Don’t look now, but CFMOTO’s re-entry into Canada’s motorcycle market is going full steam ahead, with a lot of new machines to choose from… even if the company does seem to be more interested in its ATV lineup, for now.
Mini Street
Starting with the smallest-cc category, CFMOTO now has three machines in its Mini Street lineup, all based off the same air-cooled 125cc motor.
The little single-cylinder has Bosch EFI and a six-speed gearbox; it’s supposed to make about 9 hp. Not exactly a powerhouse, but that’s not the point here. These bikes are an alternative to the Honda Grom, in the smiles-per-gallon category.
There are three sub-models for sale here; for 2024, we get the Papio SS (sort of a cafe racer), the Papio CL (sort of a retro scrambler/naked thingie) and the 125 ST Papio (more of a standard naked). Pricing starts at $3,199 and these machines all come with a five-year warranty.
Sport
Who said sportbikes were dead? Despite the lack of enthusiasm for litrebikes and 600s in recent years, fully-faired bikes are still popular in the small-displacement category. CFMOTO has new 675 and 500 models in the works, and two models currently for sale in Canada this season.
First we have the 300SS. This has a liquid-cooled 292cc single-cylinder engine with four-valve head, making a claimed 29 hp. Starting price is $5,399 MSRP for a leftover “2023.5” model; the 2024 bikes start at $6,574. ABS is standard, as is EFI. See more info and specs here.
If you want more power, you can buy the twin-cylinder 450SS model. These machines have modern liquid-cooled parallel twins with Bosch EFI, putting out a claimed 50 hp. They come with modern electronics, and can connect to CFMOTO’s smartphone app. They aren’t dodgy copies of Japanese tech. Like the 300, you’re getting Continental-designed ABS as standard, and a five-year warranty. MSRP is $8,674, and like all of CFMOTO’s bikes, that number includes your freight and PDI fees. More pix and details here.
Naked
Naked bikes will never go out of style, and CFMOTO has a strong lineup here, with the 300NK (an unfaired version of the 300SS for $6,174—see more here), the 450NK (again, an unfaired version of the 450SS—see here) and the 800NK.
The 800 is particularly interesting as it’s basically the same design as a LC4c KTM motor, and the NK also comes with a similar electronics package to the Austrian 790-series Duke (which, guess what, is now built by CFMOTO in China!).
But for $10,074 MSRP, you’re spending a lot less money, and getting that five-year warranty to boot. More info here.
Heritage
This two-bike series is based on CFMOTO’s older 700 platform, which looks an awful lot like a Kawasaki 650 parallel twin.
CFMOTO has been building this design for a long time now; back when their motorcycles first entered North America around a decade ago, this was the platform they used. It seems like it’s been updated a bit since then.
The two sub-models are the 700 CL-X Sport, which is sort of a cafe racer and the 700 CL-X Heritage, which is sort of a scrambler, if you squint when you look at it. The Sport is priced at $10,274 for 2024 (see more info here) and the Heritage is $9,474 (see here), although you can save some money by buying a leftover 2023.5 model.
Adventure
The much-anticipated 450 Ibex adventure bike isn’t in Canada… but we expect it in coming months. For now, CFMOTO does have three versions of its 800 Ibex; the Sport (with cast rims, for $13,674), the Touring (for $16,684) and the Explore (for $17,574).
