Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126338
CCM S80cc Motocrosser Relive with us now those thrilling moments of yesteryear... and tomorrow By Jim Gianatsis Though most don't remember, it wasn't too many years ago that big four-stroke bikes dominated O pen class motocross . Ten years ago Iron Men named Smith and Tibblin on huge Husqvarnas, BSA's and similar bikes were winning the World Championshi . Nothing _ p _ ,. could match their bikes dirt 24 wrenching., ground shaking brute power, but eventually the newly developed large displacement twostrokes from Husqvarna and CZ with their light weight and quick handling were leaving the four-strokes behind at every whoop and jump. The English. being as reserved and steadfast as ever. were slow to give in . BSA continued to race their thumpers right up to 1972 . some seven yean after they posted their last World Championship win. Then, rather than make the change to two-stroke (prototypes of which they had stashed in the back room) . BSA disbanded their. motocross .tea~ as the company spiralled its w.ay into his~ory. . . But the British are su ll British and our story doesn't stop there. While fou r -strokes were no longer competitive on foreign shores, somehow the torquey, strong-pulled four-strokes still did well on the hilly grass cou rses of England. Where two-strokes either bogged or spun. the four-strokes found traction and continued winning races. When BSA disbanded in 1972 a young Englishman named Alan Clews bought up . the entire ,BSA racing department with its spare parts and 1!l bikes, The idea at first was Alan wanted to assure himself a perpetual parts supply for his own racing. Somewhere along the way he updated the Beezas to keep them competitive. sold them to friends . and when he ran out of bikes and parts he began manufacturing . them himself. ,. Thus emerged Clews Competition Machines. better known as CCM . Alan gave up racing and opened up a fac tory in his back yard which now employs over thirty people. Demand for the hand built and expensive CCM's in England is strong, with Alan selling probably 400 a year. Those of us who learned to ride in the light of Japanese two-stroke technology probably think the CCM is a dinosaur. And in comparison to the latest big bore works bikes from Japan that is probably true . An OW39B fac tory 425cc Yamaha or RC450-78 Honda can now excell the best fourstroke in every comparison from traction in the mud to hill pulling ac celeration while still leaving the fourstroke bottoming and crashing on the whoops and jumps. But there are those among us who fear the days of the big displacement two-strokes are numbered. This includes the Japanese manufacturers. The reason is that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible. to make a large displacement (single cylinder) meet the ever more stringent governmental anti-pollution regulations. This is ' supported by the fact that nearly all Japanese road bikes are now four-strokes . while the big three manufacturers are now coming on strong with large displacement fourstroke trail bikes as well . I for one don't believe we will see a change back for four-strokes in motorcycle racing for the simple fact that regulations which will apply to c10eed course motorcycle racing will have to also apply to automobile racing. And we will never see anti-pollution regulations at Indianapohs or Daytona because racing's contribution to fuel consumption and pollution - iI too small (lea than oee/eee thouaands of one percent - Sloell Car R4cing, 9/78) . t>. The CCM remains a ne at motorcycle , though , and perhaps an important example. Because along with a ' few other machines like the Hallman 500cc Yamaha and the Knobby Shop International 450cc Honda, the CCM is what we all would be racing on today if the Japanese hadn't figured out how to make a two-stroke lighter and more powerful without blowing up.