Inline-four-powered 750
CFMoto is getting increasingly serious about its sportbike offerings, and just weeks after launching the new 675SS it teased the upcoming 1,000cc V4 project that will become its future range-topper. Now another new CFMoto sportbike has emerged in Chinese type-approval documents, slotting between those two models in the company’s future range.
The latest addition is a 749cc inline four-cylinder, and while the 750cc superbike class of the 1980s and ‘90s has long since been superseded by today’s insanely powerful liter-class machines, the new CFMoto appears to be part of a revival for intermediate-sized sportbikes, prompted in part by the current Next Generation World Supersport race regulations that dismiss traditional capacity limits in favor of a variety of “balancing factors” (rev and weight limits, air restrictors, and throttle map changes) to equalize performance between machines. The result is a much broader array of bikes that are homologated for the series, including the last-generation 955cc Ducati Panigale V2, MV Agusta’s F3 800 and Superveloce 800, Suzuki’s age-old GSX-R750, Triumph’s Street Triple 765, Yamaha’s R6 and R7, and from China, QJMotor’s SRK 800RR.
The upcoming CFMoto, which seems sure to be titled 750SS in the US and 750SR or 750SR-R in other markets, currently carries only the code name “CF750-2″ on its approval documents. That’s telling as it suggests there’s at least one other CF750 model under development, and given the company’s usual pattern it would be surprising if CFMoto doesn’t also build a naked 750NK roadster based on the same platform.
Technically, it’s based around a new 749cc engine that appears to draw on both the existing 500cc four that’s offered in the Chinese-market 500SR Voom retro sportbike and the 675cc triple from the 675SS and the new 675NK. The small section of visible engine cover in the sole image of the bike that accompanies the type approval is shaped much like the equivalent section of the 500SR’s four-cylinder motor, but the engine’s code name of “472MV” reveals that it has a 72mm bore because under Chinese type-approval conventions the first digit is the cylinder count (four in this case) and the following two, 72, represent the cylinder bore. The CFMoto 675cc triple in the 675SS and NK also uses a 72mm bore, suggesting components like the pistons and valves, as well as the combustion chamber design for the 750SS could be inherited from the 675SS.
That 72mm bore must be paired to a 46mm stroke to achieve the bike’s 749cc capacity, and those numbers are already well established as something close to ideal. Bikes including the 1996-on Suzuki GSX-R750 and Yamaha’s YZF750R used the same figures. It also hints that CFMoto might have left the door open to creating an 899cc version of the engine by adopting the same 55.2mm stroke that’s already used on the related 675cc triples.
In its initial form, the 749cc engine puts out a certified 110 hp. That may seem modest for a 750cc four, but bear in mind that this engine is at the start of its development journey and isn’t necessarily debuting in its most highly tuned form. The approval document also confirms some basic information about the bike itself, giving a curb weight, including fuel, of 470 pounds, and a maximum speed of 143 mph. The wheelbase falls within expectations for a modern sportbike at 55.9 inches and the tire sizes are the usual 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear. The document also confirms that there’s two-channel ABS in the form of Continental’s MK 100 system, which hints that the bike will have rider-assist technology such as traction control and rear-wheel lift control from the same supplier.
The picture gives away even more. The bodywork falls in line with expectations, appearing to share the headlight and mirrors from the 675SS but with a seat and tank that are closer to the original prototype 500SR sportbike that was teased in disguised form in late 2023. There is an upside-down fork and the same brake cooling ducts seen on the 675SS, but those ducts feed air to Brembo radial-mount calipers rather than the three-cylinder bike’s J.Juan units. At the back a single-sided swingarm gives the bike a higher-end look, and it’s likely that the two visible tailpipes, stacked on the left-hand side, will be matched by another pair on the right, out of sight in this image, to emphasize the bike’s four-cylinder layout. Upfront, there are the inevitable winglets—much larger than the more integrated ones used on the 675SS—but the fairing sides themselves are smoother and less complex than the design used on the triple.
A quickshifter’s load sensor is clearly visible on the shift linkage, and the bike’s chassis appears to follow CFMoto’s usual pattern, with a steel trellis front section to the frame merging into pressed and welded steel panels around the swingarm pivot. The taillights and license-plate hanger are stock items straight from the 675SS and 675NK, and details like the footpeg hangers have the look of a production-ready bike, suggesting the official launch is imminent.
