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Can This Ambitious New Adventure Trike Change the Narrative Around Three-Wheelers?

Or will they forever be fun to ride till your friends see you on one?

can-am-canyon-red-rock-adventure-trikeCan-Am/BRP

By Steve Mazzucchi

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Confession #1: Whenever I see a Can-Am Spyder on the street, I can’t help but shake my head and chuckle like Axel Foley strolling through Beverly Hills. They just look so … goofy to me.

Maybe it’s the way it calls to mind the wildly impractical G.I. Joe rigs of my youth, but something about that low-slung silhouette and olive drab-heavy color scheme really hits. 

But this three-wheeled not-quite-a-side-by-side, not-quite-a-motorcycle has been in production for nearly 20 years — and enabled probably thousands of people who for whatever reason can’t ride a two-wheeled bike to experience loads of car-free, adrenaline-fueled joy. So the category has clearly found an audience.

Confession #2: I must admit that Can-Am’s latest trike is the closest they have come to adding one more person (yours truly) to said audience. Meet the brand’s bold entry into the adventure touring space, the Can-Am Canyon.

A glancing blow

The first of many hurdles a trike must clear to potentially win the heart of a die-hard motorcyclist is, of course, passing the eye test. That’s where the highest trim level in the three-vehicle Canyon line, the Redrock, finds the bulk of its success.

Maybe it’s the way it calls to mind the wildly impractical G.I. Joe rigs of my youth, but something about that low-slung silhouette and olive drab-heavy color scheme really hits. 

gi-joe-recon-sled
Sure never saw this battlefield game changer in any of those classic Army recruitment ads.
eBay

Ultimately, the appearance stokes just enough curiosity for me to sit through the brand’s entire 7-minute, 48-second walkaround video.

That’s where, thanks to exceedingly earnest Can-Am engineering manager Mario Dagenais, I learned some stuff that seems kinda cool —and some other stuff that kinda bums me out.

What’s kinda cool

As you might expect, the Canyon boasts a number of features aimed at optimizing it for off-road excellence.

The heartbeat of the whole affair is an electronically-fuel-injected Rotax 1330 ACE in-line 3-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. That 1,330cc beast delivers 115 horsepower and 96ft-lbs of torque, along with something no motorcycle promises, a towing capacity of 400 pounds.

To tackle uneven terrain, you get 6.3 inches of ground clearance, more than 9 inches of front suspension travel and 10 inches in the back, plus KYB Smart-Shox semi-active suspension in the Redrock edition.

can-am-canyon-red-rock-top-down
This top-down view provides a nice look at the Canyon’s ample gear storage capability.
Can-Am/BRP

Anti-slip footpegs and a model-exclusive handlebar riser (plus handguards) make standing up easier, while four driving modes (Sport, All-Road, Rally and Normal) and XPS Adventure tires ensure stable performance when the going gets rough.

The windshield can be raised and lowered manually, and bright LED lighting illuminates the way forward. On the two higher trim levels, sturdy-looking aluminum top and side cases (31.7 gal /120 L) provide plenty of storage for aessential gear.

This package of traits adds up to ensure you can ride this trike deep into the backcountry — without too much drama, even.

What kinda bums me out

Warning: The following is probably going to sound extremely curmudgeonly. Most of the things I don’t like are qualities Can-Am and Dagenais trumpet as advantageous state-of-the-art features.

Chief among those is the fact that the six-speed transmission is semi-automatic, meaning there’s no clutch to operate, simply a button on the handlebars you press to shift gears. 

The Redrock edition also boasts heated handgrips, not to mention reverse functionality, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and, glory be, a backup camera.

can-am-canyon-red-rock-action
Part of me sees a backcountry beast, and part of me sees the fiercest riding lawnmower ever.
Can-Am/BRP

I get it, all these elements are included to ensure a smooth, safe, comfortable ride. On the surface, that’s great. And they might totally click with some riders, enabling them to go places and do things they never thought possible before.

But for those of us who value adventure riding for, you know, the adventure, they just feel nauseatingly cushy. 

As much as I appreciated some of the nanny features of the Harley-Davidson Pan-America on my (at times terrifying) inaugural off-road ride, I came to cherish the challenges of coaxing a scrappy Royal-Enfield Scram 411 through the Himalayas a couple years later. 

Yes, it was sometimes painful. I bailed multiple times, including into knee-deep water. I had grit my teeth and to climb back on the horse.

can-am-canyon-red-rock-morning-ride
Not, in fact, a scene from the next film in the Mad Max franchise.
Can-Am/BRP

I had to manually shift and maintain my balance while navigating chaotic urban streets, steep climbs and gnarly descents. I had to turn my head and use my feet to back up when parking. We even got lost at one point and had to ask an actual human for directions. 

And yet, all those elements added up to make the overall experience of the ride so much more satisfying — and morphed into memories I could chuckle about by the fireside at the end of the day. 

Now, I haven’t ridden the Canyon (yet). But for better or worse, I just don’t see it replicating that feeling.

Availability and pricing

The 2025 Can-Am Canyon is available for pre-order in three trim levels. The base model starts at $25,299, the Canyon XT starts at $29,799 and the Canyon Redrock discussed here starts at $32,299.

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