Late last year , CFMoto gave a clear hint at its plans for a new KTM-powered roadster when it showed the NK-C22 concept bike , and now the production version has been given a full unveiling in China ahead of a global launch expected later this year . Dubbed the 800NK in line with CFMoto ' s normal naming conventions , the bike is the second machine in the Chinese company ' s range to use KTM ' s 799 cc LC8c parallel twin engine , as used in the 790 Duke and Adventure models . Both those bikes are , incidentally , manufactured in China by CFMoto on KTM ' s behalf , and as part of the deal CFMoto gets to use the engine for its own models . The 800MT adventure bike has already proved its worth , using the same motor , and the 800NK looks like it will be even more impressive . In the 800NK , the KTM-designed engine makes 74 kW ( 99 hp ), a little less than KTM ' s own 77 kW ( 105 hp ) 790 Duke . Importantly , that ' s still substantially more than the 68 kW ( 91.5 hp ) Honda CB750 Hornet and the 61 kW ( 81.8 hp ) Suzuki GSX-8S , two brand-new machines launched this year to fight in an increasingly competitive middleweight twincylinder market . It ' s lighter than those rivals ,

too , coming in at only 186 kg wet for the base version and 189 kg in top-spec form . Those two variants both share the same chassis , with KYB suspension front and rear and brakes from Brembo ' s J . Juan subsidiary , assisted by a Bosch ABS system , but they differ in terms of technology . The cheaper model is already competitive on that front , with a 5-inch TFT display , including a phone mirroring function for media , calls and navigation , as well three riding modes for the engine . The top-spec bike switches that dashboard for a vast , 8-inch unit , mounted in portrait orientation , that dwarfs all its rivals . That display includes a split-screen mode ,

with instruments in the top half and navigation or media in the lower portion and comes with Apple CarPlay as standard . The higher-spec model also gets a standard up-and-down quickshifter and a keyless ignition system . In the Chinese market , where the bike has first been launched , the 800NK is remarkably affordable , with a price that undercuts all its key rivals . Once exported , that margin is likely to shrink , but the CFMoto ' s combination of performance , specification and technology is still likely to make a strong argument for the 800NK , even when compared against bikes from more established brands .

BMW ' s ShiftCam design is among the most advanced of all the motorcycle VVT setups , and patent applications have now been filed for a singlecylinder engine using the same technology . The ShiftCam idea started life in the R1250 boxer engine and has already spread to the S1000RR ' s fourcylinder . Unlike rival VVT systems from Ducati , Kawasaki and Suzuki , which simply change the valve timing

as revs rise , the ShiftCam setup physically switches between two completely different cam profiles . That means BMW can use a ' soft ' cam at low rpm , with relatively little valve lift , as well as a short duration and minimal overlap . That gives good lowdown torque and reduces fuel consumption and emissions , but would strangle the engine at higher revs . The ShiftCam setup slides the whole camshaft sideways at a pre-