2021 CFMOTO 650NK SP Review

If I said you could ride away on the 2021 CFMOTO 650NK SP for less than $8000, you’d probably tell me I was dreaming. Given the sporty, water-cooled, 650cc naked bike features a 5-inch TFT display, continental ABS, Bosch EFI, a full LED lighting package, KYB suspension, Pirelli Angel ST tyres, up-to-date quality plasitics and a three-year unlimited KM warranty, you might reasonably assume it would retail for around the eleven to twelve grand mark.

If you rode said bike and discovered for yourself it's exciting combination of 55hp and 62Nm produced from an engine willing to spin up quickly and rev happily all day to its ten grand redline; its powerful, almost one-finger brakes; sure footed handling thanks to that fat rubber; fruity 2-into-1 pipe and seemingly excellent build quality, you'd come away pretty convinced you were in the ballpark with that assumption.

Welcome, then, to the CFMOTO 650NK SP, the up-spec version of the standard NK, and flagship LAMS bike in the Chinese company's line-up. It can be yours for not twelve grand; not eleven grand – not even eight grand. This bike is yours to ride away at $7790 and if that seems like a generous amount of motorcycle for such a meagre amount of folding, then you'd be right.

I have to admit that prior to riding this bike I didn't know much about CFMOTO, but if you'd have put me on the bike blindfolded, I'd have guessed I was perched on any number of more well-known brands. What’s more, if I hadn’t been told from the off that this was a LAMS model, I doubt I’d have picked that either. I get to ride a lot of very exotic bikes in this job, but my own daily ride is also a LAMS 650cc parallel twin, (of practically identical weight) and the CFMOTO 650NK SP blows it into the weeds in every department bar fuel mileage (and who cares about that?).

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On seeing the NK in the flesh for the first time I was pleasantly surprised by how sporty it looked and, from the other side of the car park, you’d be forgiven for thinking it might be a small bore KTM with its sharp angles, nose-down stance and pointy headlight. That’s pretty understandable though as KTM and CFMOTO share a design house as well as much more.

CFMOTO partnered with KTM in 2013 to produce small-capacity KTM-badged models for the massive Chinese market, which totals over 17-million units per year. The CFMOTO/KTM joint venture, with the catchy name CFMOTO-KTMR2R, today comprises an R&D complex as well as an all-new manufacturing facility in Hangzhou.

This year the continued joint venture with KTM will see several new models released in the non-LAMS (700CL-X), Adventure (800MT) and even electric segments (300GT-E) as well as the most powerful bike ever produced by a Chinese manufacturer in the shape of the a 1279cc V-twin powered CF1250 – that motor being a heavily re-engineered version of KTM's LC8 motor and forecast to produce 140hp and 120Nm: proper numbers.

The long and short of all that: If KTM is happy to allow CFMOTO to build bikes on its behalf, it speaks volumes about the manufacturing processes, build quality and quality control in place at the Hangzhou plant.

So what’s it actually like to ride? Dropping into the low 790mm two-piece seat you immediately feel you’re sitting right in this bike. The large 17-litre tank (giving a range of close to 340km) flares around the top of your knees and the pegs are high and rear-set. The chunky, twin-tapered ‘bars are wide and a decent stretch away (almost a straight arm’s length) giving a weight forward, sporty stance.

The motor burbles into life instantly and the cable-operated clutch has a light pull and a forgiving take-up. Steering at slow speed initially felt quite heavy but feet-up balance is impeccable and after a short time we were filtering like mad things. There is a slight vagueness as you turn in, as if the bike wants to steer more than you do, but this lessens as corner speed goes up and more aggressive inputs are required: disappearing completely when you're right up it.

Fuelling throughout is pretty close to perfect and there are no EFI niggles such as hunting at low speeds or snatchy response from a closed throttle. There really is zero to complain about in that regard and plenty to praise. Which kind of brings us to perhaps the best and most surprising feature of this bike: that super fun engine.

