CFMoto Reverse Gear

CFMoto’s 1250TR-G is the company’s range-topping touring model, which is powered by a 1279cc V-twin derived from KTM’s LC8 motor. Now an updated version including an electric-reverse gear appears to be under development.

The company has filed multiple patent applications showing how an electric reversing system can be added to the engine, using the starter motor to power the bike backward when the system is engaged. It’s an idea that’s already increasingly commonplace, with a growing number of big touring bikes and cruisers introducing reverse-gear systems to help maneuver at low speeds. With the 1250TR-G sitting at the top of CFMoto’s motorcycle range, with more technology than anything else the company offers, it’s a logical addition to the bike.

CFMoto’s patents show how the starter motor, which sits in the vee of the engine between the two cylinders (151 in the illustration), is conventionally geared to drive the crankshaft, which isn’t shown in the drawings but sits concentrically with the large gear marked “152.” Also not shown, but present on the standard bike and retained in the new designs, is a one-way freewheel which sits in the center of that large gear and joins it to the crankshaft. That means when the engine isn’t running the starter will engage and turn it over, but once the engine is turning under its own power it won’t make the starter spin.

The reverse-gear system comes in the form of an additional set of gears mounted underneath that main starter gear, with an electronic actuator that can engage or disengage reverse via a dedicated selector fork. The actuator appears to be a key element of the development, with two separate patents showing different designs for that component and its linkage. Both versions include mechanical fail-safe systems that prevent reverse from being engaged unless the bike is in neutral.

In operation, the actuator engages the reverse gear, connecting the starter motor to the transmission, and the starter itself is rotated backward to power the bike in reverse. The existing freewheel in the starter gearing means turning the starter backward doesn’t engage it with the engine, allowing it to work solely to power the bike backward. As on other bikes with reverse gears, the system is likely to be operated via a button on the handlebar, making it easy to paddle the bike backward without having to dismount and push it. There’s also the potential for the system to work as a low-speed forward gear, again for maneuvering—something that’s also a feature of some rival models that have an electric reverse.

Although a reversing system might be an unnecessary luxury, motorcycle companies are constantly engaged in a battle of one-upmanship and with one another, and with other high-end bikes getting reverse systems, CFMoto is clearly keen not to be left behind. You can already get reverse on bikes like Honda’s Gold Wing, BMW’s R 18 and K 1600 models, and in China the new Souo S2000 flat-eight tourer.

The 1250TR-G’s engine, while derived from KTM’s V-twins, is much modified, putting out 140 hp, and following a midlife refresh the latest version already has kit including radar-assisted adaptive cruise control. Adding reverse during its next update would help keep it in contention with its key rivals, and given CFMoto’s rapid expansion into the realm of larger-capacity models for export, it would be no surprise to see it added to the list of models available here in the future.