Source: Cycle World
CFMoto has released design registrations for its upcoming 800 MT-X, which shares manufacturing partner KTM’s 799cc LC8c engine. (CFMoto/)Back in November CFMoto gave a strong hint at its upcoming models by showing a handful of concept bikes at the EICMA show in Milan. One motorcycle was the MT-X adventure bike, and just a couple of months later we’ve got our first glimpse of the production version thanks to official design registrations for the upcoming bike.Although CFMoto didn’t reveal many details about the MT-X at the time, it was clearly based on the KTM-designed LC8c parallel-twin engine used in CFMoto’s current Ibex models. CFMoto and KTM are, of course, partners in a Chinese joint venture, and CFMoto has long been tasked with manufacturing engines for use in KTM’s bikes, so this isn’t a case of China ripping off a Western brand so much as a cooperative move by the two companies. CFMoto currently uses the 799cc version of the LC8c, from the entry-level 790 Duke and 790 Adventure, rather than the 889cc (“890″) or the new 947cc (”990″) versions used in higher-end KTM models.Top view of the new 800 MT-X. (CFMoto/)However, while the Ibex (known as the 800MT in other countries) is biased toward street use and touring, leaving a pretty clear gap between it and the more seriously off-road-capable KTM 790 Adventure, the MT-X concept closes that gap, and the production version seen in these illustrations looks every inch a direct rival.The resemblence to the KTM 790 Adventure, which CFMoto manufactures, is obvious. (KTM/)The similarities to the KTM go deeper than the engine. The tubular-steel chassis is nearly identical to the one used in the 790 Adventure, and the production 800 MT-X (the likely title for this model when it reaches showrooms) even uses the same low-slung, twin-fuel-tank arrangement that KTM uses. Clearly visible in these CAD images, the tanks aren’t identical to the KTM ones, but they’re in the same position and provide the same advantages. Those include a lower center of gravity, making the bike easier to handle when the tanks are full, as well as allowing a longer, flatter, motocross-style seat and avoiding the splayed-legs riding position that a wide, high-mounted tank would force.Front view of the 800 MT-X. (CFMoto/)It’s clear from these designs that the “concept” version of the MT-X at EICMA was really the production-spec bike with a few bolt-on bits. The main differences are the exhaust’s muffler—the concept had an Akrapovič pipe instead of this, larger end can—and slight changes to the bodywork. The concept had fairings over the brake discs, for instance, that are gone for the production version, while the production bike also gains a more sculpted seat and some passenger grab rails that weren’t present on the show version. For practicality and legal compliance, there’s also a new, close-fitting front mudguard below the high-mounted, motocross-style version. The concept didn’t have that.Rear view in which you can see the huge 8-inch TFT portrait-oriented display. (CFMoto/)What stays the same as the concept are the off-road-oriented wire-spoked wheels, with a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear instead of the 19-inch/17-inch combo of the current 800 MT/Ibex, and Brembo front brake calipers rather than the Ibex’s J.Juan units. The 8-inch, portrait-oriented TFT instrument panel from the concept bike is also carried across to the production version, it seems, along with the new bodywork and headlight.There’s never been any doubt that the MT-X would lead to a production model—even when it was unveiled in November, CFMoto said it would be “available very soon”—but now the production version’s design has been registered it looks like it might be ready for launch imminently.
Full Text:
CFMoto has released design registrations for its upcoming 800 MT-X, which shares manufacturing partner KTM’s 799cc LC8c engine. (CFMoto/)
Back in November CFMoto gave a strong hint at its upcoming models by showing a handful of concept bikes at the EICMA show in Milan. One motorcycle was the MT-X adventure bike, and just a couple of months later we’ve got our first glimpse of the production version thanks to official design registrations for the upcoming bike.
Although CFMoto didn’t reveal many details about the MT-X at the time, it was clearly based on the KTM-designed LC8c parallel-twin engine used in CFMoto’s current Ibex models. CFMoto and KTM are, of course, partners in a Chinese joint venture, and CFMoto has long been tasked with manufacturing engines for use in KTM’s bikes, so this isn’t a case of China ripping off a Western brand so much as a cooperative move by the two companies. CFMoto currently uses the 799cc version of the LC8c, from the entry-level 790 Duke and 790 Adventure, rather than the 889cc (“890″) or the new 947cc (”990″) versions used in higher-end KTM models.
Top view of the new 800 MT-X. (CFMoto/)
However, while the Ibex (known as the 800MT in other countries) is biased toward street use and touring, leaving a pretty clear gap between it and the more seriously off-road-capable KTM 790 Adventure, the MT-X concept closes that gap, and the production version seen in these illustrations looks every inch a direct rival.
The resemblence to the KTM 790 Adventure, which CFMoto manufactures, is obvious. (KTM/)
The similarities to the KTM go deeper than the engine. The tubular-steel chassis is nearly identical to the one used in the 790 Adventure, and the production 800 MT-X (the likely title for this model when it reaches showrooms) even uses the same low-slung, twin-fuel-tank arrangement that KTM uses. Clearly visible in these CAD images, the tanks aren’t identical to the KTM ones, but they’re in the same position and provide the same advantages. Those include a lower center of gravity, making the bike easier to handle when the tanks are full, as well as allowing a longer, flatter, motocross-style seat and avoiding the splayed-legs riding position that a wide, high-mounted tank would force.
Front view of the 800 MT-X. (CFMoto/)
It’s clear from these designs that the “concept” version of the MT-X at EICMA was really the production-spec bike with a few bolt-on bits. The main differences are the exhaust’s muffler—the concept had an Akrapovič pipe instead of this, larger end can—and slight changes to the bodywork. The concept had fairings over the brake discs, for instance, that are gone for the production version, while the production bike also gains a more sculpted seat and some passenger grab rails that weren’t present on the show version. For practicality and legal compliance, there’s also a new, close-fitting front mudguard below the high-mounted, motocross-style version. The concept didn’t have that.
Rear view in which you can see the huge 8-inch TFT portrait-oriented display. (CFMoto/)
What stays the same as the concept are the off-road-oriented wire-spoked wheels, with a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear instead of the 19-inch/17-inch combo of the current 800 MT/Ibex, and Brembo front brake calipers rather than the Ibex’s J.Juan units. The 8-inch, portrait-oriented TFT instrument panel from the concept bike is also carried across to the production version, it seems, along with the new bodywork and headlight.
There’s never been any doubt that the MT-X would lead to a production model—even when it was unveiled in November, CFMoto said it would be “available very soon”—but now the production version’s design has been registered it looks like it might be ready for launch imminently.
