So at this weekends Sand Sport Show I was able to meet up and speak with the lead designer of the CFMOTO ZForce Z10. BTW CFMOTO is spelled in caps.
This car was the vision of CFMOTO founder and President Guogui Lai. To build this car Mr Lai knew he had to put the right team together in the USA to make this happen. Mr Lai is committed to the USA market and future of CFMOTO in North America. The people behind this first USA design project came from Polaris, Can Am & Arctic Cat. These people were apart of the Polaris XP Pro, Pro series, Ranger & Expedition. The people from Can Am were apart of the X3 and a few other Can Am models. This Z10 project took just over 3 years to get to where we are today. (A side note about CFMOTO is they have been building motorcycles for KTM and just last year CFMOTO signed an agreement with Yamaha to build small engine motorcycles for the Asian market.)
Here was the original sketch of the Z10
I was shown some of the process and a full sized clay model was created. It was impressive to see a picture of this. Sorry I was not allowed to take or share pictures of this, but I hear they might be releasing a cool video showing some of this. Another very cool part of the process I was told was the development of the rear radiator was very complex. It would have been way easier to just put the radiator in the front, but that did not fit the vision. To R&D the rear radiator they actually bought a X3 as the X3 wheelbase and rear packaging was similar. They built there rear radiator cooling package and used the X3 as a test mule. This also allowed them to test in more places in plain view and yet not attract attention. I was told some of the different locations that the top brands do their testing, and in many cases current model cars are used with R&D parts on them. But it’s not common to use another brand car to build and test your parts with. But it was brilliant as it saved a ton of time and money. They did not have to build a car to see if the concept was viable. I thought this was pretty awesome.
The chassis is a full welded chassis with double shear suspension mounting points. I’m told that Polaris is still hand welding most of their chassis. CFMOTO is fully robotic welding theirs like Speed for a more consistent weld and penetration. Looking under the front hood I could see how the main chassis and upper shock mounts are properly tied in together. (Sorry I forgot to get a picture of it!!) The upper roll cage is 2 inch tubing. I asked tube thickness, and they shy’ed away from answering the question, but I was shown a preproduction wiring hole in the upper cage that won’t be in the production car, and from what I could see and feel, I’m guessing it was .083? It was thicker than what Polaris & Can Am are using, (Might be the same as the Pro R?) The 2 seat upper roll cage is one piece and the 4 seat is two pieces, but only has 2 roof connectors. The cage corner gussets are all fully welded tube. Not riveted & stitch welded like Can Am or stitch welded plate gussets like Polaris is doing on their sport machines. This was something they made a big point to do, and was pointed out to me a few times.
This same 3 cylinder engine is also being used in their new UForce U10 model utility UTV, but is non Turbo’ed. It’s producing 100hp, and from what it sounds like this engine is more than capable of producing more power. My guess is 30% in a N/A form? In the Z10 platform this engine is turbocharged, but is using a very low boost, and does not have an inner cooler. This is producing 143 HP. I’m told this tune & boost is very conservative and this engine has allot more to go. When I asked about reliability as past cars have not been known to be top contenders. It was first pointed out that CFMOTO actually has a good reputation for its engines, thus why KTM & Yamaha are using them. But that this engine, they are very confident in and they see it being a great foundation engine like the Rotax 999 has been in the Can Am X3. Also CFMOTO is so confident in their product they are giving you a 1 year factory warranty.
I have circled where the alternator kit would bolt in. The Stator cover would be removed with a new cover and pulley. I believe there would be a cover shielding it all from debris.
Looking at the suspension, comparing it to a Pro Turbo or Pro R is small. But this is a 64 inch wide car. Comparing it to other 64 inch cars it’s more robust in size and uses stamped plates welded up. Also the lower are is arched for increased ground clearance.
The steering rack is on the back side of the front suspension, but for a 64 inch it looks big. I’m betting this is so it’s ready for a 72-74 inch wide car. The tie rods are big and the rack looks very much like a X3 rack. I’m told it’s not a direct swap, but I’d bet Shock Therapy could modify their X3 rack to fit this car. Maybe just a new housing to line up the mounting points?
Shocks are 2.5 and are called QSE. This is very similar to the 3 position Fox QS3 shock that you would find on the Polaris RZR or the Wildcat XX, but I’m told the compression adjustments between the 3 setting is increased and much more noticeable between soft & firm. The Z10 is the first to have this and the first to be able to adjust from the cab on the fly. So not a true smart shock, it is electric adjusted. This is also the only production UTV that comes with Eibach springs. (I’m told this could change to another manufacturer in later releases, as using Eibach is a big expense, but if they did switch they would want the same quality would just not a brand name. I’m thinking like Shock Therapy does with getting outsourced springs.
The rear suspension is a 4 link design, using a Polaris/Can Am style rear trailing arm, but the toe link is very different then the other two. Plus they changed up the axle design. The inner CV plunges, but then they let the center of the axle plunge too. This is similar to what you would see on the Arctic Cat XX. Time will tell how this all works, but it allows them 20 inches or rear wheel travel out of a 64 inch wide car. Will be interesting to see what they might do to a 74 inch car??
