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Can-Am Spyder

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Despite what the DMV says, you might not consider the Can-Am Spyder to be a motorcycle, but the three-wheeler is part of a growing segment of on-road fun machines that have a pretty strong overlap with two-wheeled buyers.

It is not necessarily our cup of tea, but we wouldn’t mind swinging a leg over BRP’s latest creation, a turbocharged Can-Am Spyder F3 concept, which just debuted at the Daytona International Speedway.

The venue comes from Can-Am’s involvement as a title sponsor in the series, so naturally the Canadian brand wanted to spice things up with a special concept.

As such, the turbocharged 1,330 three-cylinder Rotax engine puts out 150hp (considerably more than the stock 113hp figure), and is aided in its breathing by its custom Akrapovi? three-into-three exhaust system.

It might be hard to believe, but Can-Am has sold over 100,000 Spyder three-wheelers since the reverse trike first debuted in dealerships in 2008. Some off-the-cuff math here puts Can-Am Spyder sales as averaging 12,500 units a year — an impressive figure for the unique vehicle.

The 100,000th Can-Am Spyder was given to its new owner, a Missouri firefighter by the name of Brahm Wilson, at the Spyderfest 2015 gathering in Springfield, Missouri. Wilson is your typical Can-Am purchasers, an ex-motorcyclist returning to the sport/lifestyle after a hiatus, who wanted something a little different than the standard two-wheeled fare.

His bike is a 2015 Can-Am Spyder F3, which goes after America’s popular cruiser heritage, and mixes a bit of Harley-Davidson with on-road snowmobile to distinguish itself from the other Spyder models.

BRP is recalling 160 Can-Am Spyder RT SM5 trikes for a faulty drive train that could allow the Spyder to be shifted into reverse without depressing the reverse button. Affecting certain 2011 models, the problem occurs during downshifting, and is caused by a defective reverse actuator cable. The defect could lock and stall the motor while under power, or if stationary could put the trike into reverse without the rider knowing it, thus leading to an accident.

Bombardier has been busy over the past two years, presumably working on something new for the Can-Am Spyder. While not exactly a new idea, the Canadian company has devised a control system for a leaning vehicle…a three-wheeled vehicle shaped like a Spyder according to the patent application that was filed in in July 2009, and published this January (yes, it really takes the USPTO that long just to publish an application, let alone grant a patent). While the technical drawings have little bearing on the final product, it would at least seem logical to conclude that we can expect a leaning Can-Am Spyder in the near future.

For now this technology is just in the application process, and Bombardier hasn’t received a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office yet. Likely unable to get past the prior art for other leaning trike designs as a whole, Bombardier’s patent focuses on the linkage for the steering mechanism, and how to overcome some of the deficiencies in current designs. Diving into the claims of the patent, Bombardier actually has a pretty clever way of having the Spyder’s frame lean and not lean under the right circumstances, which should make for a more refined three-wheeled leaning chassis.

The Canucks are getting into the hybrid scene, as news from up north reveals that BRP, with help from the Canadian government, will develop a hybrid model of its Can-Am Spyder three-wheeler. Working alongside the Université de Sherbrooke, BRP is investing $5.1 million CAD ($5 million USD) into the school’s Centre de Technologies Avancees (CTA), while the Canadian government’s Automotive Partnership Canada program is matching funds to the tune of $6.2 million CAD ($6.1 million USD).

BRP and the researchers at Université de Sherbrooke will be building a ground-up hybrid system, since apparently the systems currently available for cars have proven to be inadequate for the confines of motorcycles and trikes. We guess they missed the product releases from MotoCzsyz (D1g1tal Dr1ve D1) and Mission Motors (MissionEVT), both of whom have developed their drive trains from electric motorcycles. More info after the jump, along with an obnoxiously French-Canadian video.

Bombardier Recreational Prodcuts (BRP) is recalling certain 2010 Can-Am Spyders for a faulty clutch assembly that could cause the trike to stall when stopped, and then not start again. The problem occurs on units that have the SE5 semi-automatic transmission installed, namely the 2010 Spyder RS SE5 2nd Series and 2010 Spyder RT SE5 Roadsters, which makes a total of 1200 units possibly affected by this problem.

BRP, the company behind Sea-doo, Can-Am, and rotax motors, is rumored to be ready to launch a line of side by side vehicles under the Can-Am brand in the next few weeks. Likely not to go the UTV route with the Can-Am name nor its product offering, we’re expecting the new SxS from BRP to be a sporty on-road vehicle similar to the KTM X-Bow, and along the same ethos as the Ducati concept car we showed just last week.

Photo journalist Sandeep “Sunny” Gajjar recently took a six day, 2,000km (1,240 mile) trip around the eastern coast of Australia on Can-Am Spyder. Taking his camera along, Gajjar captured some spectacular HDR photos of his trip and journey down under, and even proved the Spyder has some chops even when not on the asphalt. A self-described motoGrapher, Gajjar is a man of few words, so we’ll let his photos do the talking. Check them out after the jump.