2024 Voge DS900X: What we’ve learned after 3400 miles
LONG-TERM TEST BIKES
Can you trust a cut-price adventure bike from a relatively unknown brand? After five months with Voge’s DS900X, we have the answers…
Pictures Bauer Archive
It’s been an interesting few months with the Voge DS900X. Launched in early autumn, it impressed us instantly with its equipment level, superb value and more-than-passable dynamics. Loncin, the company behind Voge, also manufacture BMW’s F900GS motor and this bike shares a version of that engine while also having a similar chassis and running gear – at a fraction of the cost.
So, where the catch? We’ve given the Voge a hard time to find out. It’s been out in snow, salt and gloop, been razzed up and down the country, and has hosted more RiDE staff buttocks than any other machine. We’ve clocked up more than 3000 miles on it, and aside from one hiccup it’s been pretty plain sailing…
1 Time to stop talking about ‘Chinese’ bikes
It’s impressive. Fit and finish are way ahead of bikes from a few years ago. Metalwork is convincing, well-painted with an aluminium sparkle to bars and yokes, the filler cap is solid, plastics are thick and fit well. General component spec is on par, and after a winter’s use there’s no significant corrosion – things like wheel spokes, disc carriers and buttons, banjo bolts and fasteners are all clean. I’ve seen Japanese bikes looking far worse far more quickly.
Simon Hargreaves
2 Dynamics are decent
Aside from a dragging centrestand, it’s fun in the bends
KYB suspension is soft as standard, but is adjustable and responds well to tweaks – it controls the Voge’s hefty 270kg wet weight reasonably well and give accurate handing, even if it isn’t exactly a corner slayer. The DS900X loves A and B-roads where you can pick a flowing line, rolling on and off the gas and taking advantage of the smooth and effective F900GS-based motor. That motor also gives vibe-free, tall-gear cruising on the motorway. Comfort and wind protection are good, too.
Matt Wildee
3 Beyond fully loaded
Enough here to keep geeks happy for months
Nothing else matches it for kit at the price. Big TFT dash, cruise, heated grips and seat, keyless, crash bars, fogs, handguards, centrestand, TPMS, aluminium panniers and top box, blind spot radar, front video/stills camera, quickshifter, adjustable levers and screen, rider modes, traction control, and satnav via Voge’s app. Probably more I forgot to mention. And it all works okay – switchgear is good, menu navigation easy enough, and while the screen’s a bit cluttered, it’s informative. An amazing inventory.
Simon Hargreaves
4 We’ve had a few niggles, though
Headstock bolt loosened off
The headlight aim was hell to adjust. The headstock nut worked loose. The fuel gauge is the most inconsistent of any I’ve ever used – sometimes staying ‘full’ then dropping like a stone – and isn’t helped by a lack of a range indicator. Keyless ignition is good, but infuriating when it isn’t combined with a keyless fuel cap and a tiny key stored in the fob. The centrestand drags when you corner quickly, and when we put the bike in for a firmware update, the odometer was reset to zero. Voge are replacing the dash under warranty and the mileage can be reinstated.
Matt Wildee
5 Overall, it’s a pretty decent package
Comfortable, well-built, reliable over our test period, and offers so much for the cash. It doesn’t feel quite as together or sophisticated as a Tiger 900 or F900GS – they are lighter, more powerful and, if your ride briskly, much more fun. But the Voge is more than 30 per cent cheaper for a bike with similar spec, and while it’s a tidy handler and has a good motor, it feels a step away from the cutting edge. For many, though, the price will mean this won’t matter a jot.
Matt Wildee
WHAT WORKS WHAT DOESN’T
Brilliant luggage as standard
At the time of writing, Voge include a £1000 set of 27-litre aluminium panniers and 27-litre top box free with the DS900X. They’re brilliant, well-made items, and felt-lined for a posh touch. SiH
Proper running gear and tyres
Brembo calipers are proven, as is the KYB forks and the shock (which has a neat hydraulic preload adjuster). OE tyres are Pirelli Scorpion Trail IIs – they have proven good in the wet and last well, too. MW
Candid camera, but unnecessary
Camera runs on a constant loop recording to a card on the bike, links to your phone over Wi-Fi, and can grab a screenshot by pressing a button on the right bar cluster. I’ve never been keen to use it, though. SiH
COSTS SO FAR
First service £180
Fuel, 303 litres @137.8p/litre £417
Cost per mile £0.18
THE FACTS
£9199
94bhp
270kg
MILES THIS MONTH 698
MPG THIS MONTH 51.0