New, classic, Chinese, European, who are you CF MOTO 700CL-X - voila! vehicle

2023-03-13T06:12:01.214Z

Chinese motorcycle manufacturer CF MOTO also wants to take part in the scrambler game. She does this with the 700CL-X

The X motif is already in the headlight (photo: manufacturer's website)

Price:

NIS 49,000

We liked:

design, accessories, versatility, price

we didn't like:

engine, brakes, sound, fuel tank volume

Score:

8/10

Highway 6, winter and sunny morning, the cruise control works and I'm sailing south, Buacha Ben Shemen.

Down at the interchange, a short ride and the wheels meet the dirt road.

The continuation is natural towards the coffee stop in the field.

It may sound like a prelude to a test for an expensive and well-equipped adventure motorcycle, but in our case it is the CF Moto 700CL-X Heritage, a naked, scrambler-style motorcycle that comes to us straight from China.

The adventure motorcycle category has dominated the world motorcycle market for many years, but next to it another category has grown in which there is almost no manufacturer that is not represented in it - the heritage category.

The idea is to produce a modern motorcycle with the design of the pump from the 60s or 70s.

It can be a cafe racer, trekker or scrambler.

European manufacturers such as Ducati, BMW or Triumph were the first to jump on the bandwagon (some were even ahead of their time and after a break they returned to it once again), but the Japanese manufacturers were also not late to join and of course the Chinese won't miss an opportunity of such a trend either, and that's right The place to talk about the place that these manufacturers occupy for a long time.

How strong is the trend?

Even manufacturers without heritage release heritage versions... (photo: manufacturer's website)

Writing the history

In January 2007, Israel joined the Western world and changed the driving license levels for motorcycles and thus a new category was born in Israel, 125 cc motorcycles. Until then, the entry category in Israel was dominated by 50 cc scooters with a smoking two-stroke engine.

The welcome change led to a wave of new importers, equipped with the best Chinese products, some of the brands are better known, some less so.

But it was too early and too excessive.

The number of brands and motorcycles was large, the Chinese manufacturers were not mature enough to deal with the demands of the western rider and thus many young Israeli riders who renewed with a new 125 cc motorcycle had an unpleasant baptism of fire in the world of motorcycles, which usually ended with simple tools, with cheap assemblies and questionable reliability. My memories as a tester of those tools are not much better.

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No longer the poor Chinese products of 2007 (photo: manufacturer website)

A decade and a half have passed since then and I'm sitting in front of the 700CL-X Heritage in the Ben Shemen forest, with a cup of coffee, and enjoying what I see.

It has all the right ingredients to be a successful scrambler - the tail is chopped, the rear lighting unit fits perfectly, and so does the seat.

The lines flow towards the front, where the fuel tank is wrapped in the chassis, in front of an X-shaped headlight, to remind the model name, and the dashboard consists of a single unit reminiscent of the simple dashboards of 60 years ago.

The handlebar is wide, an additional X is embedded in its holder, the exhaust system goes under the engine with an exhaust that comes out next to it and Pirelli MT60 combat tires, complete the design that simply hits a pony.

A single indicator for the classic look (photo: manufacturer's website)

The quality of the materials and the assembly are equally impressive, and only if you look for the tassels, you see that there is still room for improvement, but the gap from the standard we would expect is not far from non-existent.

The assemblies are also good, with brakes made by the KYB company and although the brakes come from a lesser-known company called J.Juan, it is still a proper and established manufacturer originating in Spain and owned by the famous Brembo brake manufacturer.

In general, the motorcycle comes equipped with extras that are usually found in much more expensive motorcycles - for example, you can find two engine modes to choose from, cruise control, adjustable suspensions, a signal that cancels automatically, a limited slip clutch and more.

In this aspect, it is a motorcycle that offers much more than what is accepted in the category, by a considerable margin.

It's been a long time since those days in 2007 and a company like CF-Moto offers a wide range of motorcycles (and not just motorcycles) in a variety of displacements, including 800cc bikes based on KTM engines and there's even a 1,250cc touring bike on the way.

You can get off the asphalt, but be careful about the exhaust system (Photo: Eyal Farder)

multifunctional

The engine drive reveals a 693 cc two-cylinder engine, although the sounds are not really exciting, mainly due to the engine's firing order. While almost all manufacturers today turn to a two-cylinder engine configuration at the same time, the vast majority choose an asymmetric ignition order, which provides a much nicer engine sound, while our X is based mainly on Kawasaki's engine design, which can be found in the Versys or ER-6 models where the emphasis was on simplicity and reliability - not fun or desire. Driving around town is easy - the engine is pleasant, the seat is low and allows a rider with a height of less than 1.8 meters to reach the ground with two full feet, and the side angle is more than sufficient to get between the cars.

As soon as you start to increase the rpm, you discover a problem with the nature of the engine, which is characterized by a rather surprising power level, something that feels a bit like turbo-lag and can be annoying. Our test motorcycle comes with an engine limited to 47 hp and suitable for the A1 license category, while the engine itself can to deliver about 74 hp. My guess is that this electronic limitation affects the character of the engine considerably. However, the electric throttle is made by Bosch, one of the leaders in the field, so it is still puzzling. I would be happy to ride the same motorcycle with an unlimited engine and check the subject to confirm or disprove my hypothesis.

Light with good abilities on the winding road (photo: manufacturer's website)

When you continue on a winding road, you discover a fairly light motorcycle with the ability to change direction quickly.

The suspensions themselves are adjustable and make it possible to achieve a behavior that is certainly appropriate.

As a motorcycle that doesn't burn up winding roads, the X definitely managed to raise a smile.

A single disc in the front requires the activation of a little power in order to provide good braking power, but this is certainly acceptable, also out of design necessity.

When going out on the open road, as expected from a naked motorcycle with wide handlebars, it is better to maintain a reasonable speed since the rider is exposed to the wind and acts as a sail, but calibrating the cruise control eliminates worries and enables a calm and comfortable ride.

The seat was also a surprise and was quite pleasant during a continuous ride of about an hour.

The fuel tank was a little disappointing and already in the 100 km area it started indicating that it required refueling. We would have been happy with a much more respectable range.

The Chinese are closing the gap (photo: manufacturer's website)

Even in the X area it does not disappoint, as long as expectations are adjusted.

True, it is not a combat adventure motorcycle, and even the tested model has a more combat brother named 700CL-X Adventure, which is equipped with wheels more suitable for the terrain, than the ones cast here.

Despite this, riding on tight trails feels natural and not overly forced.

Even standing riding is possible and doesn't feel out of place.

Riding at high speed, however, or dealing with potholes or rocks, would be less suitable here.

Especially when you consider that the exhaust system goes through the bottom of the engine, so we wouldn't challenge it in the field too much.

Strictly follows the design rules - cropped tail and classic coloring (photo: manufacturer's website)

The bottom line

From the meeting at the dealership, through several days of riding, the 700CL-X Heritage proved to us what we knew all along.

Once the Chinese roll up their sleeves and decide to establish themselves in the Western markets as well, it is only a matter of decision until they can look at the West at eye level.

Nevertheless, this is a nation that has the capabilities to build stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and spaceships.

True, there is still some work to be done, but this is a well-equipped motorcycle, with versatile dynamic ability, a classic design that has been struck on the right chords.

And in the end, at a price of NIS 49,000, this is a motorcycle that is nearly NIS 10,000 cheaper than its Japanese counterpart.

Engine from Japan, design from Europe and production in China - Global Motorcycle (photo: manufacturer's website)