Voge DS800X Rally Review: Is This £7k Adventure Bike Too Good to Be True?

While car prices seem to be skyrocketing, there is still a strong selection of motorbikes offering good value for money. John Marcar has been testing the DS800X Rally from Voge to see if a £7000 adventure bike is a good idea... or too good to be true.

Is Voge a good brand?

Voge is a relatively new brand to the UK, but its parent company, Loncin, has built engines for the likes of BMW Motorrad for many years, making it far from a newbie to the field.

A couple of years ago I threw my leg over a Voge for the first time. I did so to review the Voge DS625X. The DS625X proved to be a very capable adventure bike with a strong selection of included extras for an enticing price of under £6000.

This time, I'm on the Voge DS800X Rally Pro, a bigger bike with a bigger engine and a list of very attractive included extras for a price that some might suspect is too good to be true... but is it?

Price and Equipment

The DS800X Rally is available brand new with a warranty for £6,999 + OTR fees; all in, it's £7,299. For the money, buyers get a 798cc parallel twin which comes from the same production line as the engines otherwise destined for BMW bikes. In addition to the good engine, the DS800X has KYB adjustable suspension, Nissin brakes, Pirelli tyres, spoked wheels, LED lights, heated seats and grips, a colour TFT screen, TPMS monitoring, Bluetooth connectivity and even some foglights thrown in for good measure, mounted on the also-standard protection cage.

As packages go, it looks hard to beat, with similarly spec'd adventure bikes from the likes of Honda, Yamaha, Triumph and Ducati costing an additional £3000-£8000 respectively.

Power and Performance

As previously alluded, while Voge is still a new one in the UK, the brand and its parent company Loncin are no strangers to producing engines of this size and capacity. The BMW F850GS, F750GS, F800GS and F700GS have all been produced by Loncin.

The engine on the DS800X Rally is a standalone product for Voge, and the figures are impressive. The engine produces 93.8 bhp and 81 Nm of peak torque, which not only keeps it in the same league as the competition but, in many cases, actually beats it.

Riding position and weight

The DS800X Rally, at a glance, looks pretty typical in shape, size and dimensions to the Honda 750 Transalp, Yamaha Tenere and Ducati Desert X, but the Voge's weight (213kg dry) is around 10kg heavier than the competition which when you consider the bike's use case and likelihood of needing to be lifted from the ground, will make a difference to some.

The riding position is very comfortable, and the seat offers excellent grip in multiple seating positions. The footpegs allow for a 90-degree leg bend when sitting, which is comfortable, but probably on the limit of comfort for those with longer legs. For me, at 6'1/186cm, I'd have preferred a slightly higher seat, but at 850mm it's perfectly fine to live with.

The bike is equally comfortable when standing, with the handlebars allowing for a very straightforward balance on rougher terrain. The footpegs are chunky enough to accommodate enduro boots and come as standard with grippy rubber pads which can be removed for off-road riding if preferred.

Road Riding

On the road, the DS800X Rally feels nicely balanced. For an adventure bike that's leaning more towards off-road riding, it offers a very straightforward road-riding experience, and the added luxuries of heated grips and seats will offer comfort for the winter months. The power delivery is very good and allows for quick and easy overtakes when required. The brakes feel sharp and easy to balance from speed, with switchable ABS and traction control settings that can be made on the fly.

In terms of riding modes, there are only two: Normal and Sport. ABS and TC settings can be tweaked in both modes, with the option to disable both completely if desired.

Aero protection for fast road riding is okay thanks to an adjustable windscreen; however, it's an entirely mechanical adjustment which requires a Torx set and about 5-10 minutes. For my height, I found the screen in the higher position was best, but at 70mph on the motorway, it was pretty hard to avoid buffeting on my upper body and helmet - even when tucking down below the top of the screen.

On the whole, the DS800X Rally is very happy on the road, but if long motorway stints are a regular requirement, the wind buffeting may get tiresome.

Missing Luxuries

Two things I'd liked to have seen as an optional extra are cruise control and a quickshifter - neither of which are available on the DS800X Rally. For some, neither will be needed or desired; for others, especially those stepping off of some of the more expensive competitor bikes, the extras may be sorely missed.

Off-road riding

Off-road, the DS800X Rally feels very 'at home' and thanks to the fully adjustable KYB suspension, there will be a happy setting for all depending on size, weight and riding environments. The suspension adjustments are mechanical, requiring a screwdriver for the front forks and an easier twistable knob for the rear shock on top of the fuel tank.

Balancing the bike off-road is very simple, and the power delivery feels very secure in terms of keeping everything in check. For more technical terrain, controlling the throttle with the clutch is especially essential due to the bike's throttle map, which takes some getting used to (more on that shortly), but otherwise, taking the DS800X Rally down a bumpy and muddy green lane is very rewarding.

The chassis feels tight and strong, which offers confidence-inspiring capability at higher speeds, and the grip from the Pirelli Scorpion Tyres is a huge bonus. Loose gravel and dusty trails are joyous thanks to the bike's ease of control under braking and harder acceleration.

Throttle Map is a Letdown

Something that I really struggled to live with is the bike's throttle map. At low RPMs, the engine falls into a trap of jolting in and out of power. The throttle is fly-by-wire, and the issue seems to be that the map between handlebar input and engine response can be very frustrating below 4000rpm.

It's easier to manage at higher revs, but if you're doddering along in traffic, there can be a very abrupt cut and jolt of power, which is unsettling at the best of times and frustrating when filtering or navigating technical terrain off-road. The workaround for me was balancing the throttle even on the road with the clutch lever. This does help smooth things out, but won't do much in terms of keeping your clutch wear low. Hopefully, this is something that can be addressed with time and a software update/re-map.

Conclusion: Worth a shot?

If price is the major factor in your next adventure bike purchase, then yes, the Voge DS800X Rally is a great deal as it comfortably undercuts the competition. For those wanting to get stuck into the world of off-road riding in this particular power band, the DS800X Rally will be a fantastic learner/starter bike too.

If price is less of an important factor, then the brutal truth is that you do get more for your (more) money elsewhere. For some, a familiar Honda/Yamaha/Triumph badge alone will justify the extra cost; for others, the Voge will be purchased (rightfully so) as a bit of a bargain.

Assuming the throttle map issue can and will be resolved with time, the Voge DS800X Rally is an extremely capable adventure bike contender which has every right to do well.

words by John Marcar
photography Henry Faulkner-Smith