CFMOTO unveils tasty naked concept

If you’re feeling of sense déjà vu about catching a glimpse of the latest motorcycle concept from CFMOTO, you’re not alone.

About 12 months ago, CFMOTO unveiled the ‘SR-C21’ concept that eventually morphed into the 450SR sportsbike which will soon be making its way to Australia.

Now, CFMOTO has used a major autumn conference in China to pull the wraps off another concept – this one the ‘NK-C22’ boasting forged carbon fibre bodywork and trimmings, a racing-inspired SC-Project dual-exhaust, J. Juan radial-mount brakes, aerodynamic wheels and a single-sided swingarm, all packaged in striking bodywork.

Unlike the first concept, which left pundits hastily filling in the gaps of what the production model could be, this time the naming convention confirms an open secret – we’ll be seeing a new flagship full-powered naked very soon in the shape of an 800NK.

Sure, a lot of the bolt-on bits embellishing the concept will most likely be jettisoned when the 800NK gets the production green light – read SC-Project dual-exhaust, carbon fibre bodywork and single-sided swingarm – but we’re pretty sure the concept already houses the KTM-sourced 799cc parallel-twin which will power the new naked aspirant.

That engine – the result of a burgeoning technical and operational partnership between CFMOTO and KTM – is already on duty in CFMOTO’s recently introduced 800MT touring-adventure range and with further fine-tuning to the mapping it’ll be cherry ripe by the time the 800NK starts rolling off the production line.

Expect power and torque for the 800NK to be in the 800MT ballpark – so 95hp (70kW) and 77Nm – but with minor tweaking to the cam profiles and ECU those numbers could go north to bring a little more intensity and clamour to the power delivery.

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The arrival of the 800NK will certainly continue the proliferation of parallel-twins into the market, with Honda just announcing a new 270-degree 755cc version of the classic engine architecture to power a new roadster and Transalp adventure bike. Big H’s engine is rated at 90.5hp (67.5kW) and 75Nm.

Suzuki is treading a similar parallel-twin two-model path as it replaces its long-serving 650cc V-twin which is in the V-Strom 650 and SV650.

CFMOTO’s naked range currently spans three models: the 125NK, 300NK and 650NK. Expect to see a production version of the 800NK unveiled within months, while arrival timing, final specifications, colours and pricing will be announced closer to launch.

At the conference, CFMOTO also displayed an electric version of its pint-sized Papio, which is sold with a 125cc engine in China.