Chinese brand CFMOTO has been slowly making inroads on European markets in recent years.
The company has close links to Pierer Mobility, the giant behind European brands KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS, with the Chinese brand utilising the previous generation KTM designs in some of its bigger models and running rebranded KTMs in the Moto3 world championship race series. CFMOTO also owns a 2% stake in Pierer Mobility, who handle sales and distribution of the Chinese bikes in a number of European markets, including Great Britain. It gives them plenty of clout as they aim for a bigger global presence.
CFMOTO are rumoured to be launching a flagship 1000cc superbike later this year, with which they could take on the might of BMW, Ducati and Yamaha in the Superbike World Championship, but for now their top tier sport bike is the 450SR – an A2 licence compliant parallel-twin making 46bhp. It’s a fresh CFMOTO design, rather than a reengineered KTM, and for 2024 this is being joined by a fancier version which takes its styling cues and technology from some of the raciest road bikes around.
Called the CFMOTO 450SR S, the 450SR has been given a makeover with a distinctive Ducati Panigale style single sided swingarm and aerodynamic wings giving the mini supersport machine a real superbike style to it. The rear end is also tidied up with an underslung exhaust system, replacing the rather bulky silencer of the standard machine.
Mechanically the S version is the same as the 450SR upon which it is based, meaning the £6,499 CFMOTO delivers its peak power at 9,500rpm, while peak torque of 39Nm comes at 6,500rpm. Otherwise there’s a whole host of little changes aimed at making it a more premium than the A2 competition, which includes the likes of the Honda CBR500R, Yamaha R3 and KTM’s own RC 390.
CFMOTO’s ‘S’ spec machine gets a rather fancy 5” TFT dashboard, while the electronics package now includes traction control and an emergency braking system. The suspension and brakes have also been upgraded. The 37mm upside down front forks are now adjustable, while the rear brake is also more powerful on the S model. The front braking set up comes from Brembo and is the same high specification as the standard 450SR.
Despite the racy looks, the CFMOTO 450SR S comes in two rather sober colour schemes: Zircon Black or Tundra Grey. It’s available through a dealer network across the UK and Ireland, with many KTM dealers also taking on the brand.
