SINNIS GPX125 (2022 - on) Review

Brand new this year, the GPX 125 is Sinnis’ first sportsbike and aims to steal a slice of the market share from the UK’s best-selling sportsbike, the Lexmoto LXR125.

With both bikes built in China, the differences may appear small on paper however Sinnis have deliberately targeted their offering at the sporty end of the sports 125 segment where the LXR is slightly more relaxed in its outlook.

• Related: Best 125cc motorbikes

With a growing subculture in both young and older riders for race-rep 125s (helped by race series' such as the Freetech Endurance championship) this is a bold move by Brighton-based Sinnis and both makes and breaks the GPX.

Although undeniably a good-looking 125, my main criticism of the Sinnis is down to its riding position, which I found just a bit too extreme. Although, that said, I’m 44 and not 17 years old and have far more creaks and less flexibility than your average A1-licence holder...

If you are happy to sacrifice a bit of comfort for agility, the GPX performs as well as the LXR, has a similar spec list and thanks to the fact Sinnis have been established in the UK for fifteen years (they have 68 dealers) spares and warranty back-up is easily accessed, which is reassuring when it comes to buying a Chinese-built bike.

Overall it’s an impressive 125 that won’t break the bank, although it may make your wrists ache...

Due to its deliberate sports focus the GPX isn’t the most comfortable 125 to ride and its clip-ons are located below the top yoke, pushing your weight forward and onto your wrists.

Other machines of a similar style have the bars located higher (the LXR for example), making them less painful to ride. The upside of this stance, however, is the fact a lot of weight is over the bike’s front end, making the GPX turn surprisingly quickly.

It dives towards an apex with virtually no effort and although I’m not totally confident in the CST tyres’ grip levels, the Sinnis is a very agile 125. Possibly a touch too agile but that depends on your keenness levels... The suspension is impressively plush with the inverted forks and monoshock (which has preload adjustability) performing well and delivering a good ride quality.

As on most budget 125s the GPX lacks ABS and instead has combined brakes with the front three-piston caliper linked to the rear single piston item. When you activate the front brake lever only two of the front caliper’s pistons apply force while the rear brake lever activates the rear caliper as well as the remaining piston in the front caliper.

With braided lines as standard as well as cool wave discs, the GPX has a surprisingly good brake set-up with the front alone delivering more than enough stopping power with an impressive amount of feel. The combined function adds more deceleration but you can happily rely purely on the front stopper alone if you wish.

The fuel-injected 125cc motor (taken from the Terrain adventure model) is Euro5-compliant and has a four-valve head with double overhead cams, which is what you need for performance and it is good to see that Sinnis haven’t cut corners in this area.

Making a claimed 12.7bhp with 7.9ftlb of torque, it is marginally more powerful than Lexmoto claim for their LXR (with slightly less torque) but you would struggle to spot the difference – mainly as the engine is actually identical bar ECU changes and comes from the same supplier!

A fairly peppy six-speed 125, it will hold 65mph with 74mph achievable (downhill) before the rev-limiter chimes in and is fairly smooth and vibe-free with a light clutch action and good gearbox. Sinnis claim it will record 78mpg, which is about average for such a motor.

Reassuringly, all Sinnis models are sold with a two year warranty on parts and a single year warranty on parts, labour and breakdown.

The company claim to test and evaluate every one of their models themselves in all conditions before feeding back to the Chinese manufacturer about what needs changing or improving and they use firms that are partnered with the likes of Yamaha, Suzuki and Harley to build their bikes.

As they have been selling bikes in the UK for over fifteen years the sales network is well established and consists of 68 dealers in the UK and Ireland, which is always good to see.

The company runs an online parts store, which even offers a ‘click and collect’ service from the warehouse in Southwick as well as next day delivery on parts. The GPX’s engine is the same as the Lexmoto LXR’s motor and has proven reliable (Sinnis also run it in their Terrain model) and you have to hand it to Sinnis when it comes to the GPX’s styling as it is a good-looking bike.

The front end has the hint of Kawasaki ZX-10R about it, the fairing has cool vents (not quite wings...) and the rear lights are tucked up under the seat a bit like on a Ducati Panigale.

The dash, although admittedly a touch 1980s, is nice and bold with a gear indicator and I like the fact the brake calipers are red and the peg hangers bronze so they look a bit like magnesium.

The choice of colour options is also neat with the black (tested here) the more subtle and the modern matt grey look pleasingly contemporary. Overall, it may lack the finish and fit of a ‘premium’ model but it isn’t bad at all and you can buy with confidence.

The GPX is £3299 and although the sporty 125 market has seen a reduction in numbers of late there is still quite a lot of competition. The obvious Chinese-built rival is the UK’s best-selling sportsbike, the Lexmoto LXR, which is £3099.99 for the SE version with its inverted forks or £2799.99 for the more basic LXR.

From the ‘premium’ brands you have the £4900 Yamaha YZF-R125, the £4199 Kawasaki Ninja 125, the £4850 Aprilia RS125 and finally the £5049 KTM RC125.

In this context the Sinnis is a touch more than the LXR but considerably cheaper than a 'premium' model, making it good value. Servicing may be a little more than a more basic air-cooled model such as the firm’s Outlaw but insurance and spare parts prices are pleasingly low.

When it comes to equipment the GPX is left a bit lacking as it doesn’t have ABS or a radial brake caliper and instead has combined brakes an a conventionally-mounted caliper.

That said, you do get braided lines and wave discs, which is good, as well as inverted forks. The digital dash contains a fuel gauge and gear indicator and the fact it has a splash of colour is pleasing on the eye.