A Week with the QJMotor SRT900SX: The Adventure Bike That Kept Changing My Mind

The QJ Motor SRT900SX is possibly the most important motorcycle to be released in South Africa this year. Purely because of its price tag versus the spec sheet. If it turns out anywhere near as good as the SRK600RC from QJ Motor we reviewed recently, it is really going to shake the market to its core.

With that said, there is a massive, gaping chasm between riding a motorcycle for two hours on a manufacturer’s carefully curated press launch and actually living with it for a week. Press launches are designed to blow smoke up your ass. They route you through perfect, freshly swept sweepers, feed you a nice lunch, and keep you far away from real world annoyances. In this case, we were treated to a few laps around Formula K. Real life, however, does not care about marketing budgets.

I’ve been riding motorcycles for decades. If those years in the saddle have taught me anything, it is that spec sheets are the ultimate path to self deception and confusion. On paper, any bike can look like a world beater, but you only learn the truth when you live with it. You have to commute on it, scrape its pegs through passes, overload it with gear, carry a pillion, and deal with the tiny, nagging frustrations that only reveal themselves after a good few clicks in the saddle.

When QJMotor South Africa tossed me the keys to the new SRT900SX, I was genuinely intrigued. Priced aggressively at R169,995.00 (which includes full aluminum panniers and a top box as well as a whole slew of other niceties), it promises a fully loaded 900cc adventure tourer with Brembo brakes, adjustable Marzocchi suspension, a quickshifter, heated grips, a heated seat, a massive TFT dash, and built in tech. It offers all of this for the price of a bare bones, low spec middleweight from the traditional European or Japanese brands.

On first appearances, it looks spectacular. It has a sharp, muscular adventure presence that demands attention. But after a solid week of mixed riding in Gauteng and on local mountain passes, my feelings swung back and forth like a pendulum. This bike and I did not just ride… we argued - like a long married couple!

1. First Impressions.

First impressions count, and on day one, the SRT900SX absolutely nailed the first impression visually. It is a stunning piece of design. QJMotor did not pull any punches here; this bike holds its head high next to anything in the premium adventure segment.

Swing a leg over the seat, and the first major win is the massive TFT dashboard. It is roughly the size of a tablet, crisp, and presented on a clean white background. As we get older, presbyopia makes reading tiny digital numbers on a moving motorcycle a constant battle of squinting. On this dash, however, I could easily read my speed, revs, temperature, gear position, temp, and fuel levels without wearing my reading specs’, that is flippen awesome. The only draw back that I could find was that when the sun is directly overhead or just behind you, the screen becomes a heliograph.

The standard phone connectivity via the QJ app allows for painless screen mirroring, music control, and calls on the move. The raw mechanical package also makes a brilliant first impression:

• The Engine: The 904cc liquid cooled parallel twin pumps out a healthy 70 kW (95 hp) and 90 Nm of torque. It pulls hard, feels extremely smooth mechanically, and has a deep, raspy exhaust note. It pulls nicely from low down with a torquey character that feels eager and lively.

• Chassis & Riding Position: The seat places the rider quite low and "inside" the frame rather than perched on top of it.

• Stopping Power: The Brembo brakes provide immediate, confident bite with zero fade.

But the cracks in this shiny facade appeared within the first 40 kilometers.

First, there are no self-canceling indicators. In a world packed with radar sensors and Bluetooth, this omission is baffling. Because my brain has become hardwired to expect modern indicators to turn themselves off, I repeatedly rode down the highway with my flicker flashing. This, I felt was a bit of a safety hazard when oncoming traffic assumes you are turning and pulls out right in front of you.

Then there is the electronic behavior. The engine itself is an absolute gem, but the digital throttle mapping is incredibly sharp. It is sensitive bordering on touchy, especially at low speeds around town.

2. Ergonomics.

The riding position of the SRT900SX is supportive, and the seat is remarkably plush. However, the fuel tank's physical shape is unconventional.

