Advantage of a light camper...

[Gary W]

What happens when the trail becomes a goat track and your truck just won't fit?

The new 450 Adventure Bike from CCM is a fun answer...







More info on our news and facebook pages:

http://adventurecampers.co.uk/wp/

https://www.facebook.com/sbsadventurecampers

https://www.facebook.com/sbsadventureca ... 159555421/

[Madmountainman]

Hmmm, that's another 130kg (dry) weight hanging off the back of your truck Gary. Not sure about the leverage/stress that's imposing on your chassis.
I must admit though, the new CCM is a rather good looking bike that's capable of two up bimbling around. What i'm not so sold on is the BMW 450 engine which has only been mildy detuned (read less stressed) from the original race spec engine, which requires a lot of regular servicing. I recently bought myself an old Honda XR400 for some trail/road rides around our country lanes, all for a whole lot less than the £8.5K required for the CCM. With the money left over, I could've bought myself another 1150 GS Adventure, which is eminently more capable of two up exploring once you're on site and it sits quite happily on the trailer which keeps the weight off your truck.
Also, who did the work for the carrying ramp and what did that cost?

[Gary W]

Hmmm, that's another 130kg (dry) weight hanging off the back of your truck Gary. Not sure about the leverage/stress that's imposing on your chassis.
I must admit though, the new CCM is a rather good looking bike that's capable of two up bimbling around. What i'm not so sold on is the BMW 450 engine which has only been mildy detuned (read less stressed) from the original race spec engine, which requires a lot of regular servicing. I recently bought myself an old Honda XR400 for some trail/road rides around our country lanes, all for a whole lot less than the £8.5K required for the CCM. With the money left over, I could've bought myself another 1150 GS Adventure, which is eminently more capable of two up exploring once you're on site and it sits quite happily on the trailer which keeps the weight off your truck.
Also, who did the work for the carrying ramp and what did that cost?

With the setup we had there the axle loadings are within limits. Just... So it does drive differently. Normally the combination of the DC220 (Runner) unit and the HiLux extra cab is beautifully balanced. You can drive it at 130kph all day long, throw it around mountain roads and take it off-road and it handles really well (for a 4x4 motorhome). With the bike on the back and your basic holiday clobber on board it's loaded pretty much to the max and you know it. You notice the pendulum effect with the weight being where it is so you need to back it off a bit, but if you're prepared to take care it can be an incredibly versatile vehicle. With one of my VMX bikes on the back (which was the purpose of the rack) you hardly notice it though.
I didn't try the CCM on the road so I can't comment on that, but off road and on the fast gravel tracks we had available to test it, the handling and the suspension/chassis package was sublime, and the motor suited the bike perfectly.
The bike rack is my own creation and is too complicated and heavy, I will make a simpler and lighter version when I get some time

[Madmountainman]

Cheers for the info buddy. For further CCM info, the engine's a Kymco unit that was made for BMW and Husqavana, where it had a limited run and was soon dropped by both companies, so the jury's out on how reliable it's going to be. I suppose that fits in with CCM's philosophy of getting some really great bits and screwing them together badly, often with an ill thought engine. Think pre DRZ, Rotax engines and all the electrical gremlins that affected late 90's early noughties bikes.
What we need is for Honda to give us their CRF 450 but with more road road going, two up ability, long service intervals and great build quality.

[martinjdover]

Certainly don't think I could hang my Triumph Tiger 800 on the back of my rig, it would certainly exceed the 60% overhang and rear axle weight limits! Would probably almost lift the front wheels off the ground too. Lovely thought though!
My cousin used to tow a trailer behind his conventional motorhome with his BMW on it - but that's a bit of a faff.

Must visit you in Portland sometime - I'm just up the road near Bere Regis.

Martin

[Gary W]

Certainly don't think I could hang my Triumph Tiger 800 on the back of my rig, it would certainly exceed the 60% overhang and rear axle weight limits! Would probably almost lift the front wheels off the ground too. Lovely thought though!
My cousin used to tow a trailer behind his conventional motorhome with his BMW on it - but that's a bit of a faff.

Must visit you in Portland sometime - I'm just up the road near Bere Regis.

Martin

Yes, please do Martin. Coffee and kettle are always on I'm not in the office 24/7 though so please call before just to make sure I'm there. I have a 950 KTM so have same issue as you - great bike, too heavy to be a holiday scooter! We're experimenting with the 'trailer' concept that carries a bike (or other load) sideways and uses swivelling wheels together with two tow hitches or special linkage to make the trailer follow the car - even when reversing.I say 'trailer' as it's not classed as such because it doesn't swivel around a hitch, it's more of an extension to your car. It's ideal for demountables and becoming very popular in France and Germany with bigger motorhomes. It needs modifications and improvements to work with a 4x4 though which we're working on now. If they manage to get it to work as we'd like I'll let you know.

Best wishes

Gary

[sabconsulting]

Looks very good, but I'd also worry not just about the static load of that motorbike, but the dynamic load: F=MA as you are going over bumps. That 130kg, leveraged out a long way from the back axle, is generating high forces on the truck chassis.

Love the camper though. Looks very solid and well sealed

Steve.