Supermotos are more fun than you can shake a stick at. Especially when they’re infused with a hefty dose of flat-track style.
This CCM from South Africa’s Wolf Moto is the poster child for the motard-tracker hybrid. You’ll find it ripping up Cape Town as part of Wolf’s rental fleet.
It’s based on an early 2000s CCM 644 DS. If you’re not familiar with CCM, they’re a boutique motorcycle manufacturer based in Bolton, UK, and their reputation is growing.
This bike is sporting a Suzuki DR650 engine cradled in a tubular steel frame. Until 2008 you could buy it as a dual-sport (the ‘DS’), or a motard (the ‘SM’). But the real selling point was the killer parts package: WP suspension, Brembo brakes and Acerbis plastics.
In South Africa CCMs are rare, but Kyle Scott and Chris Clokie got lucky. The build was a coast-to-coast collaboration—with Kyle as creative director, and Chris handling mechanical and fabrication duties as Workshop 88, from Drummond, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
This 644 is the first ‘shop build’ for Wolf Moto—a bike that would be the result of their joint ideas and decisions, rather than a client’s brief.
Soon after the project kicked off, Wolf Moto branched out into motorcycle rentals. “We had one clear objective in mind,” explains Kyle, “and that was to make the CCM the headline act in our new custom motorcycle rental fleet.”
“We have some of the most tight and twisting mountain roads right here on our doorstep in Cape Town,” he continues. “So the logical option was to have a motard as our headlining bike.”
“I want to build pretty motorbikes that work properly and are fun to ride,” adds Chris. “I wanted to build a highly competent street tracker—but keep the styling reminiscent of a stripped down race bike, with a nod to the AMA flat track bikes in the USA.”
The first point of order was converting the dual-sport to a ‘tard. Off came the stock 21” and 18” wheels, and on went a set of 17s from Behr. The stock WP suspension was lowered to balance out the stance, while the brakes were overhauled, and upgraded with braided hoses for extra bite.
The tires are Pirelli’s MT60 RS—dual-sport rubber with excellent grip on the street, which can handle dirt if the mood strikes. “They have a tread pattern reminiscent of flat track tires,” says Kyle, “without jeopardizing real world usability.”
Since the engine had a mere 990 miles on it, it was left untouched. The airbox gave way to a Uni foam filter, and the gearing was changed to shift the bias to low-down torque. Chris then fabricated a completely custom, stainless steel exhaust system—from header to silencer.
As for those Acerbis plastics that the CCM ships with: they’re all in the bin. An older tank from an unknown Kawasaki has been installed, along with a proper flat-track tail unit from KE Racing in the USA. The seat pad’s been upholstered with raw leather.
There’s a custom-made stainless steel subframe out back. Chris also de-tabbed the main frame, adding new mounts for the tank and subframe, and fabricated an aluminum battery box underneath. It houses a lighter-than-stock gel battery from Motobatt.
Up front is an AMA-spec number board, and a pair of hand-shaped plastic fork guards. The lighting is all LED, from Custom Dynamics. There’s a barely legal headlight with turn signals mounted just under the number board, with an integrated taillight and turn signal strip out back.
One Acerbis part survived the cull: the MX-style filler cap. The Kawasaki tank needed a new, threaded neck welded in to accept it.
The rest of the parts are equally MX-inspired: Pro-Taper handlebars, Renthal half-waffle grips and serrated steel foot pegs. There’s also a neat little drilled aluminum oil cooler shroud.
In order to keep things racy, Wolf took a risk and ditched the clocks. A single mirror and a side-mounted license plate holder help keep the fuzz at bay.
The CCM’s final finishes were carefully selected—and debated at length. Wolf redid the fork tubes in black, and painted the rear spring red. The subframe was left raw to match the CCM’s lengthy aluminum swing arm, while the engine casings were refinished in black.
PAZ Custom & Restore shop was called in to paint the tank. “The paint scheme is a fresh interpretation of a colorway from the Kawasaki KZs of the early 80s,” says Kyle. Since the CCM is a mixed bag of parts anyway, the tank is adorned with original Kawasaki logos.
“A race number for the front board is still under debate,” says Kyle. “The design is complete, but adding it may draw too much unwanted attention from the local traffic authorities.”
Once the build was complete, the guys christened it ‘Race 8’ and shipped it to Cape Town. And when it’s not booked out, Kyle grabs every opportunity to let it loose. Check the video proof …
Wolf Moto | Facebook | Instagram | Workshop 88 Instagram | Photos by Devin Paisley
Video by The Grand-Kids Collective