DSS ep 3 - VOGE 300 RALLY - first ride and chat.

[@davidmatthews3093]

I picked mine up today and rode it 50 miles home in the wind and rain. I’m still smiling hours later. I will get my money’s worth out of this bike, no question about that.

[@richardshilling2958]

Look forward to hearing your thoughts after your trip. Your spot on competition breeds better bikes. Safe travels 😊

[@lucke1022]

I am glad that you will cover this underrated bike. We need more coverage for the rally so that some aftermarket companies finally producing upgrades. It has only one problem at stock, the gears are way too short. Pretty much everyone changes the Rear Sprocket from 48 to 45 or even down to 42. I use 43, just because a JTR210-43 Sprocket was lying around at my dealer (needed to remove 2 links from the chain). No vibration anymore at 100km/h on the street. Runs around 800rpm lower at 100 and save me a good chunk of fuel too. I can't feel that I lost any power. The sister naked bike of the rally uses the same engine but with a 40 rear sprocket. Also, funny that the service intervals for this bike here in Germany is 10k/km. But that is in my opinion too long for a 300cc, at least an oil change every 5k. It's your typical bike that you service by yourself anyway. Super easy to work on, oil change cost you only around 15€ incl. filter. Needs only 1.4l oil with filter change and a compatible filter is Hiflo HF112 for 5€. This Bike is a great success mainly in Spain and Portugal already and has gathered a big fan base there. Nice to see that is slowly coming more and more north.

[@nathanthepostman]

Great comment lucke. Thanks for all the info. So interesting that in Germany it's 10k service intervals. Just shows that they just kind of make it up. Can you answer someone else's question on the valves, do you know if it is screw and locknut or shims?

[@lucke1022]

@@nathanthepostman Sry, no idea about the valves yet.

[@lucke1022]

@@nathanthepostman Dealer said shims

[@nathanthepostman]

​@@lucke1022thanks lucke.

[@BibleBiker254_CoolMaxx]

Awesome 😊 I so love this machine

[@dankorolyk5917]

Brilliant looking machine,hopefully will take off

[@guyonacub4335]

Watching with interest Nathan Good luck with the bike next week

[@MrTench8]

I totally agree with your like of competition. When Suzuki introduced the 600 and 1200 Bandit at a massive discount to the existing Yamaha XJR1200 and the Kawasaki equivelent prices they had to respond with £2k price reductions! Those bikes were a massive success and Suzuki's marketing saved the motorcycling public thousands of pounds off the list price of bikes across all manufacturers for decades going forward. I have been looking at a CRF300 Rally for the missus so i am keen to hear your opinion on this Voge after your Stella Alpina Rally trip. Enjoy!

[@simonthomas5367]

Nice one Nathan! Glad you’ve finally got your hands on one.

[@1990-t1j]

I'm coming round to really liking the CT. Cheap enough in Thailand, too. This Voge looks well. 3,000 mile service interval is small, although I'd generally change my oil on a small engine at that point. My 390's is done evey 5,000 km/3,100 miles. .From 1990 [Nick J]

[@skaraborgcraft]

Excellent. They will definately be good second hand buys if they are ok mechanically. Love the OSB back drop, quality set designer. Safe tour.

[@jerzywoking1699]

Spain sells E5 everywhere. E10 is only sold in a handful of service stations (just half a dozen or so in the whole country). E5 is €1.48 today.

[@johnterry804]

Look forward to your assessment of this bike it looks really good

[@EpicMotorcycleAdventures]

That looks good in the white and blue. Hope you have a great trip to the Stella Alpina.

[@moorehen1]

Liking these new Vlogs, good summary & love your unscripted banter. Have a great Stella Alpina trip & hoping we can do it in September on the Picos trip?

[@richardjones3112]

This bike looks great.Can’t wait for the test review.

