Motorcycle show season is just around the corner, and we’ve already seen the firstfruits of the busy days of new model launches, with peeks at several updated or new machines in the past few weeks. Now, you can add another one to that list. It looks as if the CFMOTO 800 MT-X will be revealed in production form in coming weeks.
Unveiled at the 2023 EICMA show, the CFMOTO 800 MT-X is an up-spec’d version of the Ibex 800 (which is currently sold in Canada, and got its own series of updates for 2024). Where the Ibex 800 is more of a street-friendly machine, with a 19-inch front wheel and a 17-inch rear, the MT-X has a 21-inch front wheel and an 18-inch rear that can roll over bumps easily when off-pavement. ADV riders can also find much better off-road tire choices in those sizes.
The current 800 MT is closely based on KTM’s 790 Adventure, which makes sense. CFMOTO actually builds that bike for KTM. And just like KTM has had the R or Rally variants of its 790 or 890 ADV models, the MT-X appears to hold the same position in the lineup. It has a larger fuel tank with lobes that wrap around the engine, similar to KTM’s 790 design. The MT-X appears to have better suspension than the standard 800 MT, probably KYB components from Japan.
Spy shots from summer showed the bike is homologated for road use in at least some markets, and the spy shot above (which Motorrad magazine says it sourced from CFMOTO themselves) shows what appears to be a line of completed bikes—indicating that the factory is geared up to make them, and that means we expect a launch very soon. Probably at EICMA, for the Euro market, and then for Canada by fall of 2025.
