‘Like something from HRC’

Michael Neeves is the first person outside CCM to ride the prototype Heritage ’71

We could start by talking about how CCM’S new Heritage ’71 is the first production bike to be built with a titanium frame, or how weighing just 136kg means it feels more like an electric bicycle to push around than a crackling 600cc single cylinder café racer. But what impresses the most is the way it’s screwed together.

It’s made by a small team in Bolton, but you’d think it had rolled out of HRC’S race department. Things like the gaps between the dash and its shroud are millimetre perfect. The strap to hold the switchgear wiring to the ’bars is stitched leather and the titanium exhaust is worthy of a place in an art gallery. The Heritage is, arguably, a lesson in minimalism but everywhere you look is delicious detail after titanium, carbon fibre and alloy detail. As a piece of two-wheeled art it almost justifies its £29,995 price tag alone. Which is the only hefty thing about this motorcycle.

The Heritage ’71 is a fitting tribute to company founder Alan Clews, who was always at the forefront of innovative chassis construction. CCM produced the world’s first aluminium trials bike and the first aluminium bonded chassis. Former 500cc GP star Niall Mackenzie won British championships on their Armstrong-badged 350 using a carbon monocoque.

Like all CCMS, the Heritage uses a single cylinder motor originally designed by BMW for Husqvarna. Its claimed 63bhp is around 10% more than the similar-looking Spitfire Six (£10,685), thanks to tweaked mapping and that exquisite exhaust. And because it’s sold with Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) and isn’t homologated to Euro5, the engine isn’t suffocated with cats or over-muffled.

While 60-odd bhp doesn’t sound like much these days, with so little weight to push along the CCM is more than enough for spirited road shenanigans. Not only does the motor have the no-nonsense look of a competition lump, it’s just as urgent and free-revving on the throttle. It has a hard, undamped edge and booming soundtrack, though its bark is more savage than its bite. Power is delivered smoothly and predictably from the get-go and it’s so easy to control you never miss the absence of riding modes or aids. Although if you were being fussy, you might want a two-way quickshifter. Being a single, the Heritage’s party piece is firing hard out of slow corners, and being 13% lighter than a Spitfire the acceleration is even more vivid. Not that the Spitfire has ever been slow. It also delivers a fair turn of speed and goes well over the ton. Just be prepared for fizzy vibes when the revs climb north of 6000rpm.

The CCM handles beautifully.

Being so light, the accuracy of its steering and the huge power and tactility of its hissing Abs-free brakes is a sensory overload that only usually happens on a pared-to-the-bone race bike. And because titanium is more ‘flexy’ than steel, but still every bit as strong, the Heritage has more feel than the stiffer Spitfire Six. You sense every tarmac ripple and piston pulse through your body. The week that’s spent hand-crafting the titanium frame is worth it.

Forged alloy seven-spoke wheels save another 6kg, which moves the game on even more. Changes of direction are even faster, and with the Öhlins suspension being able to run lighter settings thanks to the reduced unsprung weight of the wheels, the ride is plusher as well.

Wet December tarmac never allows a proper exploration of the CCM’S lean angle, but even without going the full Marc Marquez the Heritage is well balanced and confidence inspiring, even on its balloonshaped 130-section Maxxis DTR1 FT tyres. They don’t look like they should work on the road… but they do.

CCM have also perfected the riding position. Taller riders will enjoy the legroom and while the ’bars place your weight over the front wheel, a bit like a KTM 890 Duke R, it’s still kind on the wrists.

There are any number of rivals that’ll do the job of café racing just as well as the Heritage for a fraction of the cost, including CCM’S own Spitfire Six. But if you’ve got the dosh and appreciate all the engineering, ownership will be hugely rewarding; not just as a motorcycle to enjoy on sunny Sunday afternoons, but as a work of art you have to fight hard to resist opening the garage door and just looking at.

‘What impresses most is how it’s screwed together’