The Chinese Versys? 2022 CFMOTO 650 ADVentura Review | Daily Rider 

Read our comparison of the CFMoto 650 ADVentura, Versys 650, & the Tiger 660 on Common Tread! rvz.la/3RbN3Bt Tires running bald? Check out Michelin for some new rubber! rvz.la/3R3jfHj

A few things I forgot to say in the video!: - 2 year warranty - Backlit switches! - USB port in the cockpit - No remote preload adjuster on the shock Thanks for watching, and be sure to read Ari’s article for details on the bike and the competition.

I appreciate the unbiased reviews that Zach, Ari and the rest of you guys do; it's nice to see someone not beholden to the manufacturers doing straight-up honest reviews.

Congrats on 50 Daily Rider videos, Zack and team! 🙌 Here's to 650 more! 😜

Finally a video about the CFMoto 650MT (or ADVentura) 😁 I've used it for a while now and I'm happy I got it.

I'm happy to see you giving the CFMOTO some play. I have a 2022 CXL 700 Sport and an impressed thus far. Good bike nice price, great warranty.

Awesome vid Zach, I would really appreciate a quick rundown on headlight performance. For myself and many others, half our commute is in the dark so that would be a great addition to this awesome series!

My bmw 850gs mounted friend said to me "I will never buy a Chinese bike,ever", he almost have a heart attack when I said the bmw 850 engine is made in china!

YYEEEEAAAHHHHH. They have the NA headquarters here in MN and I see the 700 series so more often than you’d think.

Other Japanese cruiser bikes have been waiting for their spotlight on Revzilla. Also, thank god a big moto channel finally posted something about CFMOTO. They have an 800cc touring bike that starts at 10,000 USD where im from. The fact that CFMOTO reportedly use KTM and Kawasaki engines, since they apparently produce them is the main selling point coupled with the prices

would love to see a daily rider review for all sizes of cfmotos motorcycle line up! The 300nk looks like a fun lil bike that can do super light highway riding but really want to see a real deep dive review like this on it.

I have this bike for 3y.. all right. It is not as Versys, but.. and that is big BUT... Kawa is 50% more expensive than CF.. and it is not 50% better bike. As value for money, this is better choise.

Thanks Zach. Awesome review.

I bought my 2022 very cheap. I was only able to put 300 miles on it before winter. So far, I really like it. It seems to be well built. Time will tell.

I test rode it back to back with a Tiger 660, Versys 650 and VStrom 650 and came back pretty impressed with the fit and finish and general quality of the equipment. I have to agree though, that in terms of feel, it felt very similar to the Versys 650. It's probably going to be liked a lot by people who wanted a better dash and a newer look on the Versys 650. My personal favorite among the 4 is the VStrom 650 tbh.

I'm not in the market for a new bike but I still watch everyone of these vids Zac. Very well done always.

From what I got from the video, this is basically a 1st gen Versys 650, for a 1st gen Versys 650 price. As someone who owns a 2009 Versys 650, this really does sound like a comparison of the 1st gen vs the 3rd/4th gen, except for the display, the 1st and 2nd gen V650 have literally the best non-TFT displays in existence, they get the analog tach, digital speedo, fuel gauge, easy to read, easy to use, formula down pat.

Rode one for a little bit and decided it's perfect for someone who hasn't ridden anything nicer. It will absolutely draw people in with the features and unless they're already a veteran rider with a wide portfolio of bike experience. The thing this bike doesn't do as well as the competition (balance, roughness, chassis stiffness) is not going to be immediately apparent to someone who hasn't experienced something better. Hats off to making a solid bike for cheap.

I have an Aprilia Tuono 660 but I've been starting to think about this as more a commuter for work with the bags on the back so I can bring my work lunches, drinks, and equipment. The Aprilia would be more my fun bike. I thought about the CFMoto sportbike but I'm not sure my wrists want to go back to a sportbike.

The 2023 has rebound adjustment front, and rebound/preload rear. The tires are Pirelli Angel GTs, and the forks and shock are KYB units. The US warranty is two years.This bike is clearly a work in progress, but the company seems to be paying attention. With the suspension adjusted and a change of tires, the 2023 bike should be able to handle some light duty off-road riding just fine.

