A Canadian firm, Bombardier produced the motorcycle that followed the BSA B40 and the Can-Am is still a capable off-road performer
By the late 1970s, it was becoming apparent that for convoy marshalling and despatch riding duties, Britain’s Armed Forces were relying on the BSA B40, a motorcycle that had originally been designed in the late 1950s. It was launched in 1960 for civilian use as utilitarian, road-going machine and adapted for military service in the middle of that decade. Given off-road tyres and a few tweaks to give it more torque, the ubiquitous BSA B40, though durable, dependable and easy to maintain in the field, was out-dated and the British company that built it was in rapid decline. A lightweight, lively motorcycle, modified from a highly successful trail bike, the Can-Am was the answer.
Bombardier, an innovative and ambitious Canadian firm, was used to designing rugged vehicles for challenging environments. Founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier, the Quebec company began designing half-tracks for the war effort and fully-tracked wilderness trucks that could take on the worst the Canadian winter could summon up. The continuous rubber tracks Bombardier pioneered could be adapted…
