Right at the end of the year, another CFMOTO proposal arrived. The much-anticipated 450NK takes its aesthetic influence from the irreverent and fun 800NK (which we tested in August), but with a powertrain and cycling system very similar to that of the sporty 450SR, which we’ve also tested twice here in the magazine, most recently in November. We went to the land of the soft eggs to find out if this 450NK lives up to everything that was expected of it.
2023 was an excellent year for CFMOTO, not only globally with the presentation of new products that are already making headlines, but also in Portugal with sales figures placing the brand among several established manufacturers with many more years on the market. Having good bikes helps a lot, but so does a good dealer network and the Multimoto group behind it, which through a very young and irreverent marketing team has taken the brand to excellent heights – on social media for example – but also in the beautiful presentations where we have already been present. Now, let’s talk about the 450NK that we went to Aveiro to see!
TRANSALPINE AESTHETICS
The NK concept is based on light and agile models with energetic engines for strong emotions. The first generation appeared a few years ago and in our country the 300 NK and 650NK models were a hit. The second generation is made up of the 800NK and this 450NK, with obvious aesthetic differences. The models launched this year have already had the aesthetic hand of the Italian design office Modena 40, and as we all know, the Italians aren’t exactly bad at designing vehicles… Aesthetics go hand in hand with a high quality of components and construction. The brand’s target audience is young people aged 20-25 (just to contradict the title of this article), i.e. newcomers to two wheels with an A2 license who want to have fun and evolve in this fantastic world.
MUSCLE AND AGILITY
In technical terms, this bike isn’t much different from the sporty 450SR, and starting with the cycling, we find a tubular frame made of high-strength aluminum alloy. It weighs less than 11 kg, with the subframe weighing less than 4 kg for a running weight of around 173 kg. The seat is 795 mm from the ground and the fuel tank holds 14 liters of petrol. Technologically, the 5-inch TFT display shows off the fact that you can choose between two different backgrounds, as well as smartphone connectivity and Tbox, a system for sharing information about the bike or the route with other users. And of course, there’s plenty of information on the on-board computer, although it takes a few minutes to fully get used to the instrumentation and the way you navigate through it with the controls.
Suspension features an inverted unit at the front and a rear monoshock with a connecting rod link to the swingarm and adjustable spring preload and extension. In terms of braking, this NK has a disc on each axle with J.Juan components, the front set consisting of a large 320 mm disc and a 4-piston radial caliper, with a dual-channel ABS system. As for the ground connection, it’s made with CST tires that we already knew from the 450SR.
As far as the engine is concerned, we’re talking about a parallel twin-cylinder which, in terms of power, is below the 35Kw required to qualify for the A2 license. The 34.5 Kw (obtained at 10,000 rpm) means around 46.9 hp and the maximum torque is 39.3 Nm at 7,750 rpm. It has a double balance shaft, slipper clutch, traction control, and the 270º crankshaft helps it sound fantastic, naturally aided by an exhaust that fortunately doesn’t sound (at all) muffled. According to the brand, these figures are enough for this NK to reach 178 km/h and guarantee acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. The specifications are similar to those of the sports car, right down to the gear ratios and final drive, but the brand says that adjustments have been made to the electronics so that the NK reacts better at low and medium speeds.
ON THE ROAD
The day dawned cold, very cold in the Costa Nova area of Aveiro, but I managed to get to the motorcycle area early enough to choose my favorite decoration, the white and blue one. Personally, I think it’s a beautiful bike, perhaps the sporty naked for A2 licenses that I like the most, and I adapt quickly to the controls. The riding position is spacious for riders of various statures, the legs aren’t bent too much and the handlebars are just the right width. The instrumentation is very pleasant to read and when we started the engine we remembered the good times we had with the SR, because the sound is the same and really remarkable, sounding like a motorcycle with a much higher displacement. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing: the bike was practically out of the box, the tires (almost slick) still had “gum” on them, the temperature was very low and as soon as we hit the bends we were treated to wet pavement until lunchtime. In these conditions we were able to see how the engine fits perfectly into this model, being very lively at all engine speeds and always with character. We can run in sixth gear from 75 km/h (around 4,000 rpm), but we usually choose to shift down one or two gears to favor the medium and high revs of this two-cylinder. As this is an almost virgin set in terms of kilometers, the suspensions also seemed too hard, but we needed to drive this NK dry, which we did in the afternoon.
BETTER
We didn’t have any problems on the wet road, but you could say that everything improved on the dry asphalt. The tires warmed up, the suspensions started to “work” better, we could see that the braking was also at a good level, and we were able to take advantage of the fun engine on a very twisty road, where the NK’s agility was also put to the test. It just seemed to us that the consumption (on the instrumentation) of around 5.1 l/100 km is a little high, something we had already noticed in the SR, although we haven’t yet measured the actual consumption at the pump. Maybe next time. Among the things to improve, I think it would be possible to design a softer, more comfortable passenger seat, while the feel of the throttle is slightly abrupt, something we’ve been warning about almost every time we ride a CFMOTO. But all in all, this really is a well-balanced and fun bike, with an incredible sound and one of the best proposals in the segment. I’m left with just one doubt, a good one in fact: I don’t know which I’d choose between the sporty 450SR and this naked 450NK!