We saw motorcycles escorting the President Of America, Barack Obama and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin when they were in Beijing, China for the APEC meet back in November of 2014. What surprised everyone was the fact that these escorting motorcycles were manufactured by a Chinese company called ‘CFMoto’ & the bikes used were the CFMoto CF650G.
Founded in the year 1989, CFMoto has produced 90 vehicles and 51 engines, add to that CFMoto owns 272 registered patents and intellectual rights, and the powersports manufacturer has built dealer networks around the world and 80% of their revenue is through exports.
Recently CFMoto motorcycles were spotted testing on the Indian roads, and CFMoto is said to launch its motorcycles the 300NK, followed by 650NK and the 650MT and two more variants namely 650GT and 400NK will be launched later this year. CFMoto is expected to be showcasing all 5 models during their launch next month in May 2019.
The engine on the CFMoto 300NK will most likely be a more powerful re-bored variant of the 250NK which uses a single-cylinder, 249.3cc, four-valve, DOHC engine producing 26.5 PS of power @ 9000 RPM and 22 Nm of torque @ 7500 RPM and will sport upside down forks and a digital instrument console. Other hardware on the 300NK will remain similar to the 250NK.
The CFMoto 650MT and 650NK are powered by an inline twin-cylinder, 649.3cc, liquid-cooled, 8-valve, DOHC engine with electronic fuel-injection from Bosch. The engine on the 650NK produces 61.1 PS of power @ 9000 RPM and 56 Nm of torque @ 7000 RPM. The 650MT produces 70.7 PS of power @ 8750 RPM and 62 Nm of torque @ 7000 RPM. Both these engines will be mated to a 6-speed gearbox, and are only tuned differently via the Bosch EFI system. The engine specs of the 650GT will remain similar to the 650MT though the technical figures are still unavailable.
The CFMoto 300NK will directly compete with the likes of Honda CB300R, KTM Duke 390, Bajaj Dominar 400 and the BMW G310R. The CFMoto 650MT will rival Kawasaki Versys 650, Benelli TRK 502 and Suzuki V-Strom 650. The CFMoto 650NK will compete with the Kawasaki Z650 and Benelli TNT 600i.
CFMoto has partnered with the Bengaluru based AMW Motorcycles and will import its products via the CKD route and will be competitively priced. Assembly of these bike will take place at the AMW’s Hyderabad facility, keeping prices in check. But, the big question remains, will people accept CFMoto instantly?
