CCM is back on track!

By TMX Archives on 11th Jun 08

Bike Reviews

AFTER years in the wilderness CCM is back.Anyone who has followed the off-road press for the past year will have no doubt been keeping a close eye on the re-emergence of the famous British manufacturers attempts to break back into the world of top-flight motocross racing with its new hand-built CMX450 and CMX250 racers with some interest.Never afraid to eschew conventional approaches to bike building, CCM has pioneered a headline grabbing chassis design on these new machines, opting to draft in experts from the motoring industry to design an extremely lightweight and state of the art bonded aluminium frame that forms the centre-piece of the two motorcycles, and around which it has built a series of truly one-off, custom factory motorcycles that have turned heads and set pulses racing across the UK and Europe this season.But what are these limited factory racers like to ride?T+MX was given exclusive access to the CMX250 machines ridden by Kristian Whatley and Richie Worrall recently at Mallory Park to bring the first ever test of the smaller of the two CCM racers.Longstanding T+MX tester Johnno White was in the hot seat so, over to Johnno...

"TWO weeks ago I was offered the very first chance to test one of the new factory CCM 250F machines that were to make their GP debut at the following weeks British GP at Mallory Park. The opportunity to be the first test-rider to swing a leg over these genuinely exciting new British-built bikes from the legendary firm was quite exiting in itself but when you are told that you are also getting exclusive use of Mallory Park, the newest GP track in the country, for an hour before the press and some of the top riders in the country got to ride the track also, I was pretty stoked to say the least.
Before I got to ride the bike I had a good nosey round it like I always do and it is clear that CCM have really pushed the boat out with this machine. It really is a factory one-off and also the most 'mainstream' looking bike that CCM has ever produced.
The CCM name has really been around in the pits for a long-time, and really to be fair before that the later batches of CCM's were not exactly at the cutting edge of off-road style, so to see a British-built bike that looks this good is a really encouraging thing to see. And after looking around the bike the innovation and new ideas evident on the bike is even more encouraging and impressive. CCM is definitely back.
It is the unique bonded frame that forms the basis of the CCM machines that has rightly taken the headlines and it is really a work of art.
As has been much talked about since the project was announced, the frame is built utilising technology used in high-end car design for many years and sees a unique aluminium construction of four separate frame pieces bonded (glued) together to form the main chassis rather than the standard welded single, solid frame construction favoured by the major manufacturers.
It's very compact and neat looking and the benefits of such a design are a drastic weight saving over the competition as the need for heavy duty and heavy-weight welding is removed - just look at the sublimely machine headstock area to see how much less metal there is in there compared to say a Honda - and, says CCM, the unique bonding also produces not only a stronger frame but also a more flexible and thus responsive ride. With the addition of a custom built carbon-fibre sub-frame to further reduce weight the CCM is indeed considerably more lightweight than anything else on the market by a good few kilos, weighing in at a featherweight 93 kilos.
The only downside to this style of chassis is that it is expensive to produce, very expensive, and thus is the primary reason why you won't be able to lay your hands on a production CCM any time soon.
Asides from the frame components, the rest of the chassis is also very high-end stuff, as befits a factory machine, with the end result very familiar to anyone who has clapped eyes on a KTM in the past couple of years.
Factory WP suspension front and rear is utilised, the rear running a linkless PDS design as used by KTM also, one-off machined triple-clamps are fitted up front, what looks like a KTM swingarm is also bolted on along with huge factory Brembo brake units that provide some fearsome stopping power.
The plastics for the machine are also moulded from KTM bodywork, save for the tasty carbon fuel tank, for the simple reason that the costs of moulding new plastics is a prohibitively expensive for such a small batch of machines, although you would suspect that CCM has paid more than a bit of notice to KTM geometry and data when building the bike also.
It is not just the look of the bike that is familiar, the engine block is straight out of Yamaha YZ250F.
Granted I'm sure it isn't "just" a standard YZF engine and probably has quite a few mods by the CCM boys, but they were keeping tight lipped about that. For sure a bit more power has been ecked out of the motor though with the fitting of a DEP S7 exhaust system custom built for the CCM boys. The YZF motor is not renowned as most potent out there but it is the most long-standing and famously reliable so it is easy to see why CCM opted to use the Yam motor.
So all in all the bike was dripping with factory goodies but, as always when you get to test ride a factory bike, the factory in question wont always reveal exactly what the bike consists of. Still, I was really excited to find out what the bike was like out on track, and I wasn't disappointed with the chassis unsurprisingly stealing the show.
I spent 20 minutes just trying to learn the track and get used to the bike and immediately I could feel just how light the bike feels and how nimble the chassis is. I could certainly tell that the bike was going to impress me and be a lot of fun, although I did give a bit of an early test when I horrifically overjumped what was the finish-line tabletop and nearly mangled myself.
Still any doubts I might of had about a bonded frame not being strong enough to handle the abuses of motocross were certainly laid to rest as the bike dropped out of the sky like a piece of lead and the frame soaked it up impeccably, although I did have a few folks a bit worried.
Powerwise the motor felt exactly as I expected it - like a Yamaha YZ250F. No surprise there, and the usual smooth, easy to use Yamaha power was evident, although maybe a little lacking as I have felt for the past couple of years, but the gearing did feel slightly different and pulled a bit longer so maybe CCM has been to work there.
The smooth power of the motor complimented the the lightweight, nimble chassis very well and all through the test my overwhelming thought was just how nice the bike is to ride.
I will be totally honest and would say that I didn't get a long enough on the bike, nor was the track rough enough to give you completely full opinion of the chassis but what impressions I did get were fantastic. CCM >>>>
has really come-up trumps with this chassis and it is certainly among the best I have ever ridden.
I wasn't sure what to expect from a bonded frame and was concerned that it may have too much flex and feel a bit wishy-washy, or conversely too stiff and a bit uncompromising, but the balance of it is spot on and it handles absolutely superbly.
Without a doubt the bike feels incredibly light for a 250F and it really benefits from this as the bike feels more like a two-stroke and thus allows you to really throw it around. It's incredibly light in the air and changes of direction need noticably less effort which in tunrs means you conserve energy.
The superb cornering and swift handling are further aided by the balance of the bike and how much feedback you get from the frame. It just feels absolutely spot-on and manages to offer the kind of feel and feedback you generally only get from a traditional steel frame from an aluminium unit. I was really very impressed, especially in the faster sweepeing corners where it felt that nothing really would unsettle it. It really did handle like it was on the proverbial rails.
The use of KTM bodywork is a winner too in my book as it provides one of the most neutral and roomy cockpits on the market currently and the slim, flat nature of the tank/ seat area promotes great cornering too.
It's just a shame that this style of frame is currently so costly because it really is impressive indeed and would benefit at least a couple of the current crop of four-strokes.
Similarly the semi-factory WP suspension helped contribute to the quality ride and handling prowess, with the new style WP PDS rear shock in particular soaking up the hits and tracking very well, although for my liking the front-end felt just a bit over-damped and tended to push away a tad in the corners.
The dry and loose Mallory soil may well have been a big factor but I think the bike would possibly benefit from slightly softer springs, maybe different valving or even something as simple as dropping the forks through the yokes 5mm.
The factory Brembo brakes too felt great as you would expect, the front in particualr has incredible stopping

