had it in the garage!
Raced enduros on a 1979 250 qalifier... best bike I ever owned!
Really enjoyed the documentary on Can-Am, glad that full episodes will be on RUclips as I don’t get a television network that carries it.
Always knew Cam-Am were great bikes but never knew why they still weren't in production. Thanks Neil, for filling the gaps in the story. As always, great script.
I had a 1979 MX 250. One of all orange ones .Bike made far more power than I could ever use to full potential. Those Rotax rotary valve induction motors were really good. When racing it at the local moto track , it had a bad habit of breaking the rear brake rod that went from pedal to activate the rear brake. Went thru the fence on some corners a couple of times. Dealer couldn’t fix it. Tried a few times. He called the factory and they were no help. Their service was pretty bad. The rest of the bike was solid. I wound up rigging up a cable to replace the rod and it was good after that. It’s to bad , they really made a decent bike.
I picked up a Can Am 175 from the side of the road for $75 around 1991. Had never heard of them but I finally had a bike! I got it running after a few hours. Kickstarter on other side was stripped out, push start it was! I was 16 who cared and friend had a new KDX200. That old air cooled bike would smoke him! It had a electrical gremlin and liked to stop at the worst times but burned many tanks. A hurricane flooded it that was the end, I never knew anything about them until now. Heard they were first with plastic tank, didn’t have Internet back then so I didn’t even know where to get parts. Wish I still had it!
My first bike ever was a used TNT 250. I loved it. Such a great trail bike, light and nimble with enough power to pretty much climb anything.
Peace!
I rode my cousin’s 250 MX1. He broke his leg on it. That thing had amazing torque! I’d love to have a Can Am enduro now. 👍🏻🏍️💨🏁
Great video/Thank you! I bought a brand new 1975 Can-Am 250 MX. It was amazing, except it handled like "shit". I took my Maico 250 GP entire front end (had triple crown machined to fit tubes) Fox shocks, Metzler tires, made an up-pipe, and turned it into a BEAST! Loved that bike, fast, reliable, and a ton of fun to race.. Now to think it was 50 years ago-WOW!
Some cool history here that I wasn’t aware of.
I had a 79 mx5 250 that I used in hare scrambles. Still have the racing jersey hanging in my garage.
Interesting story. I dont think we ever got Can Am' s in New Zealand , but I saw them in the magazines as a kid. They got them in Australia though 👍
Nice to see Dave McLean and Bob Fisher. I worked alongside Dave at Sonlc mc in Toronto. Still riding and wrenching Les Montgomery
Excellent program. You tell a good story...and what´s more I believe it all!
Can-Am motorcycles provided a young impressionable me with two moments of intense national pride which I have never forgotten even 50 years later. The first occurred when fourteen year-old me discovered the October 1974 issue of Cycle magazine in the school's library. The cover announced the test of the new Can Am 250 T'NT with the blurb "instant king of the 250 enduros", the test itself contained the following line: "On the Kerker dyno the Canadian bombshell exploded with 27bhp". OMG, this was a Canadian motorcycle and it was the king of its category, not only that, but it was the CANADIAN BOMBSHELL. I had to tell everyone !
A couple of years later, I was in the stands at the very first Montréal Super Motocross (the term Supercross had not yet been invented) when Jimmy Ellis won astride a Can Am. I didn't even care that the rider was American, a Canadian bike had won.
I still have my 1974 Can Am 125 and i drive a Saturn Vue.
I purchased a 250 MX when my local Yamaha dealer got the product line. The bike was fast and heavy and had a crappy suspension. I later bought a Husky 250 which I raced for quite some time. I always wondered what the Can Am would do with a great light weight frame and good suspension. Always first to the first turn......usually finished in the top five.
I got a mx6 400 sitting in my basement,,just like new
I had a 87 Can-Am 250 ASE , without a doubt one of the most reliable bikes I've ever had but handling was sketchy at best , I do wish I still had it !
This is the first time I heard about this bike. ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥
But you owned a pet rock ! 😂
Hear Can-AM think of one rider. Jimmy Ellis.😊
In the middle of restoring my 79 mx5. Stiff clutch,marginal handling,poor brakes. But fox air shocks,thor aluminum swingarm,simons forks and the 10 plus hp they made than anyone explains why I love this bike. Thanks for the video.
Rotax power put this marque on the map. I remember stepping off my '74 suzuki 185 on to the Can Am 175. The power increase throughout the band was unbelieveable!
I remember Donny Hanson on a Can-Am winning everything at Indian dunes back in the mid 70’s in Southern California!
Very interesting!
