Adventure Motorcycling Handbook

Sit back and allow me to confidently evaluate CFMoto’s 450MT as a travel bike, based solely on online imagery, claimed data and other people’s opinions and vids. Turning Ch-Chinese? I really think so.

CFMoto 450MT Index page

Update 2: I bought one. Index page here. Update: there was a global media launch for the 450MT in the Philippines in March and a few reviews have appeared. Plus there’s more (of the same) info on the CFMoto EU site here.There’s a review at motorcycle.com and here’s probably the best launch video review from Ozzie. As the guy says at the end: “after riding the 450MT, we have little doubt other manufacturers will jump into this capacity. Don’t be surprised to see a T4 somewhere down the line…”

The vid below is a bit gushy by comparison, but gives some good information and close-ups. My text below has been refined following these vids.

Didn’t I say ten years ago that had my 1st-gen CB500X Rally Raider had a 270° crank I might have kept it a bit longer and enjoyed riding it a bit more? Just like I did with my later XScrambleR 700, NC750X, Africa Twin as well test rides on an Enfield Interceptor, MT07, KTM 890 and the like. Along with the forthcoming 450MT, all 270s, and all the better for it.

In case you don’t know, a parallel twin motor with ‘offset’ 270-° crank timing feels and sounds like a torquey V-twin. One piston always moving when the other is changing direction may have some ‘bearing’, but whatever the reason, I have yet to encounter a dislikable 270° P-twin. Now, almost every P-twin made is a ‘cross plane’ 270, Honda’s 500s are an unfortunate exception; Kawasaki’s 300 is another.

At 270 you get all the distinctive throb of a wide-angle V-twin like a Ducati or a V-Strom, but without their complexity and space (wheelbase) issues. And all the while you dodge the blandness of a typical ‘Japanese’ 180°, or the converse bone shaking vibration of a 360 (old Brit twins).But featuring 270° timing in a small, 450 P-twin is an inspired move. KTM have collaborated with CFMoto since 2011 and CFMoto build their smaller bikes and bigger engines. It’s speculated that the 450MT might even be a version of the much anticipated ‘490’ which KTM recently cancelled.

in 2015 I wrote a prescient article: the Chinese Bikes Are Coming. Well, they’re well and truly here, but even back then CFMoto - around since 1989 - was one of the bigger and better established players. In the UK they’ve been marketed as WK including the short-lived WK400 proto-Himalayan (see link above).

But while the MT is a new model, the 450 motor is out there already in CFMoto’s 2023 450NK and 450SS (and now a 450CL-C) road bikes (going for £5000 and £5600 respectively) and which seem to get the thumbs up. The MT gets detuned by ~10% to 44hp they say, producing more torque at lower rpm. They’ve thought through what’s wanted in a travel bike and it’s not a five-figure red line. So, I’m potentially sold on the motor; let’s list what I feel are some of the 450MT’s other highlights.

Why do so many reviewers (but not more engaged commenters) have a blind spot for the no-brainer benefits of tubeless wheels? Few mention it in their critiques, but must understand the real-world benefits in quickly repairing flats in the middle of nowhere.

Low seat height. It does look low and the reviewers above say so too. The claim is 800-820mm adjustment stock or 31.5″/32.3″ in old money. So around the same as my old Him whose low saddle I still recall fondly. There’s an 870 mil bench seat option, too.

17.5 litre tank (4.6 USg). Combine that with a, let’s say, 26.5kpl (75 UK mpg) potential and that’s over 460km range. Nice.

Unlike a lot of over-designed Chinese Adv bikes - and some KTMs for that matter - the MT looks good, doesn’t it? Kiska, who work with KTM had a hand in it, and have done a much less eye-straining job. The pipe is not some hideous cannon, like Honda’s CT500, the lines flow and… I’d better stop before I get out of my moto design depth. A mini T7 without the nose bleeds. It’s a 42-horse unicorn.

Eight inches or 200mm of fully adjustable KYB suspension travel. To me 200 mil is a ballpark figure for a bike this size. And did I hear talk of a remote adjustment device (HPA) on the back? No. On the bike in the Philippine video there’s a dial but it’s for damping. Old-school crenelated rings on the right tell the true story. Oh well.

Juiced up, they estimate the 175-kilo claimed dry weight rising to nearly 195kg in the real wet world. That’s about the same as my old CB500X before I started adding protection, racks, better suspension, tubeless 19-er front wheels and so on. We’ll know for sure on the day, but the 450MT appears to have much of this kit out of the crate.

A screen that’s adjustable. In a world where people’s height varies. The range may be minimal but it all helps to reduce buffeting and fatigue for various rider sizes. I see a nice, easy-to-use knurled knob on both sides. That’s the way to do it.

No OTT twin front discs. But as long as the four-piston radial front caliper delivers a good, modulated bite on the 320-mm rotor, that ought to be all you need on a sub 200 kilo, 42-hp bike. My similar CB500X was fine; now they come with twin fronts and a bold new colour schemes because ‘more must be better’. The vids suggest the front brake is OK.

Hand guards (actually: crap), tail rack, and a small adjustable screen all seem to be stock, though the OEM bashplate is thin steel option. The usual crash bar and hard cases also shown as accessories.

Other stuff

• Colour TFT screen looks well laid out
• Bluetooth connectivity. Whatever
• The pegs are wide, the radiator appears tucked in, the subframe is detachable; so are the pillion pegs
• LED lighting. OK then
• Traction control at 42hp? With the necessary switchable ABS I suppose it’s easily incorporated

CF Moto’s 450MT is a significant bike, the first to fill the ‘450’ gap by narrowing the ‘getting there / being there’ [fast on highway / manageable on dirt] paradigm, thanks to its seat height, combined with adequate power and great range. The good looks and 270° soundtrack you get for free. You’ll easily find an official YT video of a bloke tearing up the desert on his MT. It’s in the UK from July and, compared to the other CFMoto 450 prices, you’d looking at £5700. While a 1290 with ten inches of travel and 160hp will appeal to some, the longed-for and practical 450s Advs are coming - and about time too.

Wheel sizes. Do they matter?People blindly praise the 18/21 ‘dirt bike’ wheel combo on the MT) as if it magically transforms a bike. A bit like spoke wheels are a must-have for Advs in any size (don’t start me on that). True, on a 120-kilo MX-er, a front 21 cuts through mud and sand, but can feel less secure on roads where most road-legal dual sports ride. That’s why I prefer do-it-all front 19s for gravel roading, as on my 300L. On the dirt I barely notice the Honda’s 19 front as I’m plodding along; on the road the CRF corners much more securely, road surface, road surface and tyre design limits notwithstanding. A 310GS definitely rides better on its 17/19 combo and is OK on the dirt.But on the back a 17-inch rear opens up lots more tyre choices, especially in tubeless, and ought to lower the seat height. Eighteen-inch tyres typically have tall side walls for more off-road squidge as well as longer footprints once substantially aired down, though the 140/70-18 CST on the back of the 450MT looks fairly low profile/road oriented. And 17/18 on the road - dynamically could anyone detect a difference?