And it was a great event because the brand itself is already grandiose, despite being born only in 1989. The group manufactures motorcycles, ATVs, engines, frames, and many components in giant facilities where more than 4,800 employees work, and if the facilities in Hangzhou have an area of 280,000m2, where the partnership with KTM is headquartered and CFMOTO and ZEEHO products are produced (the brand dedicated to electric vehicles), since 2021 the CFMOTO Thailand factory has also been in operation. The strong focus on competition and the electric component also meets what the brand’s officials claim: that they still have a lot to improve but intend to become a global premium brand!
ENGINE
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Live this bike is beautiful, presenting absolutely fantastic lines, and with very interesting technical specifications everything was perfect for a day at the incredible Istanbul Park circuit, which has hosted the F1 World Championship and MotoGP. Of course, bad weather was missing to spoil (almost) everything! Very cold, rain and fog was what we had throughout the day, which with CST semi-slick tires could be a tricky combination… Everything happened fortunately without any hitches, and despite needing heaters as soon as we arrived at the pits, everything went smoothly! I always felt confident on the bike, perhaps because the suspensions are not too stiff and read the terrain well and, of course, because the asphalt is very grippy and ends up having a grip that doesn’t exist on the road. We felt the 450SR quite agile and fun, with a fairly linear engine but that needs to be pushed in the high revs to go fast, so it was common to hit the “redline”, especially when we missed a gear change or on the long straights where we reached 170 km/h. The riding position seemed pleasant to us and only the aerodynamic protection is very reduced – almost like a naked bike – forcing us to lean our whole body on the tank. We also liked the feel and power of the brakes and the fact that, even when we overdid it on both axes (in more heated moments with our competitors), we never felt the ABS extend the braking. Only in some points of the track, when we needed to open the throttle at a certain rpm, we felt a somewhat abrupt response from the injection, something we would try to evaluate better the next day on the road. But we were very sorry not to ride this “beast” dry. Maybe next time!
ON THE ROAD
Instead of riding the 700CL-X Adventure (see box), we did a few more good kilometers with the 450SR on the road, which helped clarify some doubts. The excellent riding position and comfortable seat were confirmed, but the aerodynamic protection was also lacking. We didn’t get tired wrists and the clutch is very light, while the suspension continues to perform excellently, being one of the most positive elements. Also on the roads around Istanbul, not always clean (and sometimes with cows or dogs around the corner), we were pleased with the braking system and only the injection again proved to be too abrupt in some situations, causing a slight hiccup at times, still lacking some “refinement” in the system. And the throttle response is also too large, which doesn’t make much sense. On the other hand, with the clutch lever well adjusted and more road-oriented boots, we already liked the operation of the gearbox, which turned out to be smoother and more precise than it seemed on the track. Then, when we returned to the hotel, we pushed the engine a bit on the highway and realized how all that work on the internal components paid off: we reached 189 km/h on the speedometer and the engine was still developing when we had to cut the throttle due to lack of space. Without a doubt a strong engine that stretches quite a bit!A beautiful motorcycle, excellent as a first sports bike and that could be excellent for a speed trophy. It is expected to arrive in Portugal at the end of this first semester at a very interesting price, so the competition better watch out!
WITH THE 700CL-X ADVENTURE…BUT ONLY FOR BRIEF MOMENTS
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We were supposed to complete the entire road route with the latest 700CL-X, the Adventure, but unfortunately the bikes did not arrive in time for the event and we only had six (for a few dozen journalists), who had been riding from Greece! So we only did a few kilometers for some photos, where we appreciated the liveliness of the twin-cylinder engine and the grandeur of the ensemble. The KYB suspensions have a high travel, the braking system is from Brembo and even the Pirelli tires are excellent, and we only didn’t appreciate, once again, the somewhat harsh response to the throttle. But it seemed to us a comfortable and fun bike on the road, so we look forward to a future occasion to be able to do more kilometers with this scrambler with several attributes.
CFMOTO 450SR
ENGINE 2 parallel twin cylinders, DOHC, liquid cooling
DISPLACEMENT 449.5 cc
POWER 34.5 kW (47 hp) @ 10,000 rpm
BINARY 39.3 Nm @7,750 rpm
6-speed gearbox
Tubular steel frame
14-liter tank
Front suspension: 37 mm inverted telescopic fork, 120 mm stroke
Rear suspension: mono-shock, 130 mm stroke
Front brake: 320 mm disc, Brembo 4-piston caliper
Rear brake: 220 mm disc, 1-piston caliper
Front tire: 110/70-R17
Rear tire: 150/60-R17
Wheelbase: 1,370 mm
Seat height: 795 mm
Weight: 179 kg
Price: €6,490 (estimate)