CFMOTO SR Vision Concept
Over the weekend Chinese motorcycle manufacturer CFMOTO released some teasers of a new sportsbike it is developing.
Details are scant, but we have been informed that this concept is expected to evolve into a production model that is expected to make its debut at some point in 2022.
Aggressive race-replica styling, Brembos, Ohlins, trick rims, single-sided swingarm, wings, SC Project exhaust.. The ingredients are all there for a tasty recipe…
CFMOTO has extensive ties with KTM and its European design house Kiska, thus one would expect the new model to be driven by an engine derived from a current KTM powerplant.
That means it could be a 390 or 700 cc single, 890 cc parallel-twin, a modernised version of KTM’s earlier 990 cc V-Twin or perhaps even the current full monty 1301 cc V-Twin!
As the clutch appears to be cable operated in these concept shots that would seem to rule out the big V-Twins, and leads us to believe that it will be powered by KTM’s 890 cc parallel-twin.
Or could it be a derivative of the parallel-twin but sized and modified to meet new Supersport racing regulations that will allow 765 cc triples and 955 cc twins race each other…?
Next year, 2022, the Supersport category will start to transition from its traditional 600 cc four-cylinder roots towards a new beginning for the class that will first be trialled in British Superbike.
The production derived intermediate class is long established, but as the motorcycle market evolves it is clear that changes are required to allow more motorcycle models to become eligible, and thus we will see the category move towards models that are more popular with the motorcycle public.
The British Supersport Championship will pilot the evolution of the class in 2022 with the introduction of a Triumph 765 three-cylinder machine, and later in the season a Ducati 955 twin-cylinder machine. In a view to evaluate if this new technical regulations could be the platform for the 2023 FIM Supersport World Championship.
Thus I am reckoning that this new CFMOTO model could be the first toe in the water by a Chinese manufacturer in a quest to go up against the traditional high-performance Japanese and European brands on the racetrack…
Or is it instead a first step towards joining the World Supersport 300 ranks with a single-cylinder machine before a graduation to the new look senior Supersport class…?
Watch this space…
