We sent four-time Finke Desert Race winner Ben Grabham to test the new CFMoto 450MT in the Victoria High Country. Here’s what he thought of this budget-friendly adventure weapon in the Australian bush…
Who better to test the new CFMoto 450MT than Ben Grabham, four-time winner of the Finke Desert Race, King of the Desert?
We sent Grabbo to Victoria’s icy High Country immediately after the Finke Desert Race in which he won the Masters 35 to 44 class.
“I “I’m not usually one to turn down the opportunity to test a new bike, but I wanted to do so a few weeks ago when I was in sunny Alice Springs,” Grabbo said of AMCN’s invitation to ride CFMoto’s first 450cc adventure bike to see how it performs in the Australian bush.
“I was just hours away from lining up for the 48th Finke Desert Race when I got a call asking if I could make it to Melbourne the following week to test the new CFMoto 450MT. My immediate reaction was to say ‘no luck’ – I knew CFMoto was a Chinese brand and the last time I rode a Chinese-made enduro bike, for example, Australasian Off-Road MotorcycleI was very disappointed, so I decided to politely decline this opportunity.
“But that test was a few years ago now and the intrigue had gotten the better of me, so as soon as the red dust settled on Aputula I was on a plane to Melbourne.”
“During the short taxi ride to CFMoto’s Australian headquarters, I took a quick look at the specs and price and started to regret my decision. The three pieces of information that made me want to get back on the plane were the 175kg dry weight, the 450cc engine and the $9,490 price tag, which in my experience makes this a heavy, slow and cheap bike. And worse, I was going to be stuck on it for three days.
“I stepped out of the taxi to meet 14 new 450MTs and was immediately surprised by the level of finish. It’s a standard I’d expect to see on a bike at double the price…”
Click the video link above for a sneak peek at what Ben Grabham thought of the CFMoto 450MT or pick up a copy of AMCN Vol 74 No 01, on sale now, for the full story.