Three-wheel ATV survivor right here. I must confess our family had four of these “death traps” that we grew up riding in the 1980s. Against the odds, I lived to tell about it. After making the switch to two wheels in my teens (and a nationwide ban on these vehicles by the Consumer Product Safety Commission), I thought my three-wheelin’ days were behind me, yet here I was at the Can-Am Canyon launch in Prescott, Arizona. Three-wheeled motorcycles aren’t new to the BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) lineup, but this particular model is. The Canyon is Can-Am’s first trike that is capable of heading off the tarmac and into the dirt. It’s a place I didn’t think I’d be again, but to be fair, this is quite a different experience than that of my youth. 

With two wheels up front instead of in the rear, Can-Am chose a configuration for its three-wheel lineup that better agrees with the laws of physics. This three-wheel plane is incredibly stable in motion, so much so that Can-Am decided to challenge fate by taking it into the dirt. 

The Canyon features the same 1330cc Rotax powerplant as the rest of its three-wheel lineup and puts it into a beefed-up chassis with higher ground clearance, longer travel suspension and adventure tires. This all-new concept is beyond a niche; this is a rare-within-the-unique segment and certainly not for everyone. Of course, we still jumped at the chance to be one of the first to put it in the dirt and see what it could do. 

Setting Your Expectations

Before Can-Am let us loose in the high deserts of Arizona aboard the all-new Canyons, we had an important discussion about what these vehicles are, and what they aren’t. Can-Am is leaning into the adventure touring space with the Canyon, but take note, they stop short of calling it an “off-road” vehicle. This is not an OHV; it is not designed to go on the same type of trails as Side-By-Sides or ATVs. So right away, get any such expectation out of your head. Useful rule of thumb: the Canyon is designed for roads designated for vehicles with license plates. So think backroads, fire roads, gravel roads, etc. “Remember that this is a touring model,” Can-Am’s Global Consumer PR Specialist Jason Abbott reminded us at the technical briefing. Think less Polaris Maverick X3, and more Jeep Wrangler. This isn’t about dominating the terrain; it’s about simply getting out there. It’s about comfort, accessibility and adventure. 

That doesn’t mean you won’t get the thrill of twisting a throttle aboard a Canyon. In fact, that’s the advantage of Can-Am’s entire three-wheel family. While it’s not categorically a motorcycle, it still lets you swing a leg over the machine, grab the handlebar and twist a throttle. In the case of the Canyon, it’s about accessibility and adaptability. This has the potential to open doors for people who want to venture off the highway and into the great outdoors, people who might not otherwise be able to do that on an adventure motorcycle. Who exactly would that person be? That was the question bouncing around in my head as we rolled off the pavement and onto the Arizona back roads aboard our Canyon three-wheelers.

First, The Nuts & Bolts

There are three different trim levels for the Can-Am Canyon: the Standard, the XT and the premium Redrock version. The XT and Redrock feature heated grips (for rider and passenger) and luggage (top and side cases). The premium Redrock adds on a back-up camera and semi-active KYB Smart-Shox suspension. The base model isn’t exactly what I’d call a “budget” option, as it still checks in at $25,299—rather, it’s ideal for solo riders, or anyone wanting to outfit it for their own ride experience. And that’s easy enough to do with the Can-Am LinQ integration system which allows you to accessorize with a number of goodies already in the Can-Am catalog like bags, bumpers, seats, cargo boxes and even backrests. 

Ground clearance is 6.3 inches and wheel travel on the suspension is 10.2 inches in the front and 9.2 inches in the rear (the math somehow checks out…), Sachs on the base model and XT while the Redrock rides on KYB Smart Shox electronic suspension. The 16” front wheels (15” in back) are mounted by independent A-arms with an anti-roll bar. The wide-set front wheels span 62.2 inches, nearly as long as the 67.6-inch wheelbase, which results in a nearly equilateral stance.

