WIDELY regarded as China’s most premium motorcycle maker, CFMOTO could be looking to enlarge its range in the not-too-distant future, as the CFMOTO 800MT Sport R is revealed.
As the name suggests, the bike leans heavily on the adventure touring 800MT, a bike that itself borrows many of its underpinnings from the KTM 790 Adventure. This new bike though features some chassis and ergonomic tweaks to make it a much sharper performer on the road or track.
The first thing you’ll notice is the switch from a 19-inch front wheel to a traditional road-focused 17-inch item. The move will not only sharpen up the steering of the Sport R, but it also opens the bike up to a much sportier range of road and track-focused rubber.
The bike also features a revised suspension set-up supplied by KYB. As well as being slightly shorter in the leg than the current 800MT, it’s likely that CFMOTO has tweaked the rebound and compression damping settings for more athletic handling. Unlike the standard 800MT, the new bike is also graced with stronger performing Brembo brakes, an upgrade from the J.Juan items fitted to the stocker.
The final two elements setting this bike apart from the stock adventure motorcycle are revised ergonomics and Moto3-inspired colours. The ergonomics look to have tilted the rider further forward on the bike, placing more of their weight over the front of the machine.
Sadly, there was no talk at EICMA of if or when this could be going into production, and as this is effectively a running and driving concept, the jury is still out as regards to the final specification when/if it ever arrives.
