CFMoto 650MT: 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 650cc tourer in 5 handy points

We have been seeing CFMoto bikes being tested in and around Hyderabad -- not just one specific model but three: the 250NK, 650NK and 650MT. Now, the prospect of CFMoto launching these bikes, especially the 650MT, has got us excited. Here’s what you need to know about this 650cc bike. 

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

The Austrian connection:

CFMoto is a Chinese motorcycle brand selling bikes the world over but it has two strong connections to Austria. One is KTM. CFMoto started manufacturing bikes like the 200 Duke and 390 Duke for KTM for the Chinese market in 2014. This move gave CFMoto an insight into bike-making and given their connections with KTM, we can expect sporty bikes from them. This connection also led them to Kiska Design, the Austrian firm responsible for designing KTM bikes since the last eight years and one which designs bikes for CFMoto as well.

Also read: CFMoto 250NK: 5 Things To Know

It has a good list of features:

For starters, it gets an all-LED headlamp, LED tail lamp and LED turn indicators. You have adjustable levers and a covered USB socket on the dashboard. Also standard is an all-digital LCD dashboard, a disappointment considering the smaller 250NK gets a colour TFT instrument console. The test mule doing the rounds in Hyderabad was spotted with a fairing guard and knuckle guards, both of which are sold as optional accessories abroad. Whether CFMoto offers them as standard fitment here remains to be seen. Other accessories sold alongside the bike abroad are a set of hard panniers, which may be made available here.

It is quite different from its naked cousin:

And we are not just talking about the added fairing. The 650MT is more touring-oriented and gets an adjustable windscreen, longer-travel suspension on both ends, more sophisticated upside down adjustable front forks and a larger 18-litre fuel tank. All this adds weight, but not too much of it. At 213kg, the 650MT weighs just 7kg more than its naked cousin, the 650NK. 

It is more adept at touring than off-road:

The 17-inch alloy wheels at both ends fitted with Metzeler Sportec M5 tyres will attest to that fact. Another indicator is the low-slung exhaust, which is nothing like the high-set ones we see on off-road-focused ADV bikes. Now we don't say you can't go off-road in one. But we feel the 650MT is more at par with the Kawasaki Versys 650 than the Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT. 

The motor should impress:

At the helm sits a 649.3cc liquid-cooled, parallel-twin motor that puts out a healthy 70.7PS and 8750rpm and 62Nm of torque at 7000rpm. To put that into context with the other 650cc ADV’s sold in India, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT makes 71PS and 62Nm and the Kawasaki Versys 650 makes 69PS and 64Nm of torque. Also, the fact the the 650MT weighs 3kg less than the other two could give it a slight advantage in terms of acceleration. 

When launched in India, we expect CFMoto to price the 650MT around the Rs 6 lakh mark. At this price, it would undercut both the Kawasaki Versys 650 (Rs 6.69 lakh) and Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT (Rs 7.46 lakh, both prices ex-showroom) by a significant margin.