RIDDEN: Voge DS625X

Another adventure bike from Voge? You bet. But this one’s packing more grunt, a smoother 270° crank vibe, and a price tag that could make the Japanese big guns blush. Dave Manning reports…

Voge’s latest introduction to their array of adventure-styled machinery is more of an expansion of their existing range than something brand-new. While their 525X remains in the Voge product range, the question must be asked as to why it remains or why the new 625 has been introduced, as surely, they will end up being natural contenders for the same piece of motorcycling pie? 

The 625, however, with its actual capacity of 581cc (yes, it’s another bike whose name doesn’t actually reflect its true capacity) is a development of the parallel twin engine which was initially the brand’s badge-engineered version of the Honda CB500X engine. It now has not only an increase in capacity, but also a rephased crank that is 270°, as per pretty much each and every other parallel twin on the market right now. 

Consequently, the 525 is a smaller, lower-spec version of a similar bike for the same class, and it’s perhaps best to view the new 625 as an alternative for someone who wants a little bit more, has a slightly higher budget, or prefers the feeling the alternative crank arrangement gives compared to a conventional parallel twin (and, let’s face it, there aren’t many left that have the traditional 180° crank layout).

So, while the bigger bike does have some family similarities with the 525 (and indeed, the big brother 900 parallel twin) in terms of style and spec, it is nevertheless an interesting entry into the market. It sits below the glut of parallel twins from Japan that are of a greater capacity and, to point an accusing finger at the large grey pachyderm in the corner, a higher retail price.

But we’ll come to the cost later, as for now we need to know what it’s like to ride. The initial impression is that the bars feel really high, and the rather firm seat low in comparison, and pretty close to the pegs, too, which have been moved back in relation to the 525. However, if the seat was raised to give more legroom it’d start being a bit lofty – as it is, it allowed me to have both feet flat on the floor, and those high bars are close to perfect for stood-up riding which seems to be ever more popular amongst adventure bike riders nowadays, even on flat, smooth Tarmac…

Initially I’d thought the seat was going to be a little too firm for long days in the saddle, but with no posterior niggles after a full day of riding, I was clearly jumping to conclusions there, and there’s probably going to be more of an issue with the pegs’ proximity to the seat for those folk whose knees aren’t as flexible as they once were.

With that said, an addition of something like an Airflow seat cover would ease pressure on the knees and give more comfort for longer without the seat height suddenly being an issue. As an aside, a heated seat is a factory option that’ll be available soon (heated grips, also, with neither being standard for the 625, unlike the 900X).

An indicated 70mph is just under 4500rpm in top gear, and is pleasantly smooth, with vibes only really appearing when the motor’s buzzed up towards the redline, although there’s little point in chasing that 8500rpm redline as it runs out of puff by 7800rpm-ish, so far better to keep those minimal vibes to a minimum and short-shift through the box. Essentially, it’s the sort of power delivery that will create no surprises and happily deal with the day-to-day humdrum necessities of travelling to work and back, yet still have enough left over for some weekend playtime or longer-distance journeys when the time allows.

The brakes are a little lacking in bite and feedback, although if they’re anything like the ones on the DS900X, which felt very similar on the launch of that machine, then they’ll get much better with use – as I said with the 900 long termer that we ran through last winter, it felt as though bite improved as the disc treatment (some kind of coating perhaps?) wore off. 

And you have to bear in mind that I make that statement in comparison to other brakes on other brand-new machinery of the same ilk – if you make the comparison to a similar bike of older than a decade or so (i.e. something with brakes of a similar spec – twin-sliding twin-pot calipers), then there’s absolutely no issue with the 625’s brakes whatsoever.

The suspension does have something of a basic feel, with small ripples on the road fed back to the rider, but both front and rear are fully adjustable (in terms of preload, and bump and rebound damping), so this could perhaps be tuned out and besides, I was riding solo with no luggage, and this susceptibility to smaller road imperfections might disappear with some more weight on board than my doughy 85kg. It steers really nicely and feels stable while also turning quickly enough without lots of effort. In short, it’s what you’d expect from a bike of this spec although probably exceeding that which you’d expect from a bike of this price!

The dash isn’t the clearest to read due to the size of the digits and symbols, but it is simple and straightforward. It was showing over 60mpg on the dash (well, 4.4 litres per 100km, which actually equates to 64.2mpg), which, while not astounding, is reasonable enough for a modern motorcycle and this was on a ride with lots of stops, starts, and turnarounds for photography, etc. Launch events do tend to favour a more enthusiastic riding style so it’s perhaps fair to say that someone who’s a little less throttle happy could get that to a rather more frugal level.

As far as tech is concerned, the 625 is, when compared to its larger stablemate, a little lacking, although personally I welcome that as it keeps things very simple. There’s no cruise control, which could be considered a loss, while the two ride modes (E and S – Economy and Sport, although Standard would be a more accurate name) are super-easy to change with one tap of the Mode button at any point regardless of the fact you’re in motion or have the throttle open or not (remembering most bikes need the throttle to be completely closed to register the change). E has a slightly slower throttle response, while S is sharper, but the difference is marginal, although E would be better to give a pillion a smoother ride. 