[@sanatandharma4435]

I am looking foward to this Nathan. My wife and I rode a Voge 300Ds last weekend, it fits her fine, however, I am drawn to this as I am 6' 2" It also looks really nice in my opinion! I'll keep an eye out for your updates. Have a great trip. Mark (Spain)

[@goldilocks913]

Interesting bike! Would be perfect for a toe in the water trail riding newbie like myself and as a cheap commuter. The service interval and E5 fuel is workable if annoying. MotoGB are showing a confidence in the bike though . But that new RE is on the horizon … Have a great trip to those alps!

[@BikingChap]

The water cooled single? Yes, I’d take a look at that if the styling isn’t too horrible.

[@dylanpiedot5063]

Great to see you've got your hands on one of these Nathan, you're right it can only be a good thing having more competition in the lightweight adventure scene. The big manufacturers are getting lazy! On the thing you say about second hand bikes, you could go one step further and save yourself another 2k on something like a low(ish) mileage DR350. 6 Speed box, electric start, similar if not lighter weight and the value on them if you keep them tidy is going up!

[@snox7320]

Looks like a good little motor . Reckon if parts are readily avat for the likes of me to hime service etc then its a winner .

[@CuriousGoose]

I think the biggest selling point except for the price is the suspension. When I finally get round to passing my test, I've been thinking about the Himalayan or the CRF 300 Rally. But Big Pezza said to go for the 250 rally because the suspension is more trail ready. Some people will be put off by the Chinese brand but I currently have a Sinnis Terrain that I've been abusing for two years and it's still alive.

[@nathanthepostman]

Agreed about the suspension on the voge. Not sure I'd agree about the 250 suspension over the 300 tho. I gather they did change it a bit but barely noticeable and the 300 to me is a sweeter engine than the 250. I'd personally go 300 if you can.

[@BillCairns]

Great overview video Nathan well made., very shrewd of the importer to get ya involved as you have a good following with these value for money bikes, looking forward to your conclusion video..👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏍🍺👌

[@johnrickards1908]

Can't wait to see how the Voge fares. It looks great for the money and, I know I'm going to get an honest, in depth review.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Great video Nathan, I agree with the cost of living thing I've sold my CRF 300 Rally an got an 1150GSA for 5k. Full main service history factory none abs an full ohlins, instead of a 1250GSA. (Doing the fd bearings as a matter of course over the next few weeks easy peasy) Absolutely loving it an easy to look after an work on. I agree with regards to the trail riding, when I stopped trail riding I sold the 300 Rally wasn't to mad on it on the road as my main bike. Competition improves the breed though so itl be interesting to see how it all develops on the smaller bikes.

[@bencatt6246]

Good review Nathan. I think the point that you made about it being a trails focused bike is spot on. If you’re doing more road miles then a used KTM 390 or BMW 310 might be better. But as a cheap uk trail/adventure bike it looks great. It’ll definitely give Honda a wake up call Safe travels Ben

[@claretbuck1882]

Awesome bud cheers 👍🏻

[@AdventuringEden]

I'm looking forward to your review of the coming 400 Triumph Scrambler X. It does seem the brands have noticed what RE did with the Himalayan

[@nathanthepostman]

Yes very interested in that new triumph. Will be interesting to see where triumph pitch it price wise. I personally think it'll be KTM 390 SW money so about £6800.

[@AdventuringEden]

@nathanthepostman I've heard a few reviewers talk about the £5k mark but I can't see Triumph going that low. I was thinking around £6k, guess we won't have to wait long and for the new Himi. Interesting times for this range if bikes.

[@nathanthepostman]

​@@AdventuringEdenI just can't see them pricing it below KTM 390 adventure. If they do and it's low sixes then I suspect it'll do very well!

[@GreenString]

Nathan: E10 & E5 fuel are both readily available in the vast majority of German petrol stations. I cannot comment on other European countries. Great video mate. 👍🏼 Thanks for the info.

[@davidmatthews3093]

I’m looking forward to hearing about your trip. I’m looking at a bike in that category to take the place of my 20 year old DR125 and I think the Voge might fit the bill really well. The service interval wouldn’t be a huge issue as that would probably be a service a year and as you say after the warranty period that could be done at home. I’ve been put off the CRF 300 because of needing to change the suspension to get the most out of it, it will be interested to hear how the Voge copes straight out of the box. I’m not worried by the depreciation question, if I’m buying a bike to use mainly off road at a bargain price I really wouldn’t be hung up by resale value, I’d want it to be the spare bike in my shed that I could take out for fun 365 days a year.

[@The_Arby]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with this bike...Id take this over the Honda 300 Rally anytime....Are you getting in the Voge 450 Rally as well for a review Nathan ??

[@Hutchie2112]

It might be a bit shallow, but I much prefer the look of it to the CRF. One thing I don't think you mentioned, the aftermarket availability of bits , you can get anything you can think of for a CRF, the VOGE will do better if some companies start making engine guards/different bashplates etc etc

[@richardjudd4579]

Exactly what was thinking, can you get a bigger fuel tank

[@lucke1022]

True, the aftermarket is nearly not existent so far. But it started in the eu just this year and sells are good in southern europe at least. With this kinda bike i don't need much from the market. A good Skid plate would be nr 1 and later maybe a suspension upgrade.

[@Hutchie2112]

@@lucke1022 Yep, it doesn't need a lot, but then again, some of us love to add lots of shiny things to our bikes :)

[@BobsBikingAdventures]

Well MotoGB are already importers and official parts supplier for FB Mondial. Pleased to see them bring another capable offroad machine into their portfolio. 😅 I definitely want to have a go on a Voge 300 and a Kove 450 Rally before making my next bike purchase decision!

[@MauriceTarantulas]

Missed ABR so want to do something in Sept maybe or later on in year. Will go check your website...

[@cloggsy1971]

I, for one will be interested to see how you get on with this bike 👍🏻

[@markuswormann8852]

What is the name,are where was this enduro Meeting. Ilooks like a lot of fun...❤

[@digdilem]

Having just been around Scotland and Orkney, hardly any of the non-city petrol stations had E5. That seems like it might be a problem if it genuinely won't run on E10. (My dealer recommended E5 for my new Himalayan, but I've found it's fine on standard E10 too)

[@matthewmoreman4145]

Hey Nathan, good to chat with you briefly at the end of abr, another good video. Be interesting to see how this bike shapes up, am currently running a crf250rally, bought second hand and have spent as little on as possible. It can bounce its way around trails all day on stock suspension, but travelling means riding carefully to a destination and unloading it before heading to trails. So, putting the Chinese question aside briefly, for somebody on the crf250, spend money upgrading suspension and maybe playing with gearing or airbox mods etc or swapping to a bike that's got better suspension and better placed torque straight out of the box? On the support question, are MotoGB importing Benelli? & they're definitely putting effort in to grow, so providing decent support should be in their best interest 🤞 Good luck on the trip & look forward to your follow up!

[@mikejones-rb7jb]

How's that review of the Voge Europe trip coming along Nathan?? 🤔😊

[@deanroberts2021]

Very interesting at £75 a month, are valves screw & locknut or bucket & shim ?. Would definitely consider one

[@nathanthepostman]

The dealer said they were screw and locknut but the klx 300 engine I gather has been shims since 2007, so either the dealer is wrong or it's a licensed copy of the older klx300 engine. Will try and clarify.

[@deanroberts2021]

@@nathanthepostman thanks, would obviously make a big difference to home servicing & service costs , but then again shims are less likely to go out of spec.

[@maxflight777]

CT110 off road ! 👍🏻

[@kenbrooks7794]

It sure looks like a trail capable bike, the biggest concern of mine about any chinese brand is the spares availability. They all seem keen to sell their product but a little less so with the backup 🤔

[@nathanthepostman]

Totally agree. I think that's why it's quite a big deal that they're now imported by moto GB who are going to have a lot of (big) dealers to keep happy and part of that will be a robust supply chain. Let's hope they can give the bikes some good support. I see there's a new ,525cc adventure bike coming through as well which should be interesting.

[@robedmunds7163]

I wonder how much the new Himalayan 450 will be.

[@nathanthepostman]

Million dollar question isn't it. The current one is £5100, so I'm going to say at least a grand on top of that.

[@BikingChap]

@@nathanthepostmanthat would make me wince but there’s not an obvious competitor as far as 400-600cc thumpers are concerned so I’m sure it’ll find a good amount of buyers.

[@Jaffa1951]

Did I hear you say this bike has a 6 speed box, Nathan? I have a feeling that you said in a previous video, that it only had a 5 speed gearbox. Very interested to see what you think of this bike when you get back. As for myself, I'm not sure if I'd go for a S/H, fairly well tricked up CRF250 Rally, or a new Voge for around the same price. I'm leaning towards the S/H CRF at the moment.

[@nathanthepostman]

Yeah I got it wrong in the last video.

[@alanbriggs7177]

I think MotoGB showed themselves to be pretty poor at customer service, and to perpetuate the 3k service interval is not a smart move. Resale prices on Chinese brands haven't been strong. I would buy a used bike from a better established manufacturer before one of these, if budget was an important criterion. I hope you all have a great trip to Italy; I'm rather envious of you all.

[@jerzywoking1699]

The main problem with MotoGB is some of their dealers. Those I dealt with in the UK (Hitchcocks and TTT) were great. I have had huge problems with BMW and Honda dealers with the work bikes I used. Importer is no reflection of the dealer network

[@markpavlowski7223]

dare we ask...where are the new 'dorothy' premises...will they be 'visitable'..??

[@leslieaustin151]

Very interesting bike. Your initial testing suggests it’s certainly got some very good selling potential, and it looks like it can hold its end up in any comparison with competitors. I enjoyed this one Nathan, and I like the new format of your videos. Are you still going to the Lightweight Adventurers rally? Hope to see you there. ATB, Les

[@maxflight777]

Hang some fabric on your garage walls ! Reduce the echo !

[@maxflight777]

The CRF250/350 is basically a road bike dressed up to look like a dirt bike.

[@bluesplayer59]

Its getting spares i see the biggest issue .

[@BikingChap]

While I get the whole ‘competition is good’ thing the concern is you just get a race to the bottom in quality, or other areas, if we all just buy the bike with the cheapest ticket price. If you look at the utility 125 market Honda have historically moved from a high quality product made in Japan then lower quality less well made in Brazil then India, China and now Italy. Cosmetically quality is woeful now, though the engines still seem sound, but they are matching the prices of some sort of the awful kit coming out of china. I think there’s still a bit of a myth that Chinese brands simply make smaller profits but in reality something will have been cut, maybe not the spec sheet of toys but maybe the underlying quality, ongoing support, or even how they treat their employees. Finally E5 only is not practical and 3k servicing is nothing more than either a) poor engineering or more likely b) a blatant and cynical attempt by the importer to make good money out of buyers. Good luck with the trip, sounds epic!

[@johna6968]

The e5 thing on a brand new bike is awkward. I know a lot of folk who only ever use e10 in whatever they ride.

[@nathanthepostman]

Agreed. E10 in all my bikes as well. Even the old postie bikes run ok on it

[@Hemlck]

To sell a bike that only runs on e5 makes it a defo no….just not practical in the sticks where it’s e10 only at the pumps.

[@Jaffa1951]

or abroad, if you were thinking of going on a long trip to Asia or Africa, where you'd have to take whatever you can get.

[@deanroberts2021]

I almost guarantee it will run on E10 almost all bikes made after 2000 will & if it's based on a 2007 + Kawasaki engine it definitely will 🙂, probably just a sticker they will be replaced with an E5 & E10 sticker

[@bikenavbm1229]

@@deanroberts2021 may be not an engine concern. tank, plumbing, injection etc. but you may still be right, running E10 may take time to create problems. hope it is a success myself, I own a crf 250 rally it works but I do not really consider it a good bike in the wide sense.

[@deanroberts2021]

@@bikenavbm1229 from what I've read the problems with E10 mostly come from leaving fuel sitting in the tank & fuel system a long time , I think it may be a problem but is definitely over hyped . Maybe running a few tanks of E5 through before storage would help.

[@MrCRAIGREVO]

It’s a trail not a track. 😜😜