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CF Moto 1000MT X | All Rounder or All Hype? | Test Ride Review

The North West Rider

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CFMoto 1000MT-X review — I spent three hours with the brand new CFMoto 1000MT-X at Smalley Cross Motorcycles in Derbyshire to answer the questions every buyer's asking: is this KTM-engined adventure bike the real deal, or just hype? Here's my honest, independent test ride verdict.

I went to Smalley Cross Motorcycles in Derbyshire to ride the brand new CFMoto 1000MT-X, with two big questions in mind: would this make a great all-round adventure tourer for a road-focused rider, and is it a more exciting ride than my Moto Guzzi V85 TT? Plus, of course — is it a machine I'd actually consider buying?

There's a lot of hype around Chinese bikes right now: some high praise, plenty of belittling. So I wanted to find out for myself. Is this a genuinely great bike caught up in a brand-value/import war — or is it overhyped because of the highly competitive price and specification?

If you've watched my reviews before, you'll know I don't put any stock in brand cachet. It's all about how the machine feels to ride, and how it makes you feel riding it. And as ever, I need to question the ergonomics and comfort — the curse of being at the larger end of the human size scale — and you'll know I'm quite critical of things I don't like or details that don't quite work.

In a three-hour ride on 30+ degree heat (Yes.. in the UK!), taking the CF Moto 1000MT-X through urban, rural and high speed roads - I failed to find much of substance to complain about… which probably tells you a fair bit about the answer to the question posed in the thumbnail.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 - Start
00:14 - The 1000MT-X
01:51 - Apple CarPlay setup
02:40 - Startup
02:58 - Standard & High Seat versions
03:25 - First impressions from a 6ft3 rider
04:32 - 947cc LC8c engine: characterful or unrefined?
05:27 - Screen & adjustment
05:59 - 1000MT-X weight
06:37 - Quickshifter
07:25 - Switchgear, ride modes & CFMoto T-BOX
10:12 - Ergonomics & comfort
11:53 - Low speed control
12:26 - Acceleration tests, fuel gauge & power dip
15:47 - TFT display
18:57 - Smalley Cross Motorcycles
19:47 - Agility & saddlebag fuel tanks
20:19 - Suspension & brakes
22:24 - Engine heat
23:08 - Walkaround: spec, finish & quality
28:03 - Switching between CarPlay & main display
30:24 - Tank size, MPG & range
30:45 - Brakes again: too sharp?
32:51 - Power & spec
33:24 - Summary & motorway test
37:32 - Questions answered?
39:46 - Thank you & goodbye

🏍️ THE BIKE
CFMoto 1000MT-X — 946cc parallel twin (KTM LC8c, ~112hp / 105Nm), Brembo brakes, fully adjustable KYB suspension, Bosch 6-axis IMU, cornering ABS, quickshifter, 8" TFT with Apple CarPlay. Priced from £8,699. A genuine middleweight adventure tourer rival to the BMW F900GS, Triumph Tiger 900, KTM 790/890 Adventure and Honda Africa Twin.

❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Is the CFMoto 1000MT-X any good?
Is it a great road-focused adventure tourer?
Tall rider ergonomics — does it fit?
CFMoto 1000MT-X vs Moto Guzzi V85 TT
Should you buy one?

🔗 BIKE SUPPLIED BY
Smalley Cross Motorcycles, Derbyshire — CFMoto & Royal Enfield dealer - https://www.smalleycross.co.uk

📲 FOLLOW THE NORTH WEST RIDER - @kiran_nwrider
Instagram: Instagram: kiran_nwrider

👍 If this helped, subscribe for more honest, independent bike reviews — no hype, no brand bias, just how the machine actually rides.

#CFMoto #1000MTX #CFMoto1000MTX #AdventureBike #MotorcycleReview #ChineseMotorcycles #AdventureTouring #CFMotoUK #MotoGuzzi #BikeReview

20 Comments

@Kiran_NWRider Creator 3 months ago (edited) Pinned

A 36 degree heatwave ride and a literal camera meltdown. A few things missed to the lost footage and boiled brain:
1. The warranty — and it's a big one. The 1000MT-X comes with a 4-year warranty, which is outstanding at this price and worth factoring into any buying decision.
2. The bars - I concluded I’d probably put risers on them.
3. More exciting than the V85? My heat induced rambling was full flow by then. To clarify… yes it is, but it’s not night and day. Both very satisfying to push on when the mood takes you.
4. The competition — which is VAST. I've listed some key rivals in the description, but I want to know what YOU think. It holds its own against anything out there in my view… but would you take this over a Tiger 900 or an Africa Twin? Or is it only really competing with offerings at its own price point? Let me know below 👇

@0scartheCat 3 months ago

Smalley Cross is a fantastic dealership , professional, helpful & friendly, they set the benchmark of how a dealership experience should be.

