China ' s bike industry is accelerating at breakneck speed at the moment with hordes of little-known brands launching surprisingly ambitious and increasingly large-capacity models . The latest is Weisenke - which has patented designs for a new 800 cc four-cylinder machine under the ' Viselike ' brand name . The bike itself is clearly a close copy of Honda ' s CB650R , but with a larger engine than its Japanese inspiration . The engine itself first appeared in patents two years ago , before being shown in the metal last year . It ' s a 796 cc four that obviously owes a lot to the Honda CB650 ' s motor in terms of its layout and general design , but has been substantially reworked to offer

more capacity and performance . Power is rated at 86 kW ( 115 hp ), compared 70 kW ( 94 hp ) for the smaller Honda engine , and is reached at 11,500 rpm . Peak torque is 93 Nm ( 69 lb-ft ) at 9,500 rpm .

Called the VESK800 , the new bike that the engine is destined for uses a frame that ' s shaped almost exactly like the CB650R ' s as well as a near-identical swingarm , while the exhaust also blatantly copies the Honda ' s design ,

with four parallel pipes slanting from the engine in tribute to the original CB400 ' s system , before merging into a single , under-engine collector . The styling is again a close copy of the Honda ' s , with a neo-retro look from a circular headlamp and almost identical proportions to the Japanese bike that it copies . Given the ambition of the Viselike 800 cc engine , and its relatively high performance , it ' s a shame to see that the bike it is intended for is such an unimaginative clone of an existing design , particularly given that rival upstart companies from China ( notably Benda ) have recently unveiled much more distinctive-looking bikes in the same category .

While Yamaha ' s global motorcycle sales remained lower in 2021 than in 2019 , the company ' s fortunes are clearly on the up . Unit sales have rebounded compared to the pandemic-hit figures from 2020 and over the full year , Yamaha Motor ' s income was higher than ever before . Although the end of 2021 was hampered by the appearance of new Covid variants , slowing down global economic recovery , and the semiconductor shortage , the lessons learnt from the height of the pandemic

in terms of logistics and agility have helped Yamaha achieve record results . Net sales rose 23.2 % compared to 2020 to 1,812.5bn yen , with operating income increasing 123.3 % to 182.3bn yen . Ordinary income rose 116 % to 189.4bn yen and net income by 193.1 % to 155.6bn yen . Back in 2019 , Yamaha sold 5,056,000 bikes globally , dropping to 3,802,000 in 2020 , but recovering somewhat to 4,490,000 in 2021 . However , 2021

sales in Europe , North America and Japan were all higher than in 2019 . For 2022 , Yamaha forecasts further growth , particularly in Europe , where sales are expected to rise from 189,000 in 2021 to 210,000 this year , and in America . Yamaha has also revealed details of its medium-term management plan , promising a significant investment in improving its environmental performance . Targeting a 44 % reduction in CO2 emissions by 2024 , compared to 2010 , Yamaha will

The ' all-new ' 2022 XSR900 with new generation ' Deltabox ' frame - the ultimate " Faster Son " in Yamaha ' s Sport Heritage range .

introduce at least ten battery-powered electric motorcycles by 2024 , as well as expanding its R & D facilities to pursue development of a variety of other green powertrains , including hybrids , hydrogen-powered combustion engines and those powered by renewable e-fuels .

The Motobi brand might have been born in Italy in the 1940s , but the current iteration of the company is Austrian - operating as an importer for Chinesemade machines that are rebranded to be sold under the Motobi name . While the company has been

offering a line of 125 cc singlecylinder machines for a while , Motobi is debuting a new 400 cc parallel twin of the DL 400 . The DL 400 will be almost identical to the Senke SK400 , a

machine that ' s already offered in China and which features some interesting specs . It ' s built around a Zongshen-made 378 cc twin with 37 hp and 35 Nm of torque , with Delphi fuel injection , a slipper clutch and Bosch ABS brakes . Less commonplace is the fact that the Senke model also has a built-in USB and Bluetooth system to connect to your phone , with a tank-mounted control pad to alter volume and skip tracks , along with additional LCD readout . Other known specs of the Senke model include a 16-litre fuel tank and a 1,410 mm wheelbase , while the steelframed machine weighs a respectable 181 kg wet .

The first images of the Motobi DL 400 show it with large side scoops and a circular headlight . Senke also has two other styles for the same machine , one with a more aggressive-looking headlight ( identical to that used on a smaller 125 cc Motobi model ), the other is a more overtly retro design , with the circular headlight , but a more traditionally shaped tank .