30 Years and Counting: CFMoto's Latest Birthday Gift... to itself

A few months ago, we wrote about the upcoming CFMoto 700 CL-X – a 700cc, café racer/scrambler vibing twin cylinder motorcycle from Chinese manufacturer CFMoto. When we wrote that piece, the bike had gone from concept/prototype to full on 2020 model, with some international dealers already taking orders. A few days ago, CFMoto Philippines finally unveiled the bike in its full glory through a digital launch on Facebook.

Since all the details of the bike, including the price, are in the video, we won’t touch on those details anymore. Instead, let’s focus on the bike itself.

Clearly, CFMoto had a certain Italian motorcycle in the crosshairs with this bike. The CL-X is, by every measure, every bit the bike as its Italian rival, just without the price tag.

From the video, the riding position isn’t like a sport bike, or a cruiser. Since it’s a naked bike, you sit upright, if a little hunched over for those with shorter arms. What this means is that you have total control over the bike’s behavior, being agile enough, despite it’s nearly 200kg curb weight, to really lean into turns, but relaxing enough to take it slow when you’ve proven your point to the scooter-bound Grab and Foodpanda riders. Of course, this can either be confirmed or debunked if, or when, I get to throw a leg over the bike.

Being honest, a company like CFMoto doesn’t have enough heritage to evoke a sense of passion in their customers. Yes, they've been around for 30 years (the 700 CL-X was the brand's gift to itself for their 30th anniversary, celebrated in 2019), but that still pales in comparison to the century old Ducati and Harley Davidson, and with brands like Honda establishing themselves well into the 70 year mark, it was never going to be easy being the new boy. Avid riders know that, if they had to choose, they’d choose a Ducati, a Honda, or a Harley Davidson. It’s not just because those bikes are good – of course, they’re well proven bikes with a huge R&D department behind their quality and refinement – it’s because owning those bikes makes them part of the history. They buy those brands because of the connection to a shared history of company, and rider, and a company like CFMoto just doesn’t have that yet.

But that’s not a bad thing, though. You see, this is an interesting time for a company like CFMoto. Gone are the days that Chinese motorcycles looked like poorly built, offhand copies of the Asian scooter. Companies like CFMoto are leading the charge for Chinese bikes to not only look good (and indeed they do, or at least the CL-X does), but to perform well too, not just in the conventional parameters (speed, handling, braking, etc) but even longevity and durability. Let’s face it – there’s no point buying a motorcycle if it’s going to break on you in a year’s time, right? So right now, we’re at the part of the book that says Chapter 1.

Some might say that Chapter 1 should be CFMoto’s first bikes, and they have a point – you can’t get to where you are, without starting from where you were. But that’s more of a prologue instead of a Chapter 1. You see, CFMoto’s past is so far removed from their present, that you can start from where they are now, and see a good, quality motorcycle. But if you start from the beginning, you’ll see a company that started pretty well in the UTV segment, then shifted to the motorcycle segment with not a lot of success, until the release of their NK and MT lineup a few years ago. At that point, you’d think that a company like CFMoto has the right stuff to be a real contender on the world stage, and I’d agree.

The only reason now that you’d pass on the CL-X and buy one of the rivals is because you don’t want a Chinese bike, and there's nothing wrong with that. We all have our personal preferences. But as a first time rider, you wouldn’t be able to tell which would be more reliable, faster, nicer feeling, or any other parameter. All you’d know is that one was from Brand X, and the other from Brand A. For many new riders, especially ones not exposed to the prejudices and preconceptions of motorcycle cliques, a bike made cheaply by a Chinese company is no different from a bike cheaply made by an Italian one.

So sure, get the other bike. You’d be part of a long, illustrious history filled with multiple race wins and limitless numbers of rider stories. It’s a great experience and really it’s why many became riders in the first place.

Or, maybe, just maybe, you want to get this bike, and in doing so, you’d be helping make history. Because if history's taught us anything, it's that the only constant is change. And this year, the winds of change seem to be blowing from the East.