Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1544109
34 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Vintage Feature Vintage Feature 1980 Can-Am 250 Qualifier 1980 Can-Am 250 Qualifier By Kurt Flachbart By Kurt Flachbart Like so many of our vintage features, this bike once belonged to my old buddy Howie. As with so many old bikes, the back story is somewhat inter- es ng, and I thought it was me to share this cool tale. I'll do my best to relay the story that Howie had told me many years ago. It was the spring of 1980, and Howie had received this brand-new Can-Am 250 Qualifier as a gradua- on gi . Although Howie was mostly a Husky guy, he had owned a few other Can-Ams before this par cular 250 Qualifier and liked their smooth, torquey power and how li le noise they made. During the summer of that same year, Howie and his family headed to northern Maine on a camp- ing trip, and he brought along his new Can-Am, hoping to explore some local fire roads and trails. His mistake was le ng a street-riding friend take it for a spin. Within minutes, Street Guy ran out of talent and promptly flipped his 'Ham over back- wards, tearing the rear fender and taillight clean off. Howie was bummed, sickened actually, and parked it in the barn when they returned from vaca on. Fall soon rolled around, life got busy, and like so many bike stories, the orange Can-Am was sent to the back of the barn where it languished for over two decades. Having fond memories of Trail Rider Founder Bob Hicks' son, Rick, ripping endless wheelies on his '80 400 Qualifier, I had an eye on Howie's 250 Q for quite some me, but with our move to Maine, our visits became less frequent. Every now and again, when we were talking bikes, I'd ask Howie about the orange Can-Am and if it was s ll buried in his barn. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna wake it up and ride the wheels off it someday" he'd say. Yeah, right, I thought. We all know how that goes, and the bike con nued to gather dust, lingering amongst old trucks, sleds, and other implements in the barn. As the years rolled by, I'd o en pitch an offer to buy the 'Ham off Howie with promises of actually wak- ing it up and enjoying it once again. His answer was always no. I guess 20 years might have passed, and while working in his area back in 2003 or so, I paid my old friend a visit. Being a "junk" collector with a