I’m not a sport bike guy. I prefer my motorbikes relaxed, occasionally off-road curious, and with the same finesse and grace of a wagon. However, as an enthusiast, I would never turn down an opportunity to try out any bike. In fact, I’d hop on any type of bike given the chance. So when I looked into CFMoto’s 500SR Voom, I expected the typical mid-weight bike performance. But then I saw the actual numbers.

“There is no way this bike has 78 horsepower, it’s just 500ccs—those are big boy numbers!” “Wait. It’s an inline-four, AND it revs ridiculously high? Okay, that’s pretty cool.” “It costs just how much?” I said all these (and some more) to myself, but mostly to my computer screen. I was properly interested.

What got me first was the styling. While most fully-faired sport bikes today wear that sharp, always angry cowl, the Voom goes retro. The design recalls the days of the flat-faced Honda CBRs and Kawasaki ZXs of the late 80s and early 90s, complete with the headlight “eyes”. Only in this case, the “headlights” are actually ram air intakes; the real LED lights are hidden under the front cowl.

From the Voom’s first start-up at Motostrada, all the way in Caloocan, things were already looking exciting. The bike let out this hair-raising, insanely satisfying inline-four rumble just by idling, and I honestly couldn’t wait to hear it build up revs on the way home. If there was an exhaust sound the kamotes are trying to emulate with their loud rattling cans for mufflers, it was this.

The exhaust note was powerful yet refined, but it’s not the kind that wakes up the neighbors. It’s the type of sound that can only be made by an honest inline-3 or -4. If this unit were mine, I wouldn’t even bother with an aftermarket muffler; it already sounds so good as is. So far, it’s been nothing but good first impressions.

At its core is a 499cc inline-four engine. It makes a hearty 78 horsepower–supposedly up to 82hp with the ram air intake–and 49 Newton-meters of torque. It’s matched with a 6-speed gearbox that’s equipped with a slipper clutch and quick upshifter. Together, the Voom can, and will, give you that surging sprint if you ask it to.

Power delivery was smoothly linear and predictable. Torque came in early, and the power didn’t fade until the upper rev range–all the way to 16,000rpm(!). I rarely bothered with the quickshifter; every clutch pull and the mechanical click-clack of the gear pedal were something I wanted to savor.

Being on the controls felt like syncing with a mecha that had its own will. The Voom seemed to whisper in your head, daring you to misbehave, just begging you to climb the gears and run.

If you resist the urge, going back to reality greets you with a 5-inch vivid TFT display–one piece of tech that CFMoto has down to a T. Interestingly, there’s also a neat graph of the power band that updates live as you ride along. It would be cool to ride at optimal power output and see the lines on the graph move. In reality, though, nobody would be looking down at the screen while riding. Still, it’s a neat addition to the dash.

With a good amount of horsepower on tap, CFMoto equipped the Voom with some seriously strong brakes. Up front are dual 300mm discs paired with four-piston calipers, while the rear holds a single 220mm disc, both ABS-equipped. The rear brakes had enough bite to do most of the work, with the front acting as your backup. If you drop your guard and grab the front brakes, the Voom won’t hesitate to throw you off.

As for the fuel economy, well, let’s just say that you might as well be driving a small car. I was hovering in the mid-teens and, if I’m lucky, barely up to the lowest twenties in kilometers per liter. It doesn’t help that the Voom feels choked crawling in traffic while simultaneously liking to rev high. With the nature of this bike, though, you really can’t complain.

The 198 kilogram mass is distributed well, and the handling was light. Every turn-in and every lean-in felt instinctive and natural. Needless to say, the Voom likes to go fast in a straight line; it even comes stock with a steering damper. With the right partner, it will dance effortlessly around corners. The stock 17-inch CST Ride Migra S3N tires offered confidence-inspiring traction, too.

The ride ergos were, as expected, very aggressive. You’re leaning all the way forward, with most of your weight on your forearms. The footpegs are quite high and biased slightly to the rear, so the body position felt very much like a constant squat. The 41mm USD fork and single rear shock were preload and rebound adjustable. Still, the suspension was generally sporty-stiff. Add in the dense saddle, and any slightly bumpy road becomes a wrist- and back-killer.

A few days and over a hundred kilometers on the Voom reminded me of what the sport bike hype is all about. The experience was the complete opposite of my preferred riding style, and I think that’s what made the rides more special. Sport bikes might not be my thing, but every twist of the throttle was as enjoyable as it is on any scrambler or cruiser.

If the Voom was a scaled-down glimpse of the supersport world, it’s one that feels surprisingly accessible. It delivers the thrill and precision you’d expect from a high-performance machine, but without the intimidation factor. You get the rush, the refinement, and the responsiveness in a package that will only set you back P383,900.

It’s definitely not a hundred-horsepower beast, but it’s capable in its own right. And relative to its segment, it sits above most other motorbikes. The Voom was heavy on the howl, bold on the road, and ready to punch above its weight. It’s a bike made to be ambitious–maybe even ready to go against the likes of the Kawasaki ZX-4RR.

Regardless of whatever people’s perceptions of China-made motorcycles are, I think CFMoto built one that should not be underestimated.