CF MOTO 300SR (2021 - on) Review

The SR shares its chassis (and engine) with the 300NK, a sharp-looking naked with more than a hint of KTM 390 Duke. Similarities between CFMOTO and KTM are no surprise: as well as sharing the design agency, the Chinese and Austrian brands have a partnership called CFMOTO-KTM2R2 that has assembled and distributed small-capacity Dukes in China since 2014.

The bed-sharing duo have a new Chinese factory that will build all KTM’s parallel twins as well (and CFMOTO are also using them in their own bikes, as well as having rights to KTM’s old 990cc LC8 V-twin).

• Related: KTM-powered CFMOTO 800MT revealed

All this corporate hand-holding and cross-brand experience explains the steel trellis frame and swingarm shape on the 300SR. It also explains the nose-down stance and the bit-like-an-RC390 feel of its riding position and controls.

Quality of the 37mm upside-down forks and rear monoshock is adequate rather than good. The chassis can get a bit skittish and unsettled while rattling briskly down tight backlanes, though if anything this liveliness adds to the sensations and sense of speed. With thin tyres and low weight, it’s a bike that encourages the old-school pursuit of momentum and corner speed.

And on a suitably tangled road you feel like you’re extracting all the SR can give, both in terms of handling and engine performance, without really troubling the national speed limit. Or not by much. It isn’t so small that I feel ludicrous at over six foot tall, either.

Pity the Hangte front brake is lacking. Despite boasting ABS made by Continental, the radial grabber hasn’t much bite and fades worryingly with repeated hard use.

The SR is knocked out in China but pushed along by Japanese engineering. CFMOTO were the first Chinese firm with a 'big' bike, launching a 650 parallel twin almost a decade ago that was based on Kawasaki’s ER-6. And with measurements of 78 x 62.1mm giving 292cc, I’ll eat my sweaty Gaerne boots if the SR’s single-cylinder engine isn’t derived from the Kawasaki KLX300.

With 28bhp at 8750rpm the motor is ten horses down on Yamaha’s 321cc R3 and hasn’t the oomph of the benchmark twin. But this doesn’t stop the 300SR from being entertaining. It zings cheerfully to 10,000rpm and romps through its reasonably slick six-speed gearbox, and with such low mass to hurl around (just 160kg wet) and fabulous narrow-tyred agility you’re encouraged to thrash it relentlessly down flick-flacking B-roads.

It’s geared for 100mph at the 10,000rpm redline, though realistic top speed is nearer 90mph; imagine a derestricted 125 from the 1990s and you’re about there. Despite all the caning it’s efficient too, easily giving 80mpg.

Fuelling isn’t too crisp either. Nothing occurs for the first bit of twistgrip travel before a definite off-on step, and occasionally our test bike sat at 3000rpm for a few seconds when you came to stop.

Quality is good given the four-grand asking. Clearly, we’re not talking hand-milled unobtainium and MotoGP-spec components, but the overall fit and level of finish is perfectly fine. Other than the usual thing of cheap fasteners and thin plating that’ll need a layer of protective gloop for winter, there’s nothing that suggests the 300SR will disassemble itself. The engines in the firm’s other bikes are usually robust.

• Related: CFMOTO launch four-year warranty across 2021 models

There’s one bloated bluebottle paddling in the ointment, though. The gear indicator and rev counter are half a second behind what’s going on. It’s not much but enough to become annoying – and once you’ve noticed you can’t then un-notice.

Keenly priced? Yes. The CFMOTO is £3999 on the road, undercutting KTM’s RC390 by £1300 and saving you £1650 over Yamaha’s R3. These more expensive rivals are faster and better quality, especially the Yamaha, but a grand-and-a-half-saving is significant if you’re a youngster of limited means – especially as the 300SR also has Bluetooth connectivity and other attention-grabbing niceties.

CFMOTO’s problem is that once you’ve accepted the Chinese bike route there are other bikes to draw your eye. Lexmoto outsell the likes of Ducati and Royal Enfield in the UK, and their LXR380 sports bike has more power and torque from its twin-cylinder 378cc engine, adjustable suspension and twin front disks, yet undercuts the 300SR by 300 quid.

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Watch MCN's video verdict on the rival Yamaha R3 below:

Colour TFT display with phone connectivity, two riding modes (each with its own dash layout), look-at-me daytime running lights, ECU and fuel injection by Bosch, anti-skid brakes, LEDs for all the lights... yes, it’s an eye-catching level of equipment.

Given the attention from nippers in our village the 300 is something of a looker as well. There’s also an even tastier sparkly blue version – with Bosch, Total and NGK 'sponsor' stickers it looks like a scaled-down Suzuki MotoGP bike (if you squint, at dusk, after five pints of Basher’s Old Piddler).