Thanks
One of my best friends had a 250 in the 70s. We MX raced together. I had a Maico MC 400. He was tough competition! I loved his bike. It had a power band! You had to really hold on! My cousin had a 250 too. He broke his leg on it. He didn’t ride MX, so he had no business on it! I wish I had a Can Am 350 now. ♥️🏍️💨🏁
They had the best motor back then, which was really a Sachs snowmobile motor but they were heavy and not too well suspended. I still love the magic pumpkins of the late 70’s I had a 79’ Qualifier 250 ✌️🇺🇸
I love the emphasis on performance vs styling. Something that’s been lost on at least 1/2 of the motorcycle buying public in the US.
Had to check out this video since I almost bought a brand new 1986 250ASE. I wound up buying a Kawasaki KDX200. To bad you didn't have John Martin at your Can Am gathering.
Hey!very happy to see my face at 1:58 for a second!...LOL!...Enjoy this video as well!✌
Raced an MX4 for an entire season with no bugs at all..great bike.
Still have mine , reminds me how old i'm getting because it's pushing 50 years old , the dealer told me only 4 of them were made could that be true ?
have owned an mx4 since new , pig to start but once it's warmed up no problems , never raced it just rode the trails in northern ontario , great dirtbike with lots of power and suspension travel
I remember when Gene Kenneday road a Can-Am. Mid 70’s or so.
I raced against the only Can-am I every saw in New Zealand way back in the 70s..I was wow..But nobody in my Town sold them and the rider was from out oftown..so never saw it again except in Magazines...
I started riding dirt bikes in the mid '70s, at age 16. I had a several year old Bultaco. I remember the Can Ams. Seems like most of them were orange. I never rode one, but I remember them looking very rough compared to the Japanese bikes of the time. European bikes like the Bultaco, Husky, and Maico were like that too. The Japanese bikes just had a fit and finish that nobody else had.
I really liked the looks of the first Victory, the V92C. I wanted one, but the first ones had issues. I thought I would wait until they got the bugs worked out. Sadly that never happened. They replaced the V92C with the disgusting Vegas, the Ness Mess got involved, and I lost all interest in Victory motorcycles. And you couldn't give me a modern KTM, or any other modern bike for that matter. Everything I love about motorcycles is missing form modern bikes.
I raced a MX-5 for a few years.
Damn it was fast.
Parts started getting hard and expensive to get.
Went back to Honda.
I knew the CanAm boys in the UK really well, their headquarters were down the road from my shop and yeah, they died in the late 70's, just no development. The big problem (apart from minimal improvements) was in the enduro/trail world where I was involved is they had no exclusive engines and a flurry of small boutique companies like Moto Gori and Kramer were building up to date machines at a lower price and when Rotax brought out a 500 2-stroke to compete with the big-bore Japanese bikes the engine was basically horrible. The only success CanAm had was supplying the British Army biikes.
a 406 they were gud
The first batch of British army CanAms were assembled by BSA in Birmingham but after they finally crumbled I believe that the rest were built by Jeff Clewes at CCM.
My 400 qualifier was a great bike
I had 2 250 , 1 125 , mx2 I believe, extended swingarm ohlins suspension Simon’s fork kits . They were polished and ported by mongoose machine in British Columbia Canada . Super fast , handled great but had the worst breaks , the counter shaft would break on a big jump , dnf more than I finished, bought 1981 Yamahas
when I started racing Can Am's were just too pricey. My 76 RM 125 was about $750.00. Can Am's were over $1000.00 and were hard to find in N.J.
Victory fans will always gather there top bikes
Great job on video
Chapters
00:00:00 - Motorcycle Company Start
00:01:45 - 50th Anniversary Celebration
00:02:59 - Can-Am's Unique Appeal
00:04:34 - Can-Am's Early Success
00:06:26 - Can-Am's Production Challenges
00:14:25 - Market Demand Issues
00:17:24 - Competition and Innovation
00:19:25 - Can-Am's Decline
00:19:56 - Environmental Regulations Impact
00:20:35 - Could It Have Been Different?
00:21:12 - KTM Comparison
00:21:43 - Closing Remarks
Jimmy Ellis -Can Am KING!
THEY WERE NOT PLASTIC! SATURN'S WERE "SPACE AGE POLYMER! 😂
Live in nc, drove to atla, to cycle south an bought a new 1986 can am 350ase. It wasn t till then I started to learn to go fast. Love that bike
CanAm, dominance?
Wow
I guess there is an alternate world somewhere
10” of mono shock suspension on the Japanese bikes killed Can Am in short order, along with most of the Euro dirt bikes for a couple of decades also.
What a out atk? They still produce parts here in slc.
Rotary Valve
ROTARY Valve
ROTARY VALVE
Raced my 79 Yamaha yz80. Beat all the can am riders in my races. 175, 250, etc. no can am in sight. ❤
If your a factory sponsored racer, I believe you. If you weren't I don't.
Where the meeting Ontario?
Was in a meeting at a vintage awards dinner with Jeff Smith and buck Murphy factory rider great bs
Maico ruled quick too
What a Blabbermouth !
My feeling exactly. That video could have been about 10 minutes. Most of what he said was irrelevant.
