Can-am Vintage Bikes

 

Can-Am is a registered trademark of Bombardier limited, Canada and my pages have no association with that wonderful company.

This site is meant as a place to buy/sell parts, share tech ideas and recently for me to offer you some unusual parts.

As I got it

It's a bit further along than this shot

Back in my 30s I was big into Can-ams and Maicos even though I was a flat tracker. 49 years later I’m back into Can-am. $225 got me back from a 2002 Craigslist ad showing this 1979 Qualifier. It’s in pieces but is slowly coming back to life as an ice bike. It will look like a 1980 MX but will use the old style tank because vintage flat track tanks aren’t wide enough for C-A’s huge back bone.

Can-am Parts

Can-Am Cover screw set $24.95

I needed cover screws for my 175 TNT. I checked the cost of Allen head screws at a hardware store and the price was about $32. Screw that. I bought stainless Allen socket head screws in quantity. I offer them to you for about what others on Ebay ask for a set of used Phillips screws-around $25 bucks. Phillips screws are awful. They round to the point of swearing and screwdrivers flying across the shop. These cap screws meet DIN standards and they have a class 6g thread (6mm-1mm pitch) and the minimum tensile strength is 70,000 psi. Stainless Allen socket head screws are such a smart idea. Hex screws tighten and loosen easily without the hassle of damaging slotted screws. Stainless steel won’t rust over the years. For added insurance, dab blue Loctite on the screw threads. Red Loctite is too aggressive to be used on fine threads-it can damage them.

Can-Am Tool Bag

New Gen II Vintage style Can-Am Tool Bag with Dual Straps

My first run of bags were the Gen I single strap. This new Gen II with two straps will contain gear with more holding power. The leather pieces and hardware are exactly like the original with one exception. The rivets have wider heads so they won’t pull through tired, wet leather like the originals.

It measures 9-1/8” (270mm) long x 5-¾” (150mm) wide x 4” (100mm) tall. It’s American made by a leather worker who has been in the business for years. It is designed to be used on TNTs and Qualifiers but there is no reason why you can’t use it on Huskys, Pentons, Buls, Ossas, CZs and Maicos .

The two end flaps were cut from bull hide and are 3/16” (5mm) thick. The other pieces are 1/8” (3mm) thick. Needless to say this is one stout bag.

The kit includes a 3/16" PVC plastic plate which will inhibit the bag from conforming to the fender as time goes by-particularly the odd shaped TNT fenders. I’ve included plastic dart mounting fasteners-these allow you to easily remove the bag if you want to ride fast on a closed race course.

Gen II Tool Bag $149

   
Darts and bolts | Stout leather | Plate maintains bag shape

Tech Stuff

Making a pretty Can-am engine

Most of you guys rebuild a can-am to race and don’t give a hoot how the bike looks so long as it howls. The other bunch of you are the beautiful builder types who want a show bike. Then there the fringy minority who want to race with a stunning TNT, Qualifier or MX. I’m on the edge of the fringe with custom show/race builds.

If you get into the weeds enough that you are painting your cases here’s how to reveal the painted Bombardier embossed logos on the case sides.

1. Use a cutting/polishing band like this on your grinding wheel. These parts are on the web-I get mine from McMaster-Carr. The idea is to cut through the scratches and leave a smooth top surface to the logo-with a power tool. If you don’t use this step, you’ll grind up an hour minimum, sanding down through paint, primer then into the metal going after the use-scratches. Use the blue fine band.
   
   
2. Prep the metal for prime and paint. Paint all the case parts because you’ll go fruit loops trying to mask off the raised logo. There some trick new wet media blasting techniques that may reduce the post-blasting clean up to keep the crud from destroying you engine an hour after starting it for the first time.
   
   
3. Mask around the logos with a couple layers of tape. If you don’t the sanding block will over-shoot and screw up the paint job.
   
   
4. Wrap a sanding block with 320 wet/dry and water and attack the logos. Sand until they’re clear of paint and primer. If you have nicks and gouges-attack them with a pick. Re-sand with 600 w/d or finer if you are picky.

This case is for a custom 1977 MX/Qualifier hybrid built from a 1978 125 Can-am “Fun Bike” which nobody knows anything about. Bombardier used the “Fun Bike” to dump old parts prior to the new 1979 models.

Bypassing the oil injection system

The only good reason for trashing your oil injection system for pre-mix is you have a rusty-crusty frame oil tank or the early model backbone oil tank foam is degrading. Here's a tech bulletin talking about dealing with the foam.

There are important provisos, however. The stock ignition side main bearing will have to be modified or replaced. The factory main bearing had a seal-like oil sling plate which was oil directing. That seal/bearing can be popped off. Replacement bearings will not come with this plate especially if you buy your bearings from the famous Tony Murphy at 661-944-1624 or tmurphy440@aol.com. 