The Canyon tips the scales at a cool half ton—1,036 pounds with bags. While the 6.3-inch ground clearance is nearly two inches higher than any of Can-Am’s other three-wheelers, the center of gravity is still low enough to make this an exceptionally stable platform. Take it from someone who’s rolled a few three-wheelers in her day—nothing short of a giant crane-mounted spatula will flip this thing. Power is provided by a Rotax 1330cc ACE inline three-cylinder engine with its 115 horses delivered only to the rear wheel via a well-protected belt drive system. The entire inner workings of the Canyon, in fact, are very well encased and protected, which lends to its automotive-type feel. 

The Canyon lands squarely in the powersports category, however, there are many features that also give it an automotive level of comfort. One look at the wheels and tires will remind you that this is not a true OHV. The XPS Adventure tire tread does provide a better bite in the dirt than road-going tires, but the flat profile serves as a reminder that these vehicles belong on a flat road. The low-profile sidewall also reminds you that you won’t be leaning, carving, digging in or breaking traction. The six-speed semi-automatic transmission is controlled via paddle shifters on the left handlebar. Upshifting is manual only. Downshifting can be done manually or will happen automatically as the vehicle slows. Your choice. 

The front and rear ABS brakes are linked, and controlled at the right foot pedal. There is no independent front brake. Since there is also no clutch, this means no levers on the handlebars. Like, at all. This really threw me off at first. I suggested to Can-Am that they might offer dummy levers for people like me—emotional-support levers to occupy the muscle memory. An actual shift lever at the left foot might also be a useful option. The hand shifter works well enough, but when you take a look at the left switchblock, you’ll find there’s a lot going on at the left thumb. Blinkers, horn, shift lever… especially when in the standing position on a bumpy dirt road, upshifts might become errant horn taps. 

The 10.25-inch touchscreen display is definitely an automotive-level feature, and one you won’t find me complaining about. Native software is the BRP Connect system and Can-Am says the unit is also Apple CarPlay compatible (and working on an Android solution). I tried but couldn’t get this to pair with my iPhone on the day of our media ride, but do have to point out that these one-day press intros are never a great time to synch up electronics or get a good feel for their capabilities. We jump on first thing in the morning, ride all day, usually swapping units between riders, and then you’re done and it’s time for the next group. We don’t get to sit in the garage and tinker with electronics, synch up our phones, download apps, sign in… all the things you would do if you owned this vehicle and took the time to align devices. Also, when I say I tried pairing, I mean that the magical Apple ecosystem didn’t immediately ping my iPhone 15 with a pop-up: “I see you’re on a Can-Am Canyon. Would you like to pair?” Any effort beyond that was too much to ask, so I went without. But like I said, no complaints. Toggling between displays, engine modes and functions is very easy and straightforward. 

Back to that keyboard of a switchblock. At first it may look busier than your DirecTV remote, but it’s pretty easy to get familiar with it. Once you do, it all becomes very simple because there’s a button to take you directly to each function. You don’t have to navigate through menus with arrow keys to find what you’re looking for. And if worse comes to worse, just touch the screen and it will get you there. Between the large, easy-to-read display and the intuitive interface, the Canyon gets a very high score from me on the UX. 

As for the electronics suite and native ride control systems, that’s a separate discussion. Once again, this is where the automotive feel comes into play. The Canyon features a sophisticated medley of electronic ride control features such as engine modes, traction control, ABS, stability control, dynamic power steering and even hill-hold control. All of these systems are linked together into four preset modes: Sport, Normal, All-Road and Rally. If you are on the Redrock model as I was, you will also have the KYB semi-active electronic suspension added into that mix. If you’re on the Redrock or XT models (anything but the base model), you will also find self-leveling rear air suspension, which is handy for automatically adjusting rear preload for a passenger or luggage or both. All in, that’s a whole lot of thinking the Canyon is doing for you, and a thick layer of virtual foam-rubber around your ride experience, particularly when it comes to the off-pavement part. If you’re comfortable with that, and all the electronic intervention adds up to an easier day in the saddle for you, there’s a lot to love here. The inverse is also true.

