CFMoto 300SR redesign coming soon

It’s only been a couple of years since CFMoto’s 300SR hit the market but the company has already developed a redesigned version that’s expected to be launched later this year.

These pictures come from the Chinese type-approval of the new bike and while the styling shares a distinct family resemblance to the current model, in fact every panel has been reshaped to give a sleeker look. The new style gives the single-cylinder machine an appearance that’s more like that of the newer 450SR parallel twin, launched last year, but the photos also reveal there are technical revisions under the skin.

The current version bike sold in China uses a 249cc single but is otherwise the same as the 292cc 300SR that we get in this country. Even its performance is identical, with the same 29hp power output as the 300SR. So the bodywork changes shown here for the next-generation 250SR in Asia are sure to be carried over to the 300SR.

From the front, the first notable change is the headlights, which have a smoother appearance than the current model, with their hockey stick-shaped LED daytime running lights now under the same lens as the main headlights rather than sitting separately. Those DRLs are also repositioned, with the LED strip running along the top of the headlight before kicking up at the edges. On the current model, the running lights are sculpted around the edges of the headlights.

Like the headlights, the new bike’s screen is more smoothly integrated with the nose, with mirror mounts acting as a boundary between the sides of the Perspex and the bodywork. Further down, the side panels are smoothed out, with fewer separate elements, and there are large, downward-curved winglets on either side. The fuel tank is new as well, with a more complex shape than the existing 300SR’s design, and behind it the seat is reshaped with a much slimmer tail unit and pillion perch.

Single-sided swingarm version, above, has also emerged

Although we only get one version of the 300SR at the moment, in some markets there’s already an SR-R (or SR-S – both names are used) version with a single-sided swingarm available, and the new approvals show that the same two-model range will continue with the next generation bikes.

On the standard version, the dual-sided swingarm appears to be new, with a different casting and a reshaped chain guard to suit. On both versions, there are also new footrest hangers, suggesting the ergonomics have been revised as well.

Mechanically, those are the only changes that can be seen in the pictures, and the type approval documents appear to confirm that the changes under the skin are relatively slight. The engine is the same ‘172MM-2A’ single, with no change to its performance, and the new bikes are just 2kg lighter than the old ones. The approval documents say 155kg for the new versions against 157kg for the old ones, but the official specs put the existing bike at 165kg wet so realistically the next-gen machine is likely to be around 163kg in the same state.

The wheelbase on both versions has grown fractionally, from 1360mm to 1365mm, but that appears to be the extent of the alterations.

CFMoto in the UK and Ireland is in the midst of upheaval at the moment, with KTM taking over the distribution network from Quadzilla, which previously looked after the brand. KTM’s ties with CFMoto are increasingly close: the Chinese firm has built KTM engines for years and now also manufactures entire bikes for the Austrian brand, including the 790 Duke and 790 Adventure, via a joint venture in China. CFMoto also uses KTM engines in the 800MT and the upcoming 800NK, as well as the Chinese market 1250TR-G tourer.