CFMoto 650TR screen upgrade

Bikerdocs 650TR/TK review

CFMoto CF650TR/650TK taller custom screen fabrication.

Basic design concept:

Attachment 13609

Attachment 13610

Finally got somewhere with CFMoto today. After multiple calls to CFMoto factory over the last month or so, in which CFMoto has denied the existence of a taller screen option or it's availability in PRC, we were referred to a specific individual in CFMoto.

Initially this reps response was that there was no tall screen option. When he was informed of the various links where tall screens were commented on including 'the motorcycle obsession blog' and 'the great ride of Ch!na' the CFMoto rep finally admitted that there was indeed a tall screen.

However the screen is undergoing some design element changes including the mounting method and will be available as a general release/upgrade including for those of us inside PRC due for release after October 2013. The rep also acknowledged and admitted that the 650TR released, available and sold inside PRC differs from the model sold to export markets. The latter of the two products gets numerous upgrades and better level components than the model sold on the mainland. The rep agreed that this was plainly unfair but that almost all companies in PRC were guilty of this practise. Shame, shame, shame! It makes sense then that most more discerning Chinese shy away from locally manufactured products in favour of imported ones. Who can blame them?!

This reminded me of my first CFMoto buy, a CF250T-VIP maxi scoot back in 2006. I'd gone to my local motorcycle shop (Suzuki) and viewed a number of CFMoto products and felt a 250 maxi scoot would be a great ride for these parts. When I said I wanted to buy one, but none of the ones that had clearly been sitting on the shop floor, most of which were 150cc anyway, and that I wanted a brand new 250cc from the factory, the head salesman made a call (likely to the factory or distributor) and I was dutifully informed I had two choices. One was a regular 250-VIP for the domestic market or the second choice being a 250-VIP for the export market at a additional 50% premium. I chose the latter.

I'd forgotten about that until this telephone call with the CFMoto rep. I guess I'd come to believe that CFmoto with all it's increasing export marketing and so forth, would be upping the ante and looking after it's domestic market consumer - but obviously not! My bad!

Well back to the screen, apparently there are 4 to 5 components that are being redesigned and planned for release after October. Some of the items are related to the screen and how it mounts, though it is unclear if all items are exclusively screen related.

Later today I'll be speaking with a Taobao seller who deals in motorcycle screens, who has offered to have a prototype taller screen fabricated at his screen suppliers factory.

I'd initially considered to have the additional 100mm at the top also made slightly wider than the rest of the screen below, but decided that for now I'd leave it to the most simplest design/fabrication, to see how it turns out. If it seems the fabricator can handle this task easily then I might go with the additional design elements.

Stay tuned...

Unfortunately my laptop with AutoCAD and other 3D drawing programs has crashed, so I'm making do with the basics.

Attachment 13612

Side profile with yellow line to indicate to the fabricator that there is a small lip at the tip of the of the screen

Attachment 13613

Arrows reaffirming the lip, and that I'd like to see the angle altered slightly allowing for more of a lip.

Attachment 13614

Basic dimensions of the key elements on the standard screen. Note the milled out mounting holes on the screen. I have the screen mounted so that it raised from the fascia by 10mm at the lowest mounting points and some 40mm at the top mounts. The milled holes allow for the change to angle of the longer Allen headed coach bolts I use to achieve the altered screen angle/profile.

Attachment 13615

The screen in the picture doesn't really show the change in profile, but it works in practise.

After viewing Buck and Amy's 650TR export model provided to them direct ex-factory, it's obvious that the screen in the photos of the 650TR via their Flikr account, pretty much contains most of the design elements I was contemplating. There are several differences, the first of which is taking the nose of the screen down to a more pointed position to fit in with the tupperware on that portion of the 650TR. Actually this was a suggestion by Prince666. The other design element is what I'd contemplated having fabricated first go around, but then omitted pending revisions etc. as needed for the first screen prototype. This allowed for the top 100mm to be wider across the top width wise be approx 50mm each side. Another element was allowing for a more increased up-sweep at the top of the screen - unsure how this is factored into on the tall OEM screen.

All in all the OEM tall screen seems like a suitable replacement for the shorty screen based on the 650TR in the Flikr photos.

So I've put my prototype tall screen to one side and await the availability of the screen ex-CFMoto after October.

Hi Doc will try and ring you about the new screen

Hi Guys,

Mine came with the taller screen, i requested it as a no cost option uograde...

