Can-Am's Hub-Steered Triple
By Ben Purvis
Can-Am will return to the two-wheeler market after decades away when it launches its Pulse and Origin electric bikes - part of a modular range of battery-powered machines - in 2024.
However, a newly published patent application shows that a radical combustion-engined machine has also been under development.
The bike shown in the document features a selection of unusual design elements, including the hub-center steering system that's the basis of the patent - plus an inline three-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission.
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It's a design that clearly shares much of its DNA with Can-Am's gasoline-powered three-wheelers, the Spyder and Ryker ranges, adopting a similar long, low profile to those machines, but eliminating one of the front wheels. The Ryker, in particular, is closely related to the new design, lending its engine and transmission to the project.
At the moment, the Ryker can be had with a choice of a 600 cc twin-cylinder or 900 cc three-cylinder engine, both made by Can-Am's Austria based sister company Rotax and allied to a twist-and-go CVT transmission. The same powertrain appears to feature in the new two-wheeler, with the drawings showing something that looks like the larger three-cylinder Ryker engine nestled in its trellis-style frame.
'crazy-looking creation emerges in patent application'
Like the Ryker, it carries the engine longitudinally. Only Triumph's Rocket 3 shares a similar layout with a three-cylinder engine. The suspension that's the focus of the patent is intended to maximize the potential lean angle and to limit the number of linkages needed in the steering system.
It features two parallel front suspension links, with an upright at the front, giving a single-sided appearance. While rival hub-steered bikes like Bimota's Tesi aim to maintain a conventional riding position, with the bars above the front wheel, the Can-Am puts the rider further back, as on the Ryker and Spyder trikes.
That layout means there can be a steering column running down from the bars to a position behind the front wheel, with a pitman arm and a tie rod transferring the steering movement to the wheel. It's a setup that has fewer joints and linkages than most other hub-steered bikes, potentially reducing vagueness in the steering and improving feedback.
The weight distribution, with the rider positioned so far back, will clearly be closer to a cruiser than a sports bike, but the hub-steered front end means the rake and trail can be tweaked to whatever geometry the company wants.
As with other front swingarm systems, the suspension also separates braking and suspension forces, allowing softer springing without introducing dive when you're on the brakes.
Although Can-Am's initial motorcycle plans are all electric, the company isn't tied purely to battery power. The existence of the Spyder, Ryker and an array of Can-Am ATV and side-by-side models shows that the combustion engine still plays a big role in the brand's future, so a motorcycle using the same power source could well join the electric bikes once the company has re-established itself in the two-wheeled market.
