One of the interesting adventure bikes at the 2023 EICMA show didn’t come from the usual suspects. In a year filled with adventure bike launches, the CFMOTO MT-X didn’t break any new ground, but it did show the Chinese manufacturer is keen to compete with the established OEMs toe-to-toe. Now, in the months since, there’s been no official information update on the motorcycle, which is surprising, as we expect to see the bike launched as a production model in coming months.

But unofficially, we’ve had a couple of looks at the machine’s progress. First-off, Cycle World and some other outlets ran the images below, saying they were from “official design registrations.” I haven’t been able to confirm that with my own web-sleuthing through the European Union’s IP search engine, going through both Euro and non-Euro registrations, as well as WIPO. I can’t guarantee these images are legit, but they certainly appear so.

We also have this on-the-road evaluation of the prototype from an Italian mag, presumably filmed after the bike appeared at its EICMA launch:

What next?

CFMOTO is keen to promote its 450 Ibex, which should hit North America sometime in late summer (see an initial ride review here). But when that bike is finally in showrooms, the MT-X will likely move to the forefront of CFMOTO’s promo programs if it’s indeed going to become a production model. At EICMA in 2023, the company’s execs indicated that it would indeed hit the market in the days to come. Stay tuned; as this bike is closely related to the KTM 790 Adventure, there’s no technological advancement needed to make it a reality, just setting up a production line.