CCM GP450 Adventure test ride

The Other PaulG

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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
 
Great report. Thanks for that. Did the bike you test rode have the tracTive electronic suspension gizmo equipped?

Looks and sounds great. Have they released an official price on this yet?
 
Great report. Thanks for that. Did the bike you test rode have the tracTive electronic suspension gizmo equipped?

Looks and sounds great. Have they released an official price on this yet?

Yes it did - it has a very intuitive interface mounted on (what would normally be) the tank.

I didn't play with it, I was a bit focused on trying not to drop their prototype bike in the gravel :D

The price has been released - I can't remember exactly but it's not cheap.

P
 
Thanks Paul, Yeah I vaguely remember some prices being thrown around a few weeks back which were a bit pricey, wasn't sure if they were official though and if I recall the TracTive gizmo was an expensive 'extra'

I will have a google and see if I can find the price.

*edit*

yeah, £7995 standard
Tracktive suspension is an optional extra £1200

Think Rally raid are making some bigger aftermarket tanks and rally fairing for it too. Either way, Lovely bike which I would consider owning, but its just too pricey for me.
 
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.


Limiting in an adventure role? .....Oh, best sell mine then:blast:D
 
Limiting in an adventure role? .....Oh, best sell mine then:blast:D

:D I thought that might get a rise from the Faithful!

I loved mine off road, but the savage vibes meant that I genuinely struggled to ride it far on the road.

100 miles on the road to the NEC show one year left me literally 'buzzing' for a couple of hours after getting off.

For a lot of us, every 'adventure' inevitably starts with a good few road miles.

P
 
:D I thought that might get a rise from the Faithful!

I loved mine off road, but the savage vibes meant that I genuinely struggled to ride it far on the road.

100 miles on the road to the NEC show one year left me literally 'buzzing' for a couple of hours after getting off.

For a lot of us, every 'adventure' inevitably starts with a good few road miles.

P

I've ridden several 250 mile road stints on mine with no real bother from vibes, perhaps they vary depending on set up:nenau
 
I've ridden several 250 mile road stints on mine with no real bother from vibes, perhaps they vary depending on set up:nenau

Yep, quite likely.

It's that, or my ageing bones... :D:D

Andres, you deserve some kind of award for that, jeez just thinking about that makes my eyes water... :eek

P
 
Yep, quite likely.

It's that, or my ageing bones... :D:D

Andres, you deserve some kind of award for that, jeez just thinking about that makes my eyes water... :eek

P

Just read my post back, it sounded a bit arogant.............too much beer, sorry ;)

Ummm, it really wasn't too bad, I think helped by the frequent petrol stops and the fact it was some 12 years ago now and me bones were a bit less shagged out back then.
What amazed me was the Rotax lump was in a VERY high state of tune (58bhp at the wheel) and yet was totaly reliable for the entire trip - I then did a SM race on it the w/e after I got back :)

I'm watching this thread with interest as I still have a sweet spot for CCM.

Andres
 
test ride

im booked for a look tomorrow

Rob what did you think?
 
Looked on the website:

As an ex motocrosser, if I were in the market for such a machine,
the first thing I would always look at is the weight.
When riding off road, this is the single most important thing which determines much of the pleasure to be had in such jaunts.
Haviing looked, this single most important item is missing from the website.
The BMW version is 120kg dry.
Ultimately, one has to ask, it the CCM version lighter? If not, why bother?
Myke
 
It's not a motocross bike it's an adventure bike otherwise you'd buy a 100kg ktm but you wouldn't want to do more than 50 miles on road. It's a niche the only other bike about this is ktm 690e.
Will be interesting to see how it sells?
 


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