Most modern adventure bikes feature a deeply sculpted, narrow "waist" where the fuel tank tapers down to meet the front of the saddle. This allows you to tuck your knees in tight, stand up easily on the pegs offroad, and drop your feet straight down to the asphalt.

The SRT900SX tank is incredibly wide at its base where it meets the seat. It forces your knees far apart, putting you in a wide legged stance that feels less like a modern touring bike and more like you are riding a much bigger machine.

At over two meters tall and weighing 115 kg, I can muscle the bike around easily, but this splayed riding position became noticeably tiring over longer distances. For shorter riders, this wide profile effectively increases the reach to the ground, making the 835mm seat height feel much taller than it actually is. It also pushes you backward against the rear seat step, which gives decent lower back support but limits your ability to move around on the bike.

3. Where the Money Was Saved

By day two, the initial romance had cooled, and I began to see where QJMotor managed to save its money. They did not cheap out on the premium hardware, they saved on the electronic calibration.

The Electronic Disconnect: It is very great to buy Brembos and Marzocchis off the shelf and fit them onto a spec sheet. The hard part of building a modern motorcycle is the millions of dollars and thousands of hours spent programming how all these systems talk to each other. On the SRT900SX, those systems feel like they need just the slightest bit more refinement for South African conditions.

The Quickshifter

The quickshifter is a prime example of this. When changing gears under hard acceleration on an open road, it is brilliant. Surprisingly, at very low engine revs, it is incredibly smooth. I let Christo van Heerden (a die hard BMW GS rider) take a ride, and he admitted the low rev shifts were actually smoother than his own GS.

But in traffic, the shifter is temperamental. It is a non adjustable system that can be switched off, and it is quite sensitive sometimes…. Not all the time, which does get a bit confusing. If you accidentally graze the shifter, the engine revs flare, or the transmission misses a gear. More concerning though, during downshifts when decelerating against engine compression, the bike occasionally surges forward. When you are trying to slow down in a tight line of urban traffic, a sudden forward lunge is disconcerting.

Throttle Response

The ride by wire system has a tiny, fraction of a second delay from time to time. You twist your wrist, wait a microsecond, and then the power dumps all at once. When you decelerate, shutting the throttle can occasionally feel like you’ve deployed a drag chute, and that term - ‘occasionally’ is where I started getting my hackles up, if it was consistent, I could learn to ride around it, but “elke nou en dan” is a bit more challenging to get used to. This lack of linear response makes low speed maneuvers challenging.

My colleague Andile Ngoma rode the bike with zero prior briefing from me. His first comment when he parked? "The throttle has a strange lag, and then it just dumps all the power."

Furthermore, if the engine revs drop slightly below the sweet spot, such as when entering a slow, third gear corner in second gear, the motor stalls occasionally. I experienced several moments where the bike tried to stall while leaned over in a turn, which is not great for building rider confidence.

The Speed Bump Launcher.

To test the chassis' composure, I ran the SRT900SX over a sequence of speed humps. The moment the rear tire left the ground, the traction control system kicked in harder than I was used to. Instead of a smooth, subtle ignition retard, the system all but cut the power.

When the engine power dies completely mid air, the bike pitches the rider forward, throwing your weight over the handlebars. Once you land, there is a slight electronic delay before the computer realises the rear wheel is back on solid ground, followed by a sudden lunge as the power returns. It is unrefined, and the bike rides 100% better with the traction control switched entirely off….in my experience. But, then again, not everybody rides like me. I do it to test what would happen if the bike suddenly and unexpectedly became airborne, a genuine concern with the condition of S.A. roads these days.

The Blind Spot Redundancy

The blind spot monitoring system in the mirrors features a little yellow warning light. Unfortunately, it only seems to  flash when a car is directly behind you, which you can already see in your rearview mirrors. The second that vehicle actually pulls out and moves alongside you into your true, physical blind spot, the warning light goes out. It completely negates its own purpose.

