Chinese Bike News Roundup — Week of October 19, 2026

October 21, 2026 · Chinese Motorcycle Review

Week two of the revived roundup, and right on schedule, the news is doing the heavy lifting for us. Last week I teased the EICMA preview — it's coming, keep reading. But first, two things worth your attention.

The CFMoto 450MT might be the best-selling road bike in Australia.
Let that sink in. Importer Mojo Motorcycles told MCNews that more than 4,000 450MTs are on Australian roads since the bike arrived in May 2024 — that's roughly one 450MT for every 20 road bikes recorded in the country's sales audit over that stretch. CFMoto's own VP of Sales for Europe says it moved over 12,000 in Europe in 2024 alone, arriving only partway through the year. And then there's this: Mario Román won the 2026 Red Bull Romaniacs Adventure Ultimate category on a race-prepped 450MT, beating Pol Tarrés on a Yamaha Ténéré 700 by 14 minutes and 40 seconds. Engine internals and frame stayed stock. On a Chinese 449 twin. The "it's good for the money" disclaimer is getting harder and harder to justify.

CFMoto USA just added two new 2026 models, and they're both at the fun end of the price list.
Revzilla got the first look: the 675NK is the naked version of the 675SS — handlebar instead of clip-ons, half fairing instead of full fairing — at $7,499, five hundred bucks under the SS. Same 675cc triple, now claimed at 95 hp (+5 for both models this year), fully adjustable KYB, J.Juan brakes, traction control, quickshifter, and a 5-inch TFT with Bluetooth and tire-pressure readouts. At that price it embarrasses everything in the middleweight naked class on the spec sheet. The other one is the CFX-5E, a bigger kids' electric dirt bike: $2,599, 14-inch front and 12-inch rear wheels, four speed modes from a 15-mph beginner stage up to 43 mph, and a claimed 62-mile range on a swappable battery. Get the kid riding while you ride.

Kove dropped a 124-horsepower inline-four supersport in China.
This one's from October 13, so it just missed last week's cutoff. The Kove 650RR: 645cc inline-four, 124 PS, 69 Nm, 15,000 rpm redline, claimed 3.4-second 0–100 km/h and 260 km/h top speed, 188 kg with an 11 kg aluminum frame. Electronics are legit — six-axis IMU, lean-sensitive traction control, cornering ABS, wheelie control, quickshifter, cruise control, TPMS, plus blind-spot monitoring and lane-change assist on a motorcycle. Price: 33,977 yuan, roughly RM19,000 in Malaysian money per Paul Tan. And here's the kicker: Paul Tan reports Kove is preparing it for the 2027 World Supersport Championship. Last week it was the 675SR-R going to WorldWCR — now a Kove four-banger in WorldSSP. The Chinese aren't coming. They're here.

Small item: Zontes is now selling in Nepal.
The ZT125-G1 scrambler-styled 125 launched at Rs 4.40 lakh — liquid-cooled 125 single, six-speed, dual-channel ABS, keyless ignition, USB charging port. One source, thinly reported, so take the price with a grain of salt — but it's another market on the map for Zontes.

EICMA 2026 preview — less than two weeks out.
The show runs November 3–8 at Fiera Milano Rho in Milan, with press and trade days on the 3rd and 4th and public days November 5–8. It's the 83rd edition and the biggest ever: ten halls for the first time, over 300,000 square meters, 754 exhibitors, 2,120 brands from 52 countries. Here's what we're watching on the Chinese front:

• CFMoto 550MT. Widely expected to be unveiled, building on the 450MT's runaway success. Spy shots show rally-inspired styling with a tall windscreen; the engine is reportedly a 526cc twin derived from the 550CL-C cruiser (53 PS in that application). MCNews believes it could effectively replace the 450MT. EICMA's the natural place to find out.
• CFMoto V4 SR-RR. The 997cc V4 prototype with 210+ claimed hp and a 196 mph top-speed record still has no price or release date as of mid-October. If there's news, Milan is where it lands.
• Voge CU-X. The plug-in-hybrid cruiser concept shown at CIMAMotor in September could get more detail — reportedly over 100 hp from a combustion engine plus two electric motors, though Voge hasn't confirmed a thing. Concept-only for now.
• ZXMoto 820X. An 819cc-triple adventure bike (claimed ~114 hp, 220 km/h top speed) expected to make its major international appearance, with sales from 2027.
• Arctic Leopard. The Zhejiang e-dirt-bike maker is exhibiting (Hall 18, Booth I91) with the XD's European launch and the XC's European debut.

The media days are November 3–4, which is when the real reveals happen — so next week's roundup lands right after the biggest two days of the motorcycle year. I'll have the full rundown of whatever the Chinese brands drop.

That's the week. See you after Milan.