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/127870
RACE TEST 1998 CCM C26 ES Dual Sport By Cameron Coatney Photos by Mark Ka ri y a and Matt Free m a n - 34 ou're nuts!" a fellow ed itor scowled at me a s I nnounced my plans to race a re cently procured 1998 CCM C26 ES Dual Sport in the Expert Four-Stroke cla ss at round five of the 1997 AMA ational Championship Hare & Hound Series in Lucerne Valley, Caltfornia . "You've only rid den that bike once, and it left you stranded on the freeway," chimed in another editor, "an d besides, that thing' s a dual sport bik e, and it's going to be hellishly heavy in the tight stuff and rocks ." Th e fir st two of these points were valid: Yes, I had on ly ridden the bike one time before and, yes, that one time it had strand ed me on the freeway in an appa rent breakdown (which was later a ttributed to a s hortage of fuel in the tank. Go figu re - w ho knew motors need gas?) - but the latt er poin ts were, in my . . opi nion, unfounded . Af te r all, in the ha nd s of the late, great, two-time Worl d Motocross Champ ion Don ny Sch mi t, a CCM C26 won th e 1995 Wh ite Brot hers Wo rld Fo u rStroke Championshi p a n d wo n the Sound of T h u n der C ha m pions hi p Motocros s Se ries (which is now th e (Left) Th e 1998 CCM C26 ES Dual Sport made a com petent race weapon at the l00's MC AMA Nation al Hare & Hou nd in Lucerne Valley, Californ ia, and fe lt right at hom e raging across the desert. . (Below) The C26 uses qua lity co mponents such as 50mm Marzocchi forks, a WP shock, Rentha l handlebars and sprockets, a Regina chain and Acerb is yz plastics. The tank is made by CCMand is available in 2.4-, 3.7- or whopping 5.4gallon sizes. AMA National Fou r-Stro ke Motocross Championship Series). On the off-roa d scene, a 23-year -old Californian nam ed Cole Mar shall na rrowly missed win ning the 1996 No rthe rn Cali fornia Cha m pio nshi p Cross Country Series; his hopes were dashed when he submarined his bike in a river while b attlin g for the cha m pionship w ith KT M rider Pat Garrahan in the fin al round 'of the se ries. However, in 1997, Marshall would not be denied as he won five out of 16 races and won the cha m p ionship by beating KTM 250mounted Garrahan at the fina l round in Nevada . "I need ed to finish in fro nt of Pat to ge t the cha mpions hi p," Marsh a ll sa id later. "We came out of the last gas stop together and we just pinned it down this l a-mile fire road . Wh en he hit fifth and was tapped ou t, I clicked up in to fifth gear and pulled away. Somebody said I was clocked at 105 mph on that road . I finis hed fourth (ea rn ing the championship) and he got fifth ." N ow for th e du al sport part of the eq ua tion: Yes, the bike we we re testi ng was a dual s po r t model, but it only weig hs about four more poun d s than th e reg ul ar elec tric-s ta r t model - turn signals, a horn and a little more wiring harnes s d on ' t a d d up to mu ch . We hadn't tested a d ual spo rt in a while, so