REMEMBERING ALAN CLEWS
From the pages of the superb Rolling Thunder book by Bill Lawless: the CCM engine assembly line. The CCM on display at the Northern Belle Vue Show in the early seventies.
The Dream
As true a motorcycle enthusiast as you can get, Alan Clews, as with so many good motorcycle riders, started off-road with both trials and motocross where he became successful. Either enjoying the home-based events or travelling around Europe with his wife and young family he was very competitive, not just as a competent rider and racer but also in his dream of building his own machines. He had grown up amongst the once mighty manufacturing of motorcycles in the UK but he wanted to build not just replicas of the mighty BSA works machine but his own, with better handling and more power to compete with the ‘Big Boys’. This opportunity came along off the back of the BSA competition department closing. His chance had come and he purchased all the parts he could afford, 100 tonnes in total. Engines, suspension components, front forks, wheels, seats, mudguards, you name it — he wanted it. The original Clewstroka emerged from his small workshop at home, made from massive improvements to the four-stroke BSA engines. Word soon got around of the machines he was building that could challenge and compete with the new and more dominant two-strokes. This would be the start of the adventure that would take him to CCM motorcycles and the world motocross championship. Standing proud: the 350 CCM trials models were priced at £1,280 and went on sale in September 1978, and the 105 produced were sold out by Christmas.
This CCM production picture captures the true ‘British Bulldog’ spirit of the proud company based in Great Britain.
The proud British crowd would get behind the CCM riders and boy did they rattle some cages as the likes of John Banks, Vic Eastwood, Norman Barrow, Bob Wright and Jimmy Aird to name but a few gave Clews and his factory some excellent results in the 500cc World Championship.
TRIAL MAGAZINE • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2018
Always looking for new markets this is the Honda XR500 engined CCM Enduro model from 1980. 51