Last month we tested our first Can-Am in about 40 years. It was the Canyon three wheeler, which might or might not be a motorcycle, depending on your personal definitions. I’m sure it will conger a fair amount of social media hate (what doesn’t?), but I have a soft spot for the brand Can-Am that goes back to the ’70s, so deal with it. That story will appear in the October, 2025 print issue. For now, I figured it would be a good idea to go back a few years and explain to newcomers why Can-Am is such a big deal to guys of my generation. Multi-time 250 National MX champion Gary Jones is essential to that explanation.
“I had no idea that Can-Am was even a motorcycle,” remembers Gary. “All I knew was that Dennis Mahan asked me to try one, and I trusted Dennis.”
It was late 1973 and Gary Jones had just walked away from a lucrative Honda deal to ride a private Maico. Honda and Gary had been a successful team. They had captured the AMA 250 National Motocross Championship together, but Gary and his father Don wanted more. That year the 250 schedule ended in September, while there were 11 races remaining in the 500 championship. Honda had promised to deliver a works 500 for Gary to finish the season, but the bike didn’t show up. Gary felt justified in walking away. “I was a racer. I wasn’t going to watch from the sidelines no matter how much they paid me.”
In the remaining races, Gary finished as high as second on the Maico, but overall it was a struggle to compete against full factory teams, even back in 1973. He needed something. That was when Mahan called to say there would be a new team on the motocross circuit for 1974, and they had a sizable budget. Bombardier was the parent company for Ski-Doo, and they had already launched a motorcycle brand under the name Can-Am. At the time, it consisted of a 125 and a 175, but a 250 was in the works as well as a bigger bike.
The Jones clan already had a penchant for motorcycle development. Don, Gary and brother DeWayne had been instrumental in the development of the Yamaha YZ line years earlier with the help of Dennis Mahan. When team Jones moved to Honda, their need to tinker had been stifled somewhat by corporate oversight. With Dennis, Gary Robinson and former 500 world motocross champion Jeff Smith, they would once again be on the ground floor of a development project.
Bombardier didn’t deliver the works 250 until just before the first race of the year in April. DeWayne was injured at the time, but Gary finished third on the new bike. “At first, it was a struggle to finish both motos,” remembers Gary. “They were fast, and we got them to handle well, but little things would always break—wheels or whatever.” It wasn’t unusual for Gary to win one moto then struggle to finish the next. Making it more difficult was that he was the only healthy rider, so he was testing during the week as well as racing.
That changed after mid-season. DeWayne came back, and Gary Robinson signed New England standout Jimmy Ellis. The result was immediate. Ellis won his first race on the Can-Am. But, the talent pool was deep that year, and even with reinforcements, the Can-Am team struggled to win many races. They were doing well in the points mostly through consistency. One of the main stumbling blocks was Pierre Karsmakers, who was ruled ineligible to earn points in the U.S. championship because of his Dutch citizenship. Husqvarna privateer Marty Tripes was another rider to win multiple races in 1975. He was doing it on his own, though, and struggling to get from race to race with nothing more than purse money.
“Marty was the most talented rider in the Nationals, period,” says Gary Jones. “He rode for us when I was at Yamaha and at Honda, but he didn’t like being told to do anything. It was hard for him to keep a job. At one of the last races in 1974, he was flat broke. He needed purse money to get home, and he didn’t finish that weekend. I think we bought him dinner and a tank of gas. My dad started thinking, and next thing you know, he was on a Can-Am at the end of the season.”
So, it came to pass that at the final race of the season, the top three bikes in the points standings all arrived in the Can-Am truck. Gary Jones became the champion, even though he had not won an overall in the entire season. Marty Tripes was second, even though he had scored most of his points on a Husqvarna. And, Jimmy Ellis was third after missing the first part of the season completely. It was the first sweep in motocross history.
Now, after 52 years, that feat is still elusive. Honda did it 12 years later with Ricky Johnson, David Bailey and Johnny O’Mara. The most recent was Team Pro Circuit Kawasaki in 2011 with 250 four-stroke riders Dean Wilson, Tyla Rattray and Blake Baggett. Can-Am has the distinction of being the only team to do it in its first try. Will that ever happen again? Nothing’s impossible. Some things, however, are very, very unlikely.
JIM HOLLEY BLAST FROM THE PAST
Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Jim Holley was a man of many talents. On top of being a Supercross and Ultracross regular, he was a test rider for Yamaha and a regular photo subject for Dirt Bike Magazine. In his other guise he doubled for Ponch (or was it Jon?) on the TV show CHiPs. Here, he launches a BMW side by side with Monty Perlin (left) for “CHiPs ’99,” a made-for-TV movie reunion of the NBC series. Photo: Turner Studios.
Well before that, Jim got impressive air on a BMW R1100GS for the August 1994 issue. This escapade wasn’t especially appreciated by the brass at BMW. The luggage mounts broke and the drive shaft was damaged. They didn’t give us a test bike for years afterward. Today, BMW takes pride in the fact that its modern bikes can stand up to this kind of abuse much more handily.
24 HOURS OF GLEN HELEN–LIVE
the 24 Hours of Glen Helen is happening right now. It ends on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. As of right now the GasGas team led by Dustyn Davis is in front, but things can change dramatically, as we all know, when the sun goes down. you can check out the live 24 hour results here.
That’s all for now!
