Can-Am hotly anticipated Electric motorcycles – the Can-Am Origin and Pulse – finally emerged from the shadows this week. Meanwhile, WalzWerk’s BMW Schizzo boxer series continues to expand with new parts. We also take a look at AC Sanctuary’s Honda CB1100R and a rare Excelsior tracker replica.
2025 Can-Am Pulse and Origin Electric Motorcycles The last Can-Am motorcycle rolled off the assembly line in Valcourt, Quebec, back in 1987. These Rotax-powered trail bikes were an immediate hit with racers, winning gold, silver and bronze medals at international six-day races.
The bikes were small and lightweight, with a standard frame size that could be equipped with different sized engines. This meant that Can-Am was suitable for riders of all sizes, ages and experience levels.
Fast forward to today, and BRP just announced the all-new Can-Am Pulse and Can-Am Origin. Electric motorcyclesThe new Can-Am models feature Rotax engines like the older bikes, but each is powered by an all-new Rotax E-Power powertrain.
Can-Am Pulse [above] was designed with the city streets in mind. Its nimble, naked styling is perfect for commuting and weekend riding. The KYB suspension has 140mm of travel up front, and the low center of gravity and seat height make it a super-handling street machine.
The Origin of Can-Am [above] It shares many similarities with the Pulse, but is a lightweight adventure-lite version. It has higher ground clearance, dual sport tires, and 255 mm of front suspension travel. The bodywork is neo-Dakar style, and the bike has two additional off-road riding modes.
On both bikes, the Rotax E-Power engine is ingeniously mounted inside the swingarm. This means that the connection between the incredibly small power unit and the rear wheel never changes its geometry (unlike a chain-driven engine mounted in the traditional sense). It also means that the center of gravity is quite low.
The Rotax E-Power system includes a liquid-cooled battery, charger, inverter, and motor to limit battery degradation while optimizing range and charge time. Another cool feature is the reverse function, which will certainly help with maneuverability in the city.
These are small bikes, so Can-Am had to sacrifice battery life. The 8.9 kWh battery provides 100 city miles on the Pulse and 90 city miles on the Origin. That’s not a lot of miles, but we’re guessing Can-Am is hoping the battery density and efficiency will improve over time.
The selection may be small, but the style and convenience are huge. [Can-Am Motorcycles]
BMW Schizzo Cafe Racer by WalzWerk Markus Walz and his shop in Hockenheim. WalzWerkbuild over fifty custom BMW R-series per year. Amazingly, Mr. Walz and his team still find time in this busy schedule to develop their own line of custom parts.
This one is dead BMW Cafe Racer Part of WalzWerk's custom Schizzo line, this piece showcases the company's finest detailing.
Schizzo bikes can be ordered directly from WalzWerk, where an online configurator allows customers to select the specifications of their bike. Each Schizzo starts with BMW R100 or P80and is offered in five basic styles and three trim levels, each with its own level of component specification.
This particular boxer features WalzWerk's “Pro” cafe racer spec, and it's loaded with new parts. The headlight and bikini fairing are new to the catalog, and it even comes with a screen made specifically for WalzWerk by MRA.
At the bottom of the engine is a WalzWerk extended oil sump; it was modeled after the Fallert parts of the 70s and 80s and is designed to both increase oil capacity and improve cooling.
A WalzWerk seat and subframe are positioned behind the OEM fuel tank, and the lighting setup is minimalist but completely street legal. A pair of Dell'Orto carbs are mated to the cylinders with WalzWerk racing headers, eliminating the need for rubber mounts that can wear out over time. The exhaust system, built by SC-Project, is short, sharp, and mean.
WalzWerk took much of the stress and uncertainty out of the design process, which is just one reason why they are masters of their craft. If you need us, we will be on their site, drink in hand, filling out our dream garage. [Source]
1983 Honda CB1100R from AC Sanctuary With its big inline-four engine, endurance-inspired bodywork, and proven reliability, the Honda CB1100R has long been on our vintage sportbike wish list. To us, the CB1100RD in particular looks almost perfect when it rolled out of the factory in 1983. The key word is “almost” — and we share that feeling with Hiroyuki Nakamura and the legendary Sanctuary of AC.
