Hi guys,

I am thinking of a CCM 644 for a England to India trip. I have found a few reviews on here and they seem to be OK with a few mods. Does anyone have any comments?

What Mods to the frame etc should I make?

Does anyone know about this mystirous Dakar tank? or a company that will make me a larger one? (in the UK)

I travel light but am a moster at 6'6", so the two balance themselves out!

My main concern at the mo is the tank. Should I need to worry to much from here to India?

Thanks for your help.

Toby

Hi
A new,larger tank will cost you nearly £800 fitted.A lot of dosh,the alternative;buy 2 x 5 litre plastic petrol cans and strap them to your luggage!Voila!Its cheaper,easier and allows you to spread the weight around the bike a bit better.

The larger tanks were specially made for the paris-dakar. I'm not sure exactly how many were made but not many, I think only about 20. Your problem, apart from finding one for sale, is that they were for the 604 rather than the 644. I think the 604 tank will fit on the 644 apart from lacking a cutout for the oil cooler. If you search on CCMriders.co.uk you will probably find a more definite answer.

If you can live with the fuel range (13l tank) the CCMs are good bikes. Along with the KTM640 (690, possibly also the bmw Xchallenge, f you are shopping for a new bike), they are one of the few bikes which can handle serious off-road well as road miles. Most of the big trail bikes are more soft-road than off-road and much heavier, while enduro based bikes feel like they are revving their nuts off at road speeds.

The 644 has a suzuki engine (from the freewind but very similar to the dr650) which is known to be reliable apart from weeping paper base gaskets fitted to earlier bikes. Don't ignore the 604 though. The rotax engine is thought to need more maintenance than the 644 but it is usually very reliable as well as being lighter and more powerful. The only thing to consider would be the cam belt which should be changed at 6k miles, however it is only a 10 minute job requiring no more than a couple of allen keys, a 13mm spanner and a piece of string to get a straight edge. The 604 is actually 20kg lighter than a ktm640e and can manage 60mpg on a 50-60mph run giving a theoretical tank range of 170 miles. Mix in some dual-carriageway work or motorways and this will drop of course. Returning from the HUMM up the French motorways at 80mph panic was only setting in once I approached 120 miles. If you need the larger fuel tank, you could keep an eye out for the 604 RS. This was a slightly strange looking roadster version that preceded the R30 street moto. I think the tank was quite a bit bigger but it comes with 17" spoked road wheels rather than the 18/21" dirt wheels on the dual sports.

As far as the chassis goes, there is not much to do. The suspension is all good quality and most will have the factory fitted tail rack. Going to the HUMM I managed to get camping kit and clothes strapped in two dry bags on the back. For me, one week or several makes very little difference in the kit I take. If you want hard panniers you will struggle to find anything with a fitting kit so bear this in mind. The seat also benefits from a little extra padding.