450MT INDEX PAGE (newest first)
450MT Featured in Bike magazine
450MT On the Trans Morocco Trail
450MT 11,000km review
450MT Suspension fix
450MT Rackless, the Miss ing Link
450MT Set up for Morocco
450MT Mileage Diaries
450MT Paddling to the bike shop
450MT: Actual quick look
450MT: Preview

My 2024-5 project bike was CFMoto’s new 450MT. We’ve been clamouring for bikes like this or the new 450 Himalayan for years. For years Japan’s Big Four have been slow in getting it, or don’t see it as worthwhile. The stillborn Honda 450L came and went, the DR-Z400 was long gone in Europe.
But in 2024 that all changed. Suzuki announced a pricey, injected DR-Z 4S for 2025, leaving underpowered 300s like CRFs or Kawasaki’s Versys twin (which I’ve never seen anywhere). Even Triumph (below right) might spin off an Adventure bike from their very popular 400X before we see a Yamaha T4½. The 390 Adventure R was announced in autumn 2024 looks loads better than the road-biased 390 Advs I’ve used in Morocco. And so does the snazzy BMW 450 twin concept. And these are just the major brands.

All of a sudden the future looks bright for 400s but my 450MT is here and now and YouTube seems packed with drooling owners’ reviews which try but fail to find holes to pick.
Both the Triumph 400X (same price as MT) and the Him 450 (£600 more in tubeless) were on my list. Seen but not tried either. I knew all along the cool-looking Triumph would be an eccentric choice for my easy-off-road usage: the usual 19-er naked road bike in need of mods, like my as-cool XSR.

I was all set on a Him 450 which was also widely raved upon, until a distant dealer went quiet. By that time I realised my LBS just 8.3 miles away sold both Hims and 450MTs on the quiet.
Set aside the 10% saving over a tubeless Him, at the same weight the MT made a more interesting project. It’s one of the first Chinese-branded bikes people are taking seriously, and not just because it’s only £5700. I put some money down and by chance it came in a good month early on a hot day, so I paddled over to the bike shop to collect it.

I can’t recall a new bike from an obscure brand getting so much positive attention in early reviews – see the video comparison above – there are loads more. Part of the reason must be that no bike in years has delivered so much for the money to the point that people wonder what the catch can be. At worst, right now that might be the short, 3000-mile service intervals, a snatchy throttle at low rpm, and ordinary fuel economy topping out at around 75mpg or 26kpl, giving a range of 455km or 283 miles which will do me. It’s exactly what my old CB500X averaged over 5000 miles.

Initial impressions
There are loads of online reviews already; here’s what I see. A machine whose attention to detail and finish matches or exceeds that that of any established brand. You’d hope this superficial impression translates to build quality and durability: the 64,000￥question that’ll be answered by me and other owners in the coming months and years.

Look at the list below. Every single item was not included or needed adding to my recent CRF300L.

• Folding foot control tips
• Rear rack and grab handles
• Bash plate (thin steel/plastic)
• Hand adjustable screen (55mm range)
• Two-position rear linkage (for lower seat height)
• Tubeless 18/21 spoked wheels
• Key lock seat
• Wide footrests
• Folding mirrors
• 3-way adjustable forks (comp + rebound + preload)
• Adjustable shock damping (combined compression/rebound kbob)
• USB + Type C plugs
• Clear display and intuitive screen menu

That’s a couple of grand to spend on top of a £5800 CRF300L. Of course what you’re paying for with the 300 is a lot less weight. I estimate my CRF-L kitted out and tanked up weighed just 162kg.
The MT is a full-sized bike and reminds me of my early Rally Raid CB500X (left; now the renamed the £6830 NX500). With the space and comfort comes perceived bulk and actual weight, though the MT is better in nearly all ways bar Honda’s legendary reputation. My 500X also had none of the above list and needed the same couple of grand plus wrenching, though today’s NX has quite a few improvements.
Tanked up at 195kg, I do notice the weight of the MT until it’s on the move and probably again in slow, rough terrain. Good suspension helps reduce that impression (more below).

About the least functional thing on the MT are the plastic hand guards (above left), but even they’re nicely moulded. I’m not sure any new bike comes with proper metal framed handguards, does it?
And the 2mm steel and plastic bash plate (right) will merely deflect stones and insects, and underneath has about 1mm of clearance between the cat (a bit more under the offset sump. A thicker plate and guards are on they way.
A quick flick through the dash screens (below) was done without needing to RTFM. All as intuitive as a Mac. You can change the display, switch from miles to kms, and switch off ABS and traction control with a button on the left bar so it stays off. I find this whole ABS-defeat business a bit redundant in the face of modern brake intervention and given the donkey speeds I ride at. Young bucks may feel differently; we’ll see if ABS is a liability on the trail. In my case, I doubt it. TC proved to be another matter and does need disabling at times. see my 11,000-km conclusion.