Can-Am wants to be sure you are well aware of what you’re getting yourself into once aboard the Canyon, and there is a sequence of events that need to happen before you are permitted to get underway: Turn the key. Foot on the brake pedal. Rotate the throttle away from you in order to acknowledge the warning on the display screen. Only now can you hit the ignition switch on the right handlebar to fire the engine. Disengage the electronic parking brake also on the right handlebar (forgetting this step will set off an e-brake alarm. Fun fact, the alarm will also go off if you shut off the Canyon and remove the key before setting the e-brake). Shift into gear on the left handlebar. Off you go. 

Circling back to setting your expectations, this is a touring model. It’s not about attacking the terrain, it’s for getting out into the beyond and taking it all in, comfortably. If you prefer manual control of the shifting, clutch, brakes and power without any electronic intervention, you won’t find that here. But Can-Am knows that not all riders who venture off the pavement are looking to get sporty. Some simply want to see what’s out there, but find the prospect of taking an adventure touring motorcycle into the dirt, especially with luggage and/or a passenger, too intimidating. Well, this is a way to do it in a very easy, low-risk manner.

Embracing The Ride

On The Road

A 44-degree rainy morning meant I headed straight for a Redrock model. Heated grips were in my future, as was the ample onboard storage space for the layers I would inevitably be shedding as the day warmed up. (It didn’t.) 

Our ride started out on paved roads and winding highways as we headed out of town. Without levers on the bars or needing to put a foot on the ground, the stop-and go of surface streets was a new experience for me, and took some effort to get used to. “Just sit back and relax,” should have been written on my dashboard. Once you embrace the three-wheel platform and let it work for you, that’s when you can really appreciate the Canyon for the distinct advantage it provides: stability. It can be an abrupt departure from the more rider-active experience we come to expect when behind the handlebars, but just chill out, quit grabbing for faux levers and roll with it. 

Across town, it was a very easy experience without needing to balance, feather the clutch or so much as downshift (unless I wanted to) moving from traffic signal to traffic signal. Getting into the rolling highways, which would typically be the relaxing part on two-wheels, actually became a bit more of a task. Steering a two-wheel front end rather than simply leaning through a turn takes more effort, especially if you’re riding any sort of spirited pace. The dynamic power steering likely helps make turning a little lighter than it would be otherwise, but it still takes some upper body strength to hold the Canyon through a turn. 

Acceleration is very civil and controlled. “Normal” mode didn’t have the pepper I was hoping for from a 115-hp mill, so I switched to “Sport” mode. This was a little more responsive, but still didn’t pack the liveliness I was craving. The power output is there, and you’ll feel it flex some grunt when you’re accelerating up a hill, or overtaking on the highway. But you won’t find a sporty snap of power out of turns. 

Fortunately, toggling between modes on the fly is quick and easy, again, thanks to the dedicated button on the left handlebar. It’s nice to have that capability because it’s a great feeling rolling off the pavement onto a backroad and making the seamless transition. It’s kind of a buzz kill in the moment to stop and flick through the display screens. 

The different ride modes link several electronics, such as engine modes, traction control, electronic power steering and ABS. These are all programmed to synch up for optimum overall performance, though it’s not set up to allow you to adjust each parameter individually. As a result, I was only able to test the braking performance as pre-programed by Can-Am. That is linked front and rear, with varying ABS sensitivity and cut-in. On-road the braking performance was adequate; it hauled up all 1,000 pounds of Canyon in what I felt was a reasonable distance. I never actually jabbed the brakes hard enough to feel the ABS cut-in or pulsing.

The stability and composure shine not only in stop-and-go surface streets, but on the long highway stretches, particularly as we crossed Prescott Valley on a fast two-lane highway. A harsh crosswind was only noticeable by my helmet visor, and while I struggled to keep my head steady, the Canyon stayed very well planted on the road. Even as big trucks whizzed by, the gusts that would normally send a motorcycle dancing around had hardly any effect on the three-wheeler. 

