Thanks to Orwell Motorcycles Ipswich I was able to test a couple of the toplist bikes last week. The CF Moto 800 MTX and the Kawasaki KLE 500 were both fun, but only one fits the bill for the 10k tour.
CF Moto 800 MTX – Accessible with torque. But what the hell is that dash?
Remember the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 from 2010? That’s what the screen on the CFMoto 800 MTX reminds me of. The Tab was a great tablet but, hey, there’s no place for huge screen borders in 2026, There seems to be some sort of serving-ledge around the front too.
It makes the dash experience extremely un-stylish.
As for the rest of it, I find it OK. Those huge plastic covers around the engine seem somewhat out of place but, again, practical?
Torque! That’s the first thing I noticed when I pulled away. Given that I ride a lean-forward VFR800, the pull on the arms in the upright seating position was a pleasant shock. Smooth gears and an easy ride, I would have no problem with this on a long journey, apart from the fact that it’s really snappy at low speeds. It needs really fine throttle and clutch control to keep it smooth in the town. You wouldn’t want to be ridibg too much in winter gloves!
Overall, it was a great test ride through the Suffolk countryside.
And then came the KLE 500…
Kawasaki KLE 500 – perfect for country lanes. Not enough power…
…for me. This KLE 500, as I have previously discussed, just doesn’t have the power for a long tour. It will do it, and it will make it fun, but it’s not set up for a 10k km tour through Europe, especially if that tour is going to happen within a team of stronger bikes.
On those Suffolk roads though it was screamingly good fun. It’s a high-revver and I found myself in the gear-change lights more often than not as I tried to keep up with the CFMoto 800 in front of me.
I loved it.
It’s easy to put in corners and it feels more stable than the CFMoto. The view of the dash is way more interesting too.
For me there’s another problem. It was too high. A 174 cm I couldn’t get it tip-toed out of the cafe parking spot. I could call that a complete no-go but I know that I would be able to work round that if it came to the crunch.
If I was going to buy a companion for my VFR800, this would be it. I absolutely loved the KLE 500 and it works well on the UK roads. (Read: Bumpy, unpredictable.)
Many thanks to Orwell Motorcycles. They deal in CFMoto, KTM, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Royal Enfield, have a huge showroom and a lot of knowledgeable and friendly staff.
Bonus: KTM – 790 and 890 sized
Despite enjoying the KTM engine in the CFMoto 800 MTX I’m still not the out and out KTM fan. The staff at Orwell did manage to get me to sit on the KTM 790 Adventure and the 890 Adventure. I’ll admit that the 790 felt good for my height. The 890, a little tall.