4. Heated Seats vs. Bare Metal

In case I wanted more proof that the SRT900SX was designed by road oriented engineers rather than hardened adventure riders, you only need to look under the engine.

Right behind the 19 inch front wheel sits the oil filter and the exhaust headers, completely exposed to the elements. There is no bash plate or any protection whatsoever.

It is a baffling choice. QJMotor will happily give you a heated seat, heated grips, and crash bars as standard, but then leave the most vulnerable, vital mechanical parts of the engine completely unprotected from kicked up gravel, stones, and debris.

I would gladly trade the heated seat for a proper, heavy duty aluminum skid plate. I was genuinely terrified of taking this 257 kg (wet) machine onto anything more technical than flat, manicured gravel. A single sharp stone thrown up by the front tire could easily puncture the oil filter, dump your engine oil, and leave you stranded.

5. The Battle of the Middleweights: 

If you have R170,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you are spoiled for choice in the global market. To understand where the QJMotor SRT900SX fits in, we have to throw it into the ring with the best new bikes in the class.

QJMotor SRT900SX vs. Honda XL750 Transalp

The Honda Transalp is a masterpiece of smooth, reliable Japanese engineering. It is a whopping 49 kg lighter than the QJ, making it infinitely easier to handle on gravel and in tight spaces. Its power delivery is fully linear, and the electronics are well calibrated. However, at a similar price point, the Honda comes completely stripped. You get no handguards, no bash plate, a basic dashboard, and zero luggage. The QJ wins purely on its  generous standard spec sheet, but the Honda beats it on refinement.

QJMotor SRT900SX vs. Suzuki V-Strom 800DE

The Suzuki V-Strom 800DE is arguably the gold standard for real world middleweight adventure riding. Its 21 inch front wheel and excellent traction control modes make it a highly capable off road machine. The Suzuki's engine is incredibly tractable and refined. But to match the QJ's standard equipment (panniers, top box, heated bits), you would need to spend an extra R30,000 to R40,000 on Suzuki’s options catalog. The SRT 900 also drills it on power delivery.

QJMotor SRT900SX vs. Triumph Tiger 900 Range

The Triumph Tiger 900 (particularly the GT and Rally models) offers a premium, high end European riding experience. The Tiger's T-plane triple engine has heaps of character and excellent road manners. But in South Africa and globally, a new Tiger 900 is significantly more expensive, easily pushing past the R220,000 mark without a lot of the extras QJ comes with standard. The Tiger has better chassis feedback and more polished rider aids, but the QJ undercuts it massively on price while matching its raw engine output.

QJMotor SRT900SX vs. CFMOTO 800MT Explore

The CFMOTO 800MT is QJ's direct compatriot rival. Powered by a KTM derived 799cc twin, the CFMOTO is highly polished and features Bosch electronics, including cornering ABS and sophisticated traction control, but it is priced slightly higher than the QJ, making the SRT900SX the ultimate budget king.

QJMotor SRT900SX vs. KTM 790/890 Adventure

The KTM is a pure, Ready to Race hooligan tool. It is built for aggressive offroad riding with its low slung fuel tanks and rally inspired geometry. The SRT900SX actually shares a similar frenetic, sporty engine character to the KTM, but the KTM's chassis communication is in a different league. On road comfort, wind protection, and standard luxury, the QJ makes a stronger case for pure touring comfort and getting more bang for your buck.

QJMotor SRT900SX vs. BMW F900GS Adventure & Ducati Multistrada V2 / DesertX

If we look at entry level premium offerings sans any of the extras found standard on the QJ from BMW and Ducati, we are talking about bikes that cost significantly more. The BMW F900GS offers impeccable electronic integration, while the Ducati Multistrada V2 and DesertX are high performance, premium Italian beauties. The QJ cannot compete with Ducati's prestige or BMW's reputation, but for the cost of a basic deposit, a couple of bolt on upgrades and a first service on either, you can almost buy a QJ outright.

