Nice Review the New CFmoto 650 MT

Full review by Alan Cathcart from OZ on the CFmoto 650 MT

It was always going to happen sooner or later but a Chinese manufacturer is finally producing a range of good-looking, affordably priced mid-sized motorcycles aimed at export sales. The CFMoto 650MT can be seen as a serious rival to mainstream models like Kawasaki’s Versys 650.

CFMoto is already in alliance with Europe’s largest manufacturer, KTM, assembling 200 and 390 Duke models from Indian-built kits in its Hangzhou factory 170km south of Shanghai. It has also taken a major step forward in the quality and appeal of its own products, doing an R&D deal with Gerald Kiska, whose Kiska Design company in Salzburg, Austria has overseen the creation of each new KTM model since 1992. The first fruits of this are now available to customers outside China, in the form of the revamped, sharply-styled 650NK roadster and all-new 650MT adventure tourer. Both debuted at the EICMA Milan Show last November and are now in production.

CFMoto 650MTThe 650MT is the third model in CFMoto’s growing lineup of midsized motorcycles, powered by its 650cc parallel-twin, eight-valve motor. The chance to be the first journalist to ride it came by visiting its Australian importers, Melbourne-based Mojo Motorcycles, to throw a leg over one of the first bikes off the assembly line. Australia is a key export market for CFMoto, which coupled with its geographical proximity, is the reason that Mojo gets first dibs on new models from China’s finest.

After being downright impressed with the overall performance and value for money delivered by the 650NK in 2012, I was looking forward to finding out how much its twin-cylinder platform had progressed in the past five years. The 650MT is the first CFMoto product to be Euro 4 compliant, so includes ABS as standard. Yet it’s still just as affordably priced as before, with Mojo selling the model Down Under for AUD 6,990 on a ride-away basis, including 10% local sales tax price, dealer pre-delivery charges, stamp duty and 12 months registration. The only extra here is the pair of Spanish-made 32-litre SHAD panniers fitted to the test bike, costing an extra AUD 500 for the two. That’s a killer price for an entry-level adventure tourer, especially stacked up against the Kawasaki 650 Versys which retails in Oz for AUD 10,599, without luggage, and with delivery charges, registration etc. still to be paid. Figure an extra $1,000 on top of the sales price. That’s a massive savings of upwards of 50% for the Chinese model.

But do you get only what you’ve paid for, with inevitable corner-cutting compromises in quality and performance?

A full 320km/200-mile day aboard the 650MT riding out into the Victorian Goldfields northwest of Melbourne provided the answers, especially as the Melbourne summer weather did its usual number in delivering all four seasons in one day. I got drenched riding out along the Western Freeway towards Ballarat. An icy rainstorm that felt like it originated in Antarctica had me bemoaning the lack of heated grips on the 650MT; they’re not even an option yet. But protection was better than I expected thanks to the adjustable screen, though my shoulders inevitably got very damp and a pair of handlebar guards would have been nice. Turning off shortly before hypothermia set in, I began to explore the great riding roads linking Victoria’s Tiny Towns like Daylesford and Castlemaine. By now I had hot summer sunshine, the road steaming as I headed towards Bendigo before taking the Calder Freeway back to Melbourne.

CFMoto 650MTFirst things first. The same well-engineered liquid-cooled 83 x 60 mm 649cc dohc eight-valve parallel-twin motor as found in the 650NK/TK is fitted to the 650MT, complete with 180-degree crankshaft and chain camdrive on the right of the cylinder block. OK, this is essentially a Chinese ripoff of the Kawasaki ER6 motor, even down to the dimensions, but CFMoto owner Lai Guogui chose well in terms of which powerplant to copy. Claimed to produce the same 69.73bhp at the crank at 8,500rpm as it did in Euro 3 guise, with identical maximum torque of 45.72ftlb at 7,000 revs, this definitely felt more sophisticated and well-rounded than before. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it’s actually more torquey than the previous version. Thanks to the gear-driven counterbalancer and the hefty weights in the ends of the handlebars there’s no vibration at any revs. This makes the 650MT both pleasant and practical in freeway use, as well as ultimately untiring to ride, with the fruity-sounding exhaust note giving it lots of character.

