Reminiscence of the Supermarine Spitfire, a British fighter aircraft from the times of World War II, the CCM Spitfire is the brainchild of a specialist division within the shackles of CCM called ‘the SkunkwerX team’. Launched first in 2017, all 150 of them were sold in the first week itself.
The bike gets a custom hand built chassis setup and a bespoke tank that defined all the models that came later from CCM’s “SkunkwerX” division including the Scrambler, Café Racer, Bobber and the Flat Tracker. They all use the same 600cc single pot mill borrowed from Husqvarna.
2017 - 2018 CCM Spitfire
- Make: Array
- Model: 2017 - 2018 CCM Spitfire
- Horsepower: 55
- Torque: 43
- Transmission: 6
STYLING
Designed over a bacon sandwich on their tea break, CCM let the ball rolling for multiple models over the next year based out of the same engine and chassis. Just like the multiple variants of the Supermarine Spitfire built using several wing configurations.
The Spitfire sports a handful of modern bits while maintaining it industrial appeal. The gorgeous lines of the artisan carbon-steel frame takes over the beauty of this machine with its hand-welded blue residue left untouched to depict a raw stature onto the bike. The sculpted aluminum fuel tank is a proprietary design making it the only panel surface on the entire bike.
The organic look comes courtesy of the solo steed which was designed for no other reason than for pure riding pleasure or to be simply admired. Quilted with weathered brown leather, it gets hand stitched along with the Spitfire name on the sides. At the rear, the bike proudly showcases its patriotism with the Union Jack.
Lightweight golden spoked rims gets wrapped with Maxxis wide track race tires and get laced with the CNC billet hub to give sufficient grip to rip the road. Both the front and the rear units gets fenders in the form of tire huggers made out of carbon-fiber and aluminum.
Use of exquisite materials is seen across the bike. The front carbon-fiber cowl surrounds the headlight unit with LED treatment while the LCD instrumentation on the flat heavy duty wide bars gets embedded within a CNC milled billet aluminum housing. It also features keyless ignition. The levers and the pegs are also billet aluminum units CNC milled.
Overall Dimension
Make Model |
CCM Spitfire |
KTM Duke 790 |
Length |
83.3 in |
n / a |
Width |
n / a |
n / a |
Height |
n / a |
n / a |
Wheelbase |
56 in |
58 in |
Seat height |
32.6 in |
32.4 in |
Wet weight |
297 lb |
372 lb |
Fuel Tank |
3.6 gal |
3.6 gal |
POWERTRAIN
The powerplant on this Pitfire makes use of the Husqvarna TE630 motor. This fuel-injected, single cylinder, four-stroke mill produces a healthy 55 hp and 43 lb-ft of max torque. This is enough to make the 297 lb bike to feel like a rocket. The high flow dual-pipe exhaust manifold gives the bike a chunky visual cue. The same 6-speed transmission engages here as well.
The superlative engine is highly tractable even at low to medium revs thanks to its 600 cc capacity achieved by increasing the bore from 98 mm to 100 mm of a 576cc mill. The engine features a 45 mm throttle body with the fast idle control on the handlebars, and there is now a 300 Kpa Mitsubishi "twin jet" fuel injector fitted to the throttle.
The mill uses Kokusan 360W three-phase ignition flywheel, and the clutch is hydraulically controlled. The TE630 has an electronic fuel injection system developed in collaboration with Mikuni. You won’t get slipper assist or quickshifter.
Engine Specification
Make Model |
CCM Spitfire |
KTM Duke 790 |
Capacity cc |
600 |
765 |
Bore / Stroke mm |
100 / 76.5 |
78 / 53.4 |
Output |
55 hp @ 7500 rpm |
116 hp @ 12000 rpm |
Torque |
43 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm |
57 lb-ft @ 9400 rpm |
Type |
Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke Single cylinder, four valves |
Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, in-line 3-cylinder |
Clutch type |
Multiple-disc, wet, Hydraulic control |
Wet, multi-plate, slip and assist |
Transmission |
6-speed |
6-speed |
RIDE AND HANDLING
The Spitfire is built around the carbon-steel frame like the rest of its stablemates and is all hand Tig welded. Flat bars and mid-mounted footpegs give the Spitfire an upright riding position. 26 degree of rake helps in bending those fast corners with ease.
