2014 -2017. I knew I'd read that somewhere! "BMW provided the motor, which came from their G450X, a well-designed bike that failed to attract the sales that BMW required. The engines were manufactured under licence by Kymco in Taiwan, and they had a large supply available. The 5-speed motor was Euro III compliant and offered 41 bhp as standard; however, a simple “power plug” boosted output to 52 bhp! The clever trick was that the output shaft was almost dead centre of the pivot point of the swingarm, allowing the chain to maintain constant tension across the full range of movement. In the standard tune, the engine was eager and free-revving. The drawbacks came when the need for constant throttle settings (such as those required when passing an urban speed camera) was quite unpleasant. But get the bike out on the open road or trail, and the engine provided lots of fun up to the national speed limit. To address the inconsistent fuel delivery at low throttle settings (essential to passing Euro III emissions regulations), CCM sought the help of Dynotune, who tested the bike and discovered that the throttle went from lean to rich and back again across the lower rev ranges. They created a new map, which became available on their Power Commander V unit together with the power plug and a free-flowing exhaust. https://www.ccm-motorcycles.com/heritage/a-history-of-the-engines-that-have-powered-ccm/
Interesting, I'm currently looking to buy a lightweight adv bike and one of these has come up for sale and I was concerned about what engine is powering it. It would seem when you read lower that some believe the Husky to be the Chinese produced SWM engine which is the old Husqvarna engine. Here is a very well written piece I read somewhere on CCM, I won't link it as it's on another forum. Weaknesses, Strengths, Threats and Opportunities An analysis prepared by Richard Simpson Weakness: Small-scale niche manufacturer, with little buying power based in a high-cost manufacturing economy Weakness: Currently surviving as a niche manufacturer serving a limited Domestic market for ‘boutique’ motorcycles Weakness: Difficult to expand out of the Domestic market, without ETA/EPA Weakness: Little technical resources to meet the legislative requirements of ETA/EPA. High cost of doing so Strength: A strong brand with historic competition heritage and reputation for innovation Strength: Goodwill towards the ‘British underdog/bulldog’ brand in Domestic, European and American markets Threat: Legacy of dissatisfaction following issues with poor finish and engine mapping from the otherwise attractive and well-received GP450 Adventure Threat: A perception that CCM does ‘one thing at a time’ and once a short production run has ended, owners are abandoned to sort any legacy issues and source parts while CCM launches its next big thing. This hurts resale values and customer loyalty, both of which are keys to success for smaller manufacturers. Threat: Growing competence of Chinese manufacturers in the trail, adventure, and rally niche markets. Japan served notice on the world with involvement in the Isle of Man TT in the late 1950s. Now China has served notice on the world with involvement in the Dakar Rally Threat: Using a proprietary engine can lead to a customer perception that the offering is a ‘me too’ or unauthentic product Threat: Carrying over the SWM engine currently used in the CCM Spitfire for use in a purposeful travel/adventure bike would bring it into direct competition with the established AJP PR7 machine which uses the same unit Opportunity 1): Pierer Mobility (KTM + legacy brands Husqvarna and Gas Gas). Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and with a strong heritage in MX/enduro/rally/adventure segments in severe financial trouble, in part caused by technical failures in the vertical-twin engine, and a reluctance to rectify these in a speedy and honest manner. Also chaotic British Leyland style marketing with near identical products competing against other Pierer brands. Creates an opening for CCM to offer an alternative in the Adventure and Trail segments. Opportunity 1a): The KTM 690 Enduro product line. This is not actually an ‘enduro bike’, it’s a big supermoto fitted out as a trail bike with a class-leading 4-stroke single cylinder engine. Currently offered in supermoto and enduro/travel formats, under all 3 Pierer brands but with little difference other than colour between the KTM (690) Gas Gas (700) and Husqvarna (701) versions. Could CCM source the class-leading 690 engine and frame from a cash-strapped Pierer Mobility, and use it to build a bike that picked up where the CCM GP450 left off? There are numerous (and expensive) kits available from the likes of Rade Garage and its competitors to fit the 690 Enduro and its stablemates out with fairings, luggage and additional fuel tanks, so demand to turn this platform into a true adventure-equipped machine exists. The