On a Trail Rating System, I believe a Canyon Redrock can travel Level 2 Routes

[Rubicon guy]

On a trail rating system, I believe the Canyon Redrock can travel on a Level 2 Route (5 point system) based on the video Can Am has shown of a Canyon driving over dirt, gravel, and through shallow streams. The future will show if my assumption is correct. I have two photos on future gravel roads that we drove with our jeep. Wash is dry and river is dry in Arizona (Arizona Peace Trail area).

 

[Mikey]

I can't wait to see how the belt drives are going to hold up to this environment!! Go for it and carry a sat phone!!

 

[RayBJ]

I believe the issue will be lack of traction. 1 wheel drive under a relatively light load is a challenge.

 

[BajaRon]

I believe the issue will be lack of traction. 1 wheel drive under a relatively light load is a challenge.

I have the same feeling. I've done some off pavement riding with my 2008 GS and our Ryker Rally. They are both very dicey in any situation where traction is not good. Especially if going up or down even a mild hill. Add a curve on an uphill climb and you're toast. In my opinion, BRP needs to add switchable front wheel (basically all wheel) drive to make the Canyon what it needs to be.

 

[cptjam]

My adventure bikes (2wheel) only have one driven wheel. A mud or mud/snow tire would help. Funny: if you put knobbies on an adventure bike, and ride to where the road ends, the knobbies are slick! If you put a street/trail tire on, less traction! Street tires? Useless! (on the trail). So, it’s all a compromise. We did Alaska. 9800 miles. Street/trail tires. They were completely used up! So, there is no one good answer, but, we are going to find out!!! Joe

 

[Snoking1127]

I have the same feeling. I've done some off pavement riding with my 2008 GS and our Ryker Rally. They are both very dicey in any situation where traction is not good. Especially if going up or down even a mild hill. Add a curve on an uphill climb and you're toast. In my opinion, BRP needs to add switchable front wheel (basically all wheel) drive to make the Canyon what it needs to be.

Or a hybrid system with electric motors on the front wheels. Also needs a mount for a wench. Get rid of the belt drive. Back in the day, I had a three wheel Honda ATC - fail to make a hill on it and you were in a world of hurt, as you can not lay it down like you can a dirt bike.

I think the same will occur here, with BRP canning the Canyon because of liability issues, just like Honda did. Maybe their leadership is too young to remember the Honda three wheelers. They were fun in sand dunes and general trail riding, once you learned to NEVER put your foot down. However, the liability was just too high; tell people it is just a trail machine and then some try to do things that the machine is not capable of doing and things end badly.

 

[canamjhb]

I did off-roading on both ATVs and Side-by-Sides for many years here in Arizona. Even some of the most gentle areas can suddenly turn bad, requiring a stop and physically walking an area to plan a vehicle track route. Sometimes even winching! It can be a lot of fun and challenging even for vehicles made for severe off-roading. I can't imaging a Canyon surviving almost any of the off roads we have here. I guess I'm too old and experienced to even consider trying it. I think the new Canyon would be limited to green-belt trails - one step below unpaved roads, not true off roading.

 

[Snoking1127]

Another question comes to mind. Does the Canyon have a roll-over valve on the fuel tank vent line and a tip over switch that kills the motor, like my SxS has?

 

[nightfalcon]

Personally, I don't see a lot of off pavement advantage in any of the Canyons beyond higher ground clearance. Unless you're after more tech options and a bigger motor... all of which you are going to pay handsomely for. What is the advantage of a Canyon over a Ryker Rally? Neither of them are going much further than formed gravel roads? I do like the look of it, but nearly all the advantages over a Rally are in its on road ability.

 

[CrazyCooter]

We find the ground clearance borderline on the RT for traveling just the paved backroads around here! I'd kill for 6"+ ground clearance. Also hoping the KYB's on the Red Rock will at least be a usable piece of hardware after springs and tuning.

Since we ride mostly 250+ mile days, I definitely feel the Canyon is a better fit for us than a Ryker, but I have yet to actually ride one. Can you get large capacity hard luggage for a Ryker?

 

[nightfalcon]

You can carry plenty of gear on a Ryker; if you need to take a passenger along with every creature comfort in order to camp, then a Canyon might be a better choice. My point is that you aren't going to get it much further off road than a Rally, but you will pay twice the price for the convenience. Lots of people manage it on an F3 for that matter.

As many people have commented, it's disappointing they didn't develop a front wheel drive for the Canyon, which would undeniably have made it a great choice for the great outdoors... maybe Can Am are leaving the door open for future development? I think if you require a wagon load of gear to go off road, then a Suzuki Jimmy makes way more sense and is a lot cheaper.

 

[greer]

CrazyCooter, you've got lots of options for luggage on the Ryker. Like several folks here I swapped to 400 mm front shocks and went from 5 1/2" clearance at the nose to 6 15/16" on my Ryker Sport. But I don't see the Ryker as a two-up bike for average sized folks, it'd be awfully cramped.

Reviews are coming in on the Canyon Lovers FB Group, all good. Reportedly not the least tippy feeling in the curves, per the report I read. I'd been wondering about that.

Sarah

 

[StalkyTracker]

...

Since we ride mostly 250+ mile days, I definitely feel the Canyon is a better fit for us than a Ryker, but I have yet to actually ride one. Can you get large capacity hard luggage for a Ryker?

Yes, various types and styles of luggage is available for the Ryker. Here's mine:

 

[2dogs]

I've ridden the dirt and street for more years than I care to remember on many different brands and styles of machines. JMYO, but I know of NO true crossover machine. A true off road ride is designed to go down and get back up, and continue on. Street machines are not designed for that. Even the clothing one wears is not designed for both riding situations.

 

[Rubicon guy]

There are plenty of weak spots on the Can Am Redrock that will have to be improved through time by input from riders, Support Manufacturers, and Can Am. Can Am has hit a home run on their Canyon. Since 2007 Can Am has made positive steps forward in engineering for our protection.

Using the other manufacturers as comparisons, you can throw away the plastic covers and get real metal guards for the front, undercarriage, and back wheel for the Canyon. This will take time, patience, and money to enjoy your adventure.

 

[turnerk1]

Here's what the manual says about Canyon's capabilities...

Off-Road Use

Even if this vehicle is designated as an all-road vehicle, IT IS NOT AN OFF-ROAD VEHICLE. This vehicle was designed to be able to drive on compact nonpaved roads (gravel, earth, sand).

Around here and in lots of places, it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between "compact nonpaved roads" and very sketchy trails. One can change into the other. Any vehicle can be overcome by potholes or ruts. Then again, I've been out in a lifted Tacoma all manly like and been passed by a Corolla. Not kidding. Maybe it's me? I have yet to find the single Unicorn vehicle does everything I want. So far, my Canyon fits nicely into the fleet.

Oh, and another factor affecting use, street legality. If you live in an area where SXS's are fully street legal, one of those qualifies as a unicorn vehicle. Here in WA though, even a street legal licensed and plated SXS cannot legally be used on most forest service roads. There's a Motor Vehicle Use Map which is an incomprehensible mish mash of disconnected segments, near as I can tell anyway. If my old Maverick X3 was legal, I'd still have it. To me, it's the user's behavior that should be regulated, not the machine.

Anyway, around here, it's either 4X4's or motorcycles. Luckily, we now have a street legal, three wheeled, all road motorcycle available.
Sorry for the rant. I get worked up about this subject.