The Affordable Yet Overlooked Adventure Tourer That Does Everything The Africa Twin Can

The Honda Africa Twin is the gold standard of adventure tourers that do everything you need to, without making a fuss or draining your wallet. It has enough power, enough features, and enough ability to get you wherever you need to go. Plus, it has enough reliability to get you back home in one piece.

Thus, finding a product that can measure up to the Africa Twin at the price is a tall order. But we like to set ourselves some lofty targets, so we went out looking for an adventure bike that can do that, but at a lower price. Here is the affordable yet overlooked adventure tourer that does everything the Africa Twin can. It will surprise you with both its price and feature set!

The CFMoto Ibex 800 E Does Everything The Africa Twin Can

CFMoto is known to make products that have startling value, and the Ibex 800 E does just that. It takes it further than any other CFMoto since it is a flagship product. Like the Africa Twin, there is no bigger, better adventure bike in the manufacturer’s portfolio. And if you’re on a budget, the Ibex 800 E makes for a great substitute for the Africa Twin, because it has almost all the performance and even some advantages over the Africa Twin.

CFMoto Ibex 800 E MSRP: $10,299

Despite being a flagship product, it slots into the middleweight category because of its displacement and, more so, its price. This MSRP is less than a Yamaha Tenere 700, a product known to have a stripped-back attitude so that it can lug less weight around off-road. Despite the price, the Ibex 800 E has a lot of features for the money. Some of which even surpass the Africa Twin.

CFMoto Ibex 800 E Engine

The Ibex 800 has an engine closely related to the KTM 790 Adventure, which is why you’ll see some similarities between it and the KTM powerplant. The CFMoto generates a fair amount of power, but what stands out is the revs at which the peak horsepower and torque figures are generated. They are fairly far apart, which is the sign of a very flexible engine.

Likable Electronic Aids Join Hands With The Engine

The gearbox has a two-way quickshifter as standard fitment. Cruise control and a by-wire throttle are present as well. Coupled with a six-axis IMU, you get a total of six ride modes, all of which change parameters like traction control, ABS, and the throttle response.

CFMoto Ibex 800 E Engine Specifications

CFMoto Ibex 800 E Chassis

The Ibex 800 E has a steel trellis frame to keep weight down. This theme continues with the aluminum subframe and swingarm. Fully adjustable suspension is provided by KYB, with adjustment for preload, compression, and rebound at the front, and just preload and rebound at the rear.

J.Juan brakes have been fitted, with large discs at the front gripped by radially mounted four piston fixed calipers. The wheel size combination is a 19/17 inch one, and uses spoked rims with tubeless tires. It must be noted that this is the only product in its segment that offers a steering damper, standard or optional.

Although A Middleweight, The Ibex Has Close To Full-Size Dimensions

The CFMoto isn’t quite a full-size bike, but it can certainly carry a pillion and luggage in comfort. The fuel tank can also carry enough to make it a good distance in between fill ups. The seat height is reasonable, and it has a low curb weight for the number of electronics and features it has.

CFMoto Ibex 800 E Features

If we were to list all the features that the Ibex 800 E has, this would be a very long section. We’ll stick to the highlights, then, for the sake of brevity, since it has all the other features that are common in the segment. The 8-inch TFT instrument display is a touchscreen and has Apple CarPlay enabled.

We’ve already mentioned the steering damper. But the party trick is the radar-based blind spot monitoring at the rear. Among other notable features are an adjustable windscreen, tire pressure monitoring, and the ability to switch off ABS and traction control at the rear.

CFMoto Ibex 800 E Competition

The first competitor we need to deal with is the Africa Twin. There are some obvious differences between the Ibex 800 and the Africa Twin. The Honda is a full-size ADV, and the Ibex is a midsize one. CFMoto will have its first liter adventure bike on sale soon in the 1000MT-X (likely to be called the Ibex 1000 here), and that will be a true competitor to the Africa Twin. However, the Africa Twin, as it stands, costs nearly 50 percent more than the Ibex 800, but offers only 6 more horsepower.

The Africa Twin does offer a dual-clutch automatic gearbox for a little more money, which the Ibex does not offer. Elsewhere, the regular Africa Twin has a 21-inch front rim, although the Africa Twin Adventure Sports does have a 19-inch front. If you consider the Africa Twin Adventure Sports, it also offers electronic suspension. But to reiterate: all of these features are available at a massive premium over the CFMoto product. $4,000 can get you a nice motorcycling holiday!

We are comparing the Ibex 800 E to the Africa Twin here, but in reality, it competes with the XL750 Transalp, Honda’s midsize ADV. The other possible competitor at the price is the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE. Both of these are similar to the Ibex 800 in that they are most comfortable rolling on tarmac, but will not shy away from a challenge on the loose stuff. The Suzuki does not have tubeless tires, although it has spoke rims. Both the Honda and the Suzuki have 21 inch front rims to the CFMoto’s 19 inch one, but the V-Strom does not have tubeless tires.

CFMoto Ibex 800 E Vs Rivals

Sources: CFMoto USA