CCM Roadster - Appease Your Inner Child

Those who ride motorbikes will be all too familiar with the desire to own something a bit different. It's like the feeling we all had when picking our first cars in our late teens and early 20s; there was a desire, a compulsion, a necessity, to individualise our vehicles—to do something that would make them our own and make them feel unique from the identical models seen elsewhere in our college and university car parks.

With time, that desire to customise for most gradually fades away, indeed for cars, but with bikes - if anything, the desire to have something a little different to everyone else only ever gets stronger.

Fortunately, the other positive difference between cars and bikes is that bikes are, on the whole, cheaper and easier to modify. But then there's yet another benefit for bikers with a desire to own something unique - and that comes in the form of manufacturers like CCM, enabling you to purchase something custom yet 'off the shelf'.

The Roadster is one of the latest models from CCM, combining custom style with everyday usability. As is the norm with new CCM models, the Roadster is finished with the most spectacular intricate details, head-turning looks and a thunderously dramatic soundtrack. In typical CCM fashion, a network of elegant tubular frameworks surrounds a 600cc single-cylinder engine derived from a Husqvarna design originally destined for dirt bikes. At 55BHP and 50Nm of torque, the engine's performance figures may not look all that imposing but consider the bike's dry weight at just 140kilos, and you start to build a picture of what this little attention seeker is capable of.

It would be easy to assume the model is all looks over function, but the reality is that it's anything but. The switchgear and hardware are all high quality, with suspension components from Marzocchi and Ohlins, brake callipers from Brembo and enough overengineered spectacular-looking finishing touches to warrant a good hour of just admiring the thing before you've even bothered to sit on it. The Roadster is a beautiful-looking bike, and the demo I've received with the colour combination of a Racing Green tank and Anodic Bronze framework is exactly what I would be choosing if I were spending my own money.

The joyous process of buying a CCM is the ability to work through a list of custom options. Almost everything is configurable, resulting in the final product being a bike that will likely be bespoke to the buyer. To start, you have a choice of four base models: Core, Premium, Stealth and Ultimate. The entry-level price for the Core model is £12,495.00, with the Ultimate stretching to £15,615.00. Each base model offers a list of standard equipment and unlocks potential upgrades the higher up the list you go. With an Ultimate pack, the spec options are vast, with individual options available in terms of paint colours, wheels, brakes, suspension, seat leather, anodising, exhausts, handlebars, hand levers, foot pedals, radiator guards, headlight surrounds, and even leather luggage options.

For fun, as we all like to do, I decided to play with the configurator on the CCM website and 'imagi-build' my very own Ultimate Pack Roadster. With my desired specifications, I managed to rack up an eye-watering on-the-road retail price of £22,362.00, which is staggering for what is likely to be a second or even third bike for many.

As wild as that price may be, it's still not that wild in terms of custom-build bike money, with private custom builders often charging £30k+ for a build beyond the new bike of choice that a customer has purchased at an additional cost.

So, you've paid the £20k bill, and your custom bike has been delivered; what next? Is it just a pretty thing to look at, or does it actually ride well? The answer is no. It doesn't ride well; it rides brilliantly - and most crucially, it's serious fun.

The Roadster's lightweight nature allows for some seriously impressive pulls off the line, and the low centre of gravity grants cornering speeds that would otherwise be considered 'quite brave' on most other bikes. The suspension, thanks again to the weight of the bike, only needs to do what's crucial without the need to factor in what would typically be 200kilos of bike plus 90kilos of rider. For keeping things in check and, crucially, coming to a stop, my test bike has been equipped with a single front disk. Brembo callipers and twin disks are an option, but I'm not sure it's needed as I couldn't fault the stopping performance with the single disk at all. At 6'1 (185cm), I found the riding position comfortable, and I was able to adapt my riding position for cornering without any fuss or uncomfortable mishaps.

The handlebars are wide at 960mm in length, which grants an additional element of control and confidence through the tight and twisties. Switch gear and electronic controls have been upgraded in recent years following some comments from buyers. Previous models had the start and kill switches below the centre screen, away from the throttle handle; they have since been relocated to the conventional position within reach of fingers and thumbs when on the grips.

The most engaging aspect is, by far, the noise. Typically, I'm not a massive fan of single-cylinder soundtracks, but thanks to a twin exhaust set-up, the sound from the CCM's 600cc engine is very addictive. Once warm, the overruns are a symphony of pops and crackles, and the air filter, located just below the seat, audibly chugs and pulses in the air, rivalling the soundtrack from the twin pipes. Blipping down the gears as you fire the Roadster into corners with a pop and a crackle before cranking back out and up through the gears again is an exceptional way to spend a day, resulting in many childish giggles inside crash helmets.

With prices before options starting shy of £12,500, the CCM Roadster isn't a cheap bike, but a hand-built bike assembled here in Britain shouldn't be. Anyone looking to appease their inner child with a toy unique to themselves needs to look no further.

words: John Marcar
pictures: Henry Faulkner-Smith
special thanks to Caffeine & Machine (The Hill) for location usage.