Often the best things that happen are totally unexpected. Out of the blue I had been invited to the CFMOTO 1000 MT-X launch in Australia, on behalf of Kiwi Rider. The launch was to be a two-day ride in the Macedon Mountains North West of Melbourne. It was an area I had ridden in previously and remembered it being littered with fantastic gravel / dirt backroads, huge hills and some quite challenging stoney stuff too – not to mention questionable wild life that completely fails to embrace the Give Way rules. In the run up to the event, CFMOTO loaned me a 1000MT-X to practice on at home for the week prior to the launch. Sometimes the stars truly do align!
ZERO KILOMETRES The 1000MT-X I’ d been allocated was the Aerolite Grey version( the one we’ ll be getting in NZ- at least for now), to my mind the best pick, although the Tactical Green and Nebula Black ones are pretty sweet too. Switching the key on, I noticed my bike had done zero kilometres and there was a low battery warning light on the large eight-inch vertical TFT dash – yup, it was absolutely brand spanking new. Despite the battery warning, my beast fired straight up on the first press of the start. I should mention here that the bikes were meant to be run-in, but the man tasked with the job had been taken out by a car and so not all were done in time for the event. Thankfully, he was not badly injured, but this is a real-world reality all riders face on a regular basis. The morning was cold in the hills, so, me being me, I took the opportunity to switch on the heated grips and seat, set to high. And, bloody hell, were they a pleasure to ride with.
EASILY ADJUSTED ELECTRONICS As the bikes warmed up at tickover, we had
26 KIWI RIDER