That bike isn't perfect but still is much better than driving a car to work every day! 😊

Don't forget that used, nearly new motorcycles from reputable brands can be had for the price of this and lower. CF need time to prove their quality. But I'm hopeful competition like this will help slow down the price move upmarket from the established brands.

Very informative video, I think CFmoto needs to take a page out of Kia/Hyundai playbook and offer an insane warranty to kinda smooth out potential reliability issues. That might help the resale value aspect as well.

Thank you for more variety! I've been asking for that.

My buddy (who is learning) has an earlier version of this bike. I would say it is an average bike for a fairly cheap price and not bad to learn on. He is 6'4 and finding bikes that fit him with the license restrictions in Australia makes it a reasonable choice.

I test rode one of these, or, well, a european equivalent the CF Moto 650 MT, for a couple of days. I basically agree with everything Zach said. It's not as good as a Versys (or other Japanese bikes I've owned or test ridden). But it is cheaper. I would also buy a used Japanese bike over this or save up. But I definately understand that it's a lot cheaper and comes with a warranty. And if you're the type for whom a warranty is important, then there you go. The "Will China be the next Japan" -question is interesting. I think we should ask "Does China want to be the next Japan?" I mean, is that what they're striving for - to build better, higher quality, more reliable bikes than everyone else on the market and sort of "take over"? Or is this in fact what they're aiming for already: Bikes that are similar, a little worse, but quite a lot cheaper? I don't know. I do believe the market is always ready for someone to build something better and sell it for cheaper or the same price. Why not? So my question is, will the chinese do it?

I've seen this as low as 5800$ new from the dealer and used one with low miles as 4000 I'm very tempted to get 1

I have the CFmoto 1280-2 TR-G here in Beijing, you should do a review about this motorcycle. It is amazing !!!

Them mirrors are adjustable, slide that sleeve down and tighten the bolt.

It’s one of those things, that with some mapping and suspension work it would be pretty good for the money .

Guy I know got the sport bike 700 CF makes, and it's honestly a handsome bike. My assessment of that vs the mt07 is about same as this vs the kawasaki 650, the cf's aren't as good, but they are a good option for what dollars vs what you get. Are the existing brand bikes better? Yes, absolutely, but are they the price difference better? That's a harder question to answer, depending on what really matters to you. Buddy with the 700 is looking at it as a starter sport bike, and wants to step up to an entry level Ducati in another year.

I bought a cfmoto 700 clx sport this year. And it's been a blast for me. I felt it's a better bike than my old ninja 650R on every aspects, but still have the familiar kawaii 650 engine feel. I'm looking forward to seeing your test and thoughts on this bike.

The navigation directions showing the distance to the turn in inches is mind bogglingly weird

I found one of these used. Believe it or not it has 0 miles. I can pick it up for $4600. It's very tempting.

CFMOTO: Can i copy your homework? Kawasaki: Sure but change it up a bit CFMOTO:

I stopped last week and checked these out at our local dealer. Good looking bikes. But they had street tires on the Adventura and block tread 30/70 tires on the pure street bikes. Salesman wondered about that too. Time will tell.

Just got one today same color love it

Daily Rider diversity across the spectrum of the motorcycle industry is really appreciated here. This mark seems to me to be similar to Royal Enfield coming from a different direction. Thanks for the honest and ernest review!

I’m trying to buy less chicom stuff…. But thanks for the video.

P.S. the KTM-esque design is because Kiska, KTM's in-house design agency also does CFMoto's design.

I bought a Chinese Dong Fang DF250-RTT last Saturday to get me started in the world of motorcycles. With the bike being as to repair and maintain it will be a base line to learn from. I have noticed something quite funny. On the registration the bike is called a "Dong", and seeing as the bike is White. I always joke with people on how i'm riding around with the 300lb White Dong between my legs. Just a childish chuckle. Please note, don't take anything from China down trails, they do break very easily.

Awesome sponsor!!!! Definitely my favorite Tyre brand.

Thanks man for the review was waiting of this is a good bike or not

Just picked up a new 2023 650 for 4k in Arizona end of year sale.

Aaaaaugh Sooooo! I’ll stick with the Japanese and other reliable and established motorcycle and scooter manufacturers. Great video.

