- Top tech and 8-inch TFT display put the 800NK ahead of the pack
- KTM-derived 799cc parallel twin delivers 100hp and real-world performance
- Incredible value at $13,490 + ORC — redefining midweight naked expectations
With futuristic styling, loads of electronic gizmos and a punchy parallel twin powerplant all for a ridiculously affordable price, the 800NK shows just how far CFMoto has come.
It’s hard to talk about CFMoto without also mentioning their partner, KTM. I visited the CFMoto factory in China last year and can confirm the plant is as technologically advanced as anything else you’re likely to see, thanks to the fact it was purpose-built to handle building KTM’s 390 and 790 models. In fact, the entire complex (and it’s massive!) was impressive, with the main office building looking like it wouldn’t be out of place if it had Google written above the door. Yep, CFMoto is looking to become a significant player in the motorcycle scene. And if they continue to innovate and produce impressive models like the 800NK and the wildly popular 450MT at affordable prices, chances are it’s not going to be long before they achieve their goal.
So Much For So Little
Looking over the 800NK outside the CFMoto distributor in Auckland, the first thing to strike me, other than the futuristic styling, is the fact it looks like someone has slapped an iPad in the middle of the handlebars. Remember above where I mention that the CFMoto is as technically advanced as anything else? Well, when it comes to the 800NK, I reckon they’re ahead of the game. And while the large screen looks a little peculiar, once you start diving into the functionality that’s available, you soon begin to wonder not only why all these options aren’t available on other bikes but why they’re available on the CFMoto as standard, without any accessory add-on options bumping up the price. Instead, the CFMoto 800NK Advanced is fully loaded with tech for the incredible price of $13,490 + ORC, putting it significantly less than pretty much anything comparable in the class.
So surely there must be something missing for the bike to be this cheap? Well, it doesn’t appear to be build quality, with the fit and finish of the 800NK looking to be on par with any of the big players. I bumped into a couple of CFMoto 800MT riders while I consumed a pie during a day of testing; both reported zero issues with their machines, which were ridden regularly and coming up to two years old. It’s hard not to look at the 800NK and feel that it must be in part responsible for the current crisis at KTM, with the Austrian manufacturer, for some reason, handing their soul over to the Chinese giant who took it and ran.
Shared Heart
The 800NK is based on KTM’s popular 790 Duke, with the engine and chassis closely based on the orange machine, although a few internal changes have meant none of the crankshaft issues for the Chinese machines that have plagued the Austrians. To be honest, it’s slightly ironic that the Chinese version has been so reliable, putting paid to the mantra of: Made in China, therefore, must be rubbish. CFMoto is doing an excellent job at smashing that prejudice by producing great-looking, excellent-performing, yet extremely affordable machines, and that’s great for the bike-buying public.
While KTM has moved on to an 890 Duke and now a 990 Duke, the 800NK still uses the 799cc parallel twin with a maximum output of 100.8hp @ 9,000rpm and 81Nm of torque @ 8,000rpm. The 285º firing order gives the twin a punchy bottom end, and while it’s not the 123hp/103Nm of the current 990 Duke, it’s still plenty enough to make the CFMoto a fun, naked road bike. And while the 800NK is no slouch, it’s also a bit more forgiving and comfortable than the orange machine, undoubtedly making it easier to live with on a daily basis. Although, if you’re after a machine that’s scalpel-sharp, then the Austrian still has the advantage.
Once back at BRM HQ with the CFMoto, walking around and studying the design a bit more and I must say I like the angular design of the 800NK including the V-shaped headlight and the wings on the side – even though they are in fake carbon fibre – and it really does make the CFMoto look mean. The anodised bronze wheels and triple camp clamp add to the look, as does the angler design of pretty much anything on the motorcycle. The seat height is a nice low 795 mm from the ground, making it really accessible, as Kerry pointed out. And the riding position is really somewhere halfway between lent forward and sitting upright, so it’s a motorcycle that you could tackle a decent ride on. The only caveat would be the padding on the saddle, which, while wide and big enough that you can move backwards and forwards with ease, could do with about an inch more foam to really make it comfortable. But then I guess that will make it less accessible for getting your feet on the floor.
Top Tech
Checking out the tech on the CFMoto and there really is a lot to work through. The iPad dash can have the layout adjusted, and there’s apps on it like you’d find on your smartphone. Some testers have mentioned that the dash is impossible to read when the sun is on it, which I initially found the same. That is until I found the manual brightness adjustment and cranked it to the maximum, and thereafter, I never had much of an issue seeing the info regardless of where the sun was positioned.
