Page 19 - LHR Motorcycle Magazine August 2024

2024 CFMoto 800NK Advanced review | The amazing

value Chinese-built naked middleweight

There is a definite feeling that CFMoto are gathering The ABS, however, does feel a generation behind the
momentum and the 800NK Advanced is a very latest angle-responsive systems in how it reacts and it
impressive middleweight naked motorbike. Far from is odd that the CFMoto lacks traction control. Does it
just a re-badged 790 Duke, the NK is a distinct model need it? Nowadays you would tend to say yes and it is
with its own styling and also slightly more relaxed a shame that this is the one area the CFMoto feels
character than the KTM. behind the game. Time to pop over into the KTM
department and pinch the 790 Duke’s IMU and ABS
and TC algorithms...

Considering its price tag the level of spec is
remarkable and while its a shame they haven’t
pinched KTM’s angle-responsive TC and ABS data The riding position is traditional naked bike with a
and hardware, that’s a fairly small omission on an welcome sway towards comfort – unless you are a
otherwise hard to fault product. Could it be the bike pillion! That pillion seat isn’t very spacious or
that springboards CFMoto into the mainstream? That comfortable...
depends on the dealer network but if you are
comparing like-for-like, and ignoring the name on the
tank, it’s a very tempting sporty middleweight.

Ride quality & brakes
Despite its fairly wild styling, CFMoto have resisted
making the 800NK too sporty and its suspension,
which has a degree of adjustability (although
accessing the fork tops is tricky as they are tucked
away behind plastic shrouds), sits in a nice place
between firmness for sporty riding and give for
comfort. You can certainly still push-on and the NK
responds well, turning with all the agility of a sporty
naked bike such as the 790 Duke, but it never feels
compromised or overly harsh.

Engine

The 800NK’s engine is effectively a re-worked 790
parallel twin, not an 890 with a reduced capacity, and
is mechanically exactly the same unit as used in the
KTM 790 Duke model. The fact it is an older first-
generation engine is beside the point as it has been
reworked internally and feels much more refined than
it did when KTM launched it in 2018.

CFMoto 800NK