CCM 450 DS - Specifications & Review

Company History

CCM (Clews Competition Machines) was born in the early 1970s when trials and scrambles rider Alan Clews began building competition frames around potent single-cylinder engines. His bikes, lighter and more agile than many factory offerings, quickly earned a reputation in British motocross and enduro. Over the decades, CCM operated like a resilient workshop with factory ambitions—small batches, close feedback loops with riders, and a focus on tractable power and friendly chassis balance. The company weathered economic swings by pivoting: from pure competition to specialized civilian models, and most recently to the striking, hand-finished Spitfire series with tubular frames that celebrate their construction rather than hiding it. CCM’s modern approach blends artisanal fabrication with contemporary components—Brembo brakes, quality suspension—producing bikes that feel intimate and purposeful. Historically, CCM embodies the British cottage-industry ideal: a builder that survives by being nimble, listening to its customers, and making motorcycles that emphasize feel over flash. For many riders, a CCM is a reminder that involvement is the true luxury—light weight you notice when lifting off the stand, steering that reads terrain like braille, and the quiet pride of supporting a company where welders and test riders might be the same people. In a world of mass optimization, CCM’s human scale is its competitive edge.