Used Versys all day. I bet it's easier to get parts as well.

I like that aquarium thing on the right handlebar

Having experienced really bad quality Chinese carburetors, as well as other Chinese parts, I'll stick with other more established manufacturers. There's a huge difference between price and cost - you only pay the price once. Cost goes on forever.

There's now an updated somewhat more powerful version out there it's called MT700 (I guess it's 700 Adventura in the US) so it would be interesting to see how the new bike compares to the old one.

When the CF Moto 650 range landed here in Australia in 2012 I was surprised that it looked almost identical to my '06 ER-6F/Ninja 650 in almost every way except for the plastics. It was a similar story with their smaller capacity bikes looking suspiciously like a copy of a more famous brands model. It's basically the same model that Hyundai used with their cars back in the beginning, copying another brand's car (Mazda) & re-skinning it to make it look different. Hyosung, a Korean motorcycle brand, came out about 10 years earlier than CF Moto & took a different route, releasing their own designs based around a 250cc & 650cc V Twin engine. As a manufacturer who made engines for Suzuki, Hyosung had more credibility in the market than CF Moto. Fast forward to today & there are plenty of 8-10 year old CF Moto bikes for sale in the second hand market that are still going strong. That's not something that you could say about early 8-10 year old Hyundai's back in the day. Hyosung, on the other hand, quickly developed a reputation for unreliability & it's almost impossible to find a used one that doesn't have a fault or 10 keeping it off the road. CF Moto makes agricultural versions of better Japanese & Euro/Indian motorcycles, and the purchase price reflects it. But, as the Australian market experiment has shown, with care & maintenance they can last well beyond the warranty period. They might even be more reliable than the motorcycle manufacturer that they are copying - cough *KTM* cough.

It's probably already mentioned but this company builds for KTM and Kawasaki also, so before you trash them realize you might be riding a bike they made the engine for already. Also, they have a US HQ in Minnesota and all the reviewers who have dealt with them say they are very serious about improving from here based on feedback. They typically have nicer tech options with screens and modes. NOTE - reviewers of the other bikes (other than the 300s) say the modes do indeed make a big difference in throttle response. They've also already been selling many models in Australia and Philippines for a few years with good reviews. When KTM is already made in India and China, as are some BMW, with Hondas made in Thailand, Brazil, India, and so on and so forth, equating quality with country of origin has become pointless. Pick the best bike for you at the price point etc. What difference does it make now, when the BMW 310 is really a TVS, and few of the companies manufacture where you think they do. Pick the bike, price, and warranty/support that works for you. People keep saying don't buy if no dealer support, but in my area (Seattle/Puget Sound) just about every dealer is selling and supporting CFMoto - and they are actually in stock as opposed to the other brands being "on back order". Add to that a warranty of 2 to 3 years - or lifetime driveline in the case of the longest running dealer in my state - and I have to consider them for new bike purchase.

Well done zack another Interesting daily rider !!

5 yr warranty from our local dealer, I'll give it a try

I have the previous model of this bike in Australia. The ride modes are decorative. Mine has 'sports' and 'touring', no change to the old style lcd dash, but a push button in/out to switch and a display of sports/touring. Absolutely no difference at all.

I have owned a 2020 model 650 MT (in Europe its called 650MT) and rode 8k km on it. Its a great bike for the price. Only two reasons I sold mine a month ago. 1) I'm 182 cm (6ft or so) and on long trips (1k km a day) my knees felt cramped. 2) I rebuilt my other bike and now rode that instead every time I wanted to go on a ride. After 10k km on the other bike and only riding 350km on CFMOTO I decided to sell it and let someone else use it. In my country CFMOTOs come whit 3 year warranty as well.

I bought one of these bikes about 4 months ago it has about 900 miles now. It is my daily just to work and back. I completely agree about the mirrors they just feel cheap and can’t see anything out of them considering how much they vibrate. As for throttle response First feels pretty jerky second and third is the sweet spot and then the major power loss after that most I’ve done is 90mph. It is a great daily and a perfect first bike but I’m ready for an upgrade. Side note: no under seat storage, and seeing from other reviews on RU-vid they never fill the oil right from the dealership it’s always about half a quart low Any other questions I’ll try my best to answer as well Great video!

