CFMoto 450MT (Ibex) long term review - the good, the bad & its competitors︱Cross Training Adventure скачать в хорошем качестве

CFMoto 450MT (Ibex) long term review - the good, the bad & its competitors︱Cross Training Adventure

Our CFMoto 450MT long term review. Some riders say it's the baby version of Yamaha's T7. Others say it's underpowered, overweight and boring. And others say it's potentially the world's most popular adventure motorbike. One thing is for sure. It's cheap. As usual, this will be a critical review. Our test motorbike has 5000km. We looked at long-term owner comments for this CFMoto Ibex 450 long term reviewwith 7000km and 10000km on the odometer. And we trawled the forums looking for problems and known issues for this CFMoto 450MT review. Lets start with the positives. A 21 inch front wheel is great for rougher terrain. The 18 inch rear wheel means access to a wide range of tyres. Tubeless spoked wheels are brilliant for fast puncture repairs. Bling. Despite the cheap price you get a bashplate, handguards, folding mirrors, centre stand, adjustable rally screen, Bluetooth connectivity and rear rack. The seat is comfortable and most riders report it's okay for riding all day. KYB suspension. Unlike so many adventure motorbikes it's not too soft for aggressive riders or carrying a lot of luggage. The ergonomics are great for short to medium height riders. If you like a good exhaust note then it's surprisingly loud for a stock exhaust setup. The cable clutch is incredibly light. All clutches should be this good! A two year warranty - possibly three years if CFMoto does your servicing. The potential negatives? The good news is it's a very short list, although we need to see much higher mileage to know more about the long-term reliability. Heavy rain or washing the 450MT can let water collect in the lower frame. CFMoto has already responded and advised on drilling holes to allow drainage. The factory is responding very rapidly to issues so new models may have a fix for this very soon. The snatchy throttle. Dirt riders like me can't really notice this, but other riders do. Adjusting the cable slack helps. Some riders say a mapping update from the dealer worked too. Some owners reported flame-outs too on the first models but CFMoto appear to have updated the mapping already. Some owners find the stock suspension too harsh but setting the rear sag and reducing the damping usually works well. Fuel economy is average at best according to a lot of owners. Some owners complain about the 195kg wet weight. But in reality it's about the norm for a 450 adventure motorbike. It's around the same weight as a Royal Enfield Himalayan or Honda NX500. The ergonomics are less suitable for taller riders. Generally riders up to six feet tall or 182cm will find handlebar risers and a taller seat will work well. But if you are quite a bit taller you will just feel too cramped on the 450MT. Most owners love the exhaust note. However if you prefer a very quiet exhaust then you might find it a bit loud. I must admit I found the noise at highway speed eventually became annoying. But most riders will disagree. The stock tyres are Cheng Shin. This Chinese company mainly makes bicycle tyres. If you really don't want to trust Chinese rubber it may be worth replacing these straight away. However the general consensus is they work well for road riding and are okay off-road. But as it gets slippery or gnarly you will find the limitations quickly. Under-powered engine? Personally I think this is an unfair criticism. The engine characteristics are very similar to every motorbike in its class. If you want more power, you need to buy a bigger motorbike! However it would definitely be fun if there was a sports model with the 44 horsepower increased closer to 60. We can dream. How does the CFMoto 450MT compare to its closest competitors? The Royal Enfield Himalayan has a very similar price and weight. Recent models have a completely new engine with a lot more power but it still falls short of the CFMoto. The Honda NX500 or its predecessor the CB500X. Similar weight. Very similar engine characteristics. But it costs about 15% more than the CFMoto and has less bling. The Honda only has a 19 inch front wheel but of course this is great if you mainly ride on sealed roads and occasionally on easy dirt roads. The KTM 390 Adventure. It's only a bit more expensive than the CFMoto and 20kg lighter. It's a smaller engine but in a higher state of tune so a similar maximum horsepower. It only has a 19 inch front wheel but a new model with a 21 inch front wheel is on the way.... if KTM actually survives! But that's another story. There are similar models emerging but these are the well known ones. My personal opinion? I didn't like the CFMoto 450MT. The engine felt soft and doughy. It felt way too heavy. The exhaust note was annoying. I owned a Honda CB500X for three months and hated it for all the same reasons. But that's just my very biased opinion. I must admit the CFMoto will be brilliant for a lot of riders. The price is amazing. .