Take a good base package, add power, remove weight, dial in the suspension and you get one of the best bang for buck custom bikes we have seen... Photography: Heather Ware, HMC
Dave Reid has transformed a stock CFMOTO 800MT into a leaner, sharper, louder beast. Packed with titanium, carbon, upgraded suspension and weight-saving tweaks, it blends adventure comfort with supermoto aggression, making a really individual machine…
Dave’s CFMOTO 800MT started life as a new 2022 model, but soon went on a 20kg diet.
Dave is no stranger to customising motorcycles. In the 1990s he ran race teams in the Shell Oils series (now ASBK) and in Formula Xtreme, among other classes, and he’s logged a lifetime of car drag racing and motocross, including banging ‘bars in the old Thumper Nats.
These days the pace is a little more relaxed, but the trademark remains, ultra-light weight, immaculate presentation, and a bike that feels special every time you thumb the starter. You might’ve seen his Royal Enfield Continental GT custom or Triumph Thruxton TFC on BikeReview.com.au, before that, plenty of his machines graced the pages of our old Rapid Bikes magazine.
Semi-retired now, the big fella runs Dave Reid Motorcycle Transport out of Western Sydney, where he lives with his wife Pearl and young son, Alex. At 61, comfort matters, but so does character, which is why he’s just bought a CFMOTO 800NK to build next, although it looks like that may end up on track being raced – stay tuned… Before that, he turned his attention to CFMOTO’s adventure twin and created the 800MT you see here, the bike I rode north of Sydney on the Old Road.
Dave’s CFMOTO 800MT is a bloody weapon, trust me, the thing wheelstands everywhere!
Having spent plenty of time on the 800MT range, including our BikeReview long-termer, I can tell you Dave’s bike is a different animal. The basic riding triangle is still super-comfy, but it punches harder, feels louder and leaner, and flicks through the Old Road like a well-sorted giant supermotard. It’s the same honest base that makes the 800MT such a value hit, sharpened everywhere that counts and trimmed where weight hides.
“It punches harder, feels louder and leaner, and flicks through the Old Road like a well-sorted giant supermotard”…
The project began with a brand-new 2022 800MT purchased from Western Sydney CFMOTO for $14,449 ride-away. He bought it because it’s a great, affordable adventure platform, and for the record, he’s also got a very trick Africa Twin in the shed, then he set about deleting grams and freeing horsepower up from the base 800MT…
Inside the engine there’s no trickery: stock bore and stroke, stock internals, all blueprinted to factory spec. The gains are in the breathing and calibration. Dave fitted a full SC-Project titanium system, headers and muffler, and had the mapping carefully dialled, running BP98. The result is a clean, reliable 100 rear-wheel horsepower, up roughly 10hp over a healthy standard example, and it feels it.
Where the regular 800MT is all about usable shove, this one adds punchy top-end urgency without losing that mid-range friendliness. Final gearing is now 16 – 42, three teeth taller than stock, it still hoists the front with a whiff of provocation, but cruises more lazily between corners. The driveline runs a 520 conversion with a DID 520 race chain, and Dave’s softened clutch effort by changing the leverage ratio via CNC billet arms, one of those small tweaks you appreciate in traffic…
“The KYB fork carries Dave Reid-spec internals, Öhlins springs and 7.5-weight oil, the KYB shock has been re-set by Dave to match”…
The KYB fork carries Dave Reid-spec internals, Öhlins springs and 7.5-weight oil, the KYB shock has been re-set by Dave to match. Brakes remain the stout J.Juan calipers, now biting race pads front and rear for a stronger initial grab and better high-temp consistency. He’s laced up alloy Excel rims, 2.5 x 19 front and 4.25 x 17 rear, and fitted Michelin Anakee tyres in 110/80-19 and 150/70-17, a smart choice for the mixed life this bike leads.
The ‘bars are SW-Motech items with variable position, which helps dial the cockpit for long arms or for more aggressive standing sections. The seat is a tall CFMOTO heated seat, footpegs are stock. All up, with the diet and hardware choices, the bike is a full 20kg lighter than standard, and you feel that every time you change direction, open the throttle, or brake…
“The bike is 20kg lighter than standard, and you feel that every time you change direction, open the throttle, or brake”…
That weight loss comes from dozens of decisions. Dave’s parts tally is lengthy, and none of it is for show. The big ticket is the full SC-Project titanium exhaust, uniquely built for Dave’s 800MT, according to Dave it’s the only one of its kind in the world on an 800MT. From there, the detail work stacks up: a Dirt Tricks 42-tooth zirconium rear sprocket paired with a Supersprox front, DID 520 race chain, Scott’s Performance microfilter oil filter, Dirt Tricks cam-chain tensioner, a billet oil-filter cap, CFMOTO tank pads, Delrin bar ends, GPS mounting bar, the CFMOTO tall heated seat, CFMOTO luggage, and the intake snorkels are removed from the airbox.
Around 75 per cent of the fasteners replaced with titanium, a CFMOTO side-stand extension, SW-Motech bar-back mounts, Anti-Gravity battery, CFMOTO race-stand bobbins, a custom aluminium muffler bracket, NOCO 12V charging port, CNC flat sprocket guard, Barkbusters with Storm guards, black wheels, a Puig touring screen, and an aluminium radiator guard. It’s the sort of spec list you rarely see on an “everyman” ADV twin, and together it transforms how the bike rides.