6. Global Comparison Matrix

7. Who Should Buy One?

The SRT900SX spent the entire week arguing with me. Every time I thought, "This thing is clunky and unrefined," I’d hit a sweeping bend, open the throttle, feel that glorious engine pull, and think, "Actually, this is brilliant." Then I'd forget my indicators were on, dodge a confused motorist, try to adjust the menus while rolling (you can't, you have to stop), and get annoyed all over again.

On a flowing, high speed mountain pass, it is fantastic. The wind management is superb (thanks to clever aerodynamics beneath the headlights that eliminate helmet buffeting), the engine is fast and raspy, the Brembo brakes are world class, and the Marzocchi suspension keeps the heavy chassis completely planted. In those moments, it feels like a raw, exciting sports Euro adventure machine.

But when you bring it back to reality, navigating heavy traffic, parking a heavy 257 kg bike on an incline, washing its incredibly complex, dirt trapping bodywork, or dealing with the laggy throttle, the lack of final electronic polish becomes hard to ignore…. But, then again, I keep forgetting that it is only R170k worth of bike under me - for the most part, the quality and feel make it seem closer to R200k or more. So, maybe I am being over sensitive to its foibles.

• Buy this bike if: You want the absolute maximum amount of features, luggage, and visual presence for your money, plan to stick primarily to tar and light gravel, and want the peace of mind of a brand new bike with a 3 year warranty and superb national dealer support.

• Don't buy this bike if: You are shorter, plan to do serious off road riding, or are overly sensitive to slight throttle lag and electronic quirks.

QJMotor has built an incredibly solid mechanical foundation here. With a bit more refinement they really will have a nigh on an unbeatable package.

Technical Specifications: QJMotor SRT900SX

• Engine: 904cc liquid-cooled parallel twin, 8 valve, DOHC

• Power: 70 kW (95 hp) @ 8,250 rpm

• Torque: 90 Nm @ 6,500 rpm

• Transmission: 6 speed with Quickshifter (Up/Down)

• Fuel Capacity: 24 Liters (explains the fuel tank shape)

• Wet Weight: 257 kg (with full tanks and standard luggage)

• Seat Height: 835 mm

• Suspension: Adjustable Marzocchi USD front forks/adjustable rear monoshock

• Brakes: Dual Brembo radial calipers, 320mm discs (Front) / Single Brembo caliper, 260mm disc (Rear) with Bosch ABS

• Warranty: 3-Year / 30,000 Kilometer factory warranty (KMSA South Africa)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is the QJMotor SRT900SX reliable for daily use and touring?

Mechanically, the bike is built on highly reliable, proven hardware. The 904cc parallel-twin is robust and has excellent highway mannerisms. Most of the issues encountered during our test week were related to electronic calibration rather than fundamental mechanical failures.

2. How does the quickshifter perform in real world riding?

It is very smooth under hard acceleration and surprisingly slick at very low revs. However, it is overly sensitive to accidental foot contact, and we found that downshifts can cause an unsettling forward surge when rolling against engine compression.

3. Is the SRT900SX suitable for serious offroad adventure riding?

While it has adjustable suspension and decent ground clearance, the lack of an engine bash plate leaves the oil filter and exhaust headers highly exposed. It is best suited as a comfortable road tourer with light gravel capability.

4. How does it compare to its compatriot rival, the CFMOTO 800MT?

The CFMOTO 800MT offers slightly more polished electronic rider aids and a smoother ride by wire throttle. However, the QJMotor SRT900SX is priced more aggressively and has a larger engine displacement with stronger low down pull.

5. Who is the target buyer for this motorcycle?

It is perfect for value conscious buyers, tech enthusiasts, or riders stepping up to their first big adventure bike who want premium features like heated seats, luggage, and a large TFT screen without paying a premium price tag.

What's your take?

At R169,995, the SRT900SX has thrown a massive cat among the pigeons in the South African adventure scene. But we want to hear from you:

Would you take a gamble on this fully loaded underdog, or does the refinement of the traditional brands still win your hard-earned cash?

Drop your thoughts below, let’s get the debate going.

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