CFMoto 250NK: 5 Things To Know

[UPDATE: CFMoto has made its India debut with the launch of four products: 300NK, 650NK, 650MT & 650GT. Head here for the pricing and other details.]

Here’s all you need to know about this 250cc bike in 5 handy points

It seems like Chinese bikemaker CFMoto is looking to set shop in India and that has got us all kinds of excited. Three of their products, the 250NK, 650MT and now the 650NK, have been spotted testing on the streets of Hyderabad. Here’s all you need to know about CFMoto, especially their 250cc offering, the 250NK.

Also read: CFMoto: All You Need To Know About The Brand

The KTM - KISKA connection:

CFMoto started manufacturing KTM 200 Dukes and 390 Dukes for the Chinese market back in 2014. It was this association that led them to KISKA Design. This Austrian design firm is partly owned by KTM and is responsible for their current lineup of sharply styled motorcycles. The result of this association is the fantastically styled creation you see here. 

It is feature-loaded:

Compared to its closest competitor in India, the KTM 250 Duke, the  250NK is packed to the gills with features. It gets an LED headlamp, tail lamp and turn indicators. While these might not seem like much, the calling card here is a colour TFT screen that comes with two switchable display modes. It also has a day/night mode which, depending on the brightness, switches to a contrasting screen for better viewability. 

Expect close to KTM levels of performance:

It seems the learnings from manufacturing KTM bikes have been used in the CFMoto 250NK. The bike is powered by a 249.2cc liquid-cooled, 4-valve, DOHC motor that’s running a higher 11.3:1 compression ratio. While most of this motor’s layout is similar to KTM bikes, at 26.5PS at 9000rpm and 22Nm at 7500rpm, it makes less power than the KTM 250 Duke (30PS and 25Nm). Interestingly, the 250NK gets two riding modes: a Sports mode and a Rain mode that offers less power and blunted throttle response. It also gets a hydraulic clutch that should minimise clutch lever effort to a great extent. While the 250NK might not match the 250 Duke in terms of outright performance, we expect the bike to be close given its low kerb weight of 151kg is quite close to the 250 Duke’s dry weight of 141kg.

Dynamics should be good:

Again, the learnings from KTM seem to have trickled down by the way of similar levels of suspension parts and underpinnings. The 250NK gets a lightweight steel trellis frame, upside down forks and rear monoshock setup similar to KTM bikes. Braking is via JJuan, the same company that KTM uses for the 790 Duke’s brakes. The setup consists of a 300mm front disc with radially mounted calipers and a 245mm rear disc. It gets a dual-channel ABS setup which should provide much more stable and safer braking. Overseas, the bike comes with 110/70R17 front and 140/60R17 rear tyres and we expect the same setup for India, possibly with MRF REVZ tyres like the 250 Duke. 

Pricing could be on par with the 250 Duke ABS:

When it comes to pricing, KTM have always priced their bikes quite competitively thanks to them being manufactured in India. To price their bikes lower than KTM, CFMoto will have to manufacture their bikes here, which seems difficult for now. It is more likely that CFMoto will get their bike to India via the CKD route. So we expect CFMoto to price the bike around the Rs 2 lakh to 2.30 lakh rupee mark, which will be at a slight premium to the KTM 250 Duke’s asking price of Rs 1.94 lakh (ex-Delhi, ABS). Even with that slight premium, we expect the 250NK to attract buyers on account of its looks and additional features. 

CFMoto offers their bikes overseas with a 2-year, unlimited kilometres warranty. If they can do the same in India, it would no doubt help boost their sales.