CFMoto

CFMoto

The most interesting bike shown by CFMoto at EICMA was the NK-C22 concept - and shortly before the show opened, design registrations filed by the company revealed that it's soon going to become a production machine.

Just as the SR-C21 concept bike seen a year ago has turned into the 450SR production bike, the NK-C22 (that name can be decoded as NaKed, Concept, 2022) will shortly be followed by a showroom offering that's likely to be called the 800NK and could be the most tempting global model that CFMoto has ever made.

NK-C22

Like the 800MT Adventure bike, the NK-C22 and the 800NK that will follow it use CFMoto's version of the KTM LC8c engine. It's no knock-off copy, either; CFMoto is KTM's Chinese partner manufacturer, and already makes most of the LC8c twins that appear in models like the KTM 890 Duke and 890 Adventure. 

Its own version of the engine is based on the original '790' KTM design, with a 799 cc capacity rather than the 889 cc used by the latest KTM machines. In the 800MT, the CFMoto engine manages 95 hp and 77 Nm of torque, making the adventure model a convincing alternative to the likes of BMW's F850GS. With similar performance, the upcoming 800NK promises to rival bikes like Honda's new Hornet 750 and Suzuki's latest creation, the GSX-8S, as well as established middleweight twins.

The NK-C22 concept will reach production largely unchanged from the concept, as demonstrated by the 800NK's registered designs. The main changes are a swap from a single-sided swingarm on the concept to a conventional dual-sided layout for the production bike, while the NK-C22's SC-Project stacked exhaust system will be replaced with a single, road-legal silencer that retains two outlets to reflect the engine's twin-cylinder layout.

Price will be key to success, of course, and Honda has laid down a tough target with the Hornet. Can CFMoto compete?