There’s more appetite than ever for ‘lightweight’ adventurers – and the Chinese-made CFMoto 450MT ticks a lot of boxes. Adam Child (Chad) has put the 450MT through its paces…
CFMoto has come a long way in the 35 years since its formation. The Chinese bike manufacturer, which now has 3000 dealers globally and employs over 5500 staff, is emerging as a serious contender as we move into 2024 – so serious it even has entries in this season’s Moto2 and Moto3 series.
The all-new CFMoto 450MT (for Multi-Function Touring) is the company’s latest offering: a 449.5cc adventure bike that is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at the A2 licence market and sits alongside the well-regarded 650MT, 700MT and 800MT. Featuring purposeful, big-bike rally styling and a slim, 270-degree crank parallel twin, the 450MT boasts an appetite-whetting spec that includes long-travel multi-adjustable KYB suspension, 220mm of ground clearance, and a dirt-focused 21-inch/18-inch front/rear wheel combination. There’s also a 5-inch full-colour dash along with Bosch traction control, dual-channel ABS, and an adjustable seat and rally-style screen. Price? A seriously impressive £5699.
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The 449.5cc parallel twin features twin balance shafts and a 270-degree crankshaft and is designed and produced by CFMoto in China. The base motor is already deployed in the 450SR and 450NK models, but CFMoto has introduced key updates to the camshaft, intake system, fuelling and exhaust to make it more adventure focused.
As expected for the price, the MT has a simple set up with no riding modes to alter the torque mapping along with a straightforward mechanical throttle without ride-by-wire. This old-school simplicity means there’s little technological wizardry to go wrong in the middle of nowhere, but also results in a snappy throttle response, especially off the bottom of the rev range. Once the throttle is open and any slack in the cable is taken up, the power delivery is relatively smooth, and the bike feels eager to get on with the ride. Yes, there’s only 41.57bhp available but I was surprised by the liveliness of the twin – and the exhaust sounds pleasingly fruity, too.
You’ll have to use more revs and gears to stay with the faster traffic – and you soon realise that revving the 450MT to the redline results in plenty of vibration and noise, but little else. On one rare occasion I saw an indicated 80mph on the dash, but not for long, and I suspect that, 75mph-or-above cruising might be a seriously vibey experience, and anything above 90mph will be hard going indeed.
On dirt, that sharp throttle gives the 450MT’s Chinese-made CST Ambro rubber a tough time, but equally it’s fun having enough grunt to slide the rear. The MT’s low and mid-range torque gave the MT real purpose and drive (relatively speaking) on the dusty trails encountered on test and allowed the rear to break free easily and predictably (once the traction control had been switched off).
The chassis components are all new and bespoke to the 450MT, and feature a tubular steel frame that has a removable underslung section and subframe which can both be replaced easily should they get damaged. KYB suspension has 200mm of travel at both ends and is supposedly fully adjustable (although I could only find adjusters for the rebound damping and spring preload on the rear shock) and gives an impressive 220mm of ground clearance. The wheels are spoked and have a 21-inch diameter front and an 18-inch diameter rear, while the MT’s dry weight is a claimed175kg.
Stopping power is provided by a single 320mm disc and four-piston caliper, with two-channel ABS provided by Bosch. The ABS can be switched off on the move, but at the rear only. On the road, there’s enough stopping power to make the front tyre squeal and skip on straight-line braking but, once again, there’s a lack of bite and feel (though our test bike had almost zero miles showing, meaning the discs and pads were brand-new, so the braking performance may improve over time). The ABS works to the same parameters whether off-road or on-road so kicks in predictably early when you hit the loose stuff, but for new riders this will add extra safety.
The 450MT coped well off-road. Some 90 per cent of our route was on trails comprising of dusty tracks, so nothing too serious, but when we did push on a bit the CF soaked up the terrain superbly, that long-travel suspension quite unfazed. Presented with steep inclines, the twin’s torque pulled us fuss-free to the top (but only after I’d switched off the TC). Faced with mud, sand, deep water, the bike just drove forwards, completely unflustered, and showed itself to be a solid and robust off-road bike – particularly for the price.
Push hard, and those tyres struggle for grip, while the suspension lacks the control it has during normal trail riding. But this isn’t a bike for off-road experts, it’s for everyday riders looking for a little weekend adventure – and for them the CFMoto 450MT undeniably does a job. It’s drop-it-in-the-mud, bounce-it-off-a-rock solid as well as a doddle to ride off-road. Most customers are going to appreciate that it’s built to a price, and just enjoy its uncomplicated qualities as a decent trail bike.
