600cc Inline 4's from China???

:eekers: Whoa! Not sure how I missed this one guys but according to MotorcycleNews.com Jialing, Loncin and Zongshen have produced 600cc inline 4 cylinder engines and stuck them on naked platforms (at least in artwork).

If this actually happens, we could see a dramatic change in the world-wide moto-landscape. What do you think?

Full link: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Ne...?&R=EPI-102366


http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload...JL%20600-4.jpg

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload...%20600%204.jpg


http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload...aked%20600.jpg

I've never had much faith in artists impressions. Most "concepts" never make it into production, as realities of production and costs kick in. I wish they were real though.

Like one of the comments in that page:

Just cheap shit , you get what you pay for, (except with Harleys they are expensive and shit)

It's a picture, not a promise.

So much of all design starts from "impressions" as does the essence of every creative art (which includes engineering). When or whether that "mere" impression will become a widely manufactured tangible product for thousands less than their Japanese and European counterparts depends on many complicated things like cost of production and whether or not this absurd attitude of "cheap shit" continues to makes sense to narrow minded people.

Every country has produced it's pure and utter garbage. No single country can claim to have always produced nothing but the finest machines in the world. Look at the past 20 years of GM...almost entirely garbage and today is the proof. What's even better, my tax money is paying for it! Look at the unfortunate demise of the British automobile industry...a country that at one time produced some of the finest and fastest cars in the world. But of course, it's totaly reasonable that all of this tragedy pales in comaprison to an artists impression of a modern looking chinese made motorcycle?

Is the idea of a chinese built inline 4 so shocking or impossilbe? They already make outboard engines for boats (QingQi makes parts for Mercury) and cars both of which are inline 4's. Loncin is making engines for BMW. The technology and machinery are there but perhaps not the market. Either way, everything has to start somewhere and to even see it stylized into clearly photoshopped bikes with lens flares at the bottom of the wheels I think is a small but postitive step in the right direction.

Most of the people I've heard make "cheap shit" comments like that one poster end up being motorcycle snobs who are doing nothing but spouting some totally unsubstantiated, mindless, snide, bandwagon remarks. The attitude itself is :bs: and smacks of nationalistic, racial, and in some cases industrial arrogance. :bs::bs::bs:

The test of the bike is the test of the rider. He who speaks poorly of lesser things, speaks only lesser of himself.

CC

I think there impressive even if they are artist make ups it means there(the companies) are thinking about it.

China's motorcycle industry will get there its just a matter of when.

Remember what they said about Japanese motorcycles and cars when they first came out.

Have a look on the XJmoto site and look at what they are riding all big bore stuff.
It looks like they have the money to splurge on those expensive bikes.

I think they look sweet.

Well at least they're actually different bikes, and not the same image of the same bike with different colors and badges. :lol8:

There seems to be some Kawasaki ER-6 and Suzuki Gladius styling going on here. Does that make any sense? :confused1:

CC

Maybe we should email the companies involved and tell them how impressed we are by the bikes and tell them we are keen to see/acquire one in real life.

Each time I see a Chinese new model come out I see something in the design stages that I would like better.:icon10:But I have to keep on waiting.

My wife said I can have the Jialing. Unfortunately she knows that it will probably take them a few years before they hit the roads.

BigD,

That would be a good idea but they may very well not listen or, if they do, they may give it next to nothing in terms of weight. From what I can reckon, the amount of bureaucracy inside the organizations is extremely high and introducing any idea which was not in their road map 2 or three years ago is quite difficult. Also, I'm not quite sure who to contact at these companies... if anyone has info on who to send comments to, it would be greatly appreciated!

That said, at least there are some images of something we haven't seen before and doesn't look like a totally "borrowed" Japanese bike design. :thumbsup:

CC

There is a certain inspiration Jialing may have taken from the 2009 Honda Hornet 600F however...........

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload...JL%20600-4.jpg
http://www.bikez.com/pictures/honda/...0-%20Honda.jpg

I saw these a while back and thought...the really encouraging news here is that they WANT to move forward, grow, and produce better bikes. They have no chance at becoming industry leaders if they are content to copy designs and ignore investments in racing. 'Cuz what wins on Sunday - sells on Monday. (what's up with Maxtra?)

Also, since three top Chinese companies are working together on this project, the expense and risk is spread out in a cooperative way. Suzuki and Kawasaki have been sharing designs for years. I think Zongshen is privately owned, I don't know about the others. But if they are also private then this co-op project would be an excellent way to differentiate themselves from state owned producers. If it's a mix of ownerships, then both will still benefit from the others strengths.

PJ