The new CFMOTO CFORCE range has just landed in Australia. We sent Zane to try out the 400 and 520 down in Melbourne, check out what he thought... Photos: FStyle Photo
After a large number of manufacturers pulled out of the Australian quad market because of the new controversial regulations, only a handful stayed to cater towards the important Aus market. CFMOTO put their hand up with their CFORCE 400 and 520…
We sent Zane down to Melbourne to check out the new CFMOTO CFORCE 400 and 520 ATV’s.
At what point do we stop covering vehicles on a bike site? I think quad’s are about the line. I did think that maybe the OzPOD postie trike that Jeff tested was, but I suppose that had less wheels. Anyway, I’ve never had the pleasure of riding a quad-bike so I thought “Why not?” when CFMOTO invited us down to Melbourne to try their new CFORCE range.
Check out our CFMOTO reviews here…
I’ve always been vocal about how awesome I think CFMOTO’s motorcycle range is in terms of price, so I had quite high expectations for the CFORCE range with tech and pricing in mind. After a night of copious amount of beer and getting to know some of the agriculture journalists, it was time to check out what quading is all about.
It’s quite interesting to listen to journalists who write about these vehicles purely from a work point of view. No one really needs a motorcycle, but you purchase them based on something that’s a bit of fun or makes menial travel exciting. Whereas a quad bike is simply there to do the job and not be a hassle for the owners.
This point is further affirmed by CFMOTO Australia’s Michael Poynton and Lance Whitelock who put plenty of emphasis on the CFORCE 400 and 520 having long service intervals and easily replicable high-wear parts. CFMOTO really thought of everything while putting these together, even down to a CVT drain plug that allows riders to drain water out if the ATV gets submerged, ensuring that it’s as simple as a service when it gets wets rather than a full rebuild. Pretty cool!
Customers have a choice between a non-EPS 400, EPS 400 and a 520. Each with very affordable price points.
The 400 comes in two trim levels, the base and EPS. While the 520 only comes as EPS, there’s a plethora of accessories including bash bars, luggage racks and even a 1150kg winch if you really want to take the quads on some serious off-roading.
I was surprised to see that both models are powered by a single-cylinder, four-valve, SOHC set-up. But, it makes sense to use that high-compression single-cylinder to haul a trailer around or crawl up steep surfaces. Not only that, but something like a four-valve, SOHC cam is so easy to maintain, any issues and you would only need a real rudimentary level of knowledge to rebuild. Saving rural farmers plenty on towing their quads into town or the nearest technician.
New for 2022 are raised intakes to ensure you’re not sucking in water while going through river crossings or deeper water. While the electronics are quite exposed the elements, I doubt you’ll have any issues unless you completely submerge the quad. The 12v and USB charging sockets do have a weather proof cover on them so you don’t need to worry about corrosion.
Both the 400 and 520 use the simple CVT setup with selectable 2wd and 4wd modes, the rear is constantly locked while the front can be selected for locking or unlocked.
Both the 400 and 520 use the simple CVT setup with selectable 2wd and 4wd modes, the rear is constantly locked while the front can be selected for locking or unlocked, simply to make the vehicle easier to steer at slow speeds.
Another focus for CFMOTO across the board is reducing vibrations, these are all things you don’t think about until you’ve actually bought the product. Reducing the vibrations means the quad can be running for the whole 10-12 hour day without adding any unnecessary fatigue on farmers. They’ve achieved this through copious amount of testing frame rigidity and optimising the engine mounts.
The elephant in the room is the Australian regulated roll-over protection.
Quite possibly the most noticeable change is that roll-over bar, despite making the quadbike look like an RC Car, it’s an addition that complies with the strict new Australian rules. Adding a heap less weight than the original proposed roll-over hoop, the bar still has that added layer of security.
After listening to the blokes at Mojo Motorcycles speak highly of their new product and me being mildly shocked that the price is around half of their nearest competitor, it was time to throw a leg over the new range. The launch ran differently to a motorcycle one. At bike launches you assume that all riders are somewhat professional. Quads are different as you have so many publications from varying disciplines, some who have never ridden before. We were let loose on a slow but tight flat course and funnily enough, told to be careful with the grass as there would be a wedding on the next day. All the bike journos said “Yeah, nah. We are here to test them”!
Sorry Witchmount Estate Winery! Throwing the keys to a bunch of bike journo’s meant your grass was getting destroyed no matter how carefully we rode.
Straight away I noticed how easy they start, a single quick push of the starter motor and both the CFORCE 400 and 520 kick-over with no worries at all. You can leave the bike idling and start it without brakes on in neutral/park but the awesome part is that it’ll start in any gear just by grabbing the brake while kicking it over. Awesome for a quick get away if you’re in a hurry on the farm.
The gear selector is something that has been borrowed straight from the car world. Slotting it into high and low range is easy, while reverse is no worries. Quick shifts from forwards to reverse isn’t advisable as the shifter did get a little stuck in between gears if you’re too hasty. Things like that, it’s best to just be gentle to make them last as long as possible.
Coming from a drifting background, nothing was going to stop Zane from getting the CFORCE at full opposite lock.
The whole range comes with a homologation kit that you can opt to remove if you’re not going to be putting them on conditional rego, it does look cool with all the road gear on it. Kind of like an 4×4 with no roof and steering wheel, it’d be funny to see these on the road like they’re allowed to be in the UK.
Starting out on the CFORCE 400 EPS, I chucked it in high range 2WD and went on my way to hooning it. For my first time ever riding a quad, I’m blown away by the CFORCE’s rideability. It threw me off balance slightly taking off for the first time as you don’t realise just how much torque that 400cc single has, but a few laps in and I’m already flinging it around the corners with ease.