The monoshock mounted directly under the seat, is a springless nitrogen charged unit, while at the front, an adjustable WP suspension handles all damping duties. Brembo supplies excellent stopping power to the CCM with top-spec four piston and two piston calipers biting a 320 mm disc up front and 240 mm disc at the rear respectively.
19″ lightweight, high strength rim c/w billet hub wheels come with high strength spokes to further keep the masses low. The wheels get wrapped around with Maxxis DTR1 Tubed Flat Track Race tires for maximum grip on the asphalt and the dirt. Although you pay a hefty price for this Bobber, you won’t find any electronic intervention or riding aids.
Chassis Specifications
Make Model |
CCM Spitfire |
KTM Duke 790 |
Frame |
High strength steel, Hand Tig welded |
Front - Aluminium beam twin spar. Rear - 2 piece high pressure die cast |
Suspension / Front |
WP 41 mm inverted fork with compression and rebound damping and 120 mm wheel travel |
Showa 41 mm upside-down separate function big piston forks (SF-BPF), 115 mm front wheel travel. Adjustable compression damping, rebound damping and preload |
Suspension / Rear |
Monoshock with a springless nitrogen charged unit with rebound damping and 120 mm wheel travel |
Showa piggyback reservoir monoshock, 131 mm rear wheel travel. Adjustable spring preload (lock-rings), compression damping and rebound damping |
Brakes / Front |
Single semi-floating 300 mm discs. Brembo Caliper: Dual radial-mount, monoblock, opposed 4-piston |
Twin 310 mm floating discs, Brembo M4.32 4-piston radial monobloc calipers |
Brakes / Rear |
Single 240 mm disc. Brembo Caliper: Single-piston |
Single 220 mm fixed disc, Brembo single piston sliding caliper |
Tires / Front |
130 mm Maxxis DTR1 |
120/70 ZR17 Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa |
Tires / Rear |
130 mm Maxxis DTR1 |
180/55 ZR17 Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa |
PRICE
CCM purposefully made this Spitfire a limited edition affair of just 150 units and was available with a rather steep MSRP of $11,930. This limited production of the machines was to specifically get away with significant red-tapes when it came to emission control. No wonder you see a full free-flow exhaust setup.
If you’d like to individualize your handcrafted Spitfire, CCM have created a range of bespoke options and accessories. They include leather apparels, front brake reservoir cover, carbon hugger, fly screen, headlight grill, titanium exhaust, Brembo monobloc brakes, adjustable levers, Ohlins suspension and others to make your Spitfire as individual as you are.
Make Model |
CCM Spitfire |
KTM Duke 790 |
MSRP |
$ 11,930 |
$ 11,299 |
COMPETITION
KTM Duke 790
With a quirky 105 hp on tap, this 370 lb orange streetfighter is the sharpest tool under the KTM roof all out to dominate streets. The light, state-of-the-art chassis coupled the new LC8c engine facilitates insane acceleration blasting out of corners with precision. Advanced ride by wire, integrated connectivity options, personalized traction control and next-generation rider aids gives the 790 enough weapons to win the battle.
The airbox sits snugly inside the subframe, with the air intake on the sides. Adjustable handlebar and WP steering damper complete the front end. And the 2-into-1 exhaust unit is one of the best ones seen in the business put onto a production model. The cast aluminum footpegs keep things clean. Bar-end mirrors and Akrapovic exhaust units with carbon-fiber ends are optional.
The extra strong CroMo steel trellis frame seen on this 790 is all-new that makes use of the engine as a stressed member to save weight. The bike’s excellent chassis geometry will allow the rider to flick the bike into corners without many efforts.
43mm split-function upside-down WP forks upfront allows for better tuning of the fork behavior. A gas-assisted shock at the rear handles the suspension using a direct link to attach with the die-cast swingarm. A 300mm twin disc setup with 4 piston calipers at the front and a single 240mm disc at the rear with 2 piston caliper take onto braking. All this stopping power is supported by KTM’s Cornering ABS.
VERDICT
When Clews Competition Machines unveiled their Spitfire model last February, it made headlines all over the internet and received an insane amount of response from the riding folks. Within a short span of a year, this British marquee has proved well beyond the conviction that it can make some of the most striking motorcycles the industry has seen.
For the price you pay, you might as well get a full decked KTM Duke 790 has a bigger engine and a better-equipped kit. But what you don’t get is the hand-made exclusivity of a limited-edition machine. CCM is a small player in the world of motorcycles, and they take much pride in that. With all their builds till date getting sold out within a week after their launch, I’m sure you have already lost the battle here.