My wrinkles crinkled as I read over the invite to Can-Am’s launch of the Origin EV. I was stressed because I never wanted to go to a launch and feel like something was predetermined. You have to review everything with an open mind. Well, they’re my feelings anyway.
But I didn’t know how I could fully open my mind to an adventure or dual-sport bike that had a combined range of just 71 miles. Executive Editor, Jonathon Klein, already voiced his thoughts surrounding such a relatively low range for a bike that wouldn’t look out of place in the dunes, and I agree.
After spending a day on the Origin, on-and-off-road, I don’t think it quite fits the narrative we associate with an out-and-out dual-sport bike. The easiest way for me to explain where it fits is by comparing it to the all-electric Rivian R1S SUV.
The Origin is more than capable off-road, far more capable than the majority of riders are. But it’s probably going to find its best home just outside the city limits, somewhere in suburbia, tackling mean commutes and nasty cracked asphalt with ease, and piloted by someone who’s into the latest tech—just like an R1S.
Spoiler alert: many small adventure bikes live similar lives. But unlike most small adventure bikes the Origin is absolutely savage fun around urban environments. And, under the right circumstances, even more fun off-road.
Eat The Streets
Given the fact that the Origin shares the same powerplant as Can-Am's Pulse and weighs just 27 lbs more, tipping the scales at just 412 lbs, my experience with it in an urban environment should come as no surprise.
With an open road in front of me and a crack of the throttle in Sport mode, the Origin’s front tire was floating and not in an intimidating way. An adjustable KYB rear shock (preload, compression, and rebound), 21-inch front tire, and 18-inch rear mean that this bike softly squats, lofts, and holds nicely. When it’s time to come down, 10 inches of travel on the front 43mm KYB fork handles the landing nicely.
So, if you’re down for a quick clown, the Origin will happily oblige.
Many of the features that make this bike so capable off-road also make it a hoot on road, not least of which is the 53 lb-ft of torque on hand from the Rotax electric motor. Without the use of a clutch or gear selector, the Origin will pull to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds perfectly on repeat. So around the city, it went from zero to the speed limit as easily and quickly as you can imagine, and it plants a carefree grin on your face each time you do it.
Carefree grins accrue compounding interest, especially in an urban environment where they’re usually hard to come by.
The low-capacity ADV bikes that the Origin competes with in terms of weight can’t match the power or fun on tap within cityscapes. And the mid-size ADV bikes that this model competes with in terms of power, well, I’m not inclined to burn my clutch or gas to get to the speed limit a few seconds quicker, but the Origin essentially offers it up for free. So I found it to be a more enjoyable and stress-free city-riding experience than bikes from either of the aforementioned ICE niches.
In many ways, the Origin will make an even better commuter than its nimble naked sibling if you’re incorporating highway or high-speed roads. This seems counterintuitive, since the Origin’s city range is 10 miles less than the Pulse’s, coming in at 90 miles, but hear me out.
On the highway, the Origin’s roomier cockpit, moderate wind protection, softer suspension, and slightly comfier seat make 60+ mph roads notably easier. I crushed 40 miles of asphalt, consisting of a healthy mix of highway and fast roads, and about halfway through I had a sharp thought, “I’m delighted I’m on the Origin instead of the Pulse.”. The Pulse would’ve been fine, but the Origin took a load off under the Texas sun.
If you’re a city dweller who likes to get out and hit twisties every now and again, get the Pulse because the Origin’s off-road biased tires aren’t the most confidence-inspiring at lean. But for those commuting from suburbia, the Origin will be comfier and about as much fun.
Be aware that it has a 52-mile range at a consistent 50 mph, but it charges from 20-80% in just 50 minutes using a level 2 charger.
Yet, if you’re not one of the folks who are looking at this bike as a commuter, but instead you’re one of those people I envy with public trails right on your doorstep, the Origin is about to become much more interesting.
Get Dirty
We’d long left the comfort of the Texas pavement and swapped to a closed-off off-road park that Can-Am had let us have our way with. When I hopped off the bike after my session, I looked at my Garmin instinctively—I could feel my heart beating out of my chest—it showed 200 bpm. But it’d peaked at 215 bpm just moments earlier (I’m really hoping my sensor is off).
I was exhausted after continually trying to push the bike harder around the fun, tight, but not overly technical single-track route. Through some of the sandy sections and tighter turns, I thought it was going to bite back, and to be fair I got tail happy a few times, but the stand-out feeling is that it encouraged me to push.