Mojo Motorcycles actually spent a heap of their own money to ensure that the CFORCE’s exceeded the roll over requirements set by the Australian government.
Mojo Motorcycles actually spent a heap of their own money to ensure that the CFORCE’s exceeded the roll over requirements set by the Australian government, and you can feel how sturdy the quad is considering I was throwing it into the corners the gear the rear to step out and I somehow didn’t end up upside down despite my poor form.
“You can feel how sturdy the quad is considering I was throwing it into the corners the gear the rear to step out and I somehow didn’t end up upside down despite my poor form…”
After cutting a few laps on the EPS model, I decided to see how much of a difference the non electric power steering 400 feels. It’s like night and day, even in 2wd mode it’s far more work to ride the base model. Granted, we were doing low speed turns and I was trying to drift but that EPS works so well, you almost wouldn’t bother considering the base model. However, if you’re trying to keep costs down and you have a mostly flat property then I can see why you’d opt for it.
The EPS and non-EPS models are like night and day. The EPS makes light work of steering in 4WD mode.
The course didn’t allow to test what the suspension was really made of, but there were some small moguls around the back end of the course. I blasted over these to see how well the CFORCE handled sudden jolts at the front end and it absolutely soaked them up with no worries. No sudden bump steer or back breaking rebound.
The bumps gave me a good indication of how far Chinese automotive manufacturing has come. CFMOTO motorcycles are already dripped with quality at the same Chinese price and it seems as if the quad bike range followed close behind too. Nothing on any of the models feels cheap or tacky, nothing rattles and it doesn’t feel like parts are going to fly off when I hit the speed bumps with speed. The most important thing to note is that riding two or three of the same models felt identical, it sounds silly but I’ve ridden launches before where each bike feels completely different due to a lack of quality control.
Despite having just 4hp more than the 400, the 520 has noticeably more grunt thanks to its longer stroke.
Taking the 520 for a fang and I instantly notice that extra 4hp! It sure feels like a lot more but it could also be thanks to the bigger tyres and that longer stroke which releases more power down low. You do get a few more things for your cash on the 520 like handguards, bigger LCD dash and slightly different styling but the value for money comes more in the form of that extra go.
Despite the course being flat, I put the 520 into 4WD mode with open front diff. It’s still great fun and the steering is quite light. It’s worth mentioning that you’ll most likely lose some of that turning circle in 4WD mode but it would awesome in low range for climbing up loose surfaces. The front diff lock did make it slightly harder to turn but you’re not going to spend much time in that anyway.
In 4WD mode, the CFORCE has a noticeable increase in grip. It’s as simple as stopping and hitting a switch on the right hand side of the handlebars.
The brakes and tyres work together well, the rear end will only really slip out when you fling it into a corner and stomp on the accelerator. But, the aggressive knobby tyres grip into the wet grass well, on flat ground you wont notice a difference between the 24in and 25in tyres across the three models but I can see the bigger wheels being helpful on rough terrain. The brakes pulled up the circa 350kg machine quite well despite having no ABS.
The actual riding time was quite short but towards the end I start getting a hang of what the quad likes to do and what it doesn’t. It’s a go anywhere machine but definitely something you want to ride gently to avoid a flip. Because you put a lot of force through the ‘bars to turn a quadbike, they use a push lever instead of a twist throttle, as a twist throttle would be impractical. My thumb started getting sore, but if you’re used to riding with them then you’ll have no issues!
Want a cheap workhorse? There’s nothing that contends with the CFORCE range for the price you pay…
All-round, my first quad bike experience was positive, it just further cemented my admiration for CFMOTO and their extraordinarily low pricing matched with spectacular quality. I would’ve loved to test the quads further but the last thing they needed was an accident on a machine they’ve spoken high of in terms of safety.
“CFMOTO prove that quality, cheap and reliable can go hand-in-hand with their new 2022 CFORCE range.”
Pricing starts at $8,490 rideaway for the non-EPS 400, which is just absurd how much you get for your money. The EPS 400 is $9,290 and the 520 is $9,990. I wish I had a use for one of these as they’re just so easy to ride and that $9000 is pocket money compared to some of the farm equipment out there today. You can also make it uniquely yours as CFMOTO have a massive range of accessories all with plenty of use. CFMOTO prove that quality, cheap and reliable can go hand-in-hand with the 2022 CFORCE range.
2022 CFMOTO CFORCE 400 [520] Specifications
Price: $8,490 rideaway, 400 EPS $9,290 rideaway, 520 $9,990 rideaway
Colours: Sky Blue, Lava Orange [Force Red]
Claimed power: 22kW@7200rpm [26kW@6750rpm]
Claimed torque: 33Nm@6000rpm [41Nm@5250rpm]
Dry weight: 332kg [35kg]
Fuel capacity: 17L
Engine: Single cylinder, liquid cooled, EFI, 4 stroke engine, SOHC, Four valve, 400cc [495cc], 91 x 61.5mm [91 x 76.2] mm bore x stroke, 10.3:1 compression ratio.
Gearbox: CVT with High and low range
Differentials: Rear constantly locked, front is switchable on and off, lockable
Chassis: Updated Frame
Suspension: Dual A-arm independent front and rear, Coil spring with oil dampening
Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes.
Wheels & Tyres: 12 x 6-inch (f), 12 x 7.5-inch (r), steel [12 x 6-inch (f), 12 x 7.5-inch (r), alloy] six-ply tyres on all models.
Dimensions:
Length: 2046mm
Width: 1125mm
Height: 1150mm [1162mm]
Wheelbase: 1260mm
Ground clearance: 252mm [262mm]
Instruments & Electronics: LCD dash.
Editor’s Note: If you are reading this article on any website other than BikeReview.com.au, please report it to BikeReview via our contact page, as it has been stolen or re-published without authority.
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