power, although the way the bikes real pliot Richie Worrall has the lever set so far inwards and close to the grips meant it was bit of a squeeze activiating it for anyone with bigger hands than a 15-year-old. Still, even with getting myself all squashed up a few times trying to grab a handful, the bike pulls up quick meaning you can leave your braking right to the very last second which for the guys who ride these bikes is vital.
I was gutted when the other bikes got on the track and the dust started to kick-up bigtime, ending the test, but even with my short experience I can confidently say CCM has produced an absoulte superb machine with the new CMX250. The chassis is truly second to none and more than capable of taking on the worlds best.
It's really great to see CCM back at the fore-front, pushing forward and flying the flag again for British motorcylcling so lets hope they have a bit of luck with the rest of the year and come out swinging again in 2009 with an even more accomplished motorcycle with which to take on the World championship with, they certainly have the chassis with which to do it.

CMX 250 Specification
ENGINE
Type: Single cylinder, liquid cooled four-stroke DOHC, 5 valve
Displacement: 249cc
Bore x stroke: 77.0 x 53.6 mm
Compression ratio: 13.5:1
Lubrication system: Dry sump
Carburettor: Keihin FCR-MX39/1
Clutch: Wet multiple plate
Ignition system: CDI
Starter system: Kick
Exhaust: DEP S7
Transmission system: Constant mesh, 5-speed
Final transmission: Regina MX Racing chain
Fuel tank capacity: 8 litres
Oil tank capacity: 1.2 litres

Specification:

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