The CFMoto has a few tricks buried away within the electronics package, with the ability to assign a digital key to your phone one such feature. What makes it even tricker is that you can then assign a key to someone else, and they can unlock and ride the bike using their smartphone (the fuel tank still requires a key, though). And when you have a falling out, you simply unassign the key, and they’re locked out again. That’s pretty cool.
There’s also a tracker system included so you can see where you’ve parked the bike or for tracking rides, and I presume it also means you can find out where it is if someone steals it. And considering the price of some of the aftermarket tracking systems, that’s a real bonus. For real-time positioning, you do need to update to a T-Box, giving you a view of where your bike is at any time via the CFMoto app. Finally, the dash also runs Apple CarPlay and Android, so you can have full mapping, music controls and everything else that goes with it running on the bottom half of the screen with the speed, etc., up the top.
There is switchable mapping with Rain, Street and Sport options available, and while I didn’t bother with rain, I did find Street required a bit too much movement with the twist grip when getting back on a positive throttle, making it a little bit choppy to ride in the twisties. A switch to Sport soon cured that and gave me the instant throttle response I was after as soon as I twisted the grip. Switching between modes is easy using the function button on the left-hand switch block, although it is very crowded on the left-hand side, with cruise control at the top and then a four-way adjustable switch which sits just above the indicator, which then sits just above the horn. It’s busy but probably something you’d get used to if this was your bike. Oh, and the horn is pretty good, by the way.
The cruise control is a little weird in that there is no play at the closed portion of the throttle to disengage it, so you have to touch the brake or actually turn the cruise control off to disengage it, which then makes it quite abrupt. That isn’t too bad if you’re riding by yourself, but having someone on the back would probably result in a decent amount of helmet banging. Saying that, with such a small pillion seat combined with very high footpegs, chances are you’re not gonna have anyone on the back anyway.
It took me a while to notice, but another cool touch is the two long green LEDs either side of the iPad. As I discovered, these are multi-function, flashing green at you when you’ve got your indicators on – probably put there because the iPad isn’t always the easiest to see. Yet, I also found that when the small fuel gauge got down to almost zero and the fuel light came on, these LED lights then flashed orange at me just to make sure I knew I was running low on go juice which was quite a cool touch. Oh, and they flash red when, ahem, you’re running a little high on the revs… It’s just another nice touch that makes the CFMoto stand out from anything else on the market.
Sharp Looks, Chilled Ride
The KTM power plant is exactly what you’d expect, although it feels like the CFMoto man was more interested in mid-range stomp than top-end performance when he made his changes to the tune and internals of the KTM 790, with the parallel twin pulling hard from as low as 3000rpm. The distributor told me later that they’d installed the latest map into the CFMoto the day before I got it and the fuelling was excellent, really getting into its stride as the digital rev counter hit 5000rpm and beyond. Maximum torque is actually a 8000rpm, although it’s at this point that I found the CFMoto worked best if you snatched another cog using the (standard) up-and-down quickshifter rather than hanging onto the revs much longer.
Talking of the quickshifter, it was a little hit-and-miss with both myself and Kerry missing gears. One particular time resulted in panicked yells from Kerry over the intercom as she hit a false neutral while shifting from 5th to 6th at 100km/h on the motorway, resulting in a very large panic rev and a very worried Kerry who found herself with no drive. Thankfully, she decided to attempt grabbing 6th again rather than shifting down, whereupon the gears played ball and the ratio engaged. But it was a reminder to be a little more positive when shifting, and, more likely, adjusting the gear lever to sit a touch lower probably would have resulted in normal operation.
Just like the powerplant is a touch more mellow than the orange machine, the same goes with the braking package. While the J.Juan brakes are radially mounted four-piston calipers gripping 320mm twin discs at the front, they aren’t super sharp but instead, provide plenty of feel and stopping power rather than sticking the bike on its nose with a full superbike set-up. For the road, it makes the CFMoto set-up great to ride with, and I can see it is a great set-up for riders with a bit less experience who are still getting their head around the finesse required to scrub speed. There’s ABS, as you’d expect, although the one tech area the CFMoto is lacking compared to the KTM Duke is that there’s no IMU, meaning the braking isn’t lean-sensitive. And there also isn’t any traction control, something that we’re used to seeing on most machines nowadays, so if you’re planning on pushing to the limit then that’s something to consider. But for everyday sporty riding, the CFMoto provided everything I needed.
