600cc Inline 4's from China???

[iamcanjim]

Living in China, before such a bike becomes common, China needs to build a recreational motorcycle culture. With large cities banning bikes, bikes not allowed on tollways and similar, it makes little sense for the average middle class Chinese person to aquire a bike.

I talk to my students, what are all middle to upper class shanghaiese. "But Mr, you are a rich loawai, why don't you buy a Mercedes?" I tell them i am not rich and i like my bike. They laugh. They think I am trying to be a peasant.

Until this attitude changes in China, there will be no bikes like this.

I would bet that the CEO of Loncin, Jialing and Qinqi don't even know how to ride a bike.

[forchetto]

Very true iamcanjim, the success of the Japanese couldn't have happened without the massive internal market they had in the 50-60's. This enabled them to go on and conquer the world.

I have this feeling that the Chinese are not really serious about making two-wheelers in the long term...

[iamcanjim]

It's like the Koreans. We know Korea can make great products, but Hyosung has been falling over. They don't ride recreationally (like the Chinese, 'bikes are for peasants' and so have no idea what the consumer is looking for. So you get something like the Hyosung GV650 cruiser, a bike that is a good bike no one would want.

If their GT650 wasn't a copy of a SV650, who knows what they would make.

The market is wide open for niche bikes and they can't see to see it.

The Chinese should be going after the open niches.

The Kawasaki KLR650 is a perennially top seller, but it's outmoded and heavy. It would be easy to make a competitor to steal the market.

The same goes for the Suzuki Vstrom, the big BMW boxers, the supermoto crowd, the trials crowd, etc. Hit em where they ain't" said Patton. Instead, it seems the Chinese are thinking about taking on the Japanese head to head.

The Japanese didn't become the dominant carmakers by going head to head with the BIG3, but by going around them.

[CrazyCarl]

True enough, you have to produce what's in demand. I think you can see the effect Chinese bikes are having on the world moto market by looking at the 250cc motards available by Honda, Yamaha and Kawi. To my memory, they haven't been around that long and generally only existed in the bigger displacement engines. I'm guessing they may be following the Chinese on this as motards and dirt bikes seem to sell relatively well for the Chinese on a world-wide scale. Supermotards are great for cities with poor roads and countries which are not as restrictive to motorcyclists.

I think the Chinese manufacturers are doing the best they know how to do considering their past and present situations. The issue of riding culture is a great one and no doubt a major issue. I suppose it's possible if the government changes some of their policies and attitudes about motorcycle and other two wheeled transporation but who knows if that will happen. It would be difficult, but anything can happen.

CC

[7up]

an affordable 200 cc air cooled trials bike would sell well i would think . for some one who just wants to play rather than compete .

[bigdamo]

Plenty of bigbore jap and Euro bikes up here I saw a 1800cc yamaha a couple of weeks ago.

Well there was until the crackdown then they all just disappeared off the streets.

There would be a instant market for them up here.Gansu to by the look of it.

They ask me how fast have you been on a motorcycle. There shocked when I tell them probally around 80klms an hour.I very rarley ride on tar back home.

They have all done upwards of 250klm an hour.

Plenty of people with the cash to buy them too.

I can get a road legal yamaha R1 from the local Yamaha dealer.I said can he get me a yamaha WR450 he said no .I said why he said because "this is China"I have a nice moto scooter over here for you???

[Rage]

I hope that we get to see a chinese inline-4 road bike in the near future

[7up]

with inline 4 power , brakes would have to be on par with japan or europe

[CrazyCarl]

Some Chinese bikes actually have quite effective brakes... I think it's just a matter of picking the right units off the shelf. But it's not uncommon for simple things to become mysteriously complicated.

CC

[felix]

this may not be great news regarding these lovely concepts.

the guy who drew these is an italian who has also made dozens of other 'proposals' for a host of different brands. portfolio here:
http://www.coroflot.com/public/indiv...set_id=261143&
i think these pics may just be have been nice concepts he drew, which then got found by some bike journalist who made up a story to go with them. i wouldn't be surprised anyway.

according to this french website, the pics were submitted to their 'photoshop a bike' contest, and the bikes aren't even built around the same engine. the jialing would be based on a hornet 600 and the zongshen on a GSR600.
http://www.motorevue.com/site/les-pr...urs-34204.html

what do you guys make of? reckon these pics even had anything to do with the manufacturers written on them?