The bike is more capable than I am off-road but didn’t assault me when I tried to edge closer to my limits, like a 450 motocross bike might. It doesn’t have the nasty bite that the sharpest off-road weapons have, but has the right tools to let you get up to dirty shenanigans thanks to its electronics.
The Origin has two extra modes that the Pulse doesn't: Off-Road and Off-Road+. In both modes, you can choose to turn TC off, which of course you’ll probably want to do off-road. Turning TC off also disables the rear ABS, which again, is something most off-road riders will want.
The main differences between the two off-road modes is that Off-Road+ dishes out the bike's full power and enables a special Off-Road ABS setting for the front wheel—which is almost certainly why I didn’t crash when I started pushing on and getting more aggressive with the front brake while locking up the rear.
You can always choose between none, Min, Med, and Max passive regen on the Origin, regardless of the rider mode. But it turned out to be a more fun feature off-road than on asphalt because it was essentially like choosing if you wanted the bike to feel more like a 2-stroke or 4-stroke.
But a good off-road electronic suite is nothing without the proper hardware. Never once did I bottom out the 10 inches of travel on the front KYB forks or test the 10.8 inches of ground clearance. I mean, it wasn’t a motocross track, but if you hit some of the inclines just right (fast) you could get air.
Can-Am chose well to wrap the Origin's spoked wheels in Dunlop D605s wrapping the spoked wheels held traction. It was the right choice because they’re proper dual-sport tires, and the Origin can properly hang with dual-sport motorcycles in the right environment—far more than myself, according to my Garmin.
And the Origin has another tasty feature that seems to one-up most of its electric off-road competition.
The Chaincase
If you read my review of the Pulse, you’ll know all about the chaincase. You’ll know that it self-lubricates, has a built-in chain tensioner, and is very low maintenance. Oh yeah, and it’s a case that completely protects the chain from outside debris—this part is quite important on the Origin.
Most of the other bikes in this niche use belt drives, which aren’t generally the preferred choice for off-road riding. Now, depending on how dirty you want to get or not get, a belt drive might be fine for you. But there’s a reason Zero Motorcycles sells off-road chain conversion kits, and it rhymes with “shmurability”. Ironically, on the launch, one of the chaincases on an Origin began to leak oil.
I inquired as to what caused the issue, and Can-Am’s Director of Product Strategy told me, “These bikes were prototypes and were not final production units… For the chain case leak, it was the O-ring of the speed sensor that was pinched when installed in the prototype shop. This will not happen in production since we have a thorough process in place that controls the parts assembly.”
I’m hopeful this isn’t a problem we’ll see on the production Origins, but a warranty is better than hope and is something both of Can-Am’s new motorcycles come with. There’s a two-year warranty on the bikes and a 5-year/31,068-mile warranty on the battery, during which point it can’t degrade to below 70% of its original capacity.
You get that warranty, as well as the Origin and all its on- and off-road fun, for the starting price of $14,499. The question is, who’s going to buy it?
It’s Probably Not About Logic
Did you ecstatically see yourself commuting and silently chewing up the city streets while looking like a hero from a Tron meets Blade Runner movie when I showed the bike’s on-road capability? And delight in picturing your life as an off-road renegade with public lands on your doorstep. Well, if you’re happy to part with a shade under $15,000 to make that a reality, this might be the perfect, hell, the only motorcycle for you.
But it’s a very niche, borderline unimaginable person who could argue that the Origin is the most logical motorcycle for them.
Behind all the logical reasons someone might make to buy this bike, the decision to purchase will largely be based on how you think the bike looks and how it makes you feel while riding. Even though I was there to test the Origin’s capabilities on and off-road, it’s how it made me feel that stood out most.
Big dystopian vibes.
Between the pulsing of the liquid-cooled battery system, the fact this will be arguably the most futuristic-looking production motorcycle, and that you feel like you’re on a platform due to its tall, narrow stature the Origin feeds the sci-fi geek inside a lot of us—much like the Rivian R1S.
I felt like I was living in the future or testing a concept bike that would never get made. But the Origin will be on sale in November, and if you have that sci-fi geek in you and you yearn for it, I say why not? But there’s a caveat.
The bikes I tested were pre-production, but one did have a mechanical fault with the chaincase. Hopefully, this won’t be an issue for the production models. But if there are teething issues, the decent two-year warranty and broad dealership network will come in handy.
