Pics by Stefan van der Riet
When CFMOTO launched their bikes to the media and dealers more than a year ago, we got to take a very short spin on the retro CLX700. At the time we were impressed around the short FK track just outside Benoni. Back then, we said we’d like to ride it again. Well, we have and it’s a lot of fun.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder:
While some of our mates might disagree, we really enjoy this bikes styling and the – shall we say – flash colour scheme. It works. The little carbon fibre touches just add to the overall Retro appeal. We enjoy the Cafe’ racer styling and overall layout, we love the look of the exhaust, the clubman bars and the bar-end mirrors.
Even the round speedometer display is seriously cool!
CFMOTO describes it as “Neo-retro sport style.” Noice!
The partnership with Kiska (the guys who are responsible for many KTM designs), paid dividends with this one. The overall finish is very distinctive and – well we love that!
Looks are one thing, but how’s the comfort?
In the bad old days, Clubman bars were associated with a crouchy, sporty ride. These ones are a bit sporty, but they match the rest of the bikes laid-back styling. The seat is well designed, the tank slots neatly and the relation from feet to bum to the rest is all well thought out for those long rides. Think sporty comfortable.
We love all of the little touches like the self-canceling indicator switch, the adjustable clutch and brake levers and the cleated footpegs with removable rubber inserts.
We took a 200KM flip on the weekend that we had the bike with no complaints. Deon, who rides a Honda NC 750X took a ride all around Pretoria to visit customers and he came back smiling. “Even in this heatwave in stop and go traffic, I didn’t notice any untowards heat…”
Performance: R T B M
The CLX is Powered by a liquid-cooled, double-overhead-cam, parallel-twin, 693 cc engine that churns out a claimed 74 horsepower at 8,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a chain final drive through a slipper clutch.
And it comes with rider modes.
One of our riders forgot that there are rider modes on this bike. After his initial ride out to the Cullinan area, he was slightly concerned about the lack of power delivery. Upon closer inspection a magic button was discovered on the left handlebar:
Ummm Read The Blimmin Manual!
It was a huge change. In Eco mode the little 700 feels wheezy and a bit anaemic. Toggling the switch turned it into a really fun little bike to ride, easily jetting up to the 160Kph mark.
Just because we are like children often, we’d hold the throttle steady and flick between Eco and Sports modes just to remind ourselves to pay a bit more attention next time.
The engine is pretty chilled until you hit somewhere around the 4000RPM mark, then it seems to suck down an energy drink and give you a little shove to get going.
The CLX changes direction well, tips in nicely and holds a good line. The Maxxis tyres are a good choice. A cool feature is the adjustable KYB 41 suspension. On this bike it feels great – and even a little foray down a gravel road to visit a farmer buddy didn’t phase her one bit. The bike feels planted in the corners and stable under braking in order to dodge some of the nasty potholes that have appeared on the road out to Bapsfontein.
Speaking of brakes, CFMOTO has fitted the 700CL-X Sport with some quality components, and one of those is the Brembo Stylema brake system with braided brake lines and dual discs up front. A great touch! Oh yes! The ABS is faultless.
Did we mention cruise control?
Yup, it’s got that too, along with the ability to connect to CFMOTO’s Ride App which gives the rider everything from navigational information to riding records to diagnostics. Self Check is a cool systems scan of your motorcycle that can run diagnostics and provide further insight or details about your bike.
My Ride shows details of every ride: Total distance, top speed, acceleration, cornering stats, and braking data. Another feature is something called Vehicle Seek, an anti-theft feature that locates your vehicle in the event it gets stolen.
The LED headlight of 700CL-X SPORT is self-adaptive, automatically turning on or off according to the ambient brightness.
Cool huh!
What would we like?
Well, that pipe is a fantastic thing to behold, but we all reckon that a bike like this could/should make a bit more noise. A slip-on would be a marvelous addition, but we’d like to find one that looks just like the stock unit.
Other than that?
Nothing really, this little bike is light, agile, has a quality feel to it and is just so much fun to ride. Did we mention good looking?
Go and ride one. At the price point of R150,900, you’ll find out for yourself that this little head turner is a lot of motorcycle for your hard earned loot.