To obtain Euro 4 compliance CFMoto has switched to a Bosch ECU for its fuel injection package, It’s matched to twin 36mm throttle bodies, down from 38mm, and a single injector per cylinder. Besides improving fuel economy reducing the choke size has delivered some extra zip in terms of acceleration, and may have helped counter any performance losses from the more restrictive Euro 4 norms. There’s supposedly a choice of three different riding modes. The ‘Rain’ map really does soften the power delivery very noticeably, at the expense of any real sense of performance. But I was unable to find any difference at all between the Sport and Touring modes also on offer.

CFMoto 650MTWhatever the case, the 650MT is a pretty flexible friend thanks to the willing performance of its 650cc twin-cylinder motor. Thumb the starter button and it settles to a high 1,400rpm idle. There’s a pleasing and distinctive syncopated lilt emanating from the 2-1 exhaust, whose silencer is tucked in low down on the right. Just as before, the parallel-twin engine is torquey, free-revving and smooth, pulling pretty strongly with zero transmission snatch from 2,500rpm on part throttle and from 3,000rpm wide open. There’s a more responsive power delivery than before, with a linear build of power all the way to that 10,500rpm revlimiter. It picks up revs a little faster from 7,000rpm upwards but you wouldn’t really characterise this as a step in the powerband. The six-speed transmission with chain final drive features a Japanese-developed FCC oil-bath clutch. It makes the 650MT a model of rideability thanks to its flawless gearshift and light clutch action – your left hand won’t ever cramp up riding this bike in traffic. Balancing the CFMoto at low speeds is easy with walking pace feet-up U-turns a breeze thanks to plenty of steering lock and well-mapped fuelling. Though not particularly light at 213kg this will be an ideal mount for beginners, provided they’re comfortable with the 840mm stock seat height. There’s a 20mm lower option.

The 650MT is also enjoyable to ride fast, even if acceleration is determined rather than assertive thanks to the extra 10kg it carries over its 650NK sister. It’ll cruise all day at 75mph with the tacho needle parked at 5,900rpm, little more than halfway to redline. Ton-up cruising is perfectly feasible, tracking dead straight with no wobbles and the engine revving at 7,200rpm. Absolute top speed is 120mph with the engine peaking at 8,400rpm – it won’t pull any higher. Things get definitely stressed running that fast, and the bike’s more comfortable at lower velocities. With torque peaking at 7,000 rpm and spread widely enough throughout the powerband that there’s no point in revving it anywhere near that 10,500rpm limiter. I shifted up at 8,000rpm and found myself back in the fat part of the torque curve every time.

CFMoto 650MTThe 650MT riding position is super-comfortable, with the deeply stepped seat slotting you into the bike rather than sitting on top of it. There’s relatively plush padding, too; I had no trace of numb-bum syndrome after my 200-mile day aboard the CFMoto. The taper-section handlebar mounted on cast aluminium 100mm risers is perfectly shaped, with just enough pull-back to deliver a comfortable, straight-backed stance. My only compliant is the height of the footrests meant my legs became too bent to be truly comfortable on a long day’s ride.

The mirrors are excellent and give a good view without vibing. The control boxes on the handlebars are a better quality than before, although the light switches are curiously on the right ‘bar rather than the more commonplace left. The side stand seemed rather short (there’s no centre stand), but it turned out it had actually got bent by the previous rider. Mojo boss Michael Poynton has requested that future production versions should be more substantial! The 650MT’s cockpit comes over as accommodating in spite of the only naff-looking item on the entire motorcycle, the front brake master cylinder which is both massive and ugly. That sense of being welcomed aboard is partly thanks to the well-designed if slightly spartan dash that’s a big step up from the 650TK’s pre-production such item.The 650MT’s LCD dash has twin trips plus an odometer, as well as a very readable analogue tacho with the digital speedo set within it. There’s also a clearly visible gear selected readout (hooray!), plus a clock and a fuel gauge with a bright warning light.

