You’re probably familiar with the Can-Am name, likely because of the company’s ATVs or Spyder three-wheelers. However, if you rode dirt bikes in the 1970s, you probably remember that the name originally flanked the fuel tanks of Canadian-made motocross and enduro motorcycles, from 1973 to 1982. Those bikes were competitive, too, winning gold in the International Six Days Trial in 1973, and topping the AMA 250 cc motocross championship in 1974.
At the time, Can-Am belonged to the larger Bombardier conglomerate, a company that also produced snowmobiles, commercial jets, train cars, and eventually ATVs and watercraft under different brand names. Funding was eventually diverted to the production of trains and planes, and motorcycle production ceased in Canada. While production continued in the U.K. under licence by Armstrong-CCM, Can-Am two-wheelers disappeared…