Most people associate Nakamura-san and AC Sanctuary with their sickly lustful Kawasaki restomodsbut sometimes they turn their wrenches on other Japanese bikes. This is an AC Sanctuary 'RCM-630' build, and it's based on a 1983 Honda CB1100RD.
Luckily, AC Sanctuary had some spare CB1100 parts on hand for a rainy day, so when the opportunity to build a new bike arose, the team took advantage.
As with any AC Sanctuary project, the suspension was first on the upgrade list. A pair of Ohlins forks were installed up front, while the rear of the frame was widened to accommodate a beefed-up Sculpture swingarm and twin Ohlins shocks. The 17-inch wheels are from OZ Racing, and the brakes are Brembo.
The engine has been rebuilt from the ground up, with the crankshaft journals wrapped and dynamically balanced. New valve guides and precision cylinder bores ensure tight tolerances. The intake manifold wears a velocity stack bracket, and custom Nitroweld titanium pipes have been installed on the exhaust side.
The fairing has been modified to sit 10mm lower, and the instrument cluster is custom-made, complete with triple gauges from Stack. The colour scheme is similar to the factory livery, but the red and blue shades have been given a candy treatment for extra punch. Finally, the frame has been given the usual AC Sanctuary fixing treatment.
With parts for the CB1100R becoming increasingly difficult to find, Nakamura-san fears that this may be the last CB1100R they will be able to produce. If so, at least they went out with a bang. For us, the RCM-630 is the pinnacle of Japanese retro sportbikes. [More]
Replica of the 1919 Excelsior track by Paul Brodie At one point, Excelsior motorcycles regularly competed with Harley-Davidson and Indian on the race track. The Chicago company began making bicycles and was purchased by Ignaz Schwinn (of Schwinn Bicycles) in 1911. Schwinn used the Excelsior brand to enter racing, and their bikes for riding were born.
In those days, safety was not everyone's top priority, so the sport was incredibly dangerous. Supposedly, due to injuries and deaths of riders, Schwinn shut down his fledgling racing program and ordered all Excelsior racing bikes to be destroyed. (This may be one reason why Excelsior racing bikes only existed in pictures.)
In 2004, a guy named Paul Brodie decided he could resurrect the Excelsior name with some period-accurate replicas. Starting with nothing more than a set of Excelsior engine cases, four photographs, and a dream, Brodie set about his task. It’s a good thing he had a good imagination, because the engine cases he was given were in poor condition, and he only had one good photograph to work from.
Over the next few years, Brodie devoted his full time to reverse engineering the Excelsior engine. The end result was a replica of the 1,000cc, 53-horsepower Excelsior V-twin with a single-speed direct-drive transmission. It’s embarrassing to summarize those long, hard years of Brodie’s life in just a few sentences, but boy, are we enchanted by the result of his labor.
Brody also rebuilt the frame and suspension from scratch. The rear end is more bicycle-like than motorcycle-like, while the front uses a single leaf spring for a whopping 1.25 inches of suspension travel.
Our favorite part of the build is the throttle and ignition linkage. Like an old Indian of the same era, one side of the handlebar controls the throttle, while the other controls the ignition advance and retard.
Luckily for us, Brodie also decided to document the build process on his YouTube channel, and it’s absolutely fascinating. As he talks, Brodie assembles the entire bike, and everything fits so well that he makes most of the fasteners by hand before tightening them down with hand tools. What makes it even more incredible is that Brodie made most, if not all, of the parts himself.
Brody built five copies in total – this is the fifth copy and is currently for sale through Iconic Motorcycle AuctionsIf you're looking for a fully functional, handcrafted historical piece, you'd better hurry.