Is it time to make the switch? MCN investigates the rise of Chinese motorbikes in the UK

It wasn’t that long ago that Chinese motorcycles on the UK market were synonymous with cheaply made, lesser alternatives to the machines produced by mainstream manufacturers.

But an awful lot has happened in the last decade, and where options were once few and far between, with limited dealer and parts supply, Chinese motorcycles have slowly crept further into our domestic motorcycling mainstream.

Fast forward to 2024 and the £5699 parallel twin CFMoto 450MT has just taken victory in our A2 friendly adventure bike test (watch the video), seeing off the Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda CRF300 Rally, and the KTM 390 Adventure.

Mainstream brands have increasingly established partnerships with the country too, with KTM’s 790 Duke and 790 Adventure now produced by CFMoto in Hangzhou, and BMW’s F900 range built by Loncin. That same Euro5 friendly 895cc BMW twin pot will now also be found on the incoming Voge DS900X adventure bike, that’s due to hit the market at £8999.

Building foundations

On top of CFMoto building KTMs in China, the orange brand’s parent company Pierer Mobility provide a European distribution partnership.

“It is difficult to compare CFMoto to KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas as they are in a more developed state for which a large fanbase already exists,” KTM Group spokesperson, Dominic Harris said. “This is where we aim to be with CFMoto and we can already see the brand’s community growing, largely down to representation in Moto2 and Moto3.”

He continued: “There is a certain expectation towards Chinese manufactured products and when individuals climb aboard our motorcycles, they are shocked at the build quality and finish.”

Watch our Kove 800X video review here:

Numbers game

This all sounds incredibly positive, with the sales stats also reflecting a sizeable chunk of the market. Figures supplied by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) show that UK bikers purchased 11,601 Chinese motorcycles 125cc and upward in the last rolling year (August 2023 to July 2024).

This compares to 11,269 in the 12 months prior, and 15,038 in the period before that. What’s more, the 11,601 figure represents 12.7% of sales in the past 12 months, with 91,538 bikes leaving dealers overall during that time.

But how does that stack up to the established competition though? Combining bikes produced in the UK, Italy, Germany, Austria, Japan, and India, a total of 52,179 were sold in the same period, showing many still prefer to trust the big name players.

A snap poll online, asking whether people would consider switching to a new Chinese motorcycle for their next bike also retuned 311 responses, with 84% claiming they would not make the change.

Lived experience

This strong negative stance can be attributed to a number of factors, however experienced adventure rider, Nathan Millward believes part of the problem can be snags in the distribution network, or lack of parts availability.

“I do think that’s where a lot of the negative perception has come from just the fact that they were just building bikes and not brands,” Millward explained. “I think that’s been a big change in recent years, that they’ve realised the money’s in the brand rather than the bike.”

A number of historic brands are now owned by Chinese companies, including Moto Morini, which belongs to scooter giant Zhongneng. Equally, Benelli has been owned by QJ Motor since December 2005, who produce more than 1.2million vehicles and two million engines per year.

• Related: Moto Morini launch rugged adventure bolt-ons for Seiemmezzo twins

Nathan, who owns Dorothy’s Speed Shop in North Devon, has run multiple international tours using Chinese motorcycles, and also stocks a full fleet of A2 class adventurers at his premises for customers to come and experience.

“My Moto Morini X-Cape has done 12,000 miles with no problem. It had an engine management light on and cut out in the rain once, but it re-started, so I kind of put that down as a blip,” he explained. “The Voge 300 Rally did have to have wheel bearings, so there are a few little elements – maybe some of the cycle parts aren’t as good, but I’ve also had a Triumph Scrambler 400X, that’s had warped front brake discs, needed new front pads, and a new chain at 900 miles.”

The topic of reliability was also discussed by Bradley Flynn, Sales Manager at Oakley Motorcycles in Kent. The Maidstone new and used bike dealership is a Chinese specialist, with Flynn first working as a technician before moving into sales.

“You do get a question of reliability,” he explained. “Most of the customers when they come in are slightly worried if they buy a bike from a Chinese manufacturer, whether they’re going to get back-up again from the dealer when it comes to parts and possibly future issues. 

“People either turn their nose up at it, or they are willing to listen to me and I can explain to them that every one of the brands in here has got a UK distributor and if they haven’t then we can still get parts from people at the other end of the phone, sometimes next day, or at max normally three weeks, which is not as bad as people think.”

Bradley went on to say that there has been a noticeable increase in reliability in the four years he’s been working – putting part of this down to the updates required to meet tightening Euro standards.

However, with sales still lower, and public perception still in need of a boost, it seems we’ve still got a little way to go still until things are seen on an even footing.

Watch our small adventure bike group test here: