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In Western countries , the once vast market for middleweight four-cylinder sports bikes has all but disappeared over the last two decades - with big adventure bikes and naked roadsters stepping in to replace them as the default choice for riders who want one do-everything machine . But in China , there ' s a tidal wave of new fourcylinder race-reps from brands both
' Little-known brands target middleweight sports market '
familiar and new as the country ' s huge population realises the appeal of such machines . The recent CIMA show in Beijing was the launchpad for multiple new homegrown four-cylinder models , all
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Zonsen Cyclone RC680R
' inspired ' by Honda , as the bike ' s steel frame is also remarkably similar to the CBR650R ' s , sharing similar shapes and even an identical 1,450 mm wheelbase . The kit bolted to it is higher spec , though , including Brembo brakes and adjustable Marzocchi
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( 100 hp ), it uses a 660 cc four-cylinder engine made by Voge ' s parent company , Loncin . A single-sided swingarm gives the RR666S an exotic look - it ' s a signature of several of China ' s latest sports bike models . Although other details remain under |
China eventually . Another company that ' s increasingly being seen outside China is Zonsen ( formerly Zongshen ) with its high-end Cyclone sub-brand . The company is already making overtures to the European market , launching its Norton twin-cylinder-based RX650 in Europe at EICMA this year , but in China it ' s also heading into the four-cylinder sports bike arena with the RC680R . Like the QJMotor , the RC680R ' s engine bares a distinct resemblance to Honda ' s CBR650R four , once again hitting a claimed 75 kW ( 100h p ) and combining it with a chassis that also looks rather Honda-esque , but with the addition of a single-sided swingarm and Brembo brakes . Tech includes a large TFT dash and , unusually , a front-facing camera . At 206 kg , the bike is 1 kg lighter than the 207 kg claimed for QJMotor ' s SRK800RR . Getting into the less familiar brands , |
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Yingang 400RR |
Voge RR666S |
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stepping into a market where fourcylinder options have previously been limited to the 600s from Benelli and QJMotor and , more recently , Kove ' s 450RR . QJMotor , part of the giant Qianjiang group ( sister company to the Benelli business ), is at the head of the charge , launching its new SRK800RR . Although QJMotor already has the SRK600RR , based on the Benellidesigned four-cylinder engine from the TNT600i , the SRK800RR uses a completely different design that - like many of the latest Chinese fours - is copied from the layout of Honda ' s long-lived CBR650R engine . The QJMotor adds a long 55 mm stroke to the same 47 mm bore used in the Honda design to reach a capacity of 778 cc and achieve a peak power of 75 kW ( 100 hp ) at 10,000 rpm . But it ' s not just the engine that ' s |
suspension . In competition to the SRK800RR , there ' s a new rival in the form of Voge ' s RR666S . Also making 75 kW
QJMotor SRK800RR
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wraps at the moment , Voge ' s presence on the international market means there ' s a strong chance that the RR666S could be offered outside |
another new Chinese four-cylinder comes from newcomer Vinto , which showed a machine with MotoGPinspired aerodynamics , single-sided swingarm and a homegrown engine . Specs for the bike are limited at the moment , but it ' s claimed to weigh 208 kg and features a 1,452 mm wheelbase , putting it right in the same class as QJMotor , Voge and Cyclone machines . Finally , there ' s a smaller , higherrevving four-cylinder in the form of the Yingang 400RR , designed to compete with the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4R and Kove ' s 450RR in the reborn 400 cc class . Putting out a claimed 40 kW ( 54 hp ) at 11,000 rpm and 39 Nm of torque at 9,000 rpm , the 400RR still appears to be some way from being production-ready , but could appear in showroom form by 2025 . |