This is a bike I told you about a few years ago now, and it has taken a long time for Brixton to bring it to market as a finished machine ready for sale, but it has now been released in India and a few other countries and it should be available in Europe very soon now.
Why an Austrian company uses British names to badge their bikes, but then doesn’t bring them to the UK, is a bit baffling to me, but that is a different question, and maybe it will change.
They can’t be limiting their market to sell to expats around the world, but as it stands, these are an Austrian design using British names, made in China and Thailand, so a bit of a complicated mixture.
Some will love it and others hate the design, but one thing is for sure, no one can say that the Brixton Storr is just another Chinese copy bike. It isn’t just a cut and paste styling exercise either. This is a serious piece of design that has taken years to get to market, so maybe, as a relatively new company, they have actually done the R&D rather than releasing a half tested model onto the market to let us find the weak points.
They have much more to loose if a new model begins to fail shortly after release than the more established brands.
Brixton are owned by a company called the KSR group, As well as the Brixton brand they own QJ Motors, Royal Enfield, Malaguti, Motron motorcycles and Niu who make electric scooters as well as ATV’s by Segway and Access Motors and Lexington 4 wheel electric things that seem an in between of ATV’s and tuc tucs.
So behind this small brand is a giant parent company with massive manufacturing facilities and a very active R&D department that has access to much of what was the old MV Agusta tech, but that is a different story I talk about in the video called “Revealing The Secret Deal That Gave China MV Agusta’s Best Engine” I will link at the end.
So what exactly is the Brixton Crossfire Storr you may ask, and why when Royal Enfield and QJ Motors already have a hefty and growing presence on the world stage are KSR putting their weight behind such a small brand?
I cant really answer the second part of that question but I will do my best to answer the first part.
Anyway, the Brixton Crossfire Storr is an A2 licence bike aimed squarely at new riders, So comes with the pre set limitations that the A2 licence regs bring.
But from what I have seen it is one of the few bikes that actually seems to show a fairly close design to the prototype first shown at EICMA in 2022.
It is aimed squarely at the market the old CB500X once held tightly in Japanese hands, but with the disappointment of the NX500 and the multitude of Chinese options now available, this is a hotly contested market segment.
It is powered by a 486cc parallel twin which I imagine is from QJ Motors, and will produce 47HP at 8,500 rpm and 43 Nm or about 32 ft/lbs of torque at 6,700 RPM on the Indian market bike, and even with Euro 5+ compliance I would expect those figures to be the same. It isn’t a highly tuned engine so shouldn’t be too high maintenance either.
It comes as standard with a 19 inch front and 17 inch rear wheel fitted with cross-spoked rims for tubeless tyres, and as with most modern ADV it seems these days comes fitted with Pirelli Scorpion tyres.
Fuel tank is 16 litres, so not massive, but with good economy of 20-25km per litre that will still give you a minimum of 320km or 200 miles of range even if you are giving it some beans.
Ridden for range you should get around 400km or 250 miles to a tank.
Like the look of it or not, it is distinctive and has been purpose built as an ADV bike that will perform on road, but also handle most trails without much trouble.
The way they have integrated panel protection is a one off on the market and does away with the need for extra engine bars for crash protection in quite an ingenious way, with replaceable crash protection panels designed into the bodywork.
It also comes with what looks like a stainless steel rad guard and a decent bash plate, although I am not sure how that bash plate is mounted.
So many designs now seem to bolt them directly to the engine itself which I think is another ridiculous trend.
What I saw straight away is that unlike many, it has a bolt on rear subframe, which I like, as there will inevitably be times in the dirt when the bike goes over, and it is too easy to end up with a twisted subframe and written off bike if that happens when a welded subframe has been used.
It also comes with a well hidden away fully stainless steel high level exhaust system which again is a flaw in so many of the new ADV bikes that get a stupid low level exhaust that is too easy to damage once you get off the beaten track.
It has a tubular rear swingarm that harks back to the old Benelli swingarm design used on the pre Chinese takeover Italian Triples too.
So you can see that the design has been thought about, not just thrown together like so many bikes you see today.
It has been made for a purpose and looks to be capable of fulfilling that role.
A vertically aligned TFT dash makes much more sense than the many horizontal ones you see and a full tyre pressure monitoring system is included too.
Brakes are from the Spanish company J Juan with a single 320mm disc up front and a 240mm disc on the rear. So they are more than capable, and it also has a dedicated switch for simple push-button switchable ABS too.
The ABS system is made by Bosch, with the rear wheel’s anti-lock brakes easily turned off on the fly for dirt riding.
It has an upright riding position and a fairly tall screen too so weather protection should be good and long distance comfort has again been considered.
It is compact yet still gives the rider a commanding riding position with a good rider triangle and a comfortable seat. So it will work well for riding miles on a motorway, everyday commuting, or stood up off road.
Headlights and tail-lights are full LED’s, as are the body mounted indicators and fog lights, so in a roll over in the dirt you don’t trash the indicators or fog lamps. The hand guards look more substantial than the average too, although that will only be proven in time.
So I would say it ticks a lot more boxes than many of its competitors to be honest, even the more expensive ones from more established brands.
An Indian friend who I have to say is almost as critical as me gave it a glowing report with the statement “The build quality is the best i’ve ever seen on any Chinese made bike. There haven’t been any issues I know of and there was certainly no fit or finish problems. Its comfortable to ride and although a little heavier than i expected, once moving that disappears. Yes in the dirt that wouldn’t be great, but on the road it feels solid and planted“
That brings us to Suspension which is adjustable, and is made by KYB so I imagine it will be similar spec to the systems fitted to so many bikes now, but I cant confirm the travel yet.
Seat height on this bike is more than manageable compared to many at 33 inches or 839 mm, so you don’t need to be a giant or wear stilts to ride it.
As well as the Honda it will inevitably be compared to the CF Moto 450MT or Ibex, and first impressions make me think it will be a much better road bike but won’t be quite as good in the dirt, but this is a bike aimed squarely at new riders, so they are maybe considered less likely to take it on more demanding trails where a 21 inch front wheel would be beneficial.
Brixton themselves say that the Storr 500 was designed to tread the narrow path between essential Brixton purism and fresh, raw wildness. With its unique look and incredible power. They say the name comes from the rock formation of the same name on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and that the rugged design of the bike is modelled on the wild landscape of the rugged north.
So the usual meaningless marketing drivel.
It will apparently come in black and green bodywork for 2026 buyers, but I have seen several green’s and a sort of mustard yellow version too so we will see.
Colour doesn’t sell a bike for me, capability and reliability does.
MSRP for this bike is €6,399 in Europe which would be around £5,500 in the UK, or just over $7,500 in the USA if either country gets them.
And that is part of the question here. Will we actually finally get Brixton bikes in the UK or America.
Will they be able to set up a decent dealership network with enough parts?
I understand they have already entered the Australian market, so maybe some of my Australian subs can tell me how they are doing down there, and how they are seen in the market.
I remember one person saying when it was first shown that it looked like someone had melted a Husqvarna Norden at the front, but I think that is a bit unfair really.
I actually like the look of it, but it wont be to everyone’s taste.
Practicality, reliability and capability are the things that make a good bike great in my opinion, much more than a paint job and style.
Do you think there is a place in the market for this bike?
Can it challenge the NX500, CF Moto MT450 Ibex, Voge and Kove 500 twins and others?
Let me know your thoughts below.
Thanks as always for watching and I look forward to hearing your comments. You know I will reply when I can.
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