While the crosswind, gusting at us from about 10 o’clock, caught my visor during that stretch, I wouldn’t say the wind was a problem the rest of the time. As we cruised on the road, I stood up a few times to stretch my legs, and could feel the distinct border of the air pocket above my helmet. At 5-foot-8 I’m already a small-ish rider, but there was a good gap above my head that could allow a much taller person to ride in the same comfort.

Another benefit of a wide two-wheel front end is having that much more mass clearing an air pocket for you. The bodywork isn’t huge, but it does provide a good amount of wind protection at speed. The windshield can be adjusted manually by way of a knob on the left side, and running the high position on the road kept me comfortable even throughout our cold and drizzly day in the saddle. I’m a wimp in the cold and usually the first one complaining about being wet, but the premium level of comfort and stability on the highway easily let me go the distance. If you’re looking for an all-weather mile-eater, the Canyon is worth considering. 

Hitting The Trail

Of course, the question we all wanted answered: But how does it handle the dirt? I’ll start right off by telling you that if you had plans to twist the throttle and let loose all 115 ponies in a glorious burnout worthy of a 1980’s Mickey Thompson Grand Prix poster, think again. This isn’t that ride. Can-Am aimed the Canyon at riders who want to venture beyond the pavement in a comfortable, stable and controlled fashion. It’s not about attacking the trail—and back to our “not an OHV” point above, it’s not about the trail at all. This is a road-going adventure three-wheeler that is about getting you out there, on forest roads, across desert roads, gravel roads, unmaintained roads, places reserved for street-legal-vehicles only. 

If you do attempt any kind of sporting maneuvers, Can-Am’s onboard electronics will assume you are losing control, and spring into action. It’s easy enough to flick the throttle and momentarily break the rear end loose, but TC will quickly come to the rescue. In “Rally” mode, the display screen will give you an indicator light saying the TC is off, but you’ll also soon discover that it’s not truly off. That’s as “off” as Can-Am will let you have it. 

Rally was the mode of choice on the sportier dirt roads. While we didn’t get into anything resembling jeep trails or 4×4 roads, I will say we had a ridiculous amount of fun. Can-Am did their best to plan for ideal conditions, but our group still had a soggy day in the saddle. A steady drizzle gave the red clay roads an inch layer of grease, which turned into an absolute delight for half of the group. Sliding and spinning our way through the mountains turned into a real-life version of Mario Kart that had us laughing like idiots. In between the giggling, it also occurred to me how disastrous these slimy roads would be if we were on big adventure bikes. Even as an experienced off-road rider, I have no shame in admitting that would have been a miserable experience on two wheels.

This is exactly the advantage of the Canyon. You can let it drift around and wiggle its way forward in the dirt, ruts, mud, or probably even snow and water crossings, and it will not tip over, it will not get off track, or slide out from under you. There’s a very real possibility of getting stuck if you attempt anything too ambitious, but it would be hard to lose control on this very stable three-wheel platform. I could have slid around in a complete 180 (I didn’t) and been perfectly fine. 

Mud wasn’t part of the plan for Can-Am, but that’s the thing about an adventure. Whatever you encounter, you press on. Even as things became a little uncivilized on the last portion of dirt roads, I couldn’t help but feel that the Canyon only shined, demonstrating that even with hooligan devil horns at the controls, it remained composed and controlled. For the less experienced dirt riders in the group, it was comfortable and confidence inspiring. We all emerged from the mountain pass splattered in mud with ear-to-ear grins. 

Braking performance in the slick stuff was equally as controlled. There’s a lot more weight to haul up compared to an adventure bike half the size, but when you have three contact patches rather than two, and the braking power has zero effect on the balance and control of the vehicle, you can brake with more confidence. Once again, I don’t recall feeling any pulsing or cut-in of the ABS in the dirt. The overall tameness of our route didn’t exactly provide for any big moments to test the limits of the braking and/or suspension. I don’t suspect the off-road limitations of these categories are especially high, but we nevertheless didn’t encounter them during our ride. 

