Can-Am 250cc bikes

[chris vickery]

Thanks Rob, seeing as we only had 78 bikes I would not expect much but thought I would throw it out there. A friend of mine had a few NOS frames.
Having examined my new toy closely, I am fairly confident to say that it is an ex-Belgian bike;
It has a few characteristics which differ from the British or Canadian contracts.
I am fortunate enough to have obtained a copy of both the British and Belgian parts manuals with my purchase.
This might be another reason why the pannier racks looked off to you.
Mine has the 4.00-18 rear tire and 3.00-21 front tire by Metzeler. The pannier rack also has foot rests attached. These wheels are the dead giveaway as the british contract used Dunlop tires 3.50-19 front and 4.00-18 rear. The British pannier rack is almost the same without the extra foot pegs.
I also ended up with an NOS seat in the box which differs from the Can/Brit bikes in that it is a leather cover with strap across the middle as shown in the parts book. Currently mine has the typical Can/Brit seat.
The other rather odd thing is the luggage carrier. My manual shows the British version which is what I have and not the Belgian version.
I am making assumptions that this is the Belgian version based mainly on the wheel size and tire brand thinking that the Brits would not likely be stocking such an oddball size in inventory considering their 5000+ bikes were all 19"/18" respectively, so not likely a swap of wheels in the motorpool.
The typical Brit parts like the seat and luggage rack may have been an add on or may have been from factory as well.