CFMOTO 1000MT-X Review: Big Adventure, Plenty of Appeal

• 946cc parallel twin produces 111hp and 105Nm, with Master Mode unlocking a much sharper side to the engine.
• Fully adjustable KYB suspension, 21/18-inch spoked wheels and Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres give it genuine road-and-gravel ability.
• At $21,990, standard kit includes an eight-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, cruise control, heated grips and seat, quickshifter and extensive rider electronics.

A punchy twin, fully adjustable KYB suspension and a generous equipment list make CFMOTO’s biggest MT-X a tempting adventure package. After spending a few days getting to know the flagship Adv machine, including a solid six hours in the saddle for one trip, there are a few things we’d tweak—but would we own one? Absolutely.

If there was ever a motorcycle that deserved a read of the instruction manual before heading out, the CFMOTO 1000MT-X is probably it.

There’s a touchscreen, a collection of handlebar buttons, riding modes and an app that unlocks another layer of adjustment. Naturally, I went riding first. Some traditions are worth preserving.

Fortunately, you don’t need to master every menu to appreciate the fundamentals. The 1000MT-X is a good-looking, properly substantial adventure bike with a strong engine, useful equipment and enough ability to make a long day exploring New Zealand back roads very appealing.

Its price has recently risen from $19,990 to $21,990, which takes a little shine off the original bargain. But with heated grips, a heated seat, Apple CarPlay, cruise control and a quickshifter included, there’s still plenty here for the money. The low version costs the same.

Big presence, low-down weight

The 1000MT-X looks purposeful. A high front mudguard (that doesn’t have a silly low mudguard beneath it like some…), spoked 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels and broad, low-slung fuel tank give it the stance of a bike that expects the seal to end and for it not to cause any fuss.

That tank is visually substantial, but carrying the fuel low helps the bike feel considerably more manageable once moving than its appearance suggests. Claimed wet weight is 222kg.

It remains tall, though. At 182cm, I was on tiptoes aboard our full-height test bike, generally settling on one firmly planted foot at stops. Shorter riders should try the lower version, with its 830mm seat, before making a decision. The standard model’s saddle sits 870mm from the floor which doesn’t sound too bad, but there’s not much give in the suspension when you climb onboard, keeping the height so the MT-X can handle a bit of rough stuff.

Between your knees, it’s surprisingly slim. Standing feels natural, and the rally-style seat gives you room to move backwards and forwards. I’d probably roll the bars forward slightly to suit me, but the basic riding position works well.

Plenty of motor

CFMOTO says the 946cc parallel twin shares the latest KTM 990 engine platform, which it manufactures for KTM and also uses in its own range. For the MT-X, CFMOTO quotes outputs of 111hp and 105Nm which don’t sound initially that impressive, but it’s not always how much you’ve got and often more about how you use it, aye…

More useful than either number is how readily it gets on with the job. Between roughly 4,000 and 6,000rpm, there’s enough drive to make brisk road riding easy. Work the quickshifter, use the torque and you can cover ground without constantly chasing revs.

Hold a gear longer and the character changes, with the twin getting considerably more enthusiastic. The upper reaches of the rev range deliver a proper surge, making this feel every bit as quick as I’d want an adventure bike to be on New Zealand roads. And that’s before I’d engaged ‘Master Mode’, but more on that later…

Overtaking doesn’t demand a flurry of downchanges. There’s useful roll-on performance at open-road speeds, while dropping a gear supplies an extra helping when needed. The quickshifter works well in both directions, and the exhaust adds character with a burble on the overrun and an occasional pop during short shifts.

Fuelling was generally good. There was a little hunting at times, but town riding presented no real difficulty. I noticed more vibration at a constant motorway throttle than under acceleration, particularly through the pegs and mirrors. And at a constant 110km/h on the Expressway, I could see vehicles behind me, but identifying them was another matter, with the mirrors having a high-frequency blur. It wasn’t enough to numb hands or feet, although it’s something you notice on a steady motorway stretch.

Good support, a firm ride

Fully adjustable KYB suspension is a welcome inclusion, but a quality name on the fork doesn’t automatically mean the settings suit the person sitting above it. With me approaching 100kg in riding kit, the test bike initially felt low at the rear. Under harder acceleration it squatted, the front became light, and it wanted to run wide in corners when I cracked the throttle and demanded some gas.

A stop to add rear preload improved the balance noticeably. It felt more settled and held its line better, with the front working more convincingly too. That adjustment changes sag and chassis attitude; it doesn’t make the spring itself stiffer. It was nevertheless a useful improvement that was easy to make using the remote adjuster.

The suspension supplies good support when riding enthusiastically. This isn’t a big, wallowy adventure bike that ties itself in knots when shown a decent back road. However, I also found the ride a little harsh over bumps. I’d want more time with the compression and rebound adjustments to see how much extra compliance could be found without losing that support. And as there’s plenty of adjustment available, I reckon if you had the time to have a good fiddle you could get the MT-X dialled in pretty well.

When the seal disappears

The low-carried weight and roomy standing position help when riding off the tarseal. The seat’s shape gives your knees something useful to grip, while there’s enough space to shift your weight around.

Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres provide a sensible balance for this sort of bike and it was good to see quality kit optioned rather than a set of unknown hoops as is sometimes the case with Chinese machines. The Pirellis provided loads of confidence on the road as well as useful grip on gravel and dry dirt, although wet, slippery conditions expose their limitations compared with a more aggressive knobbly.

Items like the folding mirrors are a thoughtful standard inclusion, with many adventure riders making this one of their first accessory purchases when they take delivery of a new ADV machine. The handguards are more wind protection than serious impact protection, so I’d upgrade those before tackling more demanding terrain regularly.

