CFMoto’s first fully faired sports bike is billed as a city commuter by the weekday and a corner carver on the weekend. See our CFMoto 300SR video review here:
What we like:
• Well priced
• Light weight
• Cool looks
Room for improvement:
• Oddly worded decals
• Would love a little more power
CFMoto has again indicated it is very serious about making a mark in the Australian bike market, by expanding categories yet again. Indeed, the 300SR represents the brand’s first step into the fully faired sports bike arena. It comes as part of a range of models that are already under the brand’s banner locally with more rumoured to come.
The 300SR styling is up to date and sophisticated and appointments pretty remarkable at the rideaway price of $5790.
Included at that price are full ABS, ride modes for Rain and Sport, full colour TFT screen and smartphone connectivity. Buyers that get in quick will get an extra bling kit that includes:
• Adjustable alloy lever set;
• Sports alloy lever guards/protectors;
• Left and right alloy footrest assemblies, including alloy brake and gear lever;
• Alloy fuel tank filler surround and fuel cap; and
• Alloy upper triple clamp dress-up bolt.
Build quality looks pretty good, certainly representing a step up from some earlier efforts from the price conscious CFMOTO brand. It teamed up with KTM a couple of years ago and I reckon that has seen a big lift in componentry quality and brand reach. Good news there.
While the 21.4kW at 8750rpm is hardly going to set your heart racing on paper, it’s the light weight of this thing that got my attention. At 165kg wet, it’s delightfully easy to flick through tight stuff, with corner speeds possible that might put a few bigger bikes to shame.
Small capacity bikes are a bit of a favourite of mine. They make you a better rider, demanding good line selection and intelligent inputs from the helm. That all adds up to fun for mine and that’s the main word here.
The 300SR is fun.
To that end, I can’t help feeling that the game has changed for CFMoto. The cheap and cheerful tag might still apply to some extent, but there is no doubt that we are looking at higher quality kit than in the past. We’ll be watching and reporting on CFMoto’s progress with great interest.
Snag’s career in motoring journalism spans 29 years with stints at major bike mags Australian Road Rider, Motorcycle Trader and AMCN along with contributions to just about every other outlet worth a hill of beans. He was editor of Unique Cars magazine and hosts his legendary podcast ‘Snag Says’ when he gets off his date.