The suspension is much the same in that the KTM version of this bike would undoubtedly be set a lot firmer, whereas the 800NK is designed to be compliant which for road riding is actually much more pleasant. The 43mm fully adjustable KYB USD forks actually worked to soak up the lumps and bumps on our test route, and it was really nice to feel a suspension set-up that wasn’t designed for the track, even though the bike is made for the road. Swapping the riding with Kerry and it was a definite bonus that both the brake and clutch levers are span-adjustable, with the brake lever getting a cool adjuster on the end to modulate feel. And while the footpegs are reasonably high, they suit the attitude of this machine, which certainly encourages you to push it in the twisties, especially with the raucous noise coming out of the high-level twin exhaust pipe. It was great to see that the 800NK was also wearing decent rubber, with the 120/180-section 17-inch wheels getting Maxxis Supermaxx ST tyres which seemed to work well even when pushing on.
The rear end is kind of cool with a funky rear light and stacked brake light, although having the indicators positioned on the rear hugger actually puts them down quite low, meaning they could easily be missed by people following behind you. But at least they are LEDs and nice and bright. I thought the small single headlight in the middle of the V might actually be hard to see, but in reality, it’s really bright and certainly made the CFMoto stand out on the road.
Verdict
CFMoto seems to have proven that motorcycles made in China are no longer a bad thing, especially when they’re this affordable. And while Chinese machines have historically been lacking in styling or almost non-descript, CFMoto has managed to build its brand identity with good-looking machines like this 800NK, the 450MT adventure bike, and the sporty 450SR-R. And with their three-cylinder 675cc sportsbike on its way, expect to see many more CFMotos on the road in the coming months and years.
The 800NK is a great fun, mid-capacity, 100hp naked sportsbike that is exceptionally good for riding on the road. Okay, limitations would probably start arising on the race track, but if you’re looking for a bike that’s going to be sharp on the race track, then the KTM version is probably your choice of machine. But what the 800NK package offers for such a competitive price is absolutely incredible, and this is certainly a bike that would keep the majority of riders really happy up to and beyond the legal limit and in varying conditions.
The technology is amazing, especially the iPad-style dash. And once I turned the brightness up, it was pretty clear despite being out on a sunny day. Getting to know my way around all the different settings and electronics took a while, although if this was your bike, you’d certainly have it sorted within a day or two. The build quality seems to be up there with anything that we see out of Japan, and while we had a couple of issues with the quickshifter which I’m sure would be fixed by changing the position of the lever, the 800NK still represents a fantastic bike for the money.
To check out the CFMoto 800NK in NZ, head to www.cfmoto.co.nz
CFMoto 800NK Advanced Gallery
At A Glance
Name: CFMoto 800NK | Weight: 189kg (wet) | Maximum Power 100.8hp @ 9250rpm / Maximum Torque @ 79Nm / 8000rpm
Engine
Taken from the KTM 790 Duke, CFMoto changed the mapping and reworked a few internals to give the 800NK a more road-friendly, flexible nature. But with 100hp on tap it can still get up and go when required.
Dash
What looks like an iPad is an 8-inch TFT screen which offers Apple CarPlay and Android compatibility in full colour. It’s sometimes a little challenging to see in bright sun, but there’s so much functionality it’s almost daunting! Combine with the CFMoto app and you can share digital keys, track the bike and your ride plus loads more!
Suspension
KYB 43mm USD forks offer full adjustability, although you’ll need to get under the plastic cover under the screen to get to the top adjusters we expect. The single rear monoshock gets preload and damping adjustment. Both offer good comfort for the road.
Electronics
Riding modes comprise of Street, Sport and Rain of which we found Sport to be the best for general riding as it made the throttle more responsive. They didn’t get the IMU tech from KTM, so there’s no lean-sensitive aids.
Brakes
J.Juan supplies the brakes, with the radially mounted twin four-piston calipers offering plenty of feel at the front while not being overly sharp. That makes it a good set-up for road riding.
CFMoto 800 NK Technical Specifications
Engine 2-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC
Displacement 799 cm³
Maximum Power 70 kW / 9250 rpm
Maximum Torque 79 Nm / 8000 rpm
Length x Width x Height 2132 x 810 x 1158 mm
Wheelbase 1468 mm
Seat Height 795 / 820 mm (optional)
Fuel Capacity 15 L
Curb Weight 189 kg
Quickshifter Yes
Chassis/ Suspension
Rim (Front/Rear) 3.5 x 17MT 4.5 x 17 MT
Front Tyre 120/60 R17 Maxxis
Rear Tyre 180/55 R17 Maxxis
Front Suspension Inverted damping, adjustable damping, KYB
Rear Suspension Single adjustable damping, KYB
Front/Rear Suspension Stroke 130mm / 130mm
Front Brake 320 mm dual discs，J.Juan, Radial calipers
Rear Brake 260 mm single disc，J.Juan
ABS Bosch
