The Beijing Internation Motorcycle Exhibition was the platform for one of the most remarkable launches in years as a complete newcomer to the bike market unveiled two machines aimed squarely at Honda ’ s range-topping Gold Wing . Statements of intent don ’ t come much bolder , and this wasn ’ t some unsubstantiated plan from an underfunded startup , but a pair of production-ready bikes from a global automotive giant that ’ s already bigger than companies like Renault , Nissan , Suzuki or Mazda . The company in question is Great Wall |
Motors , the world ’ s 19th-biggest car maker by market cap , valued at $ 28bn . Great Wall already owns at least five car and truck brands offered on international markets - Ora , Haval , Wey , Tank and Great Wall might not be hugely familiar in the West yet , but they ’ re making headway against established rivals - and it ’ s created a whole new company to act as its motorcycle arm . Great Wall Souo is the bike company ’ s name ( it translates to Soul ) and the first models are the S2000GL and S2000ST . How do you out-do the Gold Wing , a bike that ’ s already synonymous with motorcycling excess ? By turning everything up a couple of notches . The S2000GL and ST are rivals to the Gold Wing Tour and the base Gold Wing respectively , the GL featuring a top case and armchair-like pillion seat , while the ST has side case only . Both mimic the Gold Wing ’ s engine layout , with opposed-cylinder motors mounted above a shaft-drive transmission , but instead of 1,833 cc and six cylinders like the current Gold Wing , they each have 2,000 cc and |
eight cylinders . Yes , these bikes use the world ’ s first motorcycle-specific flat eight engine and promise to be the first mass-produced eight-cylinder motorcycles ever to reach showrooms in large numbers . There ’ s no official power or torque claim yet , but type-approval documents certify the bikes at 113 kW ( 151.5 hp ) - beating the 125 hp Honda Gold Wing by a clear margin . Honda ’ s flagship has a seven-speed , dual-clutch semiautomatic transmission , so the Souo S2000 has an eight-speed dual-clutch semi-auto . The Gold Wing uses single overhead camshafts , so the S2000 has double overhead cams . It ’ s bigger than a ' Wing ', too , with a wheelbase of 1,810 mm that ’ s 115 mm longer than the Honda ’ s 1,695 mm . The overall length of 2,660 mm is 185 mm longer than the 2,475 mm Gold Wing . Bikes don ’ t come much bigger than this , and like the Gold Wing , there ’ s a reverse gear as well as forward ratios to help manoeuvres . You ’ ll need it - the lighter ‘ ST ’ version of the Souo S2000 weighs 450 kg , while the full-dress ‘ GL ’ variant is 461 kg . The equivalent Gold Wing and |
Gold Wing Tour come in at 367 kg and 390 kg respectively , so the Chinese eight-cylinder is up to 83 kg heavier than its Japanese counterpart . Like the Gold Wing and BMW ’ s K1600 , the S2000 models use a Hossack-style front suspension system with cast aluminium girder forks supported by a double wishbone and monoshock arrangement below the steering head . It ’ s a setup that makes sense for large , heavy tourers , separating braking and suspension forces to allow soft springing without excessive brake dive . The Souo project won ’ t end with the S2000 . The company is already planning to launch another model - a cruiser-style bike based on the same engine , with styling similar to the Honda Rune and F6C Valkyrie . Great Wall Motor ’ s owner and Chairman Wei Jianjun is China ’ s 13th-richest individual with a fortune worth $ 13.1bn and a lifelong motorcycle fan . Given the success he ’ s steered Great Wall Motors to since taking over in his 20s in 1990 , Souo stands a strong chance of becoming a serious player in China and internationally . |
China ' s Zontes has been promising a range of threecylinder bikes for years and finally got around to unveiling the 703F adventure bike and 703RR sports bike at EICMA last year . Now they ' re starting to roll off production lines in China and we ' ve got more details of some of the most intriguing |
machines yet to emerge from that country ' s motorcycle industry . The 703F is the first model to reach Chinese showrooms and is expected to be heading to the West in the near future , and the full specifications reveal some surprises . Starting with the basics , the 699 cc triple features |
a 70 mm bore and 60.6 mm stroke along with a high 13:1 compression ratio , putting out 96 hp ( 71.5 kW ) at 10,000 rpm and 56 lb-ft ( 76 Nm ) at 7,500 rpm . It ' s mounted in a cast aluminium beam frame with fully adjustable Marzocchi suspension and touts its offroad credentials via a 21 in |
703RR |