It's a bloody peach and spins-up like a parallel-twin has no right to, producing surprisingly meaty torque in the mid-range. Anywhere above five grand there’s plenty of instant drive available and it’s super happy revving to the redline, making twisty roads a total hoot, and able to hold its own on the freeway without breaking a sweat. You never end up going at really stupid speeds mind you (we’re still only talking 55hp here) but with an excellent chassis and proper tyres beneath you, wringing the NK’s neck through a series of bends is addictive fun.

The brakes really come to the party too and even though I’ve never heard of the J.Juan, the Spanish brand of calipers, they offer heaps of initial bite and decent power after that. Too many LAMS bikes seem to be fitted with soft, underpowered kit but this certainly isn’t one of them and even the ABS seems configured to let you use the brakes to their fullest.

The non-adjustable (apart from rear preload) KYB suspension feels extremely firm to begin with and I was anticipating a jarring ride even before I'd left the carpark. I needn't have worried though, as the conventional fork and rear mono shock actually work surprisingly well. You only want for slightly better damping when corner speeds and lean angles start getting hectic, both of which are easy to achieve on this bike.

However, all is not totally as it seems in the 650NK SP garden and there is some sleight-of-hand evident. The cast section of frame around the swingarm pivot and the heavily-braced swingarm itself are in fact nothing more than plastic covers over more mundane tubular steel frame components. In addition, the end-can is simply a pressed metal guard hiding what is otherwise a pretty industrial looking exhaust-pipe exiting a large, barrel-shaped CAT under the engine.

What’s more, the Mode switch on the left switch-block does nothing more than simply change the dash layout: named Sport and Eco. Clearly all of the above are design cues to make the bike look cooler and more hi-tech than it actually is, but I really can't knock it for that because they’re not trying to mask any actual faults with the bike. The frame and swingarm do their job brilliantly, the engine absolutely doesn’t need different maps, and the changes to the dash layout offer legitimate preferences.

Pretty much my only bona-fide complaint about this entire package is the woeful headlight which, despite its cutting edge three-piece design, makes about as much light as a glow-worm and, outside of the city, low-beam is genuinely useless.

For whatever reason, CFMOTO has largely flown under my own personal radar until now, but it has clearly set out to make as sporty a learner legal motorcycle as possible and as far as I'm concerned, is has nailed the design brief.

In all respects this is a very good motorcycle indeed and, when you factor in the astonishing price (the SP being a grand more than the standard NK), any learner rider who wants a bike that feels like a proper motorcycle would be well served taking a long, hard look at one of these.

A thing that I particularly like about testing motorcycles is when my own pre-conceptions of a given model are shattered, and this bike is very much a case in point. If, like me, you don't know much about CFMOTO, it seems it's way past time to sit up and take notice.

ENGINE
Type: Parallel-Twin, DOHC, 8-valve, water cooled
Capacity: 649cc
Bore x stroke: 83mm x 60mm
Compression ratio: 11.3:1
Fuel system: Bosch fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 55.5hp (41.5kW) at 9500rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 62Nm at 7000rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet multi-plate slipper clutch
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Tubular steel diamond engine as fully stressed member
Front suspension: Unadjustable,KYB conventional fork
Rear suspension: KYB rear monoshock preload adjustable
Front brakes: Twin 300mm disc, J.Juan two-piston callipers with Continental ABS
Rear brake: Single 240mm disc, single-piston calliper with Continental ABS
Wheels: Cast alloy, front 3.50 x 17, rear 4.50 x 17
Tyres: Pirelli Angel ST 120/70-17 front, 160/60-17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Wheelbase: 1415mm
Seat height: 795mm
Claimed dry weight: 193kg
Claimed wet weight : 206kg
Fuel capacity: 17 litres
Fuel consumption: 5.0L/100Km

OTHER STUFF
Price: $7790 ra
Colors: Athens Blue or White/Black
Bike supplied by: Mojo Motorcycles
Warranty: 36 months unlimited kilometres