Once I got to Morocco I rode a couple of 1000 clicks on tracks and trails before deciding yes, it was time to fiddle with the suspension settings which I’d not touched from new. Some tracks – made rougher by the September floods – were giving me a hammering. The suspension was too harsh as many reviewers attest, especially at the lower speeds I ride at. I did try one stony stage with tyres aired down to 26psi, but it didn’t seem to make much difference, TL tyres being natively stiffer. I didn’t want to go lower on the untried rims – though they’ve since proved to be up to the job. On one ride without my 15kg of travel baggage (above) the bike was nice and agile but even harsher on very rough ground without the extra payload.
Amazingly for the price, the CF has fully adjustable suspension, and taking a cue from this ADVRider 450MT suspension thread, I should have started by setting the rear sag – a well-known metric for getting the rear suspension in the ballpark – but I didn’t. I never do. But I should.
Instead, I dialled back – unscrewed – the shock’s combined compression/rebound setting (below left; no tool needed; nice) from 11 down to 3. Then with a flat screwdriver I backed off the fork rebound (left fork) and fork compression (right fork) by one full turn (360°), and unscrewed the fork preload with a 14mm spanner by half a turn – and later another half turn. This was a definite improvement, especially on the trail.
By now I was riding with £22k of top-of-the-range Desert X Rally, and an HP 1250GS with similarly sophisticated suspension. On the roughest trails I was unable or reluctant to keep up with them. Three times more hp may have helped, but the MT’s springs lacked the solid yet plush feel of the Ducati which I rode briefly and which lapped up anything that was thrown at it.
So the stock set up is far from plush, but just a couple of minutes of easy tweaking has improved things a lot. The back-end bottoms out now (as it should on the biggest hits) and the fork has done the same on a couple of fast ditch impacts. When I get back in February I may crank the rear preload up half a turn which should help tighten up the steering and reduce G-outs. Plus try dropping the tyres again to 24-ish.
As it is now the 450MT is not quite as good as my Rally Raid sprung 300L from last year, nor my factory set-up Hyperpro 650 XCountry, but both had €1-2000 of added springware. I’ve spent nothing on the MT, bar a few minutes on adjustments. It all just underlines what a well configured machine the MT is.
Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 
Hi Just to confirm: do you mean both adjusters fully closed first (turned all the way in clockwise), and then open them back out so how much out for rebound/tension?and how much out for compression?
i like to hear! I bought your book and a cf moto 450😁
Thanks!
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Hi Bram, no I mean fully unscrewed/opened – anticlockwise – to the softest setting, then adding tension/damping etc.
My book + 450MT = good combo ;-)
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Hi Richard, ah got it now thanks for clarifying! That makes perfect sense 👍 And yes, your book + the 450MT is definitely a great combo 😁 My wife and I are heading to Morocco this April on two CFMOTO 450MTs and we’ll be riding the Trans Morocco Trail, so it should be the perfect read for the trip!
Best regards,
Bram
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Hi Chris you may be interested in following tweaks.
On my MT 450 ive taken one turn of preload off the front and reduced rebound and compression by 3 clicks.
On the rear I’ve gone up 3/4 turn of preload and reduced the rebound to 4 clicks from minimum. This is great for the tar and cornering however on rougher dirt roads it was more compliant with std spring preload and 2 clicks of rebound from minimum.
I’ve also lowered my forks 10 mm in to sharpen steering which is better on tar and dirt, and using Michelin Anakee adv tyres at 22 psi cold /hot. The rims are fine. These tyres give sport tyre grip and have lasted 7000 klms of fast tar cornering playing with mates on sport bikes! Fine on gravel and dirt but not mud.
Have also changed the stock gearing from 14/47 to 15/44! Removed 2 links from chain to bring wheelbase back to std. Bike is doing 1100 rpm less at 100kph. And I can still ride dirt roads and realistic trails too. Cheers Rowan
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Thanks Rowan. Lots of useful info. Don’t have my CF anymore but hopefully your tweaks will be of use to others.
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How much do you weigh?
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95kg + riding gear
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