You could say that the middleweight supersport segment is dead. Or, if that’s putting it too bluntly, you could say that it has at least evolved. These days, middleweight sportbikes like the Suzuki GSX-R600 and Yamaha YZF-R6 have been replaced by torquey twins like the Aprilia RS 660 and Suzuki GSX-8R.
Even iconic sportbikes like the Triumph Daytona 675R have been killed off, only very recently replaced with the watered-down Daytona 660. That said, we’ve been seeing a resurgence in high-performance, middleweight supersports from an unlikely source: China.
Left and right, Chinese manufacturers seem to be picking up the pieces of the middleweight sportbike segment of yesteryear. And perhaps the most interesting of them all just has to be the 675SR-R, CFMoto’s newest high-performance sportbike.
With the nickname “Racing Triple,” you could argue that the new 675SR-R is the Chinese manufacturer’s most performance-oriented model to date, as it boasts pretty much everything you’d expect to find from a modern-day evocation of the Triumph Daytona 675R.
A screaming triple? Check. Sharp bodywork complete with as-standard brake ducts? Check.
Granted, as of the moment, CFMoto has kept a lot of the bike’s specifications a secret. Nevertheless, we do know that this bike will have a power output north of 100 ponies. Plus, we can surely expect a comprehensive suite of electronics—such as multiple ride modes, ABS, and cornering traction control—as other bikes in CFMoto’s lineup already come standard with these.
It’ll be particularly interesting to see where this sportbike slots itself in the global market, as there currently aren’t any three-cylinder-powered superbikes that seem to be at the same level as the 675SR-R.
Sure, MV Agusta’s F3 could be a worthy competitor, but it’s surely a much more premium machine that could easily command twice the price of the 675SR-R. And while I love the new Triumph Daytona 660, I can’t help but feel that Triumph’s latest sportbike has lost some of that edge we’ve come to love from the previous Daytona 675R.
This leads me to ask: has CFMoto done a better job in creating a spiritual successor to the OG Daytona? Well, the truth is only time will tell.
