2026 CFMoto 1000MT-X Motorcycle Road Test Review

Unless you’ve been lost in the jungle for the past few years, you can’t fail to have noticed the surging growth of a wave of new Chinese motorcycle manufacturers, which mirrors the experience in the car world. Of these, CFMoto is among the most impressive, and its all-new 1000MT-X adventure bike is its latest and greatest, which truly usurps the traditional manufacturer hierarchy – and not just on price.

Due to its history and technology partnership with KTM, CFMoto has long been among the most impressive of the new Chinese brands, building the Austrian marque’s 790 Adventure and sharing the use of its parallel twin engines. The new 1000MT-X uses the very latest 946cc version of that engine, as from the KTM 990 Duke, puts it in an impressive, genuinely dual-purpose adventure bike package, slathers the result in the very best components in terms of suspension, brakes, electronics and more and significantly improves its quality, refinement, style and even things like warranty and service intervals, too.

The result looks not only impressive, classy, punchy and capable, but it could even be, for the first time with a Chinese bike, a step ahead of established competition – yet at a price that’s up to £5000 less. We took a day’s ride on it to see how it measures up…

In simple terms, the CFMoto 1000MT-X is a twin-cylinder, sub-1000cc adventure bike (ie a class below the latest 1200-1300cc leviathans such as KTM’s 1390 Adventure, BMW’s R1300GS, Triumph’s Tiger 1200 and Ducati’s 1200 Multistrada V4) and also one that’s intended to be genuinely off-road capable.

As such, its closest competition is bikes like BMW’s F900GS, Triumph’s Tiger 900 Rally Pro and Honda’s CRF1100 Africa Twin.

Due to CFMoto’s long association with KTM, the 1000MT-X is powered by a reworked version of a KTM engine, in this case the latest 946cc LC8c twin in KTM’s Duke 990 (but not, so far, in any KTM adventure bike). This is then married to a KTM-alike tubular steel frame with (also familiar from KTM) low-slung, pannier-style fuel tanks. 

Added to that are quality, fully-adjustable KYB suspension (KTM use WP), Brembo brakes and electronics (highlighted by a huge, class-leading, 8-inch portrait-style, touchscreen TFT dash), with the result blended into an impressively refined and credible, dual-purpose, c.1000cc adventure bike package – all for £8699 (+OTR). 

CFMoto has then gone one step further by offering the 1000MT-X in two guises – a more road-oriented version with suspension with 190mm of travel and, accordingly, a lower 830mm seat, plus a more off-road version, with 230mm of suspension travel and matching, taller 870mm seat. 

At launch, the new CFMoto 1000MT-X costs £8,699, plus On the Road (OTR) costs of £199, totalling £8,898. Considering its spec and abilities, that’s simply game-changing. 

For example, its closest rivals from the established heritage brands are KTM’s 890 Adventure R (for £13,599), Honda’s now aging CRF1100F Africa Twin (£13,399), Triumph’s Tiger 900 Rally Pro (£13,599) and BMW’s F900GS, which starts at £12,060 and to which you’ll need to add £1000s to get its spec anywhere near that of the MT-X.

Like all current CFMotos, both variants of the 1000MT-X are available now through the Chinese brand’s current UK network of 80 (and growing) dealers. You can locate your nearest via CFMoto’s UK website.

CFMoto began a relationship with the Austrian brand way back in 2011, which evolved into a manufacturing joint venture in 2017 that saw CFMoto producing KTM bikes in China and sharing advanced LC8c engine tech for CFMoto's own models.

That relationship has resulted in the 1000MT-X using a 946cc parallel twin that is essentially the same as the latest-generation 990 LC8c unit, which powers KTM’s punchy 990 Duke roadster – before KTM itself has produced an adventure model using the same engine.

Although internal dimensions are the same, the 1000MT-X version is slightly detuned from that in the 990 Duke and so produces 112bhp at 8,500rpm with torque of 77.4lb ft at 6,250rpm (where the Duke’s has 123bhp at 9,500rpm and 75.9lb.ft at 6,750rpm respectively).

Even so, the 1000MT-X performance figures are still among the best in its adventure bike class, and it’s also all assisted by Bosch electronic riding aids in the form of four switchable riding modes, three-way traction control, and cornering ABS.

