CFMoto 800MT-X Production Ready

[Hugh Janus]

The CFMoto 800MT-X is headed to production and will be available in multiple configurations. This is the high fender version with a short windscreen. (CFMoto/)

At EICMA last year CFMoto revealed the concept MT-X adventure bike, which was presented with minimal information but was clearly a step toward a more extreme twin-cylinder off-road machine. Now that bike has been confirmed for production with type-approval documents that reveal several versions and give the first definitive specifications.

It’s expected to reach production imminently under the title 800MT-X to align with the brand’s existing 800MT models, although those bikes are sold in the USA under the name Ibex 800 S and Ibex 800 T, so the more extreme version seen here could also get Ibex branding in the States.

The 799cc version of the LC8c that powers the 800MT-X is shared by CFMoto and KTM. (Husqvarna/)

The MT-X uses the KTM-designed, 799cc LC8c parallel-twin engine that’s manufactured for both CFMoto and KTM at the two companies’ joint venture factory in China for use in the KTM 790 Duke/Adventure, Husqvarna Svartpilen 801, and the CFMoto 800NK and Ibex. It’s a proven unit that’s still modern, lightweight, and compact, despite the fact it’s been superseded by 889cc “890″ versions in KTM’s range and a completely redesigned, 947cc “990″ twin in the new 990 Duke.

Related: 2025 CFMoto Ibex 450 First Ride Review

Another configuration uses a lower, hugger front fender. (CFMoto/)

In the MT-X, the type-approval documents say that the engine puts out 94 hp. It’s the same figure that’s claimed for the Ibex and for KTM’s 790 Adventure, so we can be fairly confident that the MT-X’s torque peak will also match the existing bike’s 57 lb.-ft. With the engine coming off the same production line as the KTM 790 units, it’s all but certain to have the same slipper clutch and six-speed transmission as the Austrian bike.

Like the engine, the MT-X’s frame appears to be borrowed directly from the KTM 790 Adventure, and the CFMoto inherits a similar fuel-tank arrangement with dual plastic tanks mounted low down (one each side of the engine) fed from a single, conventionally positioned filler ahead of the seat. It’s a solution that not only helps shift the center of gravity downward to reduce the perceived mass of the bike at low speed but also allows a longer, flatter seat that extends further forward, so you can get more of your weight over the front wheel when riding off-road.

This version has the high fender, aluminum luggage, and a taller windscreen. (CFMoto/)

Off-road ability is clearly a priority here. While the standard Ibex S and T models have 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels, allied to suspension with 6.3 inches of front travel and 5.9 inches at the rear, the MT-X has specs much closer to those of the KTM 790 Adventure. Although, like other CFMotos, it’s expected to use KYB suspension instead of the WP components that KTM relies on, its geometry, suspension travel, and ground clearance are much more suited to real adventure riding than the road-oriented Ibex S and T. The wheels, like those on the KTM 790 Adventure, are 21 inches at the front and 18 inches at the rear, with 90/90-21 and 150/70-18 rubber.

If anything, the clues from the new type approval suggest the CFMoto’s chassis geometry is closer to the more hardcore KTM 890 Adventure R than the standard 790 or 890 Adventure. The wheelbase, at 60.2 inches, is the same as the Adventure R’s, and slightly longer than the standard Adventure, suggesting longer-travel, taller suspension is used. Other dimensions confirmed in the document include a length of 91.8 inches, a width of 37.2 inches across the bars, and a height of either 54.9 inches or 53.5 inches when a lower screen is fitted.

This is the high fender version with the taller windscreen and a different color option. (CFMoto/)

The weight is also within a whisker of its KTM equivalent. The curb weight, including fuel, for the type approval is quoted at 471 pounds. That’s a fraction less than a 790 Adventure, which measures 480 pounds in the same state, though we don’t know yet how the two bikes’ fuel capacities compare. CFMoto has also type-approved a version of the MT-X with aluminum luggage fitted, pushing the curb weight up to 518 pounds.

In fact, the company’s type-approval paperwork has revealed no fewer than eight variants of the bike thanks to the combination of the luggage, two different screen heights, and the ability to choose between a high-mounted front fender and a more street-oriented front hugger that stays close to the tire.

When compared to the concept version shown at EICMA, the production version has made a few sacrifices. The concept bike featured Brembo four-piston front calipers and shrouded rotors, while the production bike gets J.Juan calipers (like those used by KTM) and loses the extra plastic around the disc. It also gains passenger footpegs that were missing from the concept, and the show bike’s Akrapovič exhaust will be swapped for a purpose made, CFMoto-designed road-legal version.

With the type approval complete, the MT-X should be rolling off production lines imminently. Since the concept version made its debut in Europe, it’s expected to be a global model rather than a China-only machine, and represents the first time that CFMoto has gone head-to-head with its partner firm KTM in the same part of the market.

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[Buckster]

Pete would have loved these.

[Saul]

10 hours ago, Marcel le Moose Fondler said:

I wish they stopped using the word KTM...I'm about to vomit..

Face it KTM are selling out and going chinese like many brands before them.  Sad but true.  Hopefully that will raise the quality that comes out of china.