Ya not 'having a go' at me are ya Firko .
Actually Graeme, I wasn't having a go at you, I was referring to another fella but if the cap fits..............
They could be a great bike but they won't a great bike from the factory. There was the need for secret hand shakes and initiation into the secret world of CCM ownership starting with a lathe, an engineering degree and access to ancient pagan rites and witchcraft. I think this bike may of had that advantage plus 30 years to refine it's advantage.
Based on what experience Graeme, some magazine piece? I know two people who currently own CCMs, one of them having his '74 since new and not only have both bikes been rock solid reliable, they are both exceptionally quick without either owner needing the services of a "
a lathe, an engineering degree and access to ancient pagan rites and witchcraft.". I promise you that once you have a ride on a CCM your may change your mind. If you're coming to CD7 I'll make sure you get a few laps in on one of them.
I agree that British engineering left a lot to be desired, especially in the sixties and seventies but sometimes they got it right and the CCM is one of those cases. They took a very obsolete and flawed bike, the BSA B50 and turned it into a genuine contender. You still don't think they were contenders? Check a report on the 1976 Carlsbad USGP and you'll find that CCM riders John Banks and Bob Wright were pulling away in both motos until the riders were overtaken by heat exhaustion. That's just one instance , mentioned because I was there and completely blown away by the vision of seeing 4 strokes blitzing the worlds best on "Pommy Shit".
Because I own a V12 Jag, I get this this crap thrown at me all the time. Unreliable, time bombs, over complicated, slow.....I've heard it all. The most common one being "When are you putting a Chevy in it"? Naturally none of the know-alls have ever driven a V12, or any Jag for that matter but because they read some shit in a magazine they become experts. Once they have a drive of the Jag and experience how quick and smooth it is compared to a rattly old pushrod V8, their attitudes very quickly change. It's the same with a CCM. Ride one and it may just change your perception of "British Shit"
However, Sptite, American Eagle and Alron.......that's a very different story. They redefine the phrase Pommy Shit.