CF Moto 650 GT The biggest CF Moto offering, the twincylinder Grand Tourer, comes to town
The mid-size tourer has been on the top of most people’s lists for the last few years. this isn’t a bad thing, for travelling on a two-wheeler is often the most exhilarating experience we humans could have. in india, when opting for one, though, a problem of choice arises. You have the bigger beemers, triumphs, and Ktms with their 800-cc and 1,200-cc motorcycles. You also have the less expensive and more roadbiased touring friendly 650s and 500s from Kawasaki, suzuki, and benelli. now, however, there is a new player that has just entered india. the name? Well, Cf moto.
the Chinese motorcycle company launched in the country in 2019 with four models: a 300 and three 650s. We rode the Cf moto 650Gt recently and have mixed feeling about the whole escapade. Let’s break this down. design-wise, perception is the keyword. the Cf moto 650Gt has a big bulky front end and a very slim rear end. this starts with Led lights upfront, which look fairly nice and are fairly bright at night. above that, you find a large adjustable windscreen that keeps almost everything of your torso but not above the neck where turbulent air is met. behind that is a fairly nice instrument cluster, which is decently visible from even the odd angle and in bright sunlight too. We see a pompous tank followed by the seats that may feel a little stiff initially but are comfortable. handrails and a narrow tail-tidy make up the rest of the motorcycle’s silhouette.
the bike isn’t bad-looking by any means and follows the general norm of today’s grand tourers. it is heavy, though, with a curb weight of 226 kg, especially in the 650-cc segment. however, once in motion, the Cf moto Gt
650 felt like it had lost a little weight and handled fairly decently. the engine we get is a 649.3-cc liquid-cooled in-line twin unit that churns out 62 hp and 58.5 nm of torque and it does make the 650Gt quite quick. however, most of the power comes in later in the rev-range. transmission is handled via a six-speed gearbox that felt fine and i did not have any complaints there. We did see a slightly heavy clutch compared to the other motorcycles in the segment, but nothing to worry about. the gear lever on my motorcycle was set higher than i am used to, but there weren’t any complaints about throw or false neutrals.
at the front, we see the 650Gt running a KYb 38-mm fork and a monoshock at the rear with preload-adjustable leeway. the suspension set-up was not at its best for the bike we got as the front did seem to feel quite stiff and the rear too soft. this softness can be felt on bad roads as the bike seemed to adopt a continuous bounce. hence, a little adjustment looked on the cards. however, on smooth roads, the Cf moto 650Gt handles pretty well. it is by no means the sharpest or most exhilarating but gets the job done without a fuss. even with all that weight, the motorcycle seemed to move through traffic with ease.
better yet was the braking ability the Cf moto 650Gt boasts of and, yes, these are quite good. these Chinese made J Juan callipers in front had the rear wheel even lifted a bit on hard braking. however, similar to the
The CF Moto 650GT is indeed a decent motorcycle for the country
clutch, the lever is a bit on the heavier side, giving good feedback via a meaty squeeze. the rear brake unit feels a fair bit sharper in the initial stage than the front, which should make the most rear-brake happy souls in the country happy, especially during the rainy season.
feature-wise, the Cf moto 650Gt comes with a 12V power socket and a usb socket, the regular law-abiding abs, and the colourful five-inch tft display which we spoke about above. the bike sports two modes as well: touring and sport. however, these are gimmicky and the only change would be seen in the layout of the display console. both displays, other than being bright, are also easy to read, sporting all relevant information one would need.
the Cf moto 650Gt is indeed a decent motorcycle for the country. Yes, it is heavy, but is manoeuvrable when in the saddle. its physical size is small; hence, traffic does not cause too many issues. the motor is powerful and friendly, sporting good brakes and decent handling. however, there are a few problems. these would be in the after-sales service and price. the price for the 650Gt is rs 5.5 lakh (exshowroom). this puts it in direct competition with the Kawasaki ninja 650 and Versys and suzuki’s V-strom. the Japanese aren’t lightweights, understandably so. to be honest, Cf moto could have priced this motorcycle lower than those time and tested Japanese names to truly compete in the country. the low price may seem harsh, but, when you are competing against the well-known Japanese and also the much loved yet different styled royal enfields at the other end, pricing plays an important role. Cf moto have been given a thinker, the bike is decently good, but selling well and lasting in the indian market has never been easy-peasy.