CFMoto 800NK nears production
by Ben Purvis
Since the CFMoto SR-C21 concept bike from 2021 was quickly turned into the SR450 production model in 2022, there was little doubt that last year's NK-C22 concept was also destined for showrooms. Now its customer version - the 800NK - is nearly ready to be launched and the first photos have leaked early.
It's CFMoto's third KTM-engined model, coming on the heels of the Chinese market 1250TR tourer and the global 800MT adventure bike, and uses the same 799 cc LC8c parallel twin engine that features in the 800MT. It's an engine CFMoto is more than familiar with. As KTM's Chinese partner brand, CFMoto has always made the LC8c engine for KTM and recently started manufacturing complete 790 Duke and 790 Adventure models for the Austrian company via a joint venture.
The 800NK is clearly in the same part of the market as the identically powered 790 Duke, which was recently reintroduced as a cheaper alternative to the more powerful (889 cc) 890 Duke, but more importantly, the CFMoto will be a direct rival to two of the most important new Japanese bikes launched for 2023: the Honda Hornet 750 and Suzuki GSX-8S.
Like those machines, it has a compact parallel twin engine, but it's more powerful than either of them, with 74 kW (99 hp) as type-approved, although a 70 kW/94 hp version is also likely - as that will enable the bike to be restricted to 35 kW/47 hp for A2 licence holders in Europe. Weighing in at 186 kg, it's lighter than the 190 kg Hornet or the 202 kg GSX-8S and just heavy enough to avoid the A2 licence limit of 0.2 kW/kg when restricted to 35 kW.
The rest of the bike's specs include J.Juan radial brakes, assisted by Bosch 9.1 ABS, with upside-down forks - probably from KYB - and a monoshock at the back.
Two versions have been homologated, but the main difference between them appears to be electronic rather than mechanical. The higher-spec model has a much larger colour TFT dashboard, which may be a clue to additional kit like traction control, tyre pressure monitoring, navigation and multimedia.
Visually, the two models are identical, with stylish bodywork including a distinctive V-shaped headlight that's mirrored by wing-shaped panels above it and on top of the front mudguard. It's a design that makes the Honda Hornet 750 look ordinary by comparison, and if CFMoto can achieve a competitive price, it could be the dark horse in the 2023 middleweight roadster market.
There's no word on when the bike will be officially launched, but it's likely to be soon now that type-approval has been granted.
