“Take one, use it as a long termer”, said the Voge importers, South African motorcycles. “Use it, abuse it and we want to know what you guys think.”
The used, 3000 KM old 2022 model had actually been standing in the SAM warehouse for a while, so it made sense for them to get it out and about.
We’ve added 1500 KM’s to the clock so far…
Our resident photog, gopher and all sorts man, Deon Van Der Linde has been charged with caring for and riding the bike on a day to day basis. His honda NC 750 is parked while he has these wheels.
He says:
The VOGE 300 DS is really good. We go out a lot, testing all sorts of bikes, and we actually need a bike like this for the photographer to follow, stop, shoot, start and proceed.
For day to day commuting, the 292.4cc engine has enough torque to get you going off the line safely ahead of the pesky traffic. It is stated in the 300 DS’ specs that the top speed is 130 km/h but, we can confidently say that it does go faster than that. Also, if you do happen to find yourself in peak hour traffic, there is nothing to worry about. The bike is quite narrow and light making it very easy to navigate your way between the vehicles. The ergonomics, riding position and comfortable seat makes it ideal if you are in the saddle for long periods at a time and for the wind the VOGE has an adjustable windscreen to suit short and tall riders.
The VOGE has a 16L fuel tank and with an average of 3.4L to 100km, the fuel lasts for days, even when you ride aggressively. In its adventures the 300 DS has been ridden very hard to keep up with the bigger bikes and the fuel consumption remains the same.
Equipped with a USB port it makes life easier when using your smartphone for navigation, you can keep your phone charged. The LCD display is easy to read and shows you all you need to know, temperature, battery voltage, time, fuel gauge, average fuel consumption, revs and speed. The VOGE has LED lights front and rear making the rider clearly visible and gives great illumination at night. The bike is also equipped with a carrier rack if you need to fit a top box.
My first adventure on the bike was when we shot The KTM890. Sure that is a lot faster, but the 300 does 120KPH easily, so they did not have to wait too long for me to catch up. I’m new to dirt riding – and if there is one thing I really appreciate about the VOGE, it’s light, low – and even if the going gets a bit slippery, I could dab a foot or put my feet out. Completely un-intimidating and it certainly made my life a lot easier while the bigger bikes made dust…
A few days later we went through the twists and turns of the Cradle with two Harley baggers. To our pleasant surprise the 300 DS was never far behind. There were no long catch up waits at all. The little bike just scoots along at a fair pace all day long.
Our biggest surprise to date was when we made our way to Grotto to Gravel on an Africa Twin. This time Sean was on the VOGE – and he only took 10 minutes to catch up to us when we hit the garage at the Hekpoort T Junction. At lunch the decision was made to go up Breedts Nek Pass. If you don’t know about Breedts Nek, it is a daunting off road trail for the uninitiated. An unfortunate incident brought a halt to our trip, but Sean, after rocketing past us in the gnarly stuff, had to be called to come back down so that we could call it a day…
The 300 DS has absolutely been ridden hard to keep up with the bigger, faster bikes, but so far it has been up to the challenge and got the job done. As time goes, its confidence inspiring demeanour is helping up my off road riding skill levels.
Sean Says:
I last rode the Voge DS 300 about three years or so ago just as the brand launched in this country and was very impressed with it. Back then we did a lot of road, but did chuck in a fair amount of dirt as well. Initially the 17” wheels and road biassed tyres were a small concern, but the model designation is “DS” – Dual Sport – and thus it was tested as such.
Back then it performed admirably on both tar and dirt. We now have this unit as a bit of a long term demo and for the most part Deon, (fairly green to motorcycling), has been riding it. However, we had a big Adventure bike test at Breedtsnek planned and had to collect another bike along the way. And thus, Deon pillioned with Glenn and I rode the Voge DS 300 on the 2 hour trip from our office to Breedtsnek. The route was mostly high speed freeway riding and sweeping A-roads to the dirt roads leading to Breedtsnek.
As is the norm with us, with them on a big 1100cc Adventure bike we were separated shortly after leaving the office, I rode all the way back to the office looking for my colleagues, before riding solo to our destination. I eventually found them filling up at a fuel station some 90 km’s into the trip, arriving around 10 minutes after them, quite impressive for a little 300cc single piston lugging a 2 metre tall, 115kg lump along riding into the wind for the most part.
Along the way I encountered constipated lane restrictions at roadworks on the freeway twice, but the narrow dimensions of the DS 300 had me nipping through those fairly quickly. Once on the open road I pushed it hard to make up time and easily cruised at 145 kmh for the entire trip down the freeway. At the fill up point, I checked the fuel on the DS and it still had around three quarters of a tank. Its last fill up was some 3 or 4 days prior with Deon commuting on it everyday.
In the long sweeping mountain bends, I eventually got frustrated dawdling behind said colleagues on the bigger bike and dropped two gears as I tilted down the inside of them into a right hander and proceeded whip through the rest of those lekker bends overtaking slower traffic easily and did end up waiting at the next turn off for quite some time for them to catch up.
I ended up having to ride the DS 300 up Breedtsnek Pass. It is strewn with everything from pebbles to sump breaking boulders, deep water erosions, thick sand, broken concrete pipes and every other bit of detritus imaginable, so adventure riding Nirvana in other words.
This time around, I didn’t even give the road wheels and tyres and road suspension a second thought and had full confidence that the little Voge DS 300 would make it up to the top with absolute ease, even with my heavy ass aboard. And it did – possibly too easily! Even with its diminutive size versus my lanky proportions I didn’t struggle with the handlebar height while standing and riding. Yes I had to be cognisant of ground clearance over the big rocks, but paying attention and judicious line choices soon had me catching and even overtaking the bigger, better ground clearance bikes I was riding with.
The DS 300’s lightweight and easily manageable size actually made it a huge amount of fun to jol up and down Breedtsnek on. I easily adjusted my lines as needed, easily dabbed my foot and muscled the Voge into submission when I made incorrect choices. It even handles so much better than expected when I had to pillion a stranded Deon off the pass.
Riding through thick sandy corners, over rocks and pebbles two was initially done tender-footedly but as I worked out that the Voge DS 300 was more than up to the task, we were soon back at our rendezvous point, collecting another bike and heading for home with the sun setting at our backs. Deon rode back and easily maintained the 145 kmh down the freeway.
Incidentally, we did have to fill up the DS 300 about 30 kms into our homeward bound journey.
This bike keeps surprising us. The price tag is pretty reasonable at R 62,999.00.
You do get a lot more than you’d expect.
South African Motorcycles for your dealer.
