CFMoto 800NK Roadster Production Ready

Admin · October 14, 2022

CFMoto has filed paperwork in Europe for its 800NK roadster, which we believe could be shown as early as EICMA this November. (CFMoto/)

There’s no doubt that some of the criticism aimed at China’s motorcycle industry isn’t without foundation, but CFMoto is increasingly turning out bikes fit for comparison with Japanese or Western rivals. A close connection with KTM helps, as CFMoto manufactures many of the Austrian brand’s engines and even complete bikes for some markets. It also gets European styling from Austria’s Kiska Design. In 2023, CFMoto’s range looks set to become even more attractive with the introduction of the 800NK.

CFMoto has already teased the upcoming model, showing its NK-C22 concept bike in September. The NK-C22 combined the KTM LC9c engine, as used in 799cc form in the CFMoto 800MT adventure bike, with attractive unfaired styling, a single-sided swingarm, and some decent suspension and brake components. Now these design illustrations, direct from CFMoto’s own intellectual property filings in Europe, show what the production version will look like. They show that while the NK-C22′s single-sided swingarm has gone, the rest of the concept bike’s styling and mechanical parts will transfer straight to the showroom.

If we assume that the engine is the same specification used in the existing 800MT, the 800NK will have the 799cc, 95 hp variant of the KTM LC8c parallel twin, previously used in the 790 Duke and 790 Adventure. With KTM having moved on to the larger, more powerful 890cc version (actually 889cc), the door is open for CFMoto to adopt the original spec without directly stealing KTM sales.

These extremely detailed illustrations give us a very good idea of what the 800NK will look like in the flesh. (CFMoto/)

That 95 hp output would put the 800NK in direct competition with Honda’s newly announced CB750 Hornet, which makes 91 hp from its brand-new 755cc parallel twin. If CFMoto can leverage its ability to build bikes to a budget and match or undercut the Hornet’s price, which is set remarkably low in the markets where it’s been announced, undercutting Yamaha’s MT-07 despite offering nearly 20 more horsepower and a better level of equipment, then 2023 might be a new high point in terms of value-for-money middleweight options.

In the design images, we can see that the production 800NK has lost the concept bike’s single-sided swingarm, but it retains the same upside-down fork and radial-mount calipers from Brembo subsidiary brand J.Juan. The concept’s dual SC Project exhaust silencers are replaced with a single, larger design, but it’s still mounted high to ensure there’s plenty of cornering clearance, and the production bike has road-oriented kit including turn signals, a license plate, and mirrors—all of which were missing from the concept.

The CFMoto 800NK from above. (CFMoto/)

There’s less clear cost saving on display than in the Honda Hornet, which carries over components including the headlight from existing models. The 800NK’s V-shaped light is unique to this model, and much more heavily stylized than the Hornet’s design. There’s also more complexity in the tank, side panels, and tail, but the overall look manages to be cohesive. In terms of equipment, the 800NK is likely to have well-stocked electronics, something of a signature of Chinese-made bikes, with a TFT instrument display and cruise control expected as standard, along with cornering ABS, as featured on the 800MT.

When will the 800NK be officially revealed? Late last year CFMoto showed the SR-C21 concept bike, and by April 2022 it was ready for production as the 450SR, and the gap between the NK-C22 (Naked-Concept, 2022) and the production 800NK could be shorter still, as it would be no surprise if the showroom version gets released at November’s EICMA show in Milan.

Gone is the single-sided swingarm of the concept bike. (CFMoto/)