CFMoto and RSD Unveil the Vandal Ibex 450 Supermoto Concept

Right on the Moto Beach Classic Gymkhana track, just 5 feet from the sand, the CFMoto Vandal concept sat covered. Roland Sands, racer, RSD proprietor, custom builder, and bike designer extraordinaire, held one end of the curtain ready to unveil the bike while supermoto racer and stuntman Parker Pitman was suited up nearby—hinting at the concept’s direction.

Last Friday, Roland Sands and CFMoto unveiled the latest concept based on CF’s Ibex 450 adventure bike: the Vandal 450. The Vandal concept seeks to highlight the on-road capabilities of the 450 platform with an aggressive urban build inspired by supermoto and super hooligan bikes.

Sands is no stranger to OEM-funded concepts. Sketches and designs conceived in Roland’s office have dressed the walls of countless motorcycle designers and served as inspiration and reference for some very successful production bikes—remember Concept 101 and the subsequent K 1600 B? Now the master has taken his pen to a new beast, cutting back some weight, dropping some height, and adding a huge dose of visual flair to match the new supermoto hooligan persona of the modified Ibex.

The Vandal’s paint is brightly colored, verging on chaotic, covered with black-and-white checkers and neon paint splashes. It’s tall and upright, but now sitting on 17-inch wheels instead of the stock 18-and-21-inch kit. A custom tailsection was fabricated in-house with a flat-track-style number plate, using CFMoto’s Papio CL’s taillight assembly to keep things nice and neat. More custom and adapted bodywork was added, including an Acerbis supermoto fender, frame sliders, and a pair of RSD 3.5-inch risers that raise the handlebar. Fork internals were replaced with a fully adjustable Gears Racing cartridge kit, and the monoshock was swapped out for a fully adjustable shock of the same make.

“The Ibex 450 is our ultimate on- and off-road platform,” said Reid Strait, CFMoto’s marketing content manager. “So we wanted to highlight the on-road capabilities as well.”

“The Ibex 450 was a natural choice for this build—it’s a punk rock bike with high-end components, great build quality, and versatility for both off-road and on-road riding,” Roland said. “Plus, the 450 twin engine offers something unique in the market at an affordable price point. Its high-revving, high-performance design aligns with what we’ve always aimed to push forward. It also opens up great potential for a younger generation of roadracers. To get more people riding and competing, it’s crucial to create small-displacement bikes and provide ways to get them in the hands of riders where they live.”

We love the upright riding position and casual capability promised by this combination. As with most concepts, we would storm the gates for an opportunity to spend time riding this mini-beast, but we’ll have to see what CF does with this research and development before bringing you a review.