There’s no doubt the past year has been tough for the UK motorcycle industry, with a depressed market, increased dealer overheads and Euro5+ regulations creating a need to invest in new product, but alongside this we’re seeing a new generation of Chinese made motorcycles looking to swoop in and take advantage, with modern designs at competitive prices.

We’ve already tested wares from the likes of Benda, CFMoto, Morbidelli, Voge and others, and while the technology is rarely class leading we’ve usually found them to be very competent machines at bargain basement price.

Now the latest player into the market is QJMotor, who are bringing a range of sports and adventure bikes to the UK.

Formed in 1985, the Qianjiang Motorcycle Company is a serious player in the global motorcycle market. Closely linked to the giant Geely automotive group, which counts Lotus and Volvo among its car brands, QJMotor is essentially Qianjiang’s own motorcycle brand and sits alongside classic Italian racing names Benelli and Morbidelli in the company portfolio.

Race fans may recognise the name, as QJMotor has sponsored race teams in the Moto2 and Moto3 categories, while entering its own bike in the highly competitive Supersport World Championship.

That bike, the bewinged SRK 800 RR, is a 120bhp, £6999, middleweight triple that’s scored points in world championship racing. It’s also being joined by a four-cylinder sibling, the £8999 SRK 921 RR, which has more than a hint of MV Agusta about it. With highly specced bikes at bargain basement prices, we think it’s only a matter of time before these new generation of motorcycle makers make a real breakthrough.

And now QJMotor are going for the mainstream with a pair of adventure bikes priced from £7499.

Powered by a 95bhp 904cc parallel-twin engine, the SRT 900 S and SRT 900 SX provide a budget alternative to offerings from established brands like BMW, KTM, Honda and Yamaha.

As is the case with many adventure bikes, this duo share the same platform but have some chassis modifications to create different versions, one in a street style and another with an off-road focus. The S version has 17” cast aluminium wheels front and rear to give it an on-road bias, while the £200 more expensive SX runs spoked wheels with a bigger 19” front, to increase capability on light trails. For £7699, the SX buyer also gets a three-piece hard luggage system, with panniers and a top box also included as standard.

And the spec of these bikes is not to be sniffed at. Suspension comes from Marzocchi, OE supplier on many Triumph models, while fellow Italians Brembo provide the stopping power. Stuff like an up and down quickshifter, heated seats, heated grips, two USB charging ports and a large TFT dashboard are in excess of what you’d expect from a legacy manufacturer at this price, while long distance riders will be happy to see a huge 24 litre fuel tank.

Styling of the QJMotors, like many Chinese brands, feels very derivative but they’re still pretty pleasing on the eye. They’ve copied features from some of the leading European manufacturers, especially on their sports bikes, and the days of Chinese manufacturers building outdated and ugly utilitarian machines seems to be a thing of the past.

QJ’s current UK line-up is 16 strong and covers everything from a moped scooter through to the aforementioned SRK 921 RR superbike. They’re all good looking, well specced, competitively priced and, when you take the badges off, could be confused for an offering from one of the more premium manufacturers, from a distance at least.

The company’s mission is to become a global leader in the bike industry and it’s hard to imagine they won’t start stealing sales from the established brands soon. For now, we look forward to seeing them at the winter shows, where we can make up our own mind on the effectiveness of these new challengers.