CFMoto and KTM have a strong partnership, so much so that the former is the latter’s sole distributor in China. Both these firms will also open a new factory in June 2020 which will strengthen their partnership even further. And apparently, the first product to roll out of this manufacturing facility would be CFMotot MT800.
Isn’t CFMoto MT800 a new name for you? Well, it is for most of us. It is the brand’s upcoming adventure motorcycle which appears to be based on KTM 790 Adventure. A spy shot of the same has surfaced the internet a few days ago which reveals some key details.
CFMoto MT800 isn’t a hardcore adventure bike. It is more like a road-going long-distance tourer, something like the Kawasaki Versys 650. Unlike the 790 Adventure, this one here has a set of smooth street tyres rather knobbier dual-sport ones. Also, the bike’s front half seems unnaturally big to us. Don’t you feel it looks disproportionate?
In terms of design and styling, most of CFMoto’s products are handled by Kiska Design which also makes products for KTM. So we wouldn’t be surprised to see various familiar elements.
Talking about familiarity, the MT800 borrows the exhaust setup, suspension setup, and tubular steel frame from the 790 Adventure. Even the engine is from the Austrian brand. Chances are that it would be the same LC8c parallel-twin engine that we’ve seen in the 790 Adventure and 790 Duke. However, speculations are being made that CFMoto could also go a notch higher and use the bigger block from the 890 Duke R.
Also read: Review – KTM 790 Adventure R
The test mule in the spy shot also has a top box and panniers in place, which we are suspecting to be offered as accessories. Also, it appears to be a pre-production model, so it would be a while before we see the final product. An expected reveal date would be around September 2020.
