At last weekend's Blue Light off road day at Bagshot, there was a CCM stand and they were offering test rides on the pre-production version of their new adventure bike.
This is an interesting venture for them - and the real question is, what niche does the bike fit into and is it really suited to adventure riding?
The test was purely off-road, on gravel tracks, through sand and over some enduro-style trails.
Visuals - This bike looks the business. It leans far more towards competition looks than the soft-roaders we're more used to, with an enduro-style seat, an upright Dakar-style screen and comp style instruments with road book holder. It's tall, but feels incredibly light. I don't know how much fuel was on board, but the main tank is below the seat so it keeps it low. I think it stores additional fuel up front in the wings around the tank - its range is something like 250-300 miles.
It appears to be well finished, all the chassis parts are nicely made and look top quality. I do like the Dakar look, and for me this bike looks fantastic.
Controls are all really light and easy to use - the footpegs are proper enduro-style affairs, the clutch is one-finger light and the gears all engaged really smoothly. The fuelling is excellent, once above a very small flat-spot just off tickover. The throttle action is long, so it's easy to control when the bike's kicking around on bumpy surfaces.
The motor is an ex-BMW 450cc unit, which has been de-tuned from its 50-odd bhp to about 40; apparently the reason for this was not so much to tame or spread the power, but to increase service intervals which are now, IIRC, 5000 or 6000 miles.
The bike fires up easily and settles to an even tickover, with a lovely deep but not too loud exhaust note. In the move, the engine has the unmistakable feel of an enduro four-stroke, as you open it up you're really aware of the piston hammering up and down. Even in de-tuned state, on a loose surface it has an abundance of power, and good tractability through the rev range too - if you're lazy and omit a downchange, it will forgive you and haul away regardless.
Standing up, it's fairly easy to get your weight forward although that takes you beyond the screen so the instruments are invisible.
The test bike had quite aggressive nobblies but even so, it was easy to tell that the suspension was working well to keep the bike planted and allow the power to be put down. I'm not a talented off-road rider but I felt I could ride this bike off road faster and more confidently than others.
Overall - The closest bike I've ridden to this one in terms of 'feel' is a KTM 950 - you're aware it's got a lot more sporting potential than other bikes in its class, it has all the 'right' bits and pieces fitted and its motor has that very eager competition feel to it. It's not a road bike with adventure clothes, a beak and a 21" wheel, it's a designed from the floor-up off-road tool with some road capability.
Is it a decent adventure bike? Although I didn't ride it on the road, I didn't detect any vibes coming through to the rider, so that's promising. If anyone gets the chance to ride one at 80mph for a couple of hours, that would be really telling. Think of something like a KTM 640 Adv - a great off-road bike but the other-worldly vibes means that riding more than an hour on the road is deeply unpleasant - and therefore ultimately limiting in an adventure role.
If the CCM handles the road well, then I'd say it would be a really interesting option as an adventure bike, because it'll let you get to where your adventure begins. There's no doubt whatsoever that if it'll get you to Erg Chebbi in the first place, then with its light weight, eager engine and fine suspension it'll be the best bike there by a mile.
If it doesn't handle the road so well, then I can only see it fitting in a class where you'll be the envy of your DR400s-riding mates, but at a price.
There's more about it here: http://www.ccm-motorcycles.com/
Paul G
This is an interesting venture for them - and the real question is, what niche does the bike fit into and is it really suited to adventure riding?
The test was purely off-road, on gravel tracks, through sand and over some enduro-style trails.
Visuals - This bike looks the business. It leans far more towards competition looks than the soft-roaders we're more used to, with an enduro-style seat, an upright Dakar-style screen and comp style instruments with road book holder. It's tall, but feels incredibly light. I don't know how much fuel was on board, but the main tank is below the seat so it keeps it low. I think it stores additional fuel up front in the wings around the tank - its range is something like 250-300 miles.
It appears to be well finished, all the chassis parts are nicely made and look top quality. I do like the Dakar look, and for me this bike looks fantastic.
Controls are all really light and easy to use - the footpegs are proper enduro-style affairs, the clutch is one-finger light and the gears all engaged really smoothly. The fuelling is excellent, once above a very small flat-spot just off tickover. The throttle action is long, so it's easy to control when the bike's kicking around on bumpy surfaces.
The motor is an ex-BMW 450cc unit, which has been de-tuned from its 50-odd bhp to about 40; apparently the reason for this was not so much to tame or spread the power, but to increase service intervals which are now, IIRC, 5000 or 6000 miles.
The bike fires up easily and settles to an even tickover, with a lovely deep but not too loud exhaust note. In the move, the engine has the unmistakable feel of an enduro four-stroke, as you open it up you're really aware of the piston hammering up and down. Even in de-tuned state, on a loose surface it has an abundance of power, and good tractability through the rev range too - if you're lazy and omit a downchange, it will forgive you and haul away regardless.
Standing up, it's fairly easy to get your weight forward although that takes you beyond the screen so the instruments are invisible.
The test bike had quite aggressive nobblies but even so, it was easy to tell that the suspension was working well to keep the bike planted and allow the power to be put down. I'm not a talented off-road rider but I felt I could ride this bike off road faster and more confidently than others.
Overall - The closest bike I've ridden to this one in terms of 'feel' is a KTM 950 - you're aware it's got a lot more sporting potential than other bikes in its class, it has all the 'right' bits and pieces fitted and its motor has that very eager competition feel to it. It's not a road bike with adventure clothes, a beak and a 21" wheel, it's a designed from the floor-up off-road tool with some road capability.
Is it a decent adventure bike? Although I didn't ride it on the road, I didn't detect any vibes coming through to the rider, so that's promising. If anyone gets the chance to ride one at 80mph for a couple of hours, that would be really telling. Think of something like a KTM 640 Adv - a great off-road bike but the other-worldly vibes means that riding more than an hour on the road is deeply unpleasant - and therefore ultimately limiting in an adventure role.
If the CCM handles the road well, then I'd say it would be a really interesting option as an adventure bike, because it'll let you get to where your adventure begins. There's no doubt whatsoever that if it'll get you to Erg Chebbi in the first place, then with its light weight, eager engine and fine suspension it'll be the best bike there by a mile.
If it doesn't handle the road so well, then I can only see it fitting in a class where you'll be the envy of your DR400s-riding mates, but at a price.
There's more about it here: http://www.ccm-motorcycles.com/
Paul G