Regarding different spec of the bike I note that even in the UK we have been shortchanged on soec. And see that American version has as standaed what all versions should have... low fuel warning, tripmeter, clock... I have been trying to locate CFMoto customer service details to ask them why USA has these and no one else.. and to find out if my instrument cluster can be retrofitted... oh one other very serious oversight the speedo is not dual MPH/KPH . not noticed before as dont ride outside of UK.... but hey guys at CFMoto if you really want this bike to do well in UK market you must at very least provide those basics... otherwise it will fail to sell in big numbers, and many UK riders, prospective customers are waiting and reading forums and blogs such as this in UK... before they decide to part with their money... so overall the bike is ok with some really stupid minor oversights that could chnage it from an OK bike to a really good bike... ph and sort out the cheap nasty steel used to make the ignition key.. really crap quality as are the locks...

So they dont have yo chnage much to improve the bike, just a shame they didnt do it with the first batch they exported...

650TR rider, unfortunately in Chinese culture finding short-cuts in your work and money saving tricks makes you 'clever'. Which is the main reason why companies with a Japanese or European work culture generally make better products in China than domestic brands. Also why many motorcycle companies manufacture in Thailand. It's not impossible to change but tough.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZMC888

650TR rider, unfortunately in Chinese culture finding short-cuts in your work and money saving tricks makes you 'clever'. Which is the main reason why companies with a Japanese or European work culture generally make better products in China than domestic brands. Also why many motorcycle companies manufacture in Thailand. It's not impossible to change but tough.

---

ditto... with emphasis on the word tough!

Hi Guys,

Its a shame, with that way of thinking to see how they will ever crack the worldwide markets with their home products…

On many forums people are saying (and you may have read) that anyone who buys Chinese home made products is crazy as they are unreliable, workmanship quality is very poor, the spares supply chain is rubbish, and they fall apart… they say better to buy a 3 or 4 year old Japanese or German motorbike than a new Chinese motorbike..

Well, I have taken a chance on a Chinese produced Motorbike and hope that it does not prove all those people correct and that I can say to them in two or three years time, I made the right decision to give Chinese made products a try.
Although I must agree on some points regarding quality, especially the areas of the motorbike I have previously mentioned.

if either of you have lived outside of China you will know what I mean when I say…

What manufacturers in China regard as acceptable quality, which is imposed on their internal customers… outside of PRC in just won't hack it…If customers outside of China feel that they are getting substandard products, substandard service then they will not buy a Chinese motorbike, moreover they will broadcast it around the world.

This will not only impact Chinese motorbike sales but a potential to affect sales of any products made in China, in a world that is already is suspicious of the quality of the products produced by China and the back up service provided. I know they manufacture for other companies outside of Chine, but I am refer to home grown, branded products that they wish it to be seen as a quality product

As you say it is not impossible to change, but tough, the sooner they change the sooner everyone in China will benefit.

It is a total mind set change that has to happen at the very top and filter all the way through, if they want to be successful selling home made goods outside of China… then they have to wake up and smell the coffee as they say.

It needs to happen sooner rather than later though.

As mentioned previously, in this particular case, CFMoto only need to make a few small changes to make the bike more appealing and marketable outside PRC… as for reliability, only time will tell :)

Here are photos of the 2013 650TR export model with the tall screen, from Buck and Amy's the Great Ride in China Flikr photo collection.

Attachment 13690

Attachment 13691

Attachment 13692

Note the screen profile, widening as height increases.

Attachment 13693

Attachment 13694

Attachment 13696

Notice how the screen fits the contours of the underside of the dash better than the shorter OEM screen which is rounded. The tall screen comes to more a point at its base. Nice.

Hope to have one of these screens end of October if CFMoto's words ring true.

Will update post accordingly.

So an update overdue.

CFMoto will have a tall screen available for purchase as replacements shortly. Tall screen is in stock at the CFMoto factory but no prices set yet.

Got the tall screen as detailed in posts above. Essentially, the same design as the short OEM screen, just taller. The photos below tell the story, with some comparison shots of both the OEM short screen and tall screen side-by-side and an overlay shot. Then there are multiple photos of the screen fitted, from various angles.

Of note with the fitting, is since I have a small LCD clock/thermometer etc as well as a smartphone/GPS holder mounted on the top of the dash, I made some modifications to the mounting holes on the screen to allow for a change of the angles of the mounting bolts. Then I inserted longer Allen headed coach bolts with plastic inserts on the underside of the screen. Resulting in not only a taller screen but one that is raised forward from the fascia of the dash. More info on this method can be found on my CF650TR screen adjustment thread.

Attachment 14408

Attachment 14409

Attachment 14410

Attachment 14411

Attachment 14412

Attachment 14413

Result: works very well. Test rode some 300km after fitting the screen, and was able to ride with my helmet (Shark Evoline-2) visor in the up position. No wind in the face.