Nice CNC one finger clutch set up.
On the Old Road the first impression is urge. The stocker’s “use all of it” character remains, but this one spins up faster and pulls harder from the mid-range, then hangs onto speed with that taller 16 – 42 gearing. It’s grin-inducing, loud in the right way, and keen to dance. The gearbox shift via the quick-shifter is fast and accurate, and clutch action is lighter thanks to the billet-arm leverage change…
Dave’s tune is angry, and the power comes on strong and with force, lofting the wheel sky high in the process. At the same time, the motor feels crisp and connected, happy to be short-shifted or wrung out.
The handling is what sells the package. A good chassis becomes a great one when you remove 20 kilos and get the springs and oil right. Flick left–right–left through linked bends and the 800MT changes line like a bike a class smaller, mid-corner corrections are easy and it never feels laboured. The Excel/Michelin combo gives a more precise read of the road than the OE hoops, and there’s honest grip at realistic ADV lean angles.
Straight-line stability remains planted, and the Puig touring screen takes the edge off the turbulence I’ve copped on taller-rider freeway stints with standard screens, at a true highway clip the cockpit is calmer, the bike tracking arrow-straight while the twin loafs. Heated seat and grips, cruise control and that bright, simple TFT with Bluetooth and TPMS round out the “live with it every day” brief, Dave’s added GPS bar and NOCO port make touring prep a five-minute job.
The KYB/Öhlins fork rides higher in its stroke, takes a better set into turns and, with the shock to match, shrugs off the chatter that corrugations throw at a 19/17 ADV. Dave hasn’t built this to be a rally bike, but across fast fire trails and the typical NSW mixed stuff it should pace with an easy rhythm. The lighter mass makes tight U-turns and awkward cambers less of a wrestle, and while this is still a 200-plus kilo motorcycle, the diet makes a massive difference.
What I like most is that Dave hasn’t chased bling for bling’s sake. Every change either trims weight, adds reliability, or improves the ride. The Dirt Tricks cam-chain tensioner and microfilter aren’t the sorts of mods you spot at a café, but they’re the kind that let you stop thinking about the motor and get on with riding.
The titanium fastener conversion sounds like indulgence until you add up the grams saved and the corrosion resistance over years of use. Barkbusters with Storm guards mean the levers survive when the front tucks in gravel. The Anti-Gravity battery drops more weight high on the bike and spins the twin to life smartly on cold mornings. And simply removing the intake snorkels gives the mapping a cleaner airstream to work with and frees a touch of intake note to match the SC-Project bark.
Value? Dave’s spent around $24,000 building it and figures the bike’s worth about $20k as it sits. That’s a lot of motorcycle for the money, especially when you consider the real-world performance and the attention to detail. Start from the baseline, an 800MT is already a hell of a thing for the dollars, then add genuinely effective suspension, a proper weight cut, sharper brakes, better rolling stock and a bespoke titanium system, and you end up with an ADV that embarrasses bigger-ticket adventure bikes on fast, bumpy backroads, then cruises home in heated-grip comfort.
We finished our Old Road loop grinning. It’s still that confidence-inspiring, do-it-all CFMOTO at heart, only angrier on the throttle, calmer at speed and friskier everywhere there’s a corner. If you’re adventure-curious and budget-savvy, a stock 800MT makes enormous sense.
If you’re already converted and want something that feels tailored, lighter, sharper, and genuinely special, Dave’s blueprint shows the way….
EXTRA BITS
Key hardware on Dave’s 800MT (all fitted): SC-Project full titanium exhaust (headers and muffler); 16–42 final gearing; 520 conversion with DID 520 race chain; CNC billet clutch-arm leverage mod; KYB fork with Dave Reid internals, Öhlins springs, 7.5W oil; KYB shock set by Dave; J.Juan calipers with race pads; Excel rims (2.5 x 19F, 4.25 x 17R) on Michelin Anakee 110/80-19 and 150/70-17; SW-Motech variable-position handlebars and bar-back mounts; Dirt Tricks 42-tooth zirconium rear sprocket; Supersprox front; Scott’s Performance microfilter oil filter; Dirt Tricks cam-chain tensioner; billet oil-filter cap; CFMOTO tank pads, tall heated seat, luggage, side-stand extension and race-stand bobbins; GPS mounting bar; intake snorkels removed; approximately 75% titanium fasteners; Anti-Gravity battery; custom aluminium muffler bracket; NOCO 12V charging port; CNC flat sprocket guard; Barkbusters with Storm guards; black wheels; Puig touring screen; aluminium radiator guard. Weight reduction: approximately 20kg. Purchase price new: $14,449 (2022). Total spend: ~ $24,000. Estimated value as built: ~ $20,000.
OWNER PROFILE
Name: Dave Reid
Age: 61
Time into Bikes: 45-years
Other Bikes Owned: ZXR750R, CBR600RR racer x 2, KTM 620SX racer x 2, Hayabusa racer, TL1000R racer, TM600SMX racer, KTM 690 Duke R, CB650F, CRF450L, Thruxton 1200 TFC, Africa Twin, Continental GT, CFMOTO 800NK.
Other Interests: Drag racing, camping with my son Alex and wife Pearl.
The Author
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