Commuter Future: City Carving With The Can-Am Pulse

Can-Am x SHARP

This test of the Can-Am Pulse has been a long time coming; the launch news broke in the fall of 2023, and though I’d secured some great seat time in Austin in the fall of 2024 at Can-Am’s first global ride program, the real test was always going to be on home turf. I knew I was already smitten with the Pulse’s snappy power delivery and low centre of gravity, but what would it be like on the streets of Toronto, commuting to work and terrorizing the town? How would charging work given that I don’t have a charger in my building? Would the conceptual practicality of going electric actually work in my favour? I finally have answers to all of this, and more.

First things first, there’s some math to consider. In base trim, the Can-Am Pulse starts at $18,299. It’s not an inexpensive offering, but on one hand you’re paying for cutting-edge drivetrain tech and top-shelf componentry (KWB adjustable suspension, LED lighting, a touchscreen display with Carplay compatibility). If you want to get into the weeds, there’s also the savings on maintenance. Much like an electric car, the maintenance intervals on the Pulse are far wider than on a conventional oil-and-gas motorcycle. Your power/fuel costs will also drop, though that’s not a huge consideration given the low consumption of motorcycles to begin with. In contrast to my Aprilia, where a tank of fuel is $25, it ended up costing me an average of about $2.50 to charge the Pulse in and around the city. Even if I had to charge it twice as often, that still works out in the long run. That said, odds are you’re not buying an electric motorcycle for the sake of saving a few bucks on gas.

In the city, the Pulse immediately starts to shine. Takeoff from a stop is brisk, and its aforementioned centre of gravity makes the sub-400 pound bike change direction effortlessly. Weaving through busy streets while generating next to no noise is also a novel concept, allowing for additional alertness of the environment that would be lost to an engine drone. It’s an interesting counterpoint to the misguided logic of “loud pipes save lives” that you will sometimes hear from veteran motorcyclists. It’s been statistically proven that the volume of one’s exhaust has no real impact on safety — once a car merging into your lane blindly hears your exhaust, it’s already too late to correct a bad situation. Score another point for the Pulse.

In terms of charging practicality, it took me a moment to familiarize myself with the various charging networks in and around the Greater Toronto Area, but once I’d set things up and saved some points on my map the concerns were out the window. Whether near the office, home, in the downtown core, Midtown, or the West End, there always seemed to be an available Level 2 charger for me to tap into. As a plus, mapping things out allowed me to find charging points near coffee shops and restaurants where I could sit, crack open a book, and kill time. Can-Am’s reported charging time of 50 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% battery life is quite accurate, with a full 0-100% charge taking about an hour and 15, give or take.

Through the weeks on the road, aside from learning to not reach for an invisible clutch lever, my riding habits mostly lined right up with the Pulse, with one minor caveat: highway range. Riding at a spirited pace eats battery life on the highway, which in hindsight is to be expected. Its max “combined” city/highway range is 130 kilometres, but much in the same way that you won’t get peak mileage out of your car if you’re having fun, the same goes for the Pulse. If you’re a weekend rider that goes out and logs 400-500km on a standard day loop, it won’t be your best choice. That said, that’s not what it’s built for.

Shorter trips, work commutes, coffee runs, errands, and the like all play to the electric Can-Am’s skillset, even if home charging isn’t an option. As an urban mobility solution it’ll put a smile on your face in no time, and make you forget the smell of gasoline and the lingering tinnitus inflicted by your exhaust pipes. Especially as a second bike (which was my setup during testing), I’d pick the Can-Am over the Aprilia any time I thought I’d face traffic or have a shorter jaunt to take. While it might not be the perfect fit for everyone’s individual riding preferences, it sure makes a compelling argument for going electric.

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