Can-Am 370 Qualifier
CAN-AM 370 QUALIFIER
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Can-Am's Open Enduro Is Almost Right
An open class enduro bike from Can-Am has been rumored since the introduction of the CanAm 370 motocrosser last year. Well, it’s here. Unlike Qualifiers of the past, it uses the same frame as the
motocrosser and also shares many other parts.
Wheels, conical hubs, spokes, brakes and tires are the same as the Can-Am motocrosser uses. They are good parts and won't need modification or replacement, unless a different brand tire is preferred. The rear brake is rod actuated and has a full-floating backing plate.
Its engine is also the same as the motocrossers with the exception of transmission ratios. First and second are slightly lower (higher numerically), to better match enduro use. The semi-wide five-speed transmission features large beefy gears and shafts. Engagement dogs are large and under-cut to ensure against popping out of gear and missed shifts. Engine cases are cast from magnesium and a case reed is employed. The reed cage bolts to the underside of the cylinder and connects to the intake tract, much like the system used on Suzuki RMs. but with a four petal plastic reed. A case reed allows the use of a solid skirt piston. No need to port the rear piston skirt as the fuel dumps directly into the crankcase when a case reed is used, so piston life and strength are increased. A large rod connects the piston to a crankpin on big flywheels that rotate on huge main bearings and appear indestructible. These giant bearings are the main reason for the case reed system instead of the rotary valve like the 250s use. There simply wasn’t room for a rotary set-up with such large main bearings.
Cylinder porting and piston skirt length are the same on the Qualifier and the MX engine. Cylinder finning is generous and the fins have sections of rubber hose jammed between them, to deaden fin ring and two-stroke clatter. Bore and stroke measure 84 x 66mm. totaling 366cc. The big bore is fed via a 36mm center float Bing carburetor and ignition is a Bosch CDI with a heavy flywheel to slow revs and make chugging along precarious trails easier.
The '79 Qualifier frame has a large backbone, originally designed as an oil reservoir back when Can-Am used oil injection. The oil injection disappeared long ago but the oversized backbone remains. Double front downtubes leave the large steering head. loop under the engine cases, turn upward and terminate at the rear of the backbone. Smaller tubes start in the middle of the backbone and head down and back, ending just above the swing arm pivot. The seat rail tubing starts at the rear of the backbone, goes to about the center of the rear fender where another tube curves over the fender and ties the two together. The seat rails are strongly braced with yet another tube that starts at the swing arm pivot, heads up and back, curves to form a mounting point for the shock, then parallels the seat rails for about a foot before ending. All tubing is chrome-moly steel and triangulation in the critical area under the seat is almost overkill. A curved swing arm is employed and also fabricated from chrome-moly steel.
Suspension on the Qualifier is the same as that used on the 1978 MX-4, non rebuildable gas Girlings at the rear, magnesium leading-axle Marzocchi forks with 38mm stanchion tubes at the front. Wheel travel is 10 in. at both ends and more than enough for all but the open desert type enduro. Woods riders, especially shorter ones, may prefer less travel so touching the ground is easier. Hard to please the suspension demands of both woods and desert riders with one model but 10 in. is a good compromise.
Plastic parts on the Qualifier are first class; a Petty MX front fender, Can-Am rear fender, side plates and 3 gal. tank. The plastic is thick, pliable and as break-proof as it is possible to make. The tank is nicely shaped and has a large filler neck. The headlight/number plate unit on our preproduction bike was made from fiberglass but actual production parts will be plastic.
A plastic airbox with a still air chamber is used on the Qualifier. The still air chamber is directly behind the carburetor, and a foam covered K&N air filter lives in a> separate box above the air chamber. Air is drawn into the top of the upper box, through an oiled foam sleeve, then the oiled cloth filter, and into the still airbox before it gets to the carburetor.
The saddle on the big Can-Am enduro is thick, has a quality cover and excellent foam, but is a little narrow for extra long rides. An inch more width for comfort and a more rounded shape would make it nearly perfect.
Hand levers and throttle are top notch Magura items. They clamp to chromemoly bars that feature a bent cross-brace, adding strength without protruding.
A Japanese-made speedometer is furnished. It has a large easy-to-read dial and is resettable in tenths, but doesn’t have an instant reset to zero like Yamaha’s IT. Not a big loss but one that is missed when necessary to zero and the odometer reads 56 miles.