@japfourme381 1 month ago

What a cracking review, well done, and thanks for sharing!!

@AlbertoRinaldo 2 months ago

Thank you for the revieew, I'll get my MT-X 1000 before the end of this week... let's see! Cheers

@bikerbeliever8169 3 months ago

Great real world review of bike thank so much

@bikerbeliever8169 3 months ago

Love the color for sure

@Welshborderbiker 2 months ago

Finally caught up with most of the videos now! Very nice bike and very nice price too…a very tempting bike for sure this one 👍

@pattysmith536 3 months ago

You only need a 🔧 spanner to adjust your preload. But to adjust your compression and rebound clickers, you can use your ignition key 🔑 it has be designed to fit perfectly into the adjustment slots.

@pattysmith536 3 months ago

If for whatever reason that you cannot see the TFT clearly, the screen is adjustable! You can tilt it to and fro.

@MrEstpas71 3 months ago

Nice review! I've not driven one but sat on one at the dealership while waiting on my bike for maintenance. For now i own the 700MT first model and really enjoy it but the 1000 MTX is for sure a serious option.

@Smeeridesagain 3 months ago

Great review thank you, this is a bike I’m looking at for my next bike and as you’ve said it’s against a tiger 900 and Africa twin. I’m just waiting for my local dealer to get a demo in. Something vaguely interesting when this was first announced the 870 seat was the standard and the 830 announced slightly later as the low version, they’ve obviously looked at feed back and who’s going to be using them (I’m 5’9” with a short 30” leg so the 830 is the one I’m looking at)

@Tojj29 3 months ago

Nice review mate, looks a decent bike. Maybe one for the future when the GS goes

@jamesfeuilherade3664 2 months ago (edited)

Totally convinced Kieran! What a beast! Chinese?? Hardly! German Bosch fuel injection, Austrian KTM engine, Spanish Brembo brakes, (called "Juan" on my bike but same people apparently), Japanese suspension....all at a fantastic price. I own a CFMoto 800MT Touring model, absolutely loving it! Fast, comfortable, sporty handling, very stable in a corner and kitted out with loads of tech, down to details like self cancelling turn signals and a steering damper. The quick shifter and cruise control are standout features. The quick shifter is best at highway speeds. Gear changes, bit rough at town traffic speed, mainly due to blipping the engine, particularly with down shifting. I'm using it as a sport tourer, off road and being covered in mud, not really my thing. The Touring is a bit heavy for trail riding I think. These are just great bikes, offering astounding value for money.

@TheDervMan 3 months ago (edited)

Love that dash. I wish BMW would take a leaf out of CF Moto's upgrade book! When I had a GS trying to get it updated was a huge pain as it needed to be hooked up to the diag machine all day, or so they said. It's not difficult to have firmware self update, look at all the phones out there that upgrade all the time.

@1990-t1j 11 days ago

I had a KTM 950 Aventure for two years in the mid-00s. I loved the engine's rough edge. This seems similar but more tractable. I'd have one. Thankfully you don't have to use the touchscreen. Thorough review.

@simonp2465 2 months ago (edited)

Same bike that Usernamekate rode D26VKR. She had it when it had 44 miles on it and you are riding with 530 miles. Yes I've watched a few of these reviews!

@doubleu2170 2 months ago

Germany here. Nice video. 👋 I will get mine in 2 weeks. What software for navigation are you using ?

@rickseconds7676 3 months ago

v😮 I like it, if it comes to the US, I'll try one out.

@svartsas 3 months ago

Great review. Trying to get approval from my wife for the down payment. What got me raising eyebrows was your comment of it not being exciting. Driving such a bike that is designed to favor offroad on a road without experiencing it on the offroad, i would refrain from saying there's lack of excitement. You might be the wrong target audience if you'd look at such bike without wanting to touch gravel, as there's the MT for that. Would say you missed half the fun for a full review of the bike not touching the gravel.