CFMoto 650MTThe relatively compact motor sits in an identical tubular steel diamond frame to the 650NK’s, in which it’s employed as a fully-stressed member. But instead of the non-adjustable suspension from KYB/Kayaba’s Chinese affiliate that’s still fitted to its predecessor, the 650MT features Chinese-made Yuan suspension. There’s a 43mm upside down fork fitted for the first time ever up front to a CFMoto product, adjustable for compression damping. The extruded steel swingarm with tubular bracing has a direct-action Yuan cantilever monoshock offset to the right. It’s adjustable for preload and rebound, and the result should be a more compliant package over bumps and rough surfaces than CFMoto’s previous models.

I did like the front end’s set-up. It was well-damped enough to iron out all but the worst examples of road rash out in the bush when taken on the angle, often at high speed. Thanks to the wide bar there was good leverage to help hustle the MT from side to side through a series of sweeping turns, where it felt really planted. There was good feedback from the 120/70 front version of the pair of 17-inch Metzeler RoadTec tyres fitted as standard, replacing the Chinese-made CST rubber on the 650NK/TK duo. Mind you, ever since China’s state-owned chemical company ChemChina acquired Pirelli/Metzeler in 2015, I guess this is now seen as a local product that just happens to be made in Germany!

CFMoto 650MTI wasn’t so happy with the rear shock, though. It didn’t seem very compliant and gave a rather choppy ride that wasn’t as good as the previous non-adjustable shock in the 650NK. It later turned out that the previous rider had taken a passenger on a two-up long weekend with the panniers stuffed full of luggage, and had cranked up the preload to suit. Mojo had omitted to return the suspension to the default settings before handing the bike over to me, and without the necessary C-spanner I couldn’t experiment with adjustments myself. So the jury’s out on the 650MT’s rear suspension, though the fact that the front is so satisfactory gives hope that it’ll be reasonably effective.

Spanish-developed J.Juan brakes – made in the firm’s Chinese factory – definitely gives superior stopping power lacking in the budget brakes that CFMoto previously fitted. These didn’t have the reassuring bite that the twin-piston J.Juan front calipers now deliver in gripping the twin 300mm front discs, aided by the metal brake hoses fitted as standard. The 240mm rear with its single-piston J.Juan caliper comes into its own offroad; though not a proper dual purpose dirtbike the 650MT will be at home on dirt or gravel roads. The brakes also worked well in the wet, as did the Metzeler tyres. It helped to use some engine braking to slow the bike hard from high speeds but lever pressure remained constant even after successive hard stops.

The fact that CFMoto has fitted the Metzeler tyres, a Bosch ECU, Continental ABS and J.Juan brakes indicates a welcome use of name-brand components, all while maintaining that affordable price. While there’s a USB port fitted and room to clamp a GPS to the handlebar, there’s no socket to power it from – an omission CFMoto should remedy on a bike with touring pretensions.

CFMoto 650MTThe CFMoto 650MT is as capable and pleasing a ride as any motorcycle costing twice the price. Just how well it’ll wear the passage of time has yet to be proven, but it’s seemingly as well manufactured as it’s been engineered. This may indeed be that long-awaited Chinese-made adventure touring bike that’ll make the breakthrough in Western markets. At last a Chinese manufacturer, interested in quality rather than just price, has developed functionally excellent products providing exceptional value for money. Now distinctively and crisply styled thanks to Kiska Design, they deliver dynamically at an affordable cost.

Anyone thinking about buying a secondhand Kawasaki Versys 650, let alone a new one, now has a hard decision to make. Does he or she buy that or a brand new CFMoto 650MT? Tough call, but after my day’s ride into the Victorian Goldfields on the Chinese bike, I think I know what I’d choose….

Source .....http://www.motorcycle-magazine.com/tested-cfmoto-650mt/