CFMoto recently set up shop in the US market, and is quickly changing the stereotype when it comes to Chinese motorcycle manufacturers. The brand offers models that provide similar levels of performance to mainstream Japanese and European models at a fraction of the cost. However, long before it made its US debut, CFMoto was already a popular brand in the Australian market.
Among the popular models of the Chinese manufacturer include the 650 MT (known as the 650 Adventura in the US) adventure-tourer. Sharing a lot in common with the Kawasaki Versys 650 (you could go as far as saying that the 650 MT was a clone of the Versys 650), it offered a budget-friendly alternative to the Japanese middleweight tourer. Now, CFMoto has updated the bike to feature more modern tech, and more importantly, improved performance. Let’s take a closer look.
To kick things off, the bike is no longer called the 650 MT, but now 700MT, owing to its increased engine displacement. It’s been fitted with a relatively newer engine – a 693cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, parallel-twin, which is the same unit found in the 700 CL-X models. Here, the new engine churns out 74 ponies at 8,500 rpm, and 48 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm. This puts it at par with Yamaha’s Tenere 700 in terms of sheer performance, although it’s clear that the 700MT has a more road-focused design.
Apart, of course from the improved powerplant, the bike gets a six-speed manual gearbox, and long-travel suspension with compression and rebound damping adjustment at the front and back. The 700MT rolls on 17-inch wheels front and rear, and gets road-focused tires measuring 120/70 and 160/60 at the front and rear respectively. Like before, the bike features an LED headlight, taillight, and turn signals, but this time, also features a full-color five-inch TFT display.
In terms of pricing and availability, the CFMoto 700MT is available now through CFMoto dealerships across the Land Down Under, carrying a retail price of $9,790 AUD Ride Away, or about $6,253 USD. It’s offered in a single Nebula Black color scheme. For reference, the 650 Adventura is still the current iteration of this bike in the US market, and it carries a price tag of $6,799 USD.