Our muddy escapade also highlighted the fact that the Canyon can be as much of a rider-active experience as you want. The bar riser and a slim cockpit make the stand-over position quite comfortable, and if it tickles your fancy, you can get out of the saddle and throw your weight around. Again, you won’t be hanging off the back like a sidehack co-pilot, but you can shift the center of gravity (to an extent) and try to carry a little more corner speed in the flat sweepers like you would on an ATV. I say try because be advised, you’ll be fighting against the electronics, too. But once you get a feel for the boundaries of the rider aids and ride it within its limits, the Canyon turns into a real hoot. If you’d rather take your time, ride in comfort and remain under control, as several of the less-dirt-experienced riders in our group opted to do, the Canyon is as sturdy as a plow horse and will carry you with strength and confidence even through slick clay mud. 

The Bottom Line

It’s hard to grade the performance of a one-of-a-kind machine. In this all-new category of three-wheel adventure tourer, it’s hard to know what to expect, and therefore determine how well it did. It ultimately comes down to figuring out who this is for, because the Can-Am Canyon does a very weird thing—it takes the challenge out of venturing into the dirt. It removes the risk factor and makes the off-road experience welcoming and unintimidating. If that last sentence made you sneer, then this isn’t the vehicle for you.

If you love the open-road feel of a motorcycle and want an easier way to experience the great outdoors, want to explore backroads, forest roads, state parks or join in some “overlanding” activities, this could be exactly your answer. The Canyon is not only equipped to handle miles of dirt, gravel, mud, and (light) water crossings, but it gives you the ability to take a lot with you, such as a passenger and/or luggage. Campout for two, anyone? I imagine the Canyon could also be an ideal companion for outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, birding and photography. That reminds me, the Canyon can also tow up to 400 pounds. Along with up to 600 pounds of vehicle payload, that’s another 400 pounds of whatever you need for your adventure, or whatever you need to bring home. 

Of course, like a Range Rover or Jeep Wrangler, it’s not only about getting in the dirt. This is a civilized town-and-country mount with the comfort and luxury amenities to cruise all day on the tarmac. Even if you don’t intend to get dirty at all, but like a taller ride and sportier capability with a premium ride experience, the Canyon checks all the boxes.

Accessibility is a key word, as well. And the Canyon can help open a lot of doors in that regard. This could mean anyone who needs assistance keeping a vehicle upright, whether it’s an older rider or someone of shorter stature or limited physical abilities. Do keep in mind, however, that the Canyon still requires upper body strength when it comes to negotiating turns. Even as an active motocross rider, I felt the pinch between my shoulders at the end of our ride. With power at the rear wheel wanting to push straight ahead, and the front wheels working to maintain the turn, steering on curvy highways isn’t light. This might be my only complaint for Can-Am—lighter steering (more powerful DPS) would make road riding flow a little easier.

If Can-Am finds a niche for adventure three-wheeling, and the Canyon evolves with future generations, perhaps we might see Can-Am venture further into the dirt capabilities. We all know they have the off-road chops… whether or not they choose to steer the Canyon in that direction might depend on demand, feedback, and when regulators  finally wipe away their traumatic memories of the 1980’s. Either way, this is an interesting space to watch.

Can-Am Canyon Specs

Gear We Used
Jacket: Leatt Multitour 5.5 Women’s Adventure Jacket
Pants: Leatt Multitour 5.5 Women’s Adventure Pants
Jersey: Leatt Moto 4.5 Lite Women’s Jersey
Gloves: Leatt Adv Hydradri 5.5 Gloves
Helmet: Leatt ADV 8.5 V25 Helmet Kit

Photos by Can-Am/Align Media

Author: Jean Turner

Jean Turner is a freelance journalist/photographer in the powersports industry. She has been riding and racing motocross and enduro for over 18 years, during which she has worked for a number of publications such as Cycle News, Dirt Rider magazine, Dirt Bike magazine, Racer X, Motocross Action Magazine and international publications in Europe, Japan and Australia. Jean grew up riding in the Southern California desert with her family and has traveled the world as a media correspondent covering and shooting motorcycle races, manufacturer intros and off-road/adventure tours.