International Dealer News 165 Feb/Mar 2022 IDN165 Feb/Mar 2022 | Page 26

THE BRADLEY REPORT

THE BRADLEY REPORT

QJMotor - 400 cc , 500 cc and 600 cc models By Ben Purvis

SRK400
QJMotor is set to become a betterknown brand outside its Chinese homeland during 2022 with a Moto3 race effort under its name and a growing ambition to offer its evergrowing range of bikes in Europe . The Moto3 effort will be with the well known Avintia team , using KTM race bikes rebranded to sport the QJMotor branding , with European sales intentions heavily suggested by QJMotor ' s presence at EICMA last year . Given that the company ' s own brand is effectively a Benelli sister brand , owned by the same Qianjiang parent company , there is no surprise that it shares many of the same frames , engines and suspension components with Benelli models , and there ' s already a dealer and distributor network in place should it decide to enter the European market . Indeed , QJMotor ' s latest new models , revealed in Chinese approval documents , look increasingly convincing from a European perspective . They start with a redesigned version of the 600 cc four-cylinder sports model , the 600RR , which itself is made around the engine and chassis of the old Benelli TNT600i . That bike dropped off the radar in Europe after the Euro 4 emissions rules were introduced , but recently Qianjiang has been developing an upsized 650 cc version that might well be able to meet Euro 5 requirements . This new QJMotor initially retains the 600 cc version but gets new bodywork , including a restyled nose with more modern headlights and the addition of GPinspired winglets . Other changes include a new exhaust , while the engine ' s output - 87 hp - is rated as being 7 hp higher than the previous generation . The suspension comes from Marzocchi , which recently signed a deal to allow Qianjiang to take over the responsibility for manufacturing its components in China ; the brakes are Brembo . The new SRV500 is an addition to the QJMotor range based on an existing model of the same name . QJMotor has also been working on a new 400RR , 400R and SRK400 , all based around a new 400 cc parallel twin engine . The 400RR is the top version , with a single-sided swingarm and dual front brake discs , while the 400R shares the same fully-faired styling . Just as Qianjiang has a deal with Harley-Davidson , it also has an arrangement to manufacture smaller models with MV Agusta . The first will be the newly launched MV Lucky Explorer 5.5 , which shares many of its

Kawasaki celebrates 50 years of Zs

This year marks half a century since the debut of Kawasaki ' s game-changing Z1 superbike . To mark the occasion , the company has added four limited-edition ' Z50 ' models to its 2022 Z range . All four carry ' Z50 ' badging and special paintwork that recalls earlier Z models - the Z900RS ( seen here ), which is a direct tribute to the Z1 anyway , and the retro Z650RS and two RS machines , which are already retro bikes , have been given a ' Z50 ' makeover for 2022 . Instead of copying the original Z1 , they take inspiration from the Z1100GP from the 1980s . Kawasaki will also give owners a limited-edition 50th anniversary Z Book , which will not be offered for sale separately .
By Ben Purvis
600RR
parts with QJMotor ' s 500 cc adventure bike and the near-identical Benelli TRK502 .

Triumph doing well ?

The latest annual results for Triumph Motorcycles ( to 30 June 2021 ) display a remarkable degree of recovery from the Covid pandemic ’ s early depredations . But the brand may have done even better , according to BDN ' s Financial Editor Roger Willis . According to the Triumph Motorcycles directors ’ report , overall turnover
during this 12-month period grew by 25.8 % to £ 502.3m . Within that , the UK revenue contribution was 18.7 % up to £ 69.9m . The rest of Europe yielded a 27.3 % rise to £ 234.1m . North America added 58.4 % to £ 116.5m , while the rest of the world fell by 1.1 % to £ 81.8m . Global yearly motorcycle sales
volume stacked on an impressive 44.6 % to 70,838 . Some 86.1 % of these machines were sold overseas . But distribution and admin costs still overwhelmed a gross profit of £ 50.2m to result in an operating loss of £ 6.5m and net loss of £ 7.9m - recovering from a horrendous operating loss of £ 44.2m and net loss of £ 35.8m in the previous fiscal year . However , the annual strategic and directors ’ reports covering the same period for Bloor Investments , the ultimate parent of Triumph Motorcycles , plus large-scale house construction and plant hire businesses , tell an entirely different story . This version of events kicks off by saying : “ The year ’ s profitability to 30 June 2021 has been primarily driven
by the £ 95m turnaround of the Triumph business from a loss off £ 40m to a profit of £ 55m .” All the numbers for what is identified as Triumph Motorcycles Group are variant . Triumph ’ s turnover apparently climbed by 27.8 % to £ 613.2m , delivering a pre-tax profit of £ 50.1m - against a loss of £ 40m a year earlier . Sales volume was 40.5 % up to 76,438 bikes and 88.6 % of them were purchased overseas . Presumably such figures came from inputs to which nobody outside the enigmatic John Bloor ’ s inner sanctum is party . Could they be associated with recently migrating to an offshore tax jurisdiction ? As of August 2021 , Bloor senior relocated from rural Wales to take up residence in Guernsey .
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