21:01 What the hell? The screen started showing inches for some reason...

In order for me to take the handling comments very seriously the bike should compare them to should have the same tires. Tires can make all the difference in the world

I really want to know whether or not CF is spam paying influencers to market for them. They're not looked upon well in china, and honestly there''s better brands if you want CN bikes. For whatever reason different channels only keep looking at CF.

YESSSS YOUVE DONE IT! In aus its 650MT. I dont know what MT means but hey. We have a different dash I would love to have the one that you have. I get 4.5L per 100km get 230km before the fuel light comes on. I am on the heavy side. Everything you've said are the same pros and cons I have. We have sport and touring modes. I dont know the difference. I've tried to find more info and I can't. I can do about 4 hrs without stopping. Standing for a minute every once every 90min helps. New tyres will help I'm planning on getting a new pair. I do road mainly, scrapping the footpegs with a semi neutral spine and hooks well. Roll on around 4500-5000 RPM. I do want to get my seat redone with more foam, tail tidy, mirrors, and additional windshield to add more height for wind deflection. I've put 8k km. Better than the 300nk for sure. Parts some parts its a little wait there are other parts that are in stock with dealers.

This bike sounds exactly like it's the more street biased version of the Moto Morini X-Cape 650. Aside from the front wheel size the specs seem nearly identical

If i bought this id always think about how good the Japanese bikes are for a little more money...

I love the in-depth reviews you provide. I have watched dozens of them. I am currently on a 2000 Honda Valkyrie. As an older rider, I am considering a transition to three wheels. I would be interested in your opinion / review of a Can Am Ryker 600, or a Piaggio MPE500 Scooter to gain a little on MPG and stability. Thanks again for the great content. I am a new subscriber!

I would like to see some benelli's on the daily rider leaderboard. Maybe start with the TNT 135. If anyone else would like to see that, please feel free to give this comment a thumbs up.

Looks pretty good, but why do a knock off a bike like the Versys? Surely, the Versys is so reliable and affordable even a half way decent used one would be less of a worry than this Chinese copy. 5000" lol not a very useful measurement IMO, guess the manufacturer doesn't have a handle on yards/feet.

I would like to see the CFMoto 700 on Daily Rider as well... :)

Giggle Score...great idea, please include the Giggle Score on the Daily Rider Leader Board for all the bikes you test in the future. Thank You

"I don´t know why were going so fast" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 you killed me

I have no choice on my phone.....but I don't mind paying a little extra for proven Japanese quality.

Basically a cheaper KTM ... silent partner, per se ... by $3K vs. the Kawi Versys. Oh yeah, sold. Would love to see a review of the CFMoto 800 ADV model.

looks good, for a beginner moto I recommend mine, 1990 Sanyang 125 and Taipei driving daily. Now, some 30+ years later I'm on the x300 Versys, (just getting to 1000 miles).

I’d love to see a daily rider for the Honda CB500X

Cool bike. The sound gives me CB500 vibes and throws be back in time. 😄 And just like you I appreciate the unique looks. But I wish the bike would have a little bit more power. Maybe around 80-90 HP? 60 HP is a bit outdated nowerdays imho...

Would like to see a review of the Ducati DesertX

I put the auto subtitles on and Ari was named Harry, Erie and Gary consecutively. Thought that was kinda funny.

Ride and review a Janus motorcyle!! Made in Goshen Indiana.

02:06 that's cause it's Styled by the Austrian KTM design team Kiska.

Great review, very helpful

Starting next year I will want a bike to commute 190 miles each weekend in one direction. I need a bike that costs around $6k and gets at least 50 mpg. I plan on taking back roads and keeping my speed to around 65 mph. I don't need a sexy or fast bike. I need a reliable and comfortable bike. The CFMoto looks like the bike I need. I'm also considering the KLR 650 or the RE Himalayan.