Starting is almost always first kick. The kick lever is mounted on the left side and may feel odd if the user hasn’t had a bike with a left side kick before, but most people adapt quickly. Like any big engine, first kick starts demand a healthy kick. The engine warms up quickly and vibration is almost non-existent. Don’t worry about offending your neighbors or nearby campers, the noise emitted from the Qualifier is the least offensive we have experienced on an off-road bike. The Qualifier exhaust system differs from the MX. It has a dou-
ble walled pipe and an even quieter spark arrester/silencer. The silencer looks like a bazooka but emits a registered 84dB(A) on a sound meter. 83dB(A) is what the state of California currently requires to be street legal. When trailing with several other enduro bikes we had difficulty hearing the exhaust and thought the engine had died or run out of gas. Even the crabbiest neighbor shouldn’t complain about the Qualifier being started. >
All of the 370’s controls are properly placed; the peg/seat/bar relationship is right, and the shift lever and brake pedal are the right distance from the sawtooth top footpegs. Magura dog leg levers and throttle work flawlessly and spell quality. The tank is nicely shaped and doesn’t rub the inside of the rider’s legs and the high pipe doesn’t burn them.
Wide ratio enduro transmissions draw mixed reactions from our staff. The woods riders love them, the open desert types hate them. Everyone liked the Qualifier’s transmission ratios. First is low enough to crawl around on slippery hillsides without slipping the clutch yet high enough to be useful in other situations. Second is also perfectly spaced. Most wide ratio transmissions are wide enough to cause a noticeable bog in power when shifted between the lower three gears. Not so with the 370 Qualifier. It stays in the powerband all the time, between any gear and at virtually any engine rpm. Internal gearing and engine power are perfectly matched. The 370 Qualifier is the only enduro bike we can remember testing that didn’t have compromise transmission ratios. Shifting is smooth and positive but everyone who rode the machine kicked the transmission out of gear at least once when on rough ground. No one could pinpoint the problem; the shift lever seemed high enough and wasn’t fouling on the cases. We bent the end of the lever back when someone kissed a rock with it but the problem existed long before that happened. It may have been a fluke as our previous 370 motocrosser didn’t have the problem.
Handling is quick and the machine projects an agile, light feel. It seems much lighter than its 258 lb. (with half a tank of fuel) would suggest.
The rear brake is a little touchy and the wheel chatters on rough downhill bumps when the brake is used hard. This shouldn’t happen with a full-floating backing plate like the Qualifier has unless the shocks are poor. They are.
Girling shocks haven’t kept pace with the rapid progress in suspension during the past few years. The gas-charged models on the Can-Am are harsh on small bumps and bottom hard on large ones. Compared to brands like Works Performance. Ohlin and some of the Kayaba models, the Girlings are inferior.
The Marzocchi forks on the Can-Am are like the large-tube Marzocchis we’ve tried on other brands recently; they are a bit harsh on small bumps and tend to lock when crossing square edges and rain ruts. Drilling the compression damping hole one size larger, or sending the damper rods off to Works Performance or any other good shop for rework, will cure this and the Marzocchis will equal Maico forks. Why the makers don’t do this, we don’t know'. Lord knows we’ve told them often enough.
Riding a 370 Qualifier is much like riding a 1978 390 Husqvarna OR that has had the swing arm shortened an inch or so.>
CAN-AM 370 QUALIFIER
SPECIFICATIONS
$1895
The engine is smooth and responsive and rapid acceleration keeps the front wheel in the air. whether the operator wants it there or not. This over-light front end becomes a nuisance when trying to climb a snaky, rain rutted hill. If a rider has trouble on a steep hill and gets stopped, forget about trying to climb higher, the light front end won't allow it. It will loop before you can get moving again. The only choice the rider has is to go to the bottom of the hill and start over.
The 370 can be ridden very fast on firebreak roads and open terrain. Off-camber turns can be blasted through as if they were flat ground and smooth TT-type turns are a full-lock treat. The rear wheel slides out in a smooth, predictable manner and won't spook the operator by sawing through smooth high speed corners.
As a first year open enduro bike, the Qualifier isn't bad. With modern shocks, a fork modification and a 1 in. longer swing arm from a Can-Am MX-5 motoerosser. (to help keep the front wheel down) the Qualifier would be hard to beat.