Ryker spyder sells alot. Its diff .the sell alot motors i gota Atk 605
NEIL!
Skip Olsen and Kevin Snapp
I rode a bit with Kevin Snapp back in the early 80’s. It was shocking how aggressive and fast he was in the tight trees.
In the 70s, the Can-Am were competitive. By the early 80s, not so much. The Japanese had motocross wrapped up with far better technology. Europeans, i.e. Husky and KTM, had the Eastern United States, off-road wrapped up. In the west and more open, the Huskies had some stiff competition from the Japanese motocross bikes. The can ams were not in the fight at all. Look at results for the ISDT even in the late 70s, but also the early 80s, barely a Can-Am in the field.
didnt need to watch this to know the reason why they failed.......i thought he was going to tell us something i didnt know......i liked my 1976 honda cr125......Japanese are a visual breed of people and know how things should look......
my first bike was a verey used Can An 175 tnt that i baught for $ 400.00
long story short
I blew away the Canadian moto cross champion on his own track with that old Can Am
he was riding a brand new rm 250 race bike
he was not a happy person that day !!!!
Hahaha I don't believe 😜 you
Can-Am's never dominated any kind of motorcycle racing or sales.
They were cool bikes but...........just another bike.
I loved my canam 175 qualifier but it was JUNK really - even worse the my Ford trucks lol
Atk made bikes instead now maico ccm others
Cranks were way too small on the 250's, too much wheel spin, and rotary valve power not snappy enough compared to reed valve engines..
You sir don't know what you are talking about ! Sorry
@@johnallan863 The early 250 Can Am cranks are smaller than a 175 Penton/KTM crank, by far...I know what I am talking about.
They were ok but chassis cost alot they make alot other stuff gas crunch and sales went less n they make literaly everyrhin. Else trains jets. Atk did continue makin bikes w best frame sold thru can am. Ccm owms can am now they make bikes still. Also buell
The only reason CanAm had any success was because of Gary Jones.
And Jimmy Ellis for a short time.
Ill-handling beast that spat Jimmy (Man Of Steel) Ellis off at every opportunity and destroyed my knee, hindering my career. But that's just me. (The motors were great in a Champion/Redline short track frame, tho*)
To expensive so so fast the can-am
9:48 "The man knocking on Jeff Smith's door, Gary Rougerson, who is actually American, but there is no reason to ruin a good story."
Then it goes on to say he was the man at the top who got the bike company started.
So take that "American story destroyer" out of the picture---and there would be no story son. I don't blame him for not going to the 50th year celebration.
No appreciation from people who never built a thing.
No one raced MX These.. Terrible suspension and motor was like a trail bike.
Only in pre 1978 were they ok .
My friend had a 1978 250 orange MX .
I had RM250 far far better bike .
I was a teenager in the 70s and those early Can-Am were bad ass bikes. Their motors were unbeatable. Their handling was pretty good. I had a friend with a Yamaha 1974 MX 250 and another friend with a 75 Can-Am 175 They drag raced and the Can am walked away from the Yamaha. Thinking it was just a fluke, my friend on the MX 250 lined up again only to lose again. He handed the bike over to me since I was slightly more skilled. We did the start drag race again and the Can-Am one again won. The other guy wasn’t better than me, but that Can-Am 175 was better than that Yamaha in a straight line. In late 1975 when this Suzuki RM showed up as 76 models pretty much put Can-Am on the trailer. Those Suzuki’s were just better at the same time, the Yamaha YZ’s were out.
Over tired
Decent storyline, but I hate these damn commercials inserted and the host is boring and just lame. His delivery is old and dry.
Bought a 250 gp, worst dirt bike I ever owned
i lived in new england and grew up riding in the 70's and beyond. i used to frequent local motorcycle shops. When i saw the Can-Ams i laughed. Ugliest bikes i ever saw. wasnt even on my radar after seeing them. sorry
I must have missed they Greatest part ? Rotax was okay , the rest was pretty marginal . By the time things started to evolve they were toast . Now BRP totally sucks ass .
Yeah, H-D still makes motorcycles, over in Thailand...I just read they're shuttin down the facilities in Wisconsin, layin every employee before the move...🤷🏻♂️
#IndianOverHarley
In 1979 I bought a MX-5 250 at a dealership in Long Beach California when I walked into this motorcycle shop 40 Can-Am 250 and 400 370 in the front window of the shop the reason I bought one at the time it had 10 more horsepower than any other bike made okay that was cool at about 7 months of race in this bike in Southern California it started having engine failure after engine failure after engine I had to 2250 and a 400 they were MX-6 is if I were to buy a mako would have been better off even though they didn't have the horsepower they handled better and were more reliable have a nice day they were a pile of s***
Are the sponsors jokes?? How do you have so many high quality sponsors?? Haha
This show airs on Cable and is shared through RUclips