engine is already compliant with ETA/EPA emissions standards, so a turnkey solution. An additional use for the 690 engine would be to produce a ‘street scrambler’ styled after the iconic CCM motocrossers of the late 1970s, using a CCM frame with twin-shock rear suspension and a conventional fuel tank (the KTM, Husqvarna, and Gas Gas all carry their fuel behind the seat). The Triumph Scrambler range (from 400 to 1200 cc) is an example of the kind of commercial success that this might achieve. Neither of the machines outlined above would be direct competitors for the Pierer Mobility product, but would enable Pierer to leverage additional profit from an established engine platform. Opportunity 1b) CCM to obtain the old (and much missed) RFS four-stroke engine that led KTM to its breakthrough into enduro market domination in the years 2000 – 2016 and offer it in an enduro/trail bike where local regulations permit. Ordinary riders maintain that the 400 RFS engine was as good as KTM got with four-stroke enduros. Opportunity 2) What growth there is in the UK motorcycle market is clearly in the 400-500cc segment, with particular interest generated by British-badged (but Indian-built) four-stroke single-cylinder machines (Triumph, Royal Enfield), plus novel entries from China. Is there an opportunity to revive the GP450, in a variety of guises (adventure, trail, street-scrambler, flat-tracker, roadster, café-racer)? The 500cc Fantic Caballero is a good example of how one design can be configured to suit various niches, and given the recent switch by Fantic from a Chinese to an Italian-built engine might also suggest a possible new engine for CCM if the old GP450 engine proves unworkable. Additionally, with the revival of the DR-Z400 in fuel-injected form, Suzuki might perhaps return as an engine supplier to CCM.
Which is why it's suggested to use the Suzuki DRZ engine as they have re-released the DRZ, you can't use the BMW engine any longer.
I also thought it was interesting -if true?- that the article says the growth market is in 400-500cc. Due to A2 licences? Maybe the old boys down scaling or a general desire for lightness (like me) since the speed cams make massive bhp kinda difficult to use?
I am seeing a lot more of the 400's at bike meets, Triumph Royal Enfield etc. Not sure of the rider profile though I do see a few pensioners on KTM 390's bless em. As an example for a young rider my Son only wants a 500SM that weighs in at 115kg dry he thinks my 700 at 149kgs is too lardy for him. He'll pass his A2 in September then buy a Husqvarna 510 SM, although TBH he's an exception buying that bike. The biggest restrictor to motorcycle ownership is the hurdles you have to jump through to get a full licence and then the cost. People seem to be trapped in a mindset that you need to spend a gazzilion pounds on lessons and all that guff. My Son passed his A1 at 17 with absolutely no lessons at all, the same for the A2 he just rode his bike when and where he needed to. The CBT at 125 and off you trot on the road is IMO proof that you shouldn't need all that cost to pass your test at A1,A2 or the full licence. Rant over....lol
True but waiting years to get a larger bike is just as bad for some as spending a gazillion on direct access lessons. And the idea of both puts off a lot of people.
You can ride a full power motorcycle at 21 if you pass an A2 at 19, when you pass at 19 in 2 years you can ride on a full licence after having passed the test. It's just it would seem that it is so well hidden a lot of people are oblivious to this fact. We are only aware of 1 other lad that has taken the same route as my Son and he's a bike mechanic. Maybe kids just really aren't engaged enough with motorcycles as they once were. When my Sons renewal came for his 125 it had halved as he had an A1 licence which also meant he doesn't have to take a CBT for his A2 or a full licence.
The rules -for arguments sake "well meant"- are so complicated. With multiple ages restrictions and/or courses. Or you just pass your car test at 17 and forget about it.
Personally I believe they're deliberately made that way, I wasn't that aware tbh as i'd already passed my test before all these new rules were introduced. It was only my Son and I looking into a bit more that he worked out the pass the A2 at 19 as the route to a quicker full licence. He's waiting for his full A2 so he can attend the BikeSure courses put on by I believe your local Police forces, for us that gives him quite a few options as there is Stoke, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Derby and Telford. There is that which is the obvious course of action, he passed his last year having delayed it to concentrate on his A levels. Bought a car himself and learnt to drive having insured his little MX5 for £250 for 12 months without lessons. The driving examiner did comment that he's got A1 motorcycle entitlement when he checked his licence.
