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With Chinese cars now a regular sight on our roads it was only a matter of time motorcycles followed, case in point the new 650NK from CF Moto.

Actually that’s not quite right. Various importers have been bringing in container loads of Chinese-made scooters and 250cc-and-under motorcycles for years. CF Moto’s 650NK is the first ‘‘large’’ (over 250cc) capacity two-wheeler to be landed here by one of the major importers. That company is Salero Holdings, a division of the Ian Beckhaus-owned conglomerate which also brings in Triumph, Aprilia, MotoGuzzi, MV Agusta and Husqvarna motorcycles, and the various Piaggo-manufactured (Vespa etc) scooters. Thus far the company has appointed two CF Moto dealers – Scooterazzi in Wellington and Street & Sport in Christchurch – with more set to come on stream this year.

It’s not every day, after all, that you are offered the opportunity to retail a full-size (full-power or LAMS) 650cc twin for just $7990 . . . And interest from dealers, apparently, is keen. By way of comparison, Kawasaki’s current ER-6 (on which more a little later) has a recommended retail price of $9995. It’s easy, of course, to be snooty about cheap-and-cheerful newcomers to an established market. I know, I was dismissive of the first Hyosung two-wheelers to arrive here . . . yet the Korean company’s solid, reliable little V-twins have sold in their hundreds here.

So what’s my take on the 650NK, a bike which, looks, goes and feels so much like a seven or eight-year-old Kawasaki ER-6 it could just as easily be one built under licence?

The key here is that you are getting what you pay for.