The numbers in white are a bit small to read, especially the useful clock when you got a ferry to catch. Actual engine temp is nice; the fan kicks in around 90°C. The fairing even has one of those rally-style 12mm bars to mount a nav device. I searched high and low for an adaptor for my Montana mount but in the end will just use a RAM off the bars.

Fitting the Montana for an afternoon ride, I realised I actually like having it close at hand, not out at arm’s reach. That’s partly because my trusty Montana 680 has a small, dim screen compared to mobiles. And it’s also heavy, so up on the screen bar is not a great location with the inertia and hammering.

After 150 miles keeping down to 60-ish, the dash mpg read-out crept up from low 60s out the shop to 72mpg/25.5kpl which is encouraging. We’ll see how high it gets and how accurate that read-out is at the first fill up, but if it settles at that figure that’s well over the target 250m/400km range. This is on E5 btw, which is 20p more expensive per litre, but I thought better for running in.

One chipped gear tooth in the ointment are oil changes at 3000m/4500km and even new plugs at 6k. Oil capacity is 2.5L (specs above) which seems to be adequate – surely it’ll last longer than 3000 miles or super modern semi-synthetic oil? Or is it a dodge to cover/pay for the claimed 4-year warranty? No regular 3000-mile service with oil change – no warranty, sir. My 300L ran 8000 miles on 1.8 litres (though I didn’t leave it that long). An NX500 is also 8000 miles but on 3.2 litres. My Him 400 was the same as the MT plus over-frequent valve clearance checks, but that was a relatively basic air-cooled motor.

Having stock ‘MT’ (tubeless) wheels is a real treat. No need for my usual sealant bodging which I’ve been doing since my XT660Z in 2008. They’re CFMoto branded with a nice grainy finish. I do hope they’re up to some moderate rock bashing without taking a ding and causing a slow leak. If it can’t be knocked out, a good tip is to deflate then jam a bit of rubber strip or even silicon sealant under a ding. As it is, I tend to run all my home-bodged TL tyres on the firm side (25psi +) to avoid rim damage, and let the suspension and tyres do their job.

As said, tanked up right out of the shop I do notice the verified 195kg. But I also notice the low, 32-inch (813mm) seat height which makes that weight manageable at a stand still, and why the otherwise great T7 was never a contender for me. That weight also helps the MT sit on the road a whole lot better than the CRF-L – light bikes do have their drawbacks. I’ve also found it’s easy to keep your feet up and very low speeds approaching junctions; I don’t know how that’s achieved other than low CoG and fork trail/rake, but it’ll have benefits on the trail.

The rear linkage has a second hole (above right) to reposition the shock to lower the seat height. Such a simple and inexpensive idea: no need for aftermarket Schmouba links, thin seats, or seat-height adjustment: just drill another hole. And chain adjustment (above left) looks a whole lot easier to manage than the dumb 300L version.

The brakes are giving more feel by the mile, the large seat is cushy though that may not last. It’s hard to dodge the mindset that somewhere behind it all they’ve used cheap foam/metal/plastic to achieve the low purchase price. But then the T7 was a bargain when it first came out, helping it fly out the showrooms before the price soon jumped.
On sharp hits the rear shock feels a bit harsh compared to the unintrusive fork. Something I dialled out once it was bedded in. According to the vid below, it’s possible the shock may need a swap unless you ride hard.

I assumed correctly the screen – height adjustable on the move but only by 55mm – would be too low for me. It’s another great idea cleverly deployed and far forward so at 60mph it works OK, providing I stay directly behind the narrow width. On Ali-X there are taller and broader screens from £50. I fitted my old MRA deflector lip for long transits and will remove or lower it once off-road, when I’d also lower the screen.

Under the seat is all reassuringly neat, although my bike came with the battery not strapped down, and the toolkit and straps missing – the dealer eventually gave me some tools: the usual half-arsed combination of open spanners, allen keys and a two-ended screwdriver. Tools to adjust the chain, let alone remove a wheel, are not included (Rally Raid have one of their F&R TrailTool combos). Most of the missing tools are covered with my Motion-Pro Tool pouch. In the end I gave up on the dealer and bought the OEM C-spanner for the shock preload from China for 4 quid. It clips to the seat base.

Internet chatter brought up a couple of minor flaws. The small blocks of foam that support the seat fall out easily and need gluing in (above right). And water seems to collect in the front subframe tubes which support the bash plate and horn. OMG: the frame will rust out and snap in half! Not really: these are non-load bearing subframes which are easily removed, drained and dried if necessary, then given a shot of ACF-50 before plugging the offending hole. I did that before leaving for Morocco but on the way back the dealer service in Spain drilled the tubes to drain as per a service bulletin. I’d rather they’d not done that as I’d already fixed it.

I rode the 450 to Morocco end of October, led a couple of tours then did a TMT ride. I came back in Feb for another couple of laps then rode home and sold it in March 2025. More in the post links top of the page.
Next?! ;-)