CCM Spitfire flat-tracker unveiled

The new CCM Spitfire is the first model from their Skunkwerx department and it brings a new engine and unique frame

After a bumper year of 150% sales growth, followed by a big cash injection, CCM have announced they are opening a ‘Skunkwerx’ department that will create a new series of bikes. The first bike from the Skunkwerx series is the Spitfire, which is being launched at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show.

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CCM say the Spitfire is the cumulative work of a small group of mechanics and designers who have been working away behind the scenes and developing their ideas in their spare time. Like the original Lockheed Martin Skunkworks, CCM say the Skunkwerx team was able to build a dream bike without the hassle and constraints of budgets and bureaucracy.

The Spitfire has an all new 600cc single, which puts out 55bhp and 58nm of torque. Looking at the data, the engine appears to be the same one fitted to the SWM RS650R, itself an unused model from when BMW owned Husqvarna. Keeping a lid on the speed are Brembo calipers front and rear, while the 19” wheels and tyres solidify the flat track look.

The most visually arresting part of the bike is the frame, which has been constructed from T45 steel – the same steel used to build the fuselages of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane. To produce the complex shapes of the trellis frame, CCM employed the skills of veteran welder Ted Unwin, who was one of the original members of Alan Clews’ Clew Competition Machines in the early 1970s. Despite all this fancy trellis work, the claimed weight is only 121kg dry.

Not part of the Skunkwerx series, but still limited-edition, is the GP450 SR. CCM will manufacture 25 of the SR model and it will only be sold in the UK. While the regular GP450 remains in the range, it’s not Euro 4 compliant but CCM say they will have a new GP600 Adventure to go into production mid-2018 that will be Euro 4 compliant and eventually Euro 5, presumably sharing the same engine as the Spitfire.

• Engine: 600cc single, 55bhp, 58nm
• Frame: Hand-made T45 steel trellis
• Suspension: 150mm full adjustable front & rear, WP 48mm USD fork
• Brakes: Brembo, 320mm front, 240mm disc
• Weight: 120.8kg (dry)
• Seat height: 830mm
• Fuel: 14l
• Price: TBC

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