Bargain price for high-spec light-middleweight Chinese adventure tourer
It’s not so long ago that ‘made in China’ was the mark of cheap and (not always) cheerful stuff – especially in the motorcycle world. But that’s old news in most sectors nowadays: Chinese electric cars, mobile phones and electronics are all amongst the best in the world, especially in high-end form.
That’s also applying to a growing amount of motorbikes. Okay, the majority of mainstream premium brands are still Japanese or European (although they’ll all use a proportion of components and materials from China). And there are still lots of budget low-end commuters and small-bore bikes exported from there. But there are now a few Chinese bike makers on the rise, producing well-sorted, well-priced bikes, with quality, reliability and design that’s catching up with the best in the class.
One of those firms is Voge, which was one of the first Chinese makers to incorporate high-end chassis components into its designs – Nissin brakes, Kayaba suspension, Pirelli tyres, and the like. It’s released a range of very decent adventure-touring bikes, and has extended it further with this new light-middleweight, the Voge DS625 X.
The headline on the story is probably the price – just £5,999 plus on the road charges, which is an impressive deal. It’s powered by Voge’s own engine, a 581cc water-cooled parallel twin design, with full Euro 5+ compliance, and a peak power figure of 63bhp@9,000rpm. It’s based on the firm’s 500 twin, with an extra 87cc giving more torque – now up to 57ft lb@6,500rpm. The motor uses a 270° firing order, with 11.5:1 compression ratio, 76x64mm bore and stroke, eight-valve DOHC head, balance shaft, wet slipper clutch and six-speed gearbox.
A standard-looking adventure touring chassis is based around a steel tube perimeter frame design with bolt-on subframe and aluminium rear monoshock swingarm. The running gear is big-name stuff though: you get Nissin brakes with 298mm wave discs and dual-piston sliding calipers, fully-adjustable KYB rear suspension with remote reservoir rear shock and preload/rebound adjustment on the 41mm USD fork. Metzeler Tourance tyres grace the tubeless wire-spoked rims, in offroad-friendly sizes: 110/80 19 front and 150 70 17 rear.
The result of all this is a bit on the fat side at 206kg unladen, but that’s partly because Voge has fitted a load of kit: centre stand, engine bars, sump guard, hand protectors, fog lamps and luggage-ready rear alloy rack. Seat height is a manageable but spacious 835mm, the windscreen has two positions, adjustable on the move and the new riding position is said by Voge to give extra comfort both when touring and riding off-road.
The electronics package is more than decent for the sector and price. You get ABS and traction control which are both switchable for off-road use, plus two rider power modes, tyre pressure monitoring system, Bluetooth phone link and navigation functions, all accessed via a 7” colour LCD dash and backlit switchgear. There’s even a unique standard OE feature we’ve not seen on a bike before: a factory-fitted forward-facing video camera with 1080p HD recording onto an SD card, and LED lighting all round. Voge is also offering a hard luggage setup for an extra £699.
It’s a solid package indeed – and with that sub-£6k price tag will catch a lot of riders’ eyes this season we reckon. More info at the firm’s website: www.vogemotorcycles.com where you can also find your nearest dealer.