When the CFMoto 675SR-S midsize sportsbike is launched this year the Chinese company will take another big step towards its goal of rivalling the big Japanese and European bike manufacturers with a machine to compete in the middleweight race-replica class.
This model has been something of an open secret for more than a year now as we first saw patents for CFMoto’s triple in early 2023. Then in September last year a disguised prototype 675SR-S was demonstrated at a track in China before the engine was revealed at the huge EICMA show in Milan.
Now a complete, undisguised bike has been unveiled, but in Aspar race-replica colours and with some bolt-on race components to differentiate it from the full production model that will be shown later this year.
CFMoto has said that the 675cc triple puts out more than 75kW (100hp) at 12,300rpm and weighs around 10 percent less than comparable engines at 55kg.
The new images confirm for the first time the 675SR-S sportsbike it’s designed for will have an aluminium frame with a cast-alloy swingarm pivot section welded to extruded main spars.
While a disguised prototype has been seen already, it was covered in a shrink-wrapped camouflage layer that hid all the bodywork details and the chassis. We can now see new elements, including the vents in the fairing sides, and CFMoto has bolted on additional winglets that weren’t there on the earlier test mule.
The headlights, which were hidden on the previous prototype, feature the same signature CFMoto style as the 450SR and 300SR models, but with a slimmer overall profile. The main visible elements are actually LED running lights, and it looks like the main headlamps are just below them.
A typical TFT screen faces the rider. No doubt it will include all the usual connectivity functions.
The fork appears to be a fully-adjustable KYB unit, similar to that on the 800NK, with compression adjustment on the left leg and rebound adjustment on the right.
The brakes are four-pot radial calipers from J.Juan and retain the cooling ducts first seen on last year’s prototype.
The seat unit is intriguing as it looks like it’s self-supporting rather than having a subframe underneath. Given CFMoto’s close relationship with KTM, it’s possible the bike uses a lightweight cast-alloy seat unit – something that the Austrian company employs on several of its models to reduce weight.
The paint on this one-off, as well as its race-spec rearsets and foot controls, is a tribute to the CFMoto-sponsored Aspar Moto2 and Moto3 bikes, but the production version may well have similar colours as the combination of teal, black and white is a CFMoto favourite already used on several existing models.
WORDS: BEN PURVIS
