The moves CFMoto has been making in the sportbike world of late mean it's not a question of if it's coming for established manufacturers, it's when. At the moment, the brand is giving consumers what they've been asking for for years, like a new bike in the spirit of the Daytona 675 or revvy little 4-cylinders from years past. Many western riders still don't take the brand seriously enough, which is partly the reason we don't see the aforementioned machines on the roads, but CFMoto's credibility looks set to change.
The Chinese manufacturer recently acquired 51% of Kalex Engineering. If you've never heard of the company, that's understandable, because manufacturers that specialize in Moto2 chassis development don't usually make headlines. But, even in the world of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Kalex stands out. The chassis manufacturer is by far the most dominant in Moto2 history, winning 12 consecutive Moto2 Constructors' World Championships, from 2013 to 2023.
If you want to get to MotoGP, you ride a Moto2 bike with a Kalex chassis—just ask Diogo Moreira and Pedro Accosta. But then, it's hard not to ride a Kalex on your way to MotoGP, considering 20 riders out of the current 28-person Moto2 grid are on a Kalex chassis. The German engineering company even worked with Honda to help build swingarms for the brand's MotoGP team in 2022 and its chassis in 2023. Buying a controlling stake in Kalex gives CFMoto a lot of what it needs to progress and be taken seriously from racing to the roads.
To start, CFMoto is now in the world championship as a manufacturer via Kalex—albeit in the Moto2 class—helping to establish its name in the highest levels of racing. This will aid CFMoto on its journey to MotoGP, not just from the point of view of credibility, but also research and development potential, and the racing data Kalex has. And we're fairly sure entering MotoGP is where CFMoto wants to go, as the brand considered taking over KTM's MotoGP department not long ago, although the deal fell through.
Bringing CFMoto closer to its goal of seeing its moniker on the MotoGP grid is one avenue the Kalex acquisition helps, but the other is what existing manufacturers should be afraid of: making better road bikes. CFMoto's 675SR-R was highly anticipated and warmly received, but it's still not dominating the middleweight sportbike class. CFMoto could take what information Kalex has on making the basically best Moto2 chassis ever and put it to use on its production road bikes.
We know that CFMoto is making plays in the superbike class and coming for the more established brands. With Kalex in its arsenal, European and Japanese manufacturers had better be ready for the next generation of CFMoto sport bikes.
