Two New CFMoto Papio Models US Bound

Admin · September 21, 2023

The CFMoto Papio Racer is coming to the US, likely badged as the Papio SS. (CFMoto/)

At the start of this year we brought the news of two new variants of CFMoto’s 126cc Papio minibike that were launched in China—the XO Papio Racer and XO Papio Trail—and now it looks like they’re heading to the US market in 2024.

Documents filed with CARB and the EPA are listing two additional variants of the Papio, which is CFMoto’s rival to the Honda Grom, as 2024 models. While they don’t share the same names as the XO Papio Racer and Trail that have already hit the market in China, they’re likely to be the same bikes.

The Papio SS looks like an 1980s endurance racer with its retro headlights. (CFMoto/)

The first new machine listed is the Papio SS—a title that fits CFMoto’s US branding for sport models. In the States, all CFMoto’s sportbikes carry the “SS” suffix, even though the same machines are titled “SR” in most other countries. The implication is that the new Papio SS that’s appeared on the emissions filings is a faired, sport version of the Papio, matching the brief of the XO Papio Racer.

Side view of the Papio Racer in white. (CFMoto/)

Essentially similar to the existing Papio under the skin, the Racer (or SS?) adds an underseat exhaust, a fairing with twin headlights, a small bellypan, and dropped bars. The overall look is reminiscent of 1980s endurance racebikes, albeit ones that have been shrunk in the wash and become caricatures of themselves.

The other variation that is coming to the US, which we believe will be called the Papio CL here. (CFMoto/)

The second new model in the emissions paperwork, the Papio CL, uses a name that aligns with the unfaired, slightly retro 700CL-X models currently sold here. It’s a title that wouldn’t be out of place on the bike sold in China as the XO Papio Trail, which borrows many of the components of the XO Papio Racer but removes the fairing and adds a dash of adventure bike to the recipe.

The Papio Trail will be called the Papio CL in the US. (CFMoto/)

It has the same set of circular headlights, but sets them in a small, bar-mounted cowl above a high front fender. The 1.8-gallon fuel tank is the same as the Racer’s and the underseat exhaust is also shared, but the seat is simpler and the Trail lacks its sister model’s bellypan. Both bikes also have the same upside-down fork—an upgrade over the base Papio.

In terms of specs, all variants of the Papio share the same 126cc air-cooled fuel-injected single, making 9.4 hp, although the different exhaust on the XO models means it arrives at fractionally lower revs—8,250 rpm instead of 8,500 rpm. They also sit on an identical 48-inch wheelbase and, according to their Chinese specs, come in at the same 251-pound weight. That last figure is slightly at odds with the CARB and EPA documents, which show a 22-pound increase for the two new models compared to the standard Papio. However, the emissions paperwork uses a rounded-up Equivalent Inertial Mass (EIM) figure intended to represent both bike and rider rather than a simple bike weight, so needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt when making comparisons.

A closer look at the Papio Racer’s cockpit. (CFMoto/)

Given their similarities, the two new Papio variants aren’t likely to be vastly more expensive than the standard $2,999 model sold here now, potentially undercutting the $3,599 Honda Grom that’s clearly its No. 1 rival.

CFMoto Papio Racer. (CFMoto/)