Brixton 1200 revealed in China
By Ben Purvis
Brixton is expected to officially unveil its European designed, Chinese made new 1200 cc retro roadster at EICMA later this year (for a 2022 launch), but the finished production bike was previewed at the CIMA show in China.
Originally seen as a concept in 2019, with no technical details or confirmation of its capacity, the Brixton 1200 has been shown in China under the Gaokin brand name. That's the company that builds Brixton bikes including the Crossfire 500, although the design work is done in Europe at the home of Brixton's brