CFMoto Unveils KTM-Powered 800MT Adventure Bike

[Advpulse]

No one needs to remind us how strongly adventure bikes are trending these days. Just open your computer and bam! there’s another new model to consider. The latest player on the bustling field is CFMoto’s 800MT, officially unveiled last week at the Auto Shanghai show.

It doesn’t look like the smaller, more mainstream bikes we’re used to seeing come out of China, does it? That’s thanks in major part to KTM and its now 11-year-old “strategic cooperation agreement” with CFMoto, a so-far successful and ever-expanding give/take for both parties. At the core of the partnership the Austrian giant trades its sophisticated technologies and high quality standards for an inside track into CFMoto’s deep and widespread manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, which helps keep consumer pricing in check. 

Cornering ABS will be a first for a Chinese model, says CFMoto. Other high-spec features include traction control, keyless start, built-in GPS, ride modes and more.

But the 800MT doesn’t look anything like a KTM adventure bike either, that is, unless you hone in on the 799cc LC8c parallel twin adopted from the 790 Adventure, which, as you know, has been upgraded in 2021 to 889cc for the Western market, leaving the LC8c version to stand alone in this, and likely other new models from CFMoto.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---

The 800MT is notably the first dedicated model to come out of the joint venture of these two manufacturing giants. It’s a handsome machine, with aggressive looks more inline with Honda’s Africa Twin than KTM’s more usual vibe, especially the pinched fairing, headlamp and screen grouping. The split and dropped fuel cell was nixed by a more traditional touring-style top mounted tank, for example. 

7-inch TFT screen gives access to ride modes, GPS navigation, Bluetooth connectivity to pair a smartphone and a host of other features.

The details we know so far are that the 800MT will be one of the highest performing motorcycles to ever wear badging from a Chinese builder, with the LC8c delivering a claimed 94 hp and 57 ft-lbs of torque. It will come with Bosch’s cornering ABS, as well as traction control and luxurious amenities like keyless start, built-in GPS, heated grips and seat and KTM’s rich suite of electronics, all accessed on a bright 7-inch TFT display. 

What is all CFMoto’s choosing is implementation of Japanese KYB suspension over KTM-owned WP, and brakes from Spain’s J Juan, likely a move to keep the price low. While the 800MT uses a steel tube frame we’re used to seeing on the KTMs, it does have a unique aluminum swing arm system.

Seat h is reported at 825mm (32.5 inches). The bike also comes with heated grips and seat.

According to Cycle World, the 800MT will weigh 509 pounds without luggage or 547 pounds with the aluminum side cases, top box and mounting system. Wheels are 19-inch front/17-inch rear cast as stock, with spoked rims as an upgrade, while other add-ons would be the skid plate and auxiliary lighting we see in the photos, though it’s likely CFMoto will offer a special addition outfitted for the dirtier side of adventure riding.  

With production slated for “Q2 of 2021” there should be 800MTs rolling off the line any minute. Pricing is rumored to be on the low side of ADV bikes in this category: Somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 yuan, which comes out to something around $7,700–$10,700 usd.

LED headlights and driving lights are standard.

Of course this particular adventure bike will be introduced in the Asian markets before we see it in other parts of the world. No doubt CFMoto hopes the borrowed KTM performance and technology will add cache to the model, raising the bar for further in-country manufacturing. But with more Chinese imports making the scene in the U.S. each year, it’s not so far-fetched to think we’ll see the 800MT and other bikes like it on — and off — roads here in the U.S. sometime in the near future.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.