We’re probably showing our age here (as usual), but single-sided swingarms are cool, right? Along with underseat exhausts and six-piston brake calipers? Okay, they’re kinda pointless unless you’re going endurance racing and want those sweet, fast wheel changes. And they’re heavier than a standard arm. But that aside, the slick mono-arm has graced some of the classically awesome sports bikes over the years: Honda’s VFR750R RC30 and VFR400 NC30, and the later RVF versions, not to mention the NSR250 strokers and NR750, Ducati’s 916 and the MV Agusta F4.
And if you want one nowadays on a new bike, you’re stuck with the choice of a Ducati or an Agusta – or a Triumph Speed Triple (we are ignoring the fact that BMW’s shaft-drive Boxers are technically single-siders, of course). Or, at least, you were, because Chinese firm CFMoto has just dropped this, the ‘S’ version of its 450 SR pocket sportsbike, which has a spanky new single-sided arm on show.