Big :thumbsup:

Bikerdoc - does the increased angle make much difference with the higher screen you put on or is it just better for fitting your gear under it. My screen spoiler extension is adjustable but I wonder if increasing the whole screen angle would make it even more effective. What do you think ? Rob

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by trebor

Bikerdoc - does the increased angle make much difference with the higher screen you put on or is it just better for fitting your gear under it. My screen spoiler extension is adjustable but I wonder if increasing the whole screen angle would make it even more effective. What do you think ? Rob

---

Yes, I feel it does. Keeping in mind, I had the short screen which really places the wind square into ones chest area. This wouldn't be an issue except that here in PRC, the air quality leaves a lot to be desired. A full day of riding will see one leaving significant black marks on a white towel/tissue paper, should one attempt to clean one's face - even with a splash or three of water beforehand.

When I altered the rake of the short screen I managed to get the wind blast up to about face height. While riding, if I hunched my back just enough, I could get the wind to hit the top of my helmet. I seem to recall you writing Rob, that your screen was a mid sized screen as opposed to the short screen the first model TR's came out with? If so then you might find that the increased rake with a mid sized screen may put the wind blast up over your helmet, depending on your height and upper torso height/length.

I stand 183cm if that's any guide.

I expect that CFMoto will have the new tall screen for sale end of this week. CFMoto have them in stock at the factory, but hadn't discussed pricing at an internal meeting as of last Friday 25 October. The OEM tall screen will differ from the one I have, by having a pointed lower section and side cut outs to better fit the lines of the tupperware (dash), basically the same as the photos that one can see on the 650TR that Buck and Amy are riding on the Great ride of China.

The aftermarket screen has some flex in it. I liked the upper section of screen as it has some variation in the angles and an upward flick nearer the top edge. I have since obtained and fitted the new OEM tall screen several months ago, and it does not have this molded section at the top edge. However the OEM screen is made from a thicker material and what I do like about it aesthetically is the lower design at the base which comes to a more defined point as opposed to the rounded semi-circular design on the originally designed short screens. This change means that the base of the screen better fits to the tupperware for a more integrated seamless look. I'd have liked the upward flick incorporated at the top of the OEM tall screen, similar to the short screen.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bikerdoc

The aftermarket screen has some flex in it. I liked the upper section of screen as it has some variation in the angles and an upward flick nearer the top edge. I have since obtained and fitted the new OEM tall screen several months ago, and it does not have this molded section at the top edge. However the OEM screen is made from a thicker material and what I do like about it aesthetically is the lower design at the base which comes to a more defined point as opposed to the rounded semi-circular design on the originally designed short screens. This change means that the base of the screen better fits to the tupperware for a more integrated seamless look. I'd have liked the upward flick incorporated at the top of the OEM tall screen, similar to the short screen.

---

Hi bikerdoc,

Is it possible to order the new taller screen for my 650TK? I am seriously considering to get the MRA x-creen but I would prefer to get the OEM tall windscreen.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DavidC

Hi bikerdoc,

Is it possible to order the new taller screen for my 650TK? I am seriously considering to get the MRA x-creen but I would prefer to get the OEM tall windscreen.

---

Yes it's possible but I can't be sure whether or not you're able to order through CFMOTO Australia. If you cannot then I could help by ordering direct from CFMOTO factory. The freight cost from here to OZ can be a little expensive unless you know someone heading back to OZ who could carry the screen for you?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bikerdoc

Yes it's possible but I can't be sure whether or not you're able to order through CFMOTO Australia. If you cannot then I could help by ordering direct from CFMOTO factory. The freight cost from here to OZ can be a little expensive unless you know someone heading back to OZ who could carry the screen for you?

---

I will give a call to CFMoto Australia tomorrow. Last time I checked with my dealer, they said it is not available as it is not ADR compliant but the thing is I saw UK bikes under WK brand have them. If not available, I will ask for your help. Thanks.

:popcorn:

Good news! My dealer confirmed that CFMoto Australia has a longer screen available as an option. It is 615mm in length. Is this the same length as the one you get from CFMoto factory?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DavidC

Good news! My dealer confirmed that CFMoto Australia has a longer screen available as an option. It is 615mm in length. Is this the same length as the one you get from CFMoto factory?

---

That's the one. Good to know that you'll be able to get both the tall screen as well as the longer side stand.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bikerdoc

That's the one. Good to know that you'll be able to get both the tall screen as well as the longer side stand.

---

Yeah. Just glad that both are finally available. The parts dealer says the screen is available as an option. Think the longer side stand is now standard on later 650TKs. Mine has the updated dash with clock and tripmeter, steel braided brakes and J Juan brakes but no longer side stand or longer screen.

The taller screen is here and collected from my local dealer. The LED bulbs arrived too so great timing.

Attachment 17228
The original screen is on the left. The taller screen on the right.

Attachment 17229
The final product assembled. The MRA X-careen will go on the taller screen. This will give the best Protection in the winter.