You’ll also have to drill an oil passage down to the right side crank bearing. My super mechanic friend Sam Niskanen lined up a drill that would make a hole through the cast webbing right into the perfect place on the bearing. I don’t have a bulletin on how to do this.

You could leave the oil injection pump in place to act as a plug or remove it and make an aluminum cover plate which plugs the drive gear passages. Do a little high temp silicone plug job where oil lines exited the outside cover to block dust/dirt or use a simple tube like above. From what I’ve read, it’s best to leave the functioning oil injection pump in place to avoid negative issue like premature wear and failures.

Make a Performance Rotary Valve on the Cheap

Let’s say you have a TNT and 1) want more poop or 2) you have a TNT or Qualifier that you want to get to MX performance. If want to move more fuel/air into you engine do this:

1. Go to Canned-ham's technical documents page. You will find this photo of MX, Q and TNT valves.
2. Increase the diameter of any valve to 4-7/8”.
3. Print out the full-size photo. Trim around the photo and you have a template. You’ll have to cut out enough of the middle to line up the center teeth too.
4. When the template lines up with your valve, mark the new cut line. Hint: The right side of all valves is the same so you are only futzing with the left side.
5. Carefully cut along the new angle line with a grinder and finish the new edges.

This photo shows a real MX valve on the right. On the left is a TNT valve I changed to Q specs.

Note: This would be particularly helpful for 125 and 175 engines as they are so close and used the same pipes in most models. MX engines had additional changes like compression ratio, porting and pipeage. It ain’t all the valve.

Tuned Pipe Diagrams

125 &175 Broad-range Tuned Pipes

The header length for the 175 is longer than the 125. That seems to the only difference. The stinger length was not specified on the drawings I received many years ago.

175 Road Race Specs

Expect a peaky pipe that goes like stink on the high end.

200 (194cc) Can-Am ASE (mod 86)

At the time I obtained the above drawing my goal was flat tracking.

250 Can-Am Short Stroke engine

This drawing is incomplete and was not labeled 250 or short stroke, but I assumed that from the 125/175 drawing that came on the same sheet. Again, stinger length and diameter was not specified. You might plug 32mm diameter into your formula and see how that fits. This pipe applies to models prior to the MX4.

250 Can-Am MX4, MX5, 250Q 79+ Long-stroke Engines

I can’t tell you the power characteristics of this pipe but you can assume it will have more poop than stock pipes. If you have a hard time reading specs after blowing the diagrams up, contact me to see if I can help.

Airbox Boot Source

One of my C-A site friends sent this in. Use Mazda CV boot trimmed to fit a VM34 on a 1975 MX2.

Can-am Friends List

There are so few of us “out there” that I am starting a Can-am friends list. If you stopped on this page I want your contact information so each person on the list has someone new to call for parts and information...or use the list to offer parts and bikes for sale. I am starting the process with this list below starting with dealers. Email your info to phil@phillittleracing.com.

Email Summary of all Can-am People

I use this to search for parts among friends. You should, too. Identify your part with illustration and description. Provide all your contact information. Just dump all these e-addresses in your “send to” bar. If you want to be on this list email me.

rwt963@gmx.com,
tacop1@ctc.net,
keith@americandirtbike.com,
tmurphy440@aol.com,
canamchris@gmail.com,
rockyjaypipkin@gmail.com,
aer021@aol.com,
americandirt@earthlink.net,
info@vcponline.ca,
phil@phillittleracing.com,
rocketrandylee@yahoo.com,
gotgravity9.8@gmail.com,
robin.crabb@gmail.com,
continotom@yahoo.com,
catdragdeere@yahoo.com,
ellery.edel1963@gmail.com,
tednreb@yahoo.com,
eric94y@yahoo.com,
kswietecha@gmail.com,
motoman533@hotmail.com,
info@vcponline.ca,
rocketrandylee@yahoo.com,
motoman533@hotmail.com,
wud73@hotmail.com,
cindermtncycle@outlook.com,
cliffnmartha@aol.com,
jewettjohnl@gmail.com,
tonympowers@gmail.com,
rreum@restel.com,
murray helmer 94mirro@gmail.com,
dwieb6@yahoo.com,
foord.pit@gmail.com,
Jeffrey Walsh <jeffwalsh1860@gmail.com,
dalejgrove@hotmail.com,
tcsteve50@gmail.com,
reedspeed1@aol.com,
david blades <bladesdavid6@gmail.com,
chris houdre chrishoudre@yahoo.com,
reedspeed1@aol.com,
david blades <bladesdavid6@gmail.com,
Rourke Mcgriskin <rourke0823@icloud.com

Answering Your Letters

I answer all of them with whatever help I can share.