CFMOTO 700 CL-X Sport Review

Motorcycle Test by Wayne Vickers – Images RbMotoLens

Two blokes within ten minutes stopped and asked us about the bike when we were shooting the pics. “What is that mate? It looks awesome, is it a custom?” Both were amazed when I told them it was a production bike. Then positively gobsmacked when I told them it was by CFMOTO – a Chinese brand. Both guys owned Ducatis. One hung around poring over the bike and asking questions for another 10 minutes. He has a Paul Smart in the shed. If you reckon Chinese bikes aren’t there yet from a design or build level point of view – I’m telling you that you need a rethink. They look pretty bloody good in the metal. Feel solid on the go too…

Mechanically it’s basically the same as the 700 CLX Heritage I reviewed not long back. The CL stands for Classic I’m told, and the X represents infinite possibilities. The marketing book says they’re going for a neo retro cafe racer vibe. Which, while being a bit of a mouthful, sums up the look quite nicely.

It has the same engine and driveline as the Heritage model, with different styling, clip-ons and brakes etc. This is the sportier version. Hence, well… being called Sport. Thanks captain obvious. Twin discs up front versus a single on the Heritage, it also has a slightly more aggressive ride position and a firmer, flatter seat. Supposedly it has a pillion seat, but not really one that’s usable for any human I know… It’d work ok as a spot to stick a tail bag though I guess. If that’s your thing.

Now I really enjoyed the Heritage variant during the time I had it, it had a lot of character on the road. So I was looking forward to getting to know the Sport. Despite sharing so much mechanically, I can tell you that they do feel quite distinctly different.

Going back to styling. The partnership with Kiska (the guys who do KTMs styling), is obviously paying dividends. There are angles where this thing looks seriously good – hence the admirers mentioned in the opening paragraph. And lots of genuinely nice details. The whole seat and tail unit in particular is beautifully executed. As an overall package it really is quite distinctly unique – which is not an easy ask. Material choice is solid and finishes look excellent. Even the faux carbon finish looks good I reckon. It’s clearly not carbon. It’s sort of not even pretending to be. But the Matt-satin finish seems to suit the bike perfectly along with some nice alloy accents here and there. The headlight looks ace on this variant too and throws out some good light too. It’s not just for looks.

It shares the same dash as the Heritage, and it’s a nice enough design that works – so no issues there really other than the fuel gauge sneaks up on you a bit as it gets towards empty. The same switch-gear adorns both models. Like the heritage I found some of the controls a bit devoid of feedback; And I somehow kept tagging the horn unexpectedly with my thumb. Often it was after using the cruise control, when in the process of repositioning my hand on the grip. Though that’s where the cockpit similarities come to and end.

Where the Heritage has a more upright sweeping bar setup and high mirrors, the Sport opts for clip ons and bar end mirrors. Those mirrors seem to work ok too surprisingly – they aren’t big, but they do get the job done. The ride position as a result of the clipons being noticeably lower is sportier without extreme. Bearing in mind that the pegs remain in the same location on both variants. The seat is 5mm lower at 795 mm which means standover is more than comfortable and in town manoeuvrability is excellent.

Did I mention the brakes are Brembos? Oh yeah – that’s definitely a thing. Stylemas no less. And they work just fine. As does the ABS. And the slipper clutch.

I found that the exhaust note on this bike seemed a little quieter than the Heritage – though it looks to me to have the same set-up. Maybe I just wanted it to be a bit rortier.

The seat is noticeably flatter and immediately gives it more of a cafe racer vibe. On the go, that firmer seat certainly transfers more information to your freckle than what is soaked up on the Heritage. It really is quite firm. Not the bike to travel around Australia on then probably. I was looking for a rest and stretch after only an hour and a half. I did notice that there’s a ‘high rider’ seat as an optional accessory – could be worth a look.

The KYB 150 mm suspension at both ends are slightly underdone. While being fully-adjustable up front ,and adjustable for preload and comp out back, they don’t quite offer the rebound control I’d like – though it’s not nearly as bad as a certain red naked bike I rode recently that costs almost twice what this does. So take that into context. I played with the clickers a bit but didn’t find a setting that was noticeably better than standard.

As far as handling goes, on a reasonably smooth road it changes direction well, tips in nicely and holds a good line. The Maxxis MA ST2s offering good feedback and feel. Big bumps did unsettle it, but not in an unexpectedly bad way.

Where I did run into a challenge was when pushing harder and trying to lay some black lines down. The power delivery is a bit of a head scratcher. While it might ‘only’ put out 73 horsepower, the way it kicks in from around 4 grand really takes some getting used to if you’re trying to hustle along. There’s a noticeable step up in out-put and much like VTEC being polarising for riders, you’re probably either going to really dig it or find it unsettling.

Whereas I found that kick a bit of fun on the Heritage, I found it distracting on the Sport because I wanted to ride it faster. And for me, faster needs to be smooth. I don’t think it ever unsettled the bike – but I’d much rather the aggressive delivery was tuned in a way so you can open the taps more progressively. I suggested as such in the Heritage review, but the sport would benefit from something like a Power Commander or a retune even more than the Heritage. In doing so you’d fix what is really the only major gripe I have with the bike. And you’d do it for not much money I’d expect…

Speaking of money. This is where it ramps up another notch in the ratings stakes. Because at just on ten and a half grand it represents amazing value. You’re starting to get up towards Triumph Trident territory in terms of money (they’re a bit over 12 big ones), and they’re an incredible bike for the coin. But remember that the Trident is a LAMS bike in Australia and as such is limited to the 53 hp version. This CFMOTO jigger has almost half as much power again… and with a tune… could represent the bargain buy of the year. And then you could throw on a nice conical muffler and liberate some more sound. And throw some proper sticky tyres at it…

Why I like the CFMOTO 700 CL-X Sport…

• Value, value, value
• Styling is very nicely executed
• Such a great base that could be even better with a few tweaks…

I’d like the CFMOTO 700 CL-X Sport more if…

• That power delivery was ironed out a bit. Then it could be punted hard
• The suspension could be improved slightly

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CFMOTO 700 CL-X Sport Specifications

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Source: MCNews.com.au