CFMoto 450MT index page

Updated May 2025

• Stock CST Ambro tyres good on dirt, great on road and could have got 10,000km from them
• Smooth, grunty engine easy to manage and great sound
• Zero issues in 11,000km
• Suspension soaks it all up when laden (stock settings changed)
• Seat is low and good for up to 600-km road days
• Standing just about sustainable with 25mm risers on stock pegs (me: 6′ 1″/183cm)
• Lights light up at night like lights should
• Spoked wheels held up very well

• Wet weight can feel high off road when tanked-up and laden (+15kg baggage)
• ~70mpg fuel consumption nothing special for a 450
• Gear change not brilliant
• Jerky throttle at low rpm sometimes (mapped out at 10,000km service?)
• Kenda Big Blocks were no better on the dirt and gave a few moments on tarmac

Review
Back in the UK after leaving the MT in Morocco for the winter, doing two one-month spells on backroads and tracks with groups on mostly KTM 390s, plus a 5-day run along the TMT with big twins. Some rain damaged pistes were quite brutal, but still rideable with outriggers extended, the odd over-balance or best idea of all: stock suspension settings adjusted!

I stuck with the stock CST Ambro 4 tyres (Pirelli Scorpion Rally copies) mostly run at 30psi to protect the protruding tubeless rims which have held up very well. I just tapped the spokes and all are ringing nice and taut. Wet roads, dry trails and everything I’ve encountered in between, I’m impressed the Ambros, and when I changed them at around 8000km, there was a good 1000km left. That wasn’t enough to do one more lap and get me home so I had some Kenda Big Blocks fitted in Marrakech for the Last Tour and the 2000-km ride back.

After 5000km it was definitely time to meddle with the stiff suspension. Result: much better. Now it bottoms out where it should and handles all sorts of rocks and other roughage if taken at appropriate speeds. Prior to that, dropping the tyres to 26psi didn’t really make much difference along stony Acacia Avenue near Foum Zguid.

The grunty engine is so satisfying to use on tight trails and bendy roads. Suboptimal gear? No probs: the engine picks up from low rpm without the shudder of a big single, and the offbeat rat-tat-tat from the pipe adds to the enjoyment you don’t get on a CRF300L. Sometimes I think the kangarooing at low throttle openings has gone away (having the chain tension right helps), at other times it’s there but not enough to make me want to rush to some good internet and upload an OTA remap. Could it be to do with air pressure/humidity/ambient temps/fuel grade? Who knows but a new chain and a full service in Spain made it less noticeable and may have gone altogether.

The MT’s gear change was never that slick from new and was only shown up by the quick-shifting 390s I rode with for a while – let alone the Desert X Rally which was like clicking a dial. Then I had the bright idea to adjust the clutch cable tension at the bar even though it felt fine and guess what: now the gear change is normal. And with a new chain on the way back it was better still, but never that snickey.

I’ve been trying to unlearn the clutch habit and change just with the foot and a blip – it’s often seamless up and even down. I really need to try and do that more but a long decade of urban despatching has made clutch use a reflex.

Real-world fuel consumption was nothing special for a 450. All up I averaged 24kpl – 68UKmpg – 56.6US – probably no better than a T7. I did get a suspiciously good 81mpg (28.7kpl) one time without really trying. Sometimes I wonder if my tankside bags create the drag you’d expect. But my 300L had the same set up and got nearly 100mpg, so I don’t think so. Either way, the range is good for 400km, but with 17 litres up high, I try to stretch out the range on the piste.

No complaints about the brakes. One good front disc is all you need for a bike of this weight and power. On the dirt I leave the ABS and TC on. One day on a steep climb I looked back to check on the group and nearly steered myself over the edge (like you do), but the ABS caught me. I had to be pulled back. Similar happened a couple more times when I was too tired to react to yet another bend. The MT’s brakes hauled me up safely.

I did not noticeably activate the TC as the 40-hp cross plane motor just hooks up. That was until one dark night when the 6km track to our lodgings had stretches of deep soft sand. With tyres at road pressures the TC got in the way and I was going down, not forward. It had been a long day and it took me a while to remember and then fumble for the easily accessible TC/ABS kill button on the bars which did the trick. Another time, stalling on a steep climb, the back wheel span then cut with the TC. Again, killing the TC did the trick. I’ll keep the ABS on 24/7 but TC can get in the way on loose dirt. I really don’t think this bike needs it at all.

My unconventional rackless placement of a Kreiga low and forward on the LHS pillion footrest worked faultlessly, even with plenty of paddling through oueds and over rocky sections. I never even noticed it was there. The weight position must be as optimal as it gets and it hasn’t budged. It’s such a neat idea next time I’ll do both sides and ditch that tail pack which, handy though it is, makes getting on and off elegantly a pain.

I fell over once with a 3/4-full tank, inching round a rain-gouged switchback. The bike landed downhill but with all the others ahead, I was relieved to find I could lift it myself, helped by those grab handles at the back. But the Chinese plastic on the aftermarket handguard cracked like an egg. I replaced with proper ABS Barkbuster guards.
There could have been a couple more such falls-overs, but they’re avoidable thanks to the low seat. Yes, the lowness takes a bit more leverage to stand up, but I’ll take getting my feet on solid dirt any time.
On the trail, I’ve lowered the screen and MRA deflector to better see what’s ahead; a 2 minute job. Meanwhile, the bash plate batted back the odd flying stone and I never scrapped the base.

The 450MT was a mini T7, just like they say, but a bit big and heavy for solo trail exploring. Read about following the TMT with a 1250GS and a Ducati Rally X.