In 1973, the most horrifying flick ever, The Exorcist, hit the movie screens, the man of steel, Bruce Lee, passed away and the counterculture grew up and traded its flowery love-and-peace mantra for a regular job. But outside of the mainstream news, a small Canadian company called Bombardier set out to defy all odds and make its mark in the motorcycle world. Under the name Can-Am, short for Canadian-American, the company anxiously entered the motorcycle market. Initially, Can-Am struggled to successfully promote its products to the American consumer. However, the lessons were quickly learned and in short order it assembled what would later be referred to as "The Dream Team." Can-Am signed legendary MX racers Gary Jones, Marty Tripes and Jim Ellis to win titles and prove Can-Am to be a serious contender with competitive off-road machinery. To the amazement of most, the victorious Can-Am team walked away with the top three plates for the '74 National motocross season. The honeymoon ended by the mid-'80s as a shift in focus for the Canadian company led to the last Can-Am motorcycle rolling off the assembly line in 1987.
| + | > Effectively tackles tough terrain due
to 4x4 and IRS
> Massive powerplant |
| - | > Steering is a bit tough
> Heavy |
| = | > The new Can-Am Renegade could
bridge the gap between utility and
sport riders—it does everything all in
one package |
Now nearly two decades later, Bombardier has resurrected its Can-Am name with a fresh commitment to pushing the boundaries in technological advances. And it will be ATVs, not dirt bikes, wearing the Can-Am logo, as the former BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) ATV lineup undergoes more than a name change. BRP President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Boisjoli explained, "We believe the Can-Am brand better represents the positioning of our products in the marketplace and provides the perfect platform to reach out to and attract power-sports enthusiasts."
Since this was a touch before my time, I did a little research to find out what Can-Am was and what it had accomplished. My Google search resulted in an unexpected insight to Can-Am's exciting history and a much-improved perspective as to where Bombardier was headed with this new branding.
There's the history lesson-I was more interested to sample the new models joining the now Can-Am line. Since the company picked the Durhamtown Plantation, I had a home-court advantage. My intimate association with these trails meant I could pinpoint the performance characteristics of the new models in the brief amount of time the factory honchos let us ride their handmade specials.
2007 Renegade 800 H.O. EFI 4x4As the new Can-Am ATV sat on stage waiting to be revealed to the collected press, I just knew it would be a new 450-and could not have been more off track. When the cover came off, I was shocked to see a shiny yellow Renegade 800 4x4. At first glance, it bore more than a passing resemblance to the Kawasaki KXF700 (a.k.a. V-Force). It didn't take long for me to realize this could be the machine to fill the gap between recreational sport and utility ATVs. Can-Am basically shaved 42 pounds from the Outlander 800 and gave it a sportier look and feel while maintaining all its utility benefits. The Renegade's 597 pounds of goodies include high-tech components, such as EFI, four-wheel-drive with Visco-Lok, Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) and, best of all, that scary-fast 800cc motor.
Enough talk already, it was time to find out how this aggressive-looking monster performed. First off, the four-stroke 800cc V-twin was more than a handful in almost any scenario-no surprise since it's the same raging mill housed in the powerhouse Outlander 800. If power is what you desire, we have found your match. The Renegade felt right at home on open trails that allowed high speeds. But as the forest closed in tightly, I had to be much more attentive. As thrilling as the 800cc motor was, I found myself fighting to keep the front tires away from the trunks of the trees. Turning was difficult, especially when pounding out trails aggressively, as the front tires tended to push. Fortunately, the Can-Am engineers on hand were taking improvement notes to add to the feedback from the factory GNCC race team. This was, after all, a handmade $45,000 prototype, so Can-Am conceded that tweaking and improvements were still taking place. I can't wait to try a polished production unit, as overcoming impossible obstacles is where the Renegade will shine. The IRS and 4WD capabilities it inherited from the Outlander made tackling even the roughest of terrain a cinch.