This is the new CCM Heritage ‘71 Ti limited edition production motorcycle, and as the name suggests, large parts of it including the chassis, subframe, swingarm, and exhaust are made from 100% titanium.
Titanium is an ideal material for motorcycle construction, it has the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element on the periodic table, it’s incredibly lightweight, and it’s so resistant to corrosion that it doesn’t even need to be painted.
Fast Facts – The CCM Heritage ‘71 Ti
- The CCM Heritage ‘71 Ti was announced in February 2022 as the British motorcycle company’s rarest and most expensive model – with an MSRP of £28,995 ($39,222 USD).
- Though titanium has a long list of positive attributes, including high-strength, low weight, and high-resistance to corrosion it’s also very expensive and hard to work with in manufacturing.
- The team at CCM, or Clews Competition Motorcycles, developed the Heritage ‘71 Ti as the halo motorcycle in their model range. The extensive use of titanium has resulted in a 44 lb weight reduction over the regular steel-framed CCM Spitfire Six.
- Just 71 examples will be built, a reference to the year of the company’s founding – 1971.
CCM – Clews Competition Motorcycles
Clews Competition Motorcycles, better known simply as CCM, was founded back in 1971 by the successful Trials and Scrambles rider Alan Clews.
Each of these frames are made from 3Al/2.5V CWSR aerospace-grade titanium, reducing the weight over the original chromoly frame by over 13 lbs.
Clews had made a name for himself as a racer however when the BSA Competition Department was disbanded in 1971 due to financial difficulties he saw an opportunity, and bought all of the factory equipment he could get his hands on.
Initially working out of his garage, Clews set about building 500cc four-stroke motocross and enduro machines that were capable of competing against the dominant two-stroke motorcycles of the time – a feat many considered impossible. Alan proved them wrong with a slew of top five finishes in international competition.
Over the intervening decades the company would build a variety of different motorcycles including the Armstrong MT500 for the military, the CCM GP450 which was a middle-weight adventure bike, and most recently the CCM Spitfire.
The company has no dealer network an all sales are handled directly out of the factory, allowing the buyer to form a direct connection with the people who will actually be building their machine.
The Heritage ‘71 Ti is unmistakably a member of the CCM Spitfire family, just with lower weight and more power – with a price tag to match.
The CCM Heritage ‘71 Ti
CCM Heritage ‘71 Ti was introduced in February 2022 in memory of Alan Clews, the company founder who had passed away in 2018.
Alan Clews was a pioneer in the development of lightweight motorcycles for off road racing, and there can be little doubt that he would love the low kerb weight of the Heritage ‘71 Ti – just 299.8 lbs with fluids.
Tipping the scales at 44 lbs less than their well-known CCM Spitfire model, the Heritage ‘71 Ti makes use of a vast array of custom titanium 3Al-12.5V parts, including a full titanium chassis, swing arm, sub frame, exhaust, foot pegs, as well as many of the bolts and fittings.
Just 71 of these will be made – a reference to 1971, the year the company was founded by Alan Clews.
The low weight was also achieved by the use of forged carbon engine parts, a number of carbon fiber parts, Dymag race alloy wheels, and lightweight Maxxis DTR-1 tires.
As with many of the other motorcycles in production with CCM, the Heritage ‘71 Ti is powered by a BMW-designed Husqvarna engine. It’s a 600cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled four-stroke with 62 bhp and 66 Nm of torque (49 lb ft). This represents almost a 20% increase in power of the standard CCM Spitfire.
State-of-the-art suspension and brakes are used, with Öhlins Blackline forks up front and a matching Öhlins Blackline rear monoshock. Brembo brakes are used with four piston calipers and twin discs up front, and a single Brembo unit on the rear.
The CCM Heritage ‘71 Ti is currently listed for sale on the CCM website with an MSRP of £28,995, the equivalent of $39,222 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or place an order you can click here to visit the site.
Images courtesy of CCM
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