That KTM connection hints at how it goes, too. Although detuned, the 1000MT-X remains distinctively punchy and dynamic, even when not in Sport mode, yet is also sharp, responsive, pleasingly flexible and always gives the sense that it can give most similar bikes a run for its money.

But the punchy, potent twin is no one tricky pony, either. It’s also calm enough for day-to-day travelling; if never quite as soft and friendly as, say, a Honda Africa Twin, its electronics give a quality extra dimension, and its power unit is well-suited to riding off-road, too.

The 1000MT-X is essentially an off-road-oriented, c.1000cc adventure bike, so it has the better suspension and off-road wire wheels (in 21/18in sizes) associated with the breed. 

As such, the 1000MT-X gets a fairly tall, narrow, hard-ish seat, upright riding position with enduro pegs, wide enduro bars, and a small cowling with a fairly low but adjustable screen. The adjustable screen is a bonus but still doesn’t do much, and an accessory higher version is recommended.

The seat isn’t bad, but you should probably choose wisely between the low and high versions and, overall, it’s what you expect – OK, but a little limited over distance (if an issue, go for a more road-oriented adventure such as a Tiger 900 GT) – but no more – although the heated grips and seat are a bonus.

Quality counts, and that can certainly be said as far as the 1000MT-X’s suspension set-up. Both ends are controlled by some of Japanese brand’s KYB’s finest. Up front is a pair of beefy, 48mm USD forks (in a choice of travel length) which are also fully adjustable for preload plus rebound and compression damping.

At the rear is a matching monoshock which is also fully adjustable. Wheels are quality alloy-rimmed wires in enduro-style sizes, again wearing quality Pirelli rubber. In terms of on-paper specification, its chassis set-up is among the best you’ll find anywhere and certainly so at this price. It’s also well set up. 

In terms of how the 1000MT-X handles, therefore, it’s worth repeating here that it’s very much a ‘dual purpose’ adventure bike, so there is the inevitable trade-off is some road security and comfort for extra dirt ability. 

Partly to counter that, the 1000MT-X also comes with a pretty hefty 20-way steering damper. With all of that said, the CFMoto remains a sporty, aggressive, fun road bike that’s plenty secure enough considering its tyres. The ride is controlled and exudes quality, and the comfort is acceptable

Braking, meanwhile, is impressive, too, with a standard braking set-up including top-quality Brembo radial calipers, etc, that is also among the best-in-class.

We’ve already listed much of the 1000MT-X’s equipment in other areas of this review, but it’s worth repeating here. So, chassis-wise there is top-quality KYB suspension, class-standard Brembo brakes, credible off-road wheels and Pirelli tyres.

Then you get into the other stuff. There’s an adjustable screen, heated grips and seat, massive 8inch TFT touchscreen dash with Bluetooth connectivity, impressive electronics suite featuring four riding modes, three-way traction control, cornering ABS and more. 

There’s even what CFMoto calls ‘T-Box ’, which offers enhanced connectivity, security and navigation features through your smartphone and for which you pay a subscription, although the first year is included. And all that… for under £9000…

 

Impressively, CFMoto’s new 1000MT-X comes with a standard, manufacturer-backed warranty covering all parts and labour that lasts for four years with unlimited mileage from first registration – that’s better than many of the heritage brands can offer and should allay many reliability concerns. 

Its recommended service intervals are better than we have come to expect from some Chinese manufacturers, too, and are now on par with the Europeans and Japanese – no doubt due to its KTM associations.

As such, the 1000MT-X, following the initial 500-mile ‘break-in’ service, requires regular servicing every 9000 miles or annually, whichever comes first.

There used to be plenty of credible reasons NOT to buy a cut-price Chinese machine – non-competitive dynamics, quality, unreliability, poor warranty, service intervals, and dealer networks, etc. With the CFMoto 1000MT-X, for the first time, I’m sufficiently confident to say those days are gone. 

Irrespective of whether it’s the style of bike for you, it not only matches but beats all ‘heritage’ rivals in terms of dynamics, specification and price. But, even more than that, the 1000MT-X is also refined, effective, appropriately specced, great-looking and now has improved quality, warranty and service intervals, too.

In fact, it’s so good, and at a price- don’t forget- of nearly £4000 less than the established offerings from Honda, Triumph, BMW, etc, that it’s almost a no-brainer and, as a result, I’ve serious concerns for those rivals’ future…