Today I’m going to talk about an exciting new bike that has an engine I think could bring us some exciting developments in the near future. The CF Moto SR450 is far from an adventure bike but this engine could mark the start of a new range of bikes.
Specs
Developed from theSR-C21 concept, it is powered by an all new 449 CC liquid cooled, fuel injected, parallel-twin engine with four valves per cylinder, double overhead cams, a 270 degree crank and a slipper clutch. Rated at 49.6 horsepower it peaks at 9500 RPM and will give you 39 newton meters of torque at 7600 RPM.
CF Moto reckon the top speed is 190 km/h, that is just under 120 mph, so it is no slouch. You get a lightweight chrome-moly frame, weighing under 11 kg with a separate sub-frame at 4 kg. 17 inch, 6 spoke alloy wheels take 110/70 and 150/60 tyres. Brakes are great with a Bosch 9.1 ABS system and you get a Brembo four-piston M40 front caliper on 320 mm disc, while the rear is a 220 mm disc with a single-piston caliper.
Suspension is 37mm non-adjustable upside down forks on the front and a preload adjustable Mono-shock on the rear. Nothing special but good quality.
A 5 inch TFT is thoroughly modern and includes connectivity with the CFMOTO Ride app, which allows navigation, track lap times, ride history, software updates, movement sensors and vehicle location. Refreshing not to see features locked behind a paywall. There is full LED lighting with daytime running lights, and turn signals integrated into the mirrors ensuring good visibility at all times.
Riding Position
Riding position is sporty without being completely track focussed so it gives a great compromise that is equally suited to commuting, spending the weekend exploring the twisties and taking it to scream around your local track-day
There has been a lot said about wind tunnel development, and the winglets certainly look the part. I’m not sure they will do much unless you are at top speed though. There was also talk of anti drop protection too and frame sliders included in the final design.
A curb weight of 168kg is not as light as I would have liked but it isn’t overly heavy. And the 795mm seat height should strike a good balance between ease of use and ground clearance.
Rider Aids are minimal but you do get ABS and the slipper clutch to make life easier and 50BHP is perfectly manageable without traction control.
Competitive With Bigger Bikes
One of the goals was to make it competitive with some of the 600cc machines out there, and when you consider the power to weight ratio and the advantage of throwing around a smaller motorcycle it may well do that. Especially as there seems little development in that particular market sector now. No it won’t compete with an R6 But it should be comparable to the CBR500 or similar no problem.
From what I can gather it has been released only in the home market and the Philippines at the moment with Australia next in line, but initial reactions seem very good. Riders commented on a serious jump in performance from the KTM390 so that sounds promising.
Will we get this bike in the UK, Europe and the US? The UK is set to get an A2 licence compatible version with a little less power and I am sure Europe will be similar. I imagine CF Moto are using the launch in the home market to fund the relevant emissions testing as it is an all new engine block, so we will have to wait and see.
Final Thoughts
What I am really interested in is what comes after this. We know all the manufacturers like the idea of modular designs and this seems a perfect base for a lightweight, all purpose, highway friendly adventure motorcycle. Possibly a nice little Scrambler too. Perhaps we are getting closer to that holy grail after all. A 50BHP 170Kg twin cylinder adventure bike would tick a lot of peoples boxes I think. Even with a bit of re-tuning for better low end performance it shouldn’t affect the top end too much.
What do you think?
Does a 170Kg twin cylinder ADV Bike sound like your holy grail?