Ccm R30 test

Intro: SO BRITISH

CCM - three letters that stand for Clews Competition Machines. A brand of British bikes founded by Alan Clews. That doesn’t mean much and yet the brand has existed since 1971. And although until now it has been pretty discreet outside England, we are soon going to get used to seeing it in the catalogues on our bedside tables. The British brand is moving into France establishing no less than 50 sales points over the next year. To do so it is counting on two models based around the same engine. A supermotard named the R 30 and a trail bike called the 644 Dual Sport.
Dual Sport because the latter can be equipped with either a pair of enduro wheel rims or a pair of supermotards or both – you choose when you buy the bike. We tested the super motard.

Esthetique: A SUPER BIKE

With the R 30 you no longer need to take out your metal saw to cut the front mudguard back roughly. Nor do you need to study spare parts catalogues to boost your machine. CCM have taken care to list all the correct ingredients for a successful super motard.
And the result is here in front of you, with ravishing good looks that say it all.
A supermotard bike has to be light. CCM have gone very light. The R 30 has a great figure. Extremely slender, it manages to mask its 650 cc cylinder capacity surprisingly well. The indicators are minimalists as are the rear footrests, which look as though they have been machined in your garage at the last minute for your passenger. The instrumentation follows the same school of thought. The controls are on the rustic side and the dials just tell you the bare essentials. Pride of place goes to the engine revs with an imposing rev counter. When it comes to knowing how fast you are going, that seems to be a mere accessory for the British, which is not doubt the reason why the speedo is so small and thus illegible. Forget anything else, there’s no trip meter and no petrol gauge, the important thing is the handlebars that hold so little, they are signed Renthal – a guarantee of solidity.

Motorization: THE PLEASURE OF THE MONO

Derived from trail, a super motard has to be powered by a big mono. CCM have abandoned its Italian Rotax engines in favour of a more common engine straight out of the Japanese Suzuki factory.
This mono cylinder is none other than the 650 CC from the Suzuki trail Freewind.
It is coupled with a high performance stainless steel exhaust. Entirely unchanged from the original, only its exhaust and a modified air intake can allow it to increase its power. It develops 53 horsepower at 7,600 revs for a respectable torque of 5.3 mkg at 5,800 revs. Enough to propel the 137 kilos of the bike.

On the road: A TREAT !

The front fork is an inverted With Power, which is also to be found on the KTM Duke. It can be adjusted for compression and release as can the rear shock absorber.
The spoked wheel rims are 17 inches with particularly gripping Pirelli Dragons.
The brakes are oversized from the start and signed Brembo. In front there is a 320 mm diameter disc with a double piston calliper. At the back there is a single disc with a single piston. On a circuit, although the engine torque and the bite of the brakes prove to be sufficient, the front fork is a bit too soft and means the bike plunges exaggerates when braking. A fault that can also be felt on the road but which does at least add a soupcon of comfort. Because in this respect the R 30 is a bike that makes no concessions. By definition a super motard is a high performance bike that is lightweight and easy to handle. The CCM applies that principle to the letter. It has been through a draconian slimming diet, to the extent that its saddle could well do with a few more grams of foam to make it a little softer. With its perfect shock absorption, the rider can make the most of CCM’s hand assembled chassis’ rigidity. The bike remains in permanent contact with the road whatever the state of the surface. The 53 horsepower mono engine proves to be very pleasant. Stuffed full of torque, it propels the bike from corner to corner without ever weakening. Very round up until 5,000 revs, it then becomes more raucous up into the red zone perched at 7,500 revs. The R 30 proves to be agile and playful. It reawakens the naughty boy streak in its rider. In this situation you need to have big brakes. For that count on the bite of the front brake. Because the rear brake fails here. Not very progressive, it soon blocks. If you are playing the performance card calculate the minimum amount of fuel that you will need for your journey, because the tank only holds 10 litres. And without a gauge or a trip meter, you will only have the reserve to take you to the nearest filling station. Even with tyres that don’t have much in common with the good old trail rubbers, the R 30 can go for the odd spin off the beaten track. But the 6 44 dual sport would do the job better, the Pirelli Dragons soon showing their limits on this type of terrain. Sold for a price of 8,400 Euros, CCM have positioned themselves within the market prices, for a bike that makes no concessions and which plays the efficiency and driving pleasure cards in 100% supermotard fashion. Add to that a brand that is full of character.