Words: Bill Hunter.
While I was out riding this bike quite a few people asked who made it which is understandable, I suppose, because CFMOTO is a relatively new brand in South Africa. It has, however, been selling quads and the like for quite a while (and successfully too) but now CFMOTO is attacking the two-wheeled market, which can only be a good thing for us in terms of choice right?
So, after a spot of light education I informed the inquisitive that the CFMOTO label is a new Chinese product now available throughout South Africa. Some still looked a little perplexed until I informed them that CFMOTO make all KTM’s parallel-twin engines, which are the 790 and 890 power plants and it was only a matter of time before CFMOTO made its own complete bikes. So here we have one of them, the top-of-the-range naked bike – say hello to the CFMOTO 800NK!
Ok, so let’s get the elephant in the paddy field out of the way before we begin. Yes, the 800NK is basically a KTM 790 Duke (the Chinese produced version), but dressed in different clothes. Not a bad thing as the 790 Duke is one of the best middleweight naked bikes on the market. The 800NK carries the same chassis and engine with different mappings from the ECU to alter its performance characteristics from the Duke.
The 799cc, DOHC, eight-valve, engine, using twin 46mm Dell’ Orto throttle bodies, produces a claimed 99hp@9,000rpm and 81Nm @8,000rpm, a decent amount for an ‘800’ for sure. Combine this with a claimed weight of just 186kg (dry), and you have quite an entertaining platform to tear around town on.
So the chassis is the same as found on the 790 Duke but it adopts Japanese suspension in the form of KYB, instead of WP used on the KTM. The 43mm USD forks have pre-load, compression and rebound damping adjustability, and the single rear shock has pre-load and rebound damping, more than enough to ‘fiddle’ with.
Talking of things to ‘fiddle’ with, check out this enormous 8-inch TFT display mounted in a portrait fashion. It does look a bit like ‘they’ forgot to put clocks on the 800NK, so someone at CFMOTO decided to slap a huge iPad on there. Either way it’s unique and does look a bit like a large phone with two display options. It offers full Multimedia connectivity, including Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and more. As you can see it’s already full of Apps and you could possibly load more if you fancy, on top of linking to your phone for music, GPS and the like.
The 800NK’s electronics suite isn’t too complicated with three power modes (or throttle sensitivity to be more precise), which are Sport/Street/Rain. There’s also cruise control, ABS, and a bi-directional quick-shifter. Interestingly CFMOTO haven't opted to install any traction control settings, which seems a bit odd seeing as the bike is ride-by-wire which leans itself towards that addition. Still, you do have a keyless ignition and all the functions, including the App functions, are easily accessed by simply using the left side switch cluster.
The styling is certainly different, standing out from other bikes in this class, and the Nebula White colour looks impressive (there’s a black option too). I did like the front mudguard that looks surprisingly similar to the one used on the 2011 Husqvarna Nuda 900, coincidence, possibly? The style and shape of the very wide seat is commendable, which can become a bit hard on the behind after a few hours, or that could just be my age and those inevitable withering parts?
In fact the overall build quality is very good and equivalent to many of the naked bikes in this competitive class, and it has some nice touches, like the alien faced LED headlight and the distinctive front facing side panels, for example.
Riding the CFMOTO 800NK (NK for naked) is a lot of fun. The 799cc engine delivers a hefty punch of torque when you pull off, making you lean forward towards the wide ‘bars to compensate. It provides a good and quite aggressive riding position, and because you to sit ‘in’ the bike, behind the 15-litre curvaceous tank, it makes you feel confident and ready for action. The 800NK does sound excellent too, bellowing from the large airbox on its way to the lofty 10,000rpm redline. The upswept exhaust also has its own attraction with a grin-inducing pop between gear changes, and an accompanying deep growl when you close the throttle. In fact, I enjoyed the audible output so much that I certainly wouldn’t bother changing the distinctive silencer for an aftermarket version. But that’s just me, because these parallel-twins do sound delightful with a loud(er) pipe.
Handling-wise it’s effortless to throw around and easily capable of a track day or two, and it has the benefits of a slipper-clutch. However, on the road the KYB suspension is set quite hard, especially if you’re a lighter rider compared to my 90kg mass. I didn’t ‘fiddle’ with the suspension though, but I would definitely soften off both front and rear for road use, then I’d like to ride it again to see if it makes a difference. Braking-wise, the large 320mm front discs with J.Juan four-piston callipers (as used on Husqvarna road bikes) were more than up to the job of bringing the 800NK to an abrupt halt. Oh, one more thing, that huge TFT screen does tend to go ‘black’ after a while when the sun hits it, which was a little irritating. By and large I enjoyed the ‘thrusty’ nature of CFMOTO’s 799cc engine with no complaints.
All in all it’s a fun bike with a different attitude to its sibling, maybe a little softer in its approach. It’s diverse on many counts to its competition in this crowded market and that could be the attraction. At R179, 900 though I would have preferred to have seen that price lower, because the Chinese 790 Duke version currently is. But if you want to stand out from the crowd, and with the 800NK’s unique style you will, it just might be worth a look. Get in touch with the importers below who can organise a test ride for you and experience for yourself an oriental alternative.
Images: BB.
