CFMoto gets serious with this cool new V-twin

CFMOTO has been making some increasingly convincing bikes in recent years but if it manages to turn its new V.02-NK concept into a production reality it will really be stepping up a gear.

The firm has just revealed the concept in China, and while information is very limited at the moment it’s clearly a huge leap forward for CFMoto. And what’s more, the firm appears to be promising a production version in the future.

What we can tell you is that it’s powered by a V-twin engine rather than the existing Kawasaki ER-6-alike parallel twin that drives CFMoto’s 650cc range. The firm says it’s ‘working towards greater displacement’ and it looks like the engine used in the V.02-NK is a KTM RC8 V-twin. Depending on which version it is, that puts its capacity well past the 1000cc mark, and possibly as high as 1301cc if it’s the derivative used in the Super Duke R.

It’s not likely to be a mere copy of the KTM motor, either. KTM entered a joint venture with CFMoto to develop new models not long ago, so it’s the real deal.

Other details are largely restricted to what can be seen in the limited pictures released by the company. There’s a single-sided swingarm and an under-seat radiator. It’s fed, Benelli Tornado-style, by large scoops either side of the bike that duct air to the rad.

There are some elements that are clearly never going to reach production; the brake discs appear to be carbon fibre, for instance, and won’t be suitable for road use. But other parts – like the Brembo calipers and Ohlins suspension – are eminently viable and openly available.

Using European-made components like these would give the bike a credibility that’s lacking from most Chinese machines.

The frame is a part-steel-trellis, part-aluminium design, topped by styling that’s almost certainly from Kiska – also responsible for most KTM designs and for all CFMoto’s most recent production machines.