While China’s motorcycle industry is still eyed with a certain level of suspicion it’s increasing difficult not to be impressed by the bikes that are emerging from the country. CFMOTO is without doubt the leading light and having already surprised the world with its three-cylinder 675SR-R and 675NK models it’s on the verge of launching this four-cylinder 750cc sports bike.
Codenamed simply CF750-2, suggesting there’s at least one more variant in the works as well, the bike is sure to be called the 750SR or 750SR-R when it reaches production, and like the other models in CFMOTO’s sports bike range it’s near-certain to spawn a ‘750NK’ naked variant as well. The bike has appeared for the first time ahead of its official launch in Chinese type-approval documents, which also reveal key technical details about the machine.
The engine is codenamed ‘472MV’ on the documents, and under the usual naming rules for Chinese engines that means it’s a four cylinder, denoted by the initial ‘4’, with a bore of 72mm for each cylinder. It’s also given an exact capacity of 749cc. We can work out from those figures that the stroke must be 46mm, giving it internal dimensions on a par with the several generations of Suzuki GSX-R750, which had a 72mm x 46mm bore and stroke from the 1996 ‘SRAD’ model all the way through until 2006, when it switched to a longer-stroke, smaller-bore design. Yamaha’s YZF-750 and YZF-R7 models also used 72mm x 46mm, and CFMOTO’s existing 675cc triple engine is based around the same 72mm bore but allied to a longer 55.2mm stroke, suggesting that the new four-cylinder engine could be closely related to CFMOTO’s triple. If that’s the case, it will be easy for the company to adopt the longer 55.2mm stroke to create an 899cc four as well.
In the 749cc form seen initially, the new four-cylinder puts out 82kW, according to the type-approval – a fairly modest figure for its capacity, but enough to outperform most of the four-cylinder sports bikes emerging from China at the moment. It’s also a worthwhile increase over the 70kW of the 675SR-R.
The engine is bolted to a typical CFMOTO chassis, made using a combination of pressed steel panels and tubes, and there’s a single-sided swingarm hanging out behind – an indication that this model might be designated 750SR-R. Lower down in CFMOTO’s sports bike range, there are ‘SR’ models with dual-sided swingarms and ‘SR-R’ versions with single-siders.
The bike’s styling is clearly in the same family as other models in the CFMOTO sports bike range, with headlights and mirrors that appear to be borrowed directly from the 675SR. The side panels are notably clean in design, free of some of the superfluous detailing of other models, but have notably large, biplane-style winglets. Up front, there are the same brake cooling ducts seen on the 675SR-R, but they feed genuine Brembo radial calipers rather than the J.Juan four-pots of the three-cylinder bike. The tank and tail shape are new, and where the triple has an under-belly exhaust, the new four-cylinder has high-mounted pipes exiting below the seat. We only have one photo, showing two stacked exhausts on the left-hand side, and the angle means we can’t see whether there’s a matching pair on the right.
Other details revealed in the approval document include the bike’s all-in weight, including fuel, of 213kg, and a top speed of 230km/h. Again, the numbers aren’t quite in the same league as the final generation of Japanese 750cc four-cylinder sports bikes, but they’re a step ahead of most Chinese fours at the moment.
The wheelbase of 1419mm is roughly on a par with the new Yamaha R9 (1420mm), and the CFMOTO features the usual combination of 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear tyres. Continental provides the ABS system in the form of its MK100 two-channel setup, which usually includes rear wheel lift prevention and a sport mode for track use, it’s also sure to be combined with a traction control system. The sole image of the bike confirms it has a quickshifter, too.
Given CFMOTO’s rapid launch of new models, the 750SR is likely to get an official unveiling soon and could be in dealers before the end of 2025.