Chinese motorcycles are on the rise. We rode Voge’s 900cc adventure bike last year and were left relatively impressed, and now we have the company’s R 125, a semi-sporty naked 125 that’s high on spec and low on price.
The 125 sector should be right in Voge’s wheelhouse and, at under £3000, the R 125 looks like excellent value.
First impressions of the Voge are pretty impressive. The styling is very contemporary, with the steel trellis frame and sharp bodywork giving the R 125 more than a whiff of KTM Duke to it. The distinctive headlight is described by the manufacturer as being like a ‘robot face’ while the large TFT dashboard wouldn’t feel out of place on a Honda or Yamaha.
Overall the finish is very agreeable, with all the cabling and hoses looking neat and tidy. The dashboard is packed with functionality, including a fuel gauge, clock, fuel consumption and gear indicator, as well as the usual rev counter, odometers and speedometer. You also get a USB-C charging port on the dash, which is a really useful touch – especially if you use your smartphone as a handlebar-mounted sat-nav.
Starting on the button, the Voge is a typically easy to ride 125 at slow speed. If there’s a (minor) complaint then the turning circle isn’t quite as tight as you might like for a city bike, but it is super light (claimed at 128kg before fluids) with nice and simple controls.
Chinese bikes historically had ancient engine technology, with 125s often leaning on copies of an old air-cooled Suzuki design, but the Voge’s powerplant is anything but old fashioned. It’s a thoroughly modern water-cooled, twin cam engine which claims a peak power of 11kw (14.75bhp), right on the A1 licence limit.
It translates on the road too, with performance feeling in line with the best sporty 125s from more established brands. On the open road, forays onto the motorway saw the Voge able to sustain 65mph, topping 70mph in favourable conditions. That’s as good as it gets for an A1 bike, whatever name sits on the tank. With our test bike barely run in, we’d expect the motor to loosen up with some more miles under its wheels as well.
And this is important if your riding involves regularly riding on the open roads. While 125s are never going to be about lap times or effortless motorway cruising, the extra 10-15mph top speed the Voge offers over the most basic learner bikes really does make a difference.
Motorways might be off limit if you’re riding around on L plates and a CBT, but dual carriageways are not. Indeed, we’d argue there’s a real safety benefit in being able to sit comfortably at 60mph, without the fear of being tailgated by trucks in the slow lane. Compared to other sub-£3k 125s, the Voge offers a staggering amount of performance – giving nothing away to the best in class.
And it’s pretty much the same on the chassis front too. It handles and brakes competently and confidently, with nothing significant to note in either a positive or negative light. Even the original equipment CST tyres appear to have moved up a notch in recent years too. Most of our time with the Voge was spent on cold and damp wintery roads – low grip conditions in which the tyres gave no concerns. Sure, there will be stickier rubber out there but for the intended purpose it all works adequately well.
So what we have is a well priced, decently made 125, with performance as good as the regulations will allow and a spec that’s got everything you need, and more. What’s not to like?
Well, I’m kinda scratching my head and struggling to come up with much. Sure, I’d like a tighter turning circle and the graphics aren’t really my cup of tea. I do, it has to be said, quite like the baby blue colour scheme, though I am not sure I really need to have the word ‘Voge’ written large across the flanks. Either way, it doesn’t impact the riding experience.
Logically, there’s no tangible reason why you wouldn’t buy a Voge over a machine from a Japanese manufacturer, using the savings to fund essentials like training, riding gear and motorcycle insurance. Of course there also is the less tangible. Honda, for example, have a formidable reputation built up over decades, not to mention a strong dealer network, brand image and enviable post sales support service.
The bikes are known to be durable and residual values are a known quantity. While Voge have made massive strides in recent years, they can’t yet claim to have the standing of the legacy brands in the marketplace. This review can’t predict what the Voge will be like two years down the line, but there’s no doubt that massive strides have been made.
But it feels like we’re at a point where the Chinese brands are really not far away at all, and that they could change the landscape of the industry as we know it. Voge might be a new name, but the company behind it certainly isn’t. It’s the premium brand of the giant Loncin company. They have the capacity to produce 2.5 million motorcycles each year and they even assemble engines and complete scooters for BMW. It’s not a backstreet operation.
Even if we’re not all queuing up to buy Koves and Voges, the aggressive pricing strategy of these new challengers must surely see traditional manufacturers realign their prices if they are to hold their ground. The Chinese are coming, whether they (or we) like it or not. In this sector, at least, it feels like Voge are already ‘there’.
While there are still some long term ownership questions to be answered, such as durability, parts availability and how much the bike will be worth when you come to sell it, I really could see myself considering a Voge R 125 if I was in the market for a sporty learner bike on a budget. Indeed, even if not on a budget, the Voge is well worthy of consideration.
At the time of writing, pre-registered examples of the Voge can be yours for £2749 on the road – a saving of £200 over the already bargain RRP. That’s around the same as a four or five year old KTM Duke 125 and £400 less than the list price of an ultra basic (though very competent) Honda CB125F, Britain’s best selling geared motorcycle.
The Voge R 125 is simply a very, very good learner motorcycle. It looks smart, appears to be well enough built, comes with loads of spec and performs as well as any other 125 out there. That it is so competitively priced makes this a motorcycle the established manufacturers just cannot ignore. And you probably shouldn’t either…
Voge R 125 specification
Price: £2,799 (+ £150 on the road charges)
Engine: 124cc
Power: 14.75bhp (11kW) @ 9,500rpm
Torque: 12Nm @ 8000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, chain drive
Chassis: Steel trellis frame
Suspension: (F) 40mm USD forks (R) single shock absorber
Wheels: Cast aluminium, (F) 17” x 2.75”/ (R) 17” x 3.5”
Tyres: (F) 110/70 x 17, (R) 140/60 x 17
Brakes: (F) 300mm disc, four-piston radial caliper, (R) 220mm disc, one-piston caliper. ABS
Weight: 128kg
Wheelbase: 1,310mm
Seat height: 795mm
Fuel tank: 10 litres
Fuel consumption: 100mpg (estimated)
Warranty: Two years
Contact: www.vogemotorcycles.com