The engine gives you plenty to work with off-road. The traction control, however, was more restrictive than I wanted, even at its least intrusive setting. It cut drive rather than some systems which allow a certain degree of slide before intervening, so I soon realised that when heading off-road the best bet is simply to switch the TC off. Thankfully, that’s really easy, with the TC on/off permanently sitting on the dash and activated/deactivated with one flick of the multi-switch. The hardware does feel capable, it’s just there’s room for more finesse in how the electronics manage loose-surface riding for riders who actually want some movement from the rear.

Master Mode transforms it

There’s another side to the MT-X that I didn’t properly explore on my first ride, and it turns out to be one of the most impressive features on the bike.

The eight-inch portrait TFT is impressive, and Apple CarPlay proved genuinely useful for mapping. I mounted my phone using Quad Lock’s adjustable mount, powered it via a cable from the USB A&C port, and had navigation on the bike’s screen. It’s all so easy.

Some of the display layout could use another pass, though. With CarPlay operating, the riding information becomes concentrated at the top. It remains readable, but there’s a lot of screen available and I reckon it would be better to give key information just a bit more room.

The indicator and high-beam telltales are also small. Combined with switchgear that I continued to knock or press unintentionally, that made checking what I’d switched on more fiddly than it should be. The left-hand controls are crowded, particularly around the four-way controller, indicator switch and horn. Winter gloves wouldn’t make that arrangement easier. And the high beam switch seems to be in line with where my index finger moves when I go for the clutch lever, seeing me dazzle drivers inadvertently on a regular basis.

Heated grips and seat are accessed through the display and function controls. You get used to it, but I’d appreciate a more direct way to reach something you might adjust several times during a cold ride. Again, it works. But an easier system like a dedicated button would just make life a bit better. But, to be honest, I’m being picky here. And that’s simply because CFMOTO has got this bike so right.

Connecting the MT-X to the CFMOTO smartphone app gave me the next highlight as you can access a separate Master Mode, which allows you to choose how much of the engine’s maximum power is available – anywhere from 50 to 100 percent – and independently adjust the throttle response through six levels.

Obviously, I wasn’t going to leave the power at 50 percent…

I selected the full 100 percent and set the throttle sensitivity to level four out of six, which proved to be something of a sweet spot. The throttle was noticeably sharper and more immediate without becoming jerky or snatchy. And the power delivery? Well, it transformed the bike.

The 946cc twin was already strong, but in Master Mode the MT-X suddenly felt less like a big adventure bike and much more like a litre-class sports machine with wide bars. Open the throttle beyond about halfway and the drive through the midrange and into the top end is astonishing. Overtakes become ridiculously easy and there’s an urgency to the way it accelerates that simply wasn’t as obvious in the standard riding modes. It feels almost like, well, ahem, a KTM…!

Giving it a decent handful in first gear while pulling out of an intersection even had the front wheel climbing into the air under power – suggesting the wheelie control is either disabled or substantially reduced in Master Mode.

It makes the MT-X an absolute blast on a good road and, more importantly, shows just how much performance is lurking inside this engine.

The frustrating part is that Master Mode remains essentially a road setting. You can’t independently disable the ABS, which is a shame because combining the sharper throttle response with some off-road ability would make it enormous fun on gravel. Off-road mode allows you to disable the rear ABS, while All Terrain switches ABS off at both ends, but neither gives you the same throttle-response adjustment available in Master.

I’d love to see CFMOTO combine those functions in a future software update. Okay, it probably won’t make you faster or able to go anywhere more technical, but it would certainly be a whole heap of fun!

The app itself deserves credit, too. Bike tracking, settings adjustment and the ability to save tracks and routes make it a worthwhile part of the package.

But stand back for a moment and consider what we’re talking about here. This is a $21,990 motorcycle on which I can connect my phone, alter the percentage of maximum engine performance available, independently change how aggressively the throttle responds, select multiple road and off-road modes and alter the electronic intervention to suit the terrain.

Then add an eight-inch touchscreen (that works with gloves), Apple CarPlay, navigation, cruise control, heated grips and seat, quickshifter, lean-sensitive rider aids and the ability to track the bike and save routes through the app.

That’s an extraordinary level of electronic sophistication at this price point – and Master Mode isn’t just another menu to play with. It genuinely changes the character of the motorcycle.

BRM verdict

Would I own a 1000MT-X? Absolutely.

The engine is seriously strong – particularly once you’ve discovered what Master Mode can do – the quickshifter works well, and the chassis makes a convincing companion for sealed back roads and gravel exploring. There’s also a substantial amount of useful equipment included.

I’d spend time setting the suspension for my weight and preferences, improve the hand protection for harder off-road use, and consider seat comfort if long touring days were the plan. The switchgear and display could be more intuitive, but if you owned one rather than just jumping on it for a few hours like I did then chances are you’d get used to it.

At $21,990, it remains a compelling package. It isn’t the cheapest adventure option available, but it gives you plenty of performance and equipment before you start adding accessories.

Most tellingly, after six hours riding it, I was thinking about where I’d take it next. That’s a pretty good place for a review to finish.

Publisher/Editor

Paul

Paul is the owner, publisher and editor of Bike Rider Magazine, a role he has had for over two decades. He has been BRM’s primary test rider throughout that time, riding and reviewing everything from learner machines to high-performance superbikes. After cutting his teeth with Superbike Magazine in the UK, Paul moved to New Zealand in the early 2000s and has since dedicated his career to delivering honest, rider-focused motorcycle journalism.