Can-Am isn’t the first name when you think of motorcycle manufacturers, but the Canadian brand has a rich tradition in the two-wheeled world, especially when it comes to off-road racing.
They are getting back to their roots now though, albeit with a modern twist, as Can-Am has announced that it will return to the two-wheeled space, brining a lineup of electric motorcycles by the year 2024.
Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is recalling 6,632 units of its 2019-2020 Can-Am Ryker three-wheeler because their wheel nuts may crack, which could cause the wheels to loosen.
The issue has been tracked back to at least one lot of bad parts, which BRP began receiving from February 7, 2019.
However, once the first parts were introduced into the BRP factory, the Canadian company could not track them with enough precision to reduce the number of vehicles involved in this recall, therefore the remaining production through the 2019 model year has been included in this recall group.
It looks like the Canadians are getting deeper into the electric vehicle space, as Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) has released more than a few electric concepts across its various product ranges.
Debuting the six concepts at the Club BRP 2020 event in Las Vegas, BRP’s offerings caught our eye for two very obvious reasons: the electric scooter and motorcycle concepts.
Episode 9 of the Brap Talk podcast is out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and once again this is a marathon show full of good two-wheeled conversation.
We hope you’re ready to plug in, because this episode is all about electric motorcycles, as there has been a lot of movement in this space since we last recorded.
In a terse press release this morning, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) announced that it has acquired select assets of Alta Motors’ parent company Faster-Faster, Inc.
Those assets include “certain intellectual property, patents and some limited physical assets from the former all-electric motorcycle design and manufacturing company,” to put it in BRP’s words.
BRP plans to use these assets as part of its ongoing research into electric and hybrid drives for recreational vehicles, and hopes that the technology will help jumpstart its own efforts for electric transportation products.
The Canadian company is very quick to point out, however, that BRP has no interest in restarting operations of Alta Motors and assumes no liabilities.
Bad news from San Francisco today, as we learn that Alta Motors has ceased business operations, effective immediately, sending the company’s staff home as the electric motorcycle manufacturer looks for future funding.
Talking to an anonymous source, Asphalt & Rubber has been told that Alta Motors is in the midst of a strategic wind down, as it looks for an outside acquisition or investment.
Reuters continues to dish on Ducati’s possible divestiture from the Volkswagen Group, with news that several bids have been placed on the Italian motorcycle brand. Reuters says that amongst the bidders are several key brands like, Polaris, Bajaj, and Royal Enfield’s owners Eicher Motors.
Noticeably absent from the list of potential buyers however was the much talked-about Harley-Davidson, a name that the same Reuters reporters first offered as Ducati’s potential future owner.
Now Reuters offers us another name as the likely front-runner, pointing to Italy’s Benetton family (as in, the United Colors of Benetton), which has reportedly submitted a bid of $1.2 billion, through its investment arm Edizione Holding.
Kind of an odd recall issue to come across our desk, but Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is recalling a handful (92, to be specific) of 2017 Can-Am Spyder RT trikes because the low-beam setting on the trike’s headlight shoots too high down the road – the issue stemming from a manufacturing error in the headlight assembly.
Besides annoying on-coming traffic, the headlight fails to meet requirements set by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS), under item number 108: “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and associated Equipment.”
Interesting news from our friends to the North, as BRP is rumored to be looking at entering the motorcycle industry with a two-wheeler.
The news comes from the Montreal Gazette, which says that the Canadian company is evaluating a move into the motorcycle business, and is looking for “possibilities and trends” in the two-wheeled realm.
This business venture would seem to be outside of BRP’s Can-Am brand, which already offers a motorcycle, albeit one that has three wheels and more closely resembles an on-road snowmobile.
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 all 5,165 units of its 2013 Can-Am Spyder RT “motorcycles” for problems with the engine compartment temperature when idling or in warmer temperatures.
Apparently the engine compartment on the 2013 Can-Am Spyder RT can retain an excess of heat, which in turn could burn the rider or cause the trike to catch fire.