The reason why the modes are so similar (and also probably why there’s no cruise control) is because the 625 is a little ‘olde-skool’ in that it uses actual throttle cables rather than ride-by-wire throttle operation, so the mode changes can’t actually alter the way the throttle opens (only your right hand can do that) so the difference between E and S will be down to ignition/fuel timing. 

There’s no quickshifter, which I don’t personally consider to be a problem (some might), and the gear shift is smooth enough while not true hot-knife-through-butter snick-snick-snick. It is easy enough to do clutchless shifts up through the ’box but is a little reluctant to accept clutchless changes on downshifts unless you’re really accurate with a throttle blip.

While this sounds like it’s low-spec in terms of recent bikes, it does have a ‘dash cam’ fitted as standard – mounted behind the lower tip of the screen it’s actually covered when the screen is in its lowest position and exposed as the screen is lifted. Unlike the camera on the 900DX, it’s only a video camera and doesn’t have the stills option the bigger bike has (courtesy of a button on the right-hand bar cluster), but I understand that it records video (saving the last 60 seconds and continually updated) that can be saved/edited/erased, etc., via the Voge app.

The first tentative squeeze of the clutch lever – as everyone does when they first sit on a bike – gives a surprise at how light it is. Is the cable actually attached to anything? And, in action, it remains light and easy to use, close to being one-finger operation! That’s just one indication of how good a bike this would be for the daily commute. If there were anywhere near as many dispatch riders around as there used to be three decades ago, you’d be seeing these bikes filling the roads around the city, all plastered in dispatch company logos. 

The crash bars that come fitted as standard would make the 625 an ideal urban assault vehicle in the time-honoured despatch rider tradition, although they are, of course, intended for the still-expanding adventure bike sector, for which the aluminium sump guard is also fitted. It’s also got a centre stand, which you could consider a vital requirement for a bike spec’d to do a lot of miles, and it’s easy to use as well, with the grab handles/rack /rail proving useful in this regard.

The screen is fairly good, although while it is adjustable, it has a choice of just two positions, and for me it didn’t seem to make a difference which one it was set at, but it was pretty efficient either way, being fairly quiet and deflecting many of the May bugs (as in bugs flying around in the month of May and not actual Mayfly).

The colour options are a gloss black (named as Black Knight for all you Deep Purple fans out there) with gold anodised wheel rims, and Desert Yellow with classier black rims that I was riding, somewhat unkindly referred to as ‘Hearing Aid Beige’ by a certain industry bystander… The styling does have the reference that many adventure bikes have to Ducati’s Multistrada with the ‘duck bill’ type upper front mudguard arrangement, although that is rather tempered in this case by the reverse angle headlights that bring a unique piece of design (although since I rode the 625 there have been another couple of adventure bikes launched, that also have an origin in the East, with very similar styling!).

Unlike its bigger brother, the 625 doesn’t have luggage as standard, but the three-piece kit is available as an accessory with £699 getting you the aluminium pannier and top box of the same quality as those on the 900 – i.e. really nice, and dead-easy to use. 

Note – that price is when you buy the panniers with the bike as new, but if you wait until later to buy them as an aftermarket accessory, they’ll cost you nigh-on double that. And, when the basic bike costs just a scratch over six grand when the on-the-road charges are added to the £5999 retail price, shelling out the extra 700 nicker isn’t really much of a problem, and rewards you with an astoundingly practical and capable bike that seems to have the quality of finish and attention to detail of significantly more expensive alternatives. 

With the UK’s Voge dealer network expanding at a time when many manufacturers are seeing a reduction in dealer numbers, the future certainly looks good for the Chinese brand.

Specification: Voge DS625X

Engine: 581cc, parallel twin, 270° crank, water-cooling, 8 valves, DOHC 

Bore and Stroke: 76mm x 64mm 

Power: 63bhp (47kW) @ 9000rpm

Torque: 42lb-ft (57Nm) @ 6500rpm

Frame: Steel double cradle

Wheelbase: 1465mm

Rider aids: Switchable traction control, switchable ABS, two rider modes

Brakes: (F) Twin Nisson radial calipers, 298mm discs, (R) Single piston caliper, 240mm disc

Transmission: Six gears, chain final drive, slipper clutch

Suspension: (F) KYB 41mm USD forks, fully adjustable, 174mm travel, (R) KYB monoshock, fully adjustable, 181mm travel

Wheels/Tyres: Spoked wheels, anodised aluminium rims, (F) 110/80×19” Metzeler Tourance tyre, (R) 150/70×17 Metzeler Tourance tyre

Seat height: 835mm

Fuel capacity: 17.6 litres

MPG: 64.2mpg (tested)

Weight: 206kg (wet)

Warranty: 24 months, unlimited mileage

Service intervals: 12 months/3750 miles, valve clearance 26,000 miles

Price: £5999 (plus £200 OTR charges)

Contact : www.motogb.co.uk/voge