The new Patents application by BRP shows a ‘Family of motorcycles’, and may hint the company’s return to 2-wheelers.
Bombardier Recreational Products (herein BRP), manufacturers of the highly popular Can-Am brand and more, just recently applied for an interesting 2-wheeled patent. The patent application reveals that the company is possibly coming back to the 2-wheel segment.
The application comes about a year after the company initially announced their plan for electrifying each line of their products. Back then, the plan included a two-years roll out for the first model, followed by a rapid roll-out across all product lines by end of 2026.
Only a year into the initial announcement, the patents came across the wire, and caught our eye, with the potential of a new platform by BRP to apply to a wide range of vehicles, with a possible brand return new 2-wheeled model.
Here’s what the patents reveal:
The company has made electric concepts vehicles in the past, like the electric version of the Can-Am Ryker, the Can-Am CT1 scooter, CT2 motorcycle and even the tilting trikeBRP. All these remained concept models, but BRB has now been working on the assembly of a ‘Family of motorcycles’, that will play the role of a ‘Platform’ to assemble and manufacture electric vehicles. The method will allow the company a wider range of different vehicles, based on similar frame and components.
What the images clearly illustrate are a set of electric motorcycles, from trailbike to a street-bike, as well as riding position outlined for future models like a cruiser, and a super-sport model, all based on the shared platform frame and parts.
BRP has apparently also been working over the past year on the drive system as well as the electronics, battery pack and not only the different chassis and riding positions.
BRP’s shared platform, is an idea we’ve heard first about from Arc Vehicles’ CEO, Mark Truman during an interview last year where he raised the idea for such a platform and its potential for Arc in the future. It has also been announced by Harley-Davidson as the future for the LiveWire platform, which revolves around the Arrow platform monocoque and battery housing, adaptable to various mechanical and electrical parts like steering, swingarm and motor, to allow variations in model performance and riding position.
The patent by BRP shows a similar plan, based on a frame holding the battery pack and control electronics, with a varied angle of chassis, so that the whole frame and battery section can be fit to the riding position of each model.
Forks, swingarms, motor units, and bodywork, as well as footpegs, and bars can be produced with a single production line for all models of the bike, from the cruiser to the super-sport. In this way, bikes can theoretically be built according to customer order, or at the very least, the factory can respond quickly to spikes in demand for specific models without having to leave with large stocks of less popular models.
The fact that the company used detailed images and clearly show the roadster model and trail model of the coming bike, is strongly pointing that the company is already well into establishing their development phase, and these models are very likely well under way to becoming production motorcycles.
UPDATE (26, March): Can-Am On Road YT channel has released an official teaser for the coming motorcycles.
Although it isn’t clear whether they will roll out soon, or closer to 2024, we sure hope and believe that the way patents show at least 2 of these models, are going to be announced quite sooner than may be expected. Check back in, we’ll be sure to keep up-to-speed.
Source: WIPO patent scope, Can-Am YT