CFMoto 400 NK

While the CF Moto 400 NK doesn’t look as ravishing as the new breed of middleweight nakeds, it looks beefy and substantial enough to contend in the race of big bike visual appeal. The motorcycle looks and feels bigger than the current crop of 250cc street naked bikes.

At the front, the CF Moto 400 NK has an angular headlamp, which looks slanted while going towards the rear. However, it does miss out on LED lighting, which surely is a glaring miss, given that the smaller 250 NK comes with a contemporary LED headlamp.

The rear attraction starts when one moves towards the side, which comes with much striking looking body panels. The fuel tank looks bulky, while the razor-sharp looking fuel tank extensions make it look even beefier. The minimal side panels, underbody exhaust, and engine cowl make it look even more aggressive. The five-spoke alloy wheels too look nice, despite being not so flashy in design.

The tailpiece of the CF Moto 400 NK looks big and sizeable with a curvy design and split seat layout, with the pillion seat positioned at a height. The long rear fender is not so wide, which might not be too useful in preventing heavy mud splashes. The overall build quality could have been better, though.

The rider’s cockpit of the CF Moto 400 NK consists of a single piece and almost flat handlebar and edgy looking rearview mirrors, along with a full TFT coloured instrument console. The unit displays all the necessary information, including the readouts for speedometer, odometer, trip meters, tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, clock, gear indicator and packs in two display layout modes – Rain and Sport.

The rider’s triangle is well balanced with slightly high set handlebar and mildly rear ser footpegs, which make the overall riding ergonomics sporty and comfortable at the same time.

The CF Moto 400 NK comes with retractable type hydraulic upside-down telescopic forks at the front and cantilever type with slanted monoshock at the rear. The suspension doesn’t feel outright sporty, and is a bit supple for daily riding duties. However, for longer routes, the suspension setup feels a bit tiring, considering the aggressive riding posture. The rear set footpegs do make up for spirited riding experience. 

The CF Moto 400 NK sources its thrust from a four-stroke, inline twin, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 400cc motor. This smallest multi-cylinder engine from CF Moto is mated to a six-speed gearbox and produces some really impressive numbers – 41 PS of maximum power output and 34.4 Nm of peak torque output.

The engine feels refined considering its twin layout, with minimal vibration and smooth power delivery. While it is not an outright sporty mill, the power delivery is seamless enough to make the performance quite involving.

The CF Moto 400 NK doesn’t come with much-sophisticated safety features which ate gradually becoming a norm in the middleweight category. However, the motorcycle comes with the bare necessity of ABS, along with a setup of dual disc brakes at the front and a single disc brake at the rear.

The CF Moto 400 NK strikes a perfect balance of the daily usability of a quarter-litre motorcycle and the smooth and refined performance with the added power of a middleweight category motorcycle. While the motorcycle doesn’t create new grounds when it comes to looks and styling, it still looks very much desirable for the big bike appeal it imparts. The engine feels refined and gets the job done effortlessly.