CCM Motorcycles — a motorbike manufacturer based in Bolton that once supplied stunt rider Eddie Kidd — has developed a new bike with backing from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS). The GP 450 Adventure is a lightweight bike that can handle off-road terrain as well as long distances on road.

MAS helped with funding for the tooling needed to make the foam seat, the seat mould and the windscreen. CCM hopes that the bike, which retails at £7,995, will increase its revenues by £7 million over the next three years.

Former trials rider Alan Clews, who founded the firm in 1971, said: “This is the result of five years’ hard work; we drew on all of our racing and manufacturing experience to design and manufacture this bike.

We knew the kind of bike we wanted to bring to market, but the design was just the beginning. We then had to buy new tooling, which MAS enabled us to do, and put our prototypes to the test in Motocross — the world’s toughest motor-sport. The launch of this new model will give us a solid platform from which we can launch a whole new
range of motorcycles.”