At first glance , the 2023 CFMoto 800MT Explore looks like it has the goods to make a real impact on the sub-1000cc Adventure market . It has a very impressive specification list and cool technology that could shame some bikes twice its price . But ... and this is the ‘ but ’ everyone is getting hung up on ... it ’ s a Chinese built bike . So , let ’ s dive in to see if you can have your cake and eat it too .
CHINESE BUILT , HIGH SPEC CFMoto is a Chinese motorcycle company which has a manufacturing partnership with KTM ( among others ). Part of this partnership is producing the KTM LC8c 790 engine . It ’ s this engine the 800MT uses as its heart , and that ’ s a motor we like a lot in both of KTM ’ s Adventure and Duke versions . The 800MT comes with a lip-smacking farkle list . There ’ s Bosch ABS and fuel injection , radarbased adaptive cruise control , quick-shifting , tyre-pressure monitoring , heated seats , heated grips , slipper clutch , fog lights , steering damper , centre-stand , hand guards , large adjustable screen , wire spoke wheels , alloy bash plate and
crash bars and a huge 7-inch TFT screen , not to mention fully adjustable KYB suspension at both ends . Bloody hell , this is the complete wish list ... and it all comes fitted as standard . And then there ’ s the price ... just $ 17,790 plus On Roads , which undercuts everything in the adventure class with that spec by a country mile . So , what is the purchaser getting , or missing out on ? Time to find out .
BLIND SPOT TECH I picked the bike up in Howick , an area I ’ m not familiar with , and dived straight in to busy rush hour traffic . Time being of the essence to get out of there , I jumped into a spot of lane splitting and with that all manner of beeping started up . I got a bit of a fright and was looking all around expecting to see some flash European car telling its driver to stop being a dickhead . My hearing has always been significantly under-par , but I started to realise it was the 800MT making all the noise and it was not entirely happy with what I was doing . The bike was basically giving me a ‘ heads up ’ that I was between lanes and cars were close by .
28 KIWI RIDER