Staff Bikes: CFMOTO BIKEREVIEW 800MT, Month Three!

We’re going on update three now with our long term CFMOTO 800MT and I’ll safely say that my prayers and wishes have been answered. The bike is looking mean, and performing even better with some of our recent upgrades, check it out below…

I was lucky enough to receive a huge box from James Ostler, the Accessories Manager over at CFMOTO Australia little more than a week after our last update went out. Inside was everything I had hoped for, and I was damn eager to get it installed.

Check out Nick’s review of the CFMOTO 800MT here…

Inside, I had some bar risers, a full luggage set with mounting bars included, a radiator stone guard and the heavy duty crash protection bars. James also threw in an upgraded foam element airfilter, but we’d just done a service so that one is staying in the shed for now. I should have wished for a new car, and maybe a boat. Who knows, it might have arrived!

The hard panniers will be super helpful for the long miles Nick does commuting to work.

The bar risers are sold genuine through CFMOTO for $89 RRP and went on first, as they’ve been the biggest issue for me and my lower back, as I am 197cm tall. They’re very similar to what we put on the 650MT long termer way back in 2021. Installation was simple, and they even include a small bottle of thread lock.

Check out our previous updates on the CFMOTO BikeReview 800MT here...

If you check out the photos below, you’ll see they provide a lot more comfort, and I’m feeling much more in control when standing. Depending on the position of the clutch and brake levers, you might needed to do a little loosening down near the headstock cable guides. I managed to get the risers in on my own, but a second set of hands would definitely be helpful.

CFMOTO 800MT genuine bar riders.

The kit comes complete ready to go.

Nick noted that the KYB suspension held up well against the Australian bush!

Next was the hard luggage set. The complete kit is also sold genuine through CFMOTO for $2079 RRP and offer a whopping 99 litres of storage, that’s a lot of groceries. The boxes look solid, and are nicely constructed. The top box even has a padded backrest for the pillion passenger. They boast steel reinforced corners, multiple locking mechanisms and a soft internal lining. Honestly, I reckon I had these installed within 15 minutes and only needed a set of Allen keys and a few sockets.

Single side boxes can be bought for $699 RRP each.

The left side is 28L and the right side is 35L, this is due to the exhaust on the left.

The full kit looks fantastic. Hard luggage is good for touring but not ideal for off-road use as soft panniers are a safer option. This is because if you clip a tree or shrub with hard luggage you will most likely crash.

Top box is 36L and $699 RRP.

Nick says all that is needed to fit the luggage is 15-minutes and an Allen key.

The inside of the luggage is lined.

As with my previous experience on the baby 650MT, everything always lines up perfectly, which I love. The top box is mounted on an aluminium base, which easily replaces the standard plastic base that comes with the bike. I really appreciate the simplicity of these luggage mounts. I’ve had some terrible experiences on previous bikes where nothing lines up how it’s meant to. Not to mention having to drill mounting points and remove half the bike just to get a luggage tray on.

Nick says all that is needed to fit the luggage is 15-minutes and an Allen key.

I loved the look of the launch bikes I got to ride down in Melbourne last year, and I was stoked to see the heavy duty crash bars in the box ($299 RRP). These went on with absolutely ease, as you’ll see in the pics below. They simply mount to the existing crash bars with an extra bolt down below near the exhaust bash plates.

Shop for your CFMOTO accessories here…

Otherwise, you use the existing mounting locations and they simply slip over the top. Again, 10 minutes and these were on the bike and ready to go. All you’ll need is a socket set with a 100-150mm extension to get to those bolt beads inside the crash bars. While these look awesome, I’m hoping I won’t have to put them to the test anytime soon…

Similarly, the the radiator stone guard ($169) adds some nice kerb appeal, but more importantly it’ll save me some serious headache when we finally get this thing out on some longer rides out in the bush. It was something I was always hoping to get on the little 650MT, but they weren’t available at the time. Installation, again, was as simple as anything. The existing support bar across the front of the radiator is loosened, the radiator mounting bolts are removed, the guard slipped over, and it’s all tightened back up. That’s it. Nothing else.

We’ve also heard from Staintune, who were more than happy to throw on one of their slip-on exhaust systems for the bike. We’re organising that as I type, and hope to see it on the bike in next months update. We’ll be sure to get some before and after videos up on the socials…
I’m very keen on this upgrade.

That’s all for this instalment! Make sure you check in next month to see what Nick is up to…

It looks bloody cool with all the accessories on…

As you can see, the bike is looking pretty tidy at the moment. It’s a shame all it’s seen is the daily commute and a few dirt runs out into the State Forest. Now that summer is over, I’m hoping that the storms will start to recede and the weather will start to calm down a bit. I’ve got a couple of decent rides planned out to Gloucester and the Watagans National Park.