I would have went with the White Castle slider... :)

Hope you guys do mt800 review seems realy great bike for the money

Hi Zac, thanks for reviewing the CF moto. This bike caught my eyes a week ago and couldn't figure out what brand it is as I had never heard of it. Your video just came on time. One question though on the Daily Rider board. Why is BMW s1000rr even there? It has been working just as a benchmark for the worst bike. Given that it is not a dedicated commute bike, I struggle to understand why it is there on the board, anyway. As an owner of S1000rr approching my 50's with not perfect knee and back health, it is pretty comfortable bike for a 100 km trip. Thanks

It may be just me, but I wasn't that impressed with the Versys. I rode it and ended up with a V-Stom, The Versys is like somebody at Kawasaki roll in a 650 ninja and said, let's make an ADV bike out ot this. they changed the suspension, the cam and a few other goodies, and called it a Versys. I just felt like the V-Strom was a better bike. The engine on the V-strom was better that any on the Versys. You can't blame China for filling the void in the motorcycle market now the the industry is pulling all the artificial inventory shortage shenanigans.

Chinese bikes will never reach the Japanese quality threshold because they employ two completely different business models and market philosophies. Japan engineers and builds high quality products and seek long-term profit based on brand reputation and loyalty. China copies rival designs and produce the lowest cost components to minimize price points and maximize short-term profit.

Do you think the Speedo being off could be affecting the computers version of mpg?

I have the 650MT 2020-1 model, and yes, your assessment, IMHO, is spot on. It's a nice bike, with quirks, not great, not bad, but a good ride, with the bang for buck. With a 3 yr warranty on my MT, I really could not go wrong. It's nice to ride. It is a good middle, not beginner, bike. It's Pepsi in a coke world. Still ok, but more so, as it's cheaper.

Now we are badly waiting for the Chinese version of DR650 with the same weight but with parallel twin engine, 650 or 800 - either one will work! So far the specs of the new 800X Rally look damn good but I'd probably prefer a less expensive 650cc version.

A minor nit-pick... and not with the motorcycle. The old “safety guy” in me perked up when you returned to the shop parking lot to perform your turn lock test. Pallets. Pallets standing on their sides! Yikes! Safety hazard, and if they happened to be RevZilla’s pallets they need to be properly stored flat. Ok. I feel better!

I had a cfmoto side by side, it was a decently smooth operator. I don’t think I’d trust any of their stuff on the road though. I’m gonna keep my eye on reviews and see, though. I’m interested

Fortnine did an awesome oil test to show the quality of the engine build for breaks new bikes from different countries. From the Chinese bike they tested there were pieces of wood and genuinely horrible oil contamination. Curious to see how this would go.

Great Video! 👍😀

I couldn't find the Mt 800 so I bought a Harley road King 2022 !

Sounds better than I expected

My computer says I'm getting over 60 MPG but my calculations are telling me I'm getting 49-51 MPG.

That's one old t-shirt, dude. R.I.P. City Sports

26:17 Kymco is a Taiwanese company, even though China claims TW as part of China, it's de facto independent. So Kymco doesn't represent the typical Chinese company. In general, I think China's industries were building up to improve quality and trying to get a place in the world market, but in the past few years a lot of their products' quality has actually been going down. With the aging of their population therefore lower productivity, I don't think they can improve their quality any further.

the effort of cfmoto I believe is trying to make something like a versys more available to more customers who otherwise wouldn´t buy a versys....I think there´s much more to analize. It obiously won´t be as good a a versys but it´s close enough but a lot cheaper. That´s something to think about.

I'm waiting for their 800 version of this to hit the USA

Thanks for another thorough and easy to digest review Zack! Something I want to point out to those considering this bike is a major qwirk that apparently you didn't experience. I rode one earlier this week at a dealer. When I turned to the north at an intersection, the TFT display completely disappeared -- I'm not exaggerating, it went to black. I then moved my head closer to the TFT to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and suddenly the LCD output could be seen again. The sun was directly behind me (around noon in Ohio) as I rode north, and when it shown on the TFT it wiped it out completely. When I blocked the sun with my helmet it magically reappeared. This is with an older Bell helmet and clear shield (no polarization/no glasses). This issue is enough for me to pass on seriously considering it. I liked the handling, power was surprisingly good (although the FI was a bit grabby), suspension felt great, and I like the look. I have reached out to CFM to see if they have updated the TFT so that the sun shining issue is gone.

I dunno how true it is but when you mentioned the mounting on the engine being similar I have seen some European reviews that claim that this engine from CFmoto is based off a recent Kawi 650 motor.