We’ve reviewed a lot of new QJMotor models recently – that’s largely down to the huge Chinese brand entering the UK for the first time last Autumn and inviting the UK’s bike press not once but twice up to their Lancashire HQ to try out their wares – but of them all, which range from 125s to 600cc V-twin cruisers and even 900cc four-cylinder super nakeds, this is one of the very best.

It’s worth repeating again here a bit about who QJMotor are. It’s the own brand of Qianjiang Motorcycle as originally launched in 1985, which is now owned by the massive Geely group (which also owns Volvo, Lotus and Polestar cars) and is probably best known to bikers for also owning historic Italian brand Benelli since 2005.

QJMotor is currently one of Chinese biggest motorcycle manufacturers, produces around 1.5million motorcycles a year and first arrived in the UK as recently as last autumn with an initial dozen-bike line-up of mostly adventure and naked machines which for 2026 has been expanded further with six new 125s, a new 450 adventure, a pair of new four-cylinder 800s and 921s in naked and sportster guise, a new V-twin 600cc cruiser and even three new scooters.

They’re all imported into the UK by Moto73 (an offshoot of independent specialists MotoGB who also bring in the likes of Benelli, Benda Motor, Hero, Voge and Moto Morini) and sold via its 30+ strong dealer network.

The COV125S is one of the six new 125cc A1-class learner models that QJMotor is bringing to the UK from 2026, although there are almost certainly more to come. 

Those others are the LTS125 scooter, already reviewed here, budget-priced TRX125 roadster (at just £2299) and SRK125S and R, which Moto73 describe as ‘Sporty naked and supersports 125s with all of the aggression and attitude of their bigger brothers’ (such as the SRK800 and R or 921 and R). 

The other two are the COV125S supermoto as tested here and the trail-style sibling it’s based on, the COV125X.

Both are the same bike at heart, powered by QJMotor’s latest liquid-cooled A1 class single, with an oval-tube steel cradle frame, decent quality suspension and brakes and smart, on-trend trail bike bodywork that could easily be mistaken for a KTM or Aprilia.

The trail bike ‘X’ has 21/18in off-road style wire wheels, knobbly dirt tyres to match and gold anodised forks, whilst the S is a supermoto style variant with smaller, fatter 17-inch wire wheels, stickier street rubber and silver-finished forks. If I were a learner and likely riding mostly on the road, I’d go for the S, which is why we’re focusing on it here.

At launch, the new COV125S costs £2799, plus £200 for on-the-road costs. That’s not only £200 cheaper than the trail version, the COV125X (and we can’t quite see why), but is also around £1000 cheaper than Aprilia’s SX125, which is currently £3825, and that’s after recently being reduced from £4325, and over £2000 less than KTM’s current £4899 125 SMC-R,

Considering all, ultimately, they are A1-class supermotos with similar specs and performance that any owner is likely to upgrade from after a year or so, which makes the QJMotor a bargain.

The COV125S is also, like all current QJMotor models, now available from its 30 or so dealers dotted around the UK, with more set to come. For full info, go to the QJMotor UK website.

That price differential with KTM’s £4800+ 125 supermoto, the SMC-R might have you presuming that the QJMotor COV125S can’t match the Austrian in terms of technology, quality and performance - not so. 

The COV’s engine is the Chinese firm’s latest, liquid-cooled 125cc unit (as compared to the slightly older versions in the SRK125s and air-cooled unit in the budget TRX) and produces peaks of 11kW (14.6bhp) at 9500rpm and 12.1Nm at 7000rpm, both of which are bang on the A1 class regulation and also (very) slightly up on those of the SRKs.

That’s all transferred to the rear wheel via a fairly standard six-speed transmission with chain final drive.

It feels like a bang-up-to-date, credible, modern power unit, too. Clutch and gearchange are all smooth and predictable, although requiring (as all 125s do) a slight fistful of revs, its power delivery is progressive, smooth and unintimidating, all of the traits, in fact, you’d want from a 125cc learner machine, and it even has a zest and ‘fun factor’ that’s adds to its appeal and is utterly in-keeping with its supermoto style.

All in all, performance wise, the COV not only matches expectations for a bike such as this, but it also probably exceeds them. While it ticks all the A1 learner class boxes, it also performs like a thoroughbred with a sense of class and cool that most Chinese 125s up to now haven’t got close to.

Sure, at the end of the day, its performance is only on par with most ‘better’ 125 supermotos – it’ll zip up to 50mph happily enough and ultimately ‘top out’ around 70-75 like all others, but it’s more than up to the job intended.

Supermoto-style bikes can have big appeal as 125 learner machines for three main reasons.

Being trail bike-based with long travel suspension and bigger wheels, they often have a sense of being a bigger, full-size machine, which can appeal to larger riders.

At the same time, they’re obviously stylish but have an upright riding position and wide bars, which helps manageability, another plus for learner riders. While, finally, a supermoto’s street wheels and tyres offer sportier handling than a trail bike, even if that rules out any off-road ability.

The COV125S delivers on all counts. Although the seat is relatively high, it wasn’t restrictively so for my 6’3” - although I’d recommend any novice try one for size before they buy. On board, it’s also very slim and light, the riding position is comfortable and natural, and the view ahead over the wide bars and dinky LCD clocks feels commanding and controllable.

Sure, being so exposed limits its long-distance appeal; the narrow and the hard seat’s lack of comfort starts to be felt after 40 minutes or so, but it’s also what you expect for this style of bike. 

Another bonus is the COV125S’s impressively high-quality cycle parts. The suspension, as with most QJs, is by respected Italian brand Marzocchi (QJ has a deal with the heritage brand to manufacture its products in China under licence) and comprises decent quality inverted forks and rear monoshock. The 17-inch wheels are smart alloy-rimmed wheels (even the KTM SMC-R only has cast alloy items), while the brakes comprise a single, wavy, 320mm disc at the front grasped by a Bybre (Brembo’s budget brand) twin piston caliper, with a matching but smaller item at the rear.

The resulting ride feels plush and controlled, especially for such a budget-priced bike, and although only the rear unit is preload adjustable, I felt no need to change things. Steering, as you’d expect from a lightweight supermoto with wide bars, is light and instant and the overall result is a feeling that the COV125S is one of those bikes on which you can not only have brilliant fun thrashing around on but also weave through traffic aboard with a nimbleness and dexterity few other bikes can match – again, something that has significant appeal to learners.

Another advantage supermoto style bikes usually have over their trail cousins is extra street grip and stability due to their defining smaller street wheels and fatter road-biased tyres. And again, although the COV125S is a slightly budget offering with cheaper CST tyres, we couldn’t find much to grumble about.

Its braking, thanks to that decently meaty ByBre caliper and wavy front disc - plus the bike’s overall light weight - was more than up to the job, too. 

Overall, I had no complaints at all and, when you again compare the COV125S to the very similarly equipped but £4800 KTM 125 SMC-R, you really do ask yourself, ‘Why would you pay more?’.

Supermoto style bikes, being based on trail bikes, are often fairly spartan when it comes to lavish kit – these bikes, for example, simply don’t need heavy and cumbersome fairings, excessive dashes or lots of electronics – and the COV125S again is no different, but it does have notably impressive stuff where it counts.

So, as well as the aforementioned suspension and ByBre brakes, QJMotor’s 125 supermoto also gets a slimline LCD dash (which is nothing flash but displays everything you realistically need), has LED lights all round, pukka wire wheels (are you listening, KTM?), handguards, smart nose cowling, and equally smart upswept exhaust. 

The COV125S also comes in three smart colour options: the white you see here, along with black and a particularly natty all-red option, all of which, partly due to only subtle QJMotor badging, could easily be mistaken for something supposedly more expensive.

But… nor is the COV125S perfect (nothing ever is), and although in terms of spec, performance, style and value, QJ’s newcomer has an awful lot going for it, it’d also be remiss of me not to remind you of the following. First, the COV is a new model from an unfamiliar, arguably unproven Chinese manufacturer so it’s difficult to be certain about things like reliability and residuals.

Second, as such a new Chinese model, its warranty and service schedules are fairly basic, being just two years and every 6000 miles (although, in truth, these are actually little different from the competition). And third, also by being so new, the buying experience will mean venturing to a new, unfamiliar dealer as well.

Don’t get me wrong: I’ve no major concerns, especially not at the price, but they needed mentioning.

 

Ultimately, however, none of those minor concerns mentioned above makes one jot of difference to my overall opinion of the COV125S. It’s an excellent example of a 125cc supermoto; it has all the style and dynamism you’d expect while its motor and cycle parts in particular stand out for being as good as any.

If you’re after this type of bike and know the pros and cons that go with it, you won’t be disappointed. Most of all, though, with all that said and appreciated, at the COV125S’s price, you’d almost be mad to shop elsewhere.

At 17 (or so), starting out in motorcycling there are likely all manner of demands on what’s probably a tight budget – bike kit, insurance, security products etc etc, to say nothing of consumable like fuel. In that context, why would you spend £100 or even £2000 more on something else?