Shiny metal at the bike dealers Enfield, Voge and Moto Guzzi
My wife and I passed sometime last week by taking a wander around a couple of bike dealers that fairly local to us in the North West.
Both are dealers from whom I have bought bikes in the past. One of them was a wonderful Kawasaki Z1000 SX that I bought new from Bolton Kawasaki (now known as Bolton Motorcycles). The other was another ne Kawasaki, a Vulcan 650 S from Robinson’s in Rochdale.
Good service and good memories
I had received great service from both of those dealers and have called back from time to time to browse the showroom, check what’s in stock and sometimes to buy accessories or clothing. Visits back to dealers are always good for triggering memories of past bikes and exploits.
Candy Green and Pearl White
When I bought my candy green Kawasaki Z1000 SX from Bolton Kawasaki I traded a pearl white Honda CB1000 R. The CB1000 R was a fine bike and one that I really enjoyed owning. Other than swapping out the standard can for a slash cut Ixil I had kept it pretty much as stock.
I did a lot of miles on that bike including a couple of decent European trips on it as well. One of those included a lap of the legendary Nurburgring track in the Eiffel mountains of Germany.
The CB1000 R was also the bike on which I had an unpleasant accident in Italy back in 2012. On that occasion I had been heading for the Italian Lakes and a few nights down near Lake Magiorre on the southern side of the Swiss Alps before the things went wrong, but that’s another story for another time.
Maybe one of the best …
The Z1000 SX was perhaps one of the best all rounders I have ever owned. It totally lived up to its ‘sports tourer’ tag. If had a bigger garage and endless amounts of money, I would always keep a Z1000 SX on hand, especially as it’s a bike that has been improved and refined in recent years.
Picture Set one – showroom picture
There are some decent bikes in this first picture set. In particular, of the pictures in Set One , I thought the 1970s retro styled Kawasaki 650 RS looked really decent. Clicking on any image will open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.
Picture Set Two – Royal Enfield
Both of the bike showrooms we visited had a good stock of Royal Enfield machines. There’s not really much to be said that hasn’t already been said about the resurgence of the brand in recent years, and a quick search on the internet will bring up all the reading you want.
With its cult like status, the bikes from the Indian companies manufacturing plants in Chennai have retained links to their British heritage. That link has been retained despite it being over 50 years since the last bikes were actually manufactured in the UK.
Click on any image to open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.
Picture Set 3 – Voge
There was also a reasonable amount of space and branding given over to bikes from the Chinese manufacturer Voge. It’s a company I wasn’t really aware of until I had seen these bikes and did a little internet research when I returned home. It turns out that Voge is the premium brand of the Chinese company called Loncin. It’s Loncin that produce the Lexmoto models and have worked in partnership with BMW for almost 20 years. They also build the engines for the BMW F series (I’ve had an F800R and currently have an F900XR) and Loncin also collaborate with the Italian MV Agusta brand.
Not too much of a surprise
I don’t suppose it’s too much of a surprise to see an increasing range of Chinese bikes, especially when you look at the considerable number of cars with Chinese manufacturing links that include: Mini Cooper, BMW, Volvo, Lotus and of course Audi who have production facilities in a number of Chinese locations.
Looks similar
Click on any image to open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.
Picture Set 4 – Moto Guzzi
Last but certainly not least in this blog post, are a few pictures of a superb used Moto Guzzi V100 on sale at Robinsons.
Many, if not most bikers will confirm that choice of bike isn’t always a 100% practical one. Motorcycle travel so often involves some sort of compromise.
Always a compromise
So what is it that plays into the decision making and the compromises that are deemed worth it at the point of purchase?
Is it the sound, the colour, the lines of the bike, the rumble of the engine, the performance or is it just the promise of high speed thrills?
What ever it is that sways us to make that final decision it will always be different things for different people and seldom down to price alone.
I’d also seriously doubt that for many bikers it’s always (if ever) 100% practical considerations that determine the decision making.
It’s hard to explain
For me it’s hard to explain why this bike was the only one I felt inclined to sit on during our visits to both of the dealerships. It just looks right to me. I must admit I also quite like the notion of bikes that are a little different.
Whilst my F900 XR is a pretty standard and reasonably popular bike that’s ideal for touring on, my RnineT and Moto Guzzi V7 cafe are a little niche if not overly practical. Having said that I have biked through Spain and Portugal on the RnineT.
The first time
The first time I saw a V100 ‘on the road’ was last year when I had called to the J&S store in Northwich. It was the Mandello version in white and looked beautiful. It just oozes Italian styling with it’s unmistakable v-twin engine, its shaft drive and some glorious attention to detail.
There were some nice ‘extra’s on the model in Robinsons. These included: centre stand, USB socket and some aluminium cylinder head bars complete with the V100 logo along with a touring screen that I wasn’t especially keen on. The bike on sale also comes with the (expensive) OEM pannier set.
It’s a machine that had me slavering over it, although if I was choosing one from new I’d probably go for the green Mandello S version. It really is quite stunning and I think the separation of the colours (the green and silver) really lend themselves to the lines of the bike, in a better way than the solid whites or red. In the picture set below I’ve included a couple of pictures of the Moto Guzzi website of the Mandello S model.
Click on any image to open a picture gallery that can be clicked or scrolled through.
“Great in-depth review! It’s interesting to see how CFMoto is stepping up in the adventure bike segment. The Ibex 450 seems like a solid contender for riders looking for an affordable yet capable ADV. How does it hold up against long-distance touring in terms of comfort and reliability? Would love to hear more about its performance on rough terrains over extended rides. Thanks for sharing your experience!”
Hello – thanks for reading and commenting.
I think you’re quite right about CF Moto especially when you realise it was established as recently as 1989. Although I don’t really follow a great deal of motor sport but I know that they have been involved in Moto 3 and Moto 2 and had some significant success in 2024. I did a quick google search of their models and it’s expansive to say the least and there has been quite a link up with KTM. Continuing with the theme of Chinese manufacturing it was only after doing some internet research that I realised that all Cam Am vehicles have the Rotax engine. It was a Rotax I had on the BMW F800R (which was excellent), but it gets complicated … as Rotax is the brand name for the engines from an Austrian company … but at least part of the Rotax production was bought by Bombadier from Canada. There’s a quite a list of motorbike brands that have used Rotax engines and in addition to BMW these include Buell, Harley, KTM, MV Agusta and Aprilia. All of that is before you get around to the engines used in snow mobiles, aircraft and karts. Your question took me down some internet reading, but I suppose the above all adds up to appreciating the Chinese influence on motorcycling is only going to add increasing value and be more substantial as time passes.
I’ve no personal experience of the Ibex 450, although I’d love to try one, but I do know it picks up some favourable reviews – and it’s worth checking out the review by Trevor Angel over on ADV Moto. I would think it certainly poses a few questions and options if you are in the market for a small capacity ADV. A contender for the Enfield Himalayan perhaps? Best wishes Tony