This is the CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer, it’s a limited-production motorcycle, just 250 will be made by the decades-old British motorcycle marque Clews Competition Motorcycles.
In recent years CCM has made a name for themselves building ultra-lightweight motorcycles designed for blasting around canyon passes and British B-roads. The company’s bikes typically weigh less than 320 lbs, ands they’re fitted with a state-of-the-art engine, brakes, frame, and suspension.
Fast Facts – The CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer
- The CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer was unveiled in 2019 as a limited edition production motorcycle that meets modern emissions regulations thanks to its fuel-injected 600cc Husqvarna-designed engine.
- The CCM Spitfire model family is a return to classic British single-cylinder motorcycles, bikes like the BSA Gold Star, Velocette Venom, Matchless G50, AJS 7R, and of course the legendary Norton Manx.
- The Cafe Racer variant of the Spitfire features classic cafe racer styling with low slung handlebars, a single seat with a rear cowl, and it’s all stripped back to keep weight as low as possible.
- CCM have managed to keep the MSRP of the Spitfire Cafe Racer surprisingly affordable for a low-volume motorcycle of this type, selling for £9,274 ($12,460 USD) directly from the factory.
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.
Just 250 examples of the CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer will be built, this is bike number 24 from the first year of production.
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 CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer
When it was released in 2019 the CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer caught the attention of the motorcycle world thanks to its combination of classic cafe racer styling cues combined with the scrambler DNA of the Spitfire model.
True to its name this model has a number of cafe racer styling cues including low slung handlebars, a single seat with a small rear cowl, and a low curb weight for sharp performance.
Like all of the motorcycles in the Spitfire model series, the Spitfire Cafe Racer has a hand-welded trellis frame made from high-strength T45 carbon steel that is finished with a clear coat to showcase the welds.
The 600cc Husqvarna-designed engine is a stressed chassis member and it includes a built in 6-speed transmission. It produces 55 bhp and 43 lb ft of torque at 5,500 rpm, it has a compression ratio of 12.0:1, a bore x stroke of 100 mm x 76.5 mm, it’s liquid cooled, and it has Mikuni D45 fuel injection.
The Spitfire Cafe Racer rides on modern suspension front and back consisting of fully adjustable upside down forks up front, with a fully adjustable monoshock in the rear. The bike is fitted with a 320mm wave disc up front with a four piston Brembo caliper, and in the rear there’s a 240 mm disc with a smaller two piston Brembo caliper.
With a curb weight of 142 kilograms, less than 320 lbs, the Cafe Racer is punchy, nimble, and devastatingly quick on the kind of curvy mountain roads it was designed for.
The 2019 CCM Spitfire Cafe Racer you see here is from the first year of production, it has just 541 miles on the odometer, it’s finished in gunmetal grey with a hand-stitched quilted leather seat, and it has the racing number 71 fixed to the side – a reference to the year CCM was founded.
This bike is currently being auctioned live by Collecting Cars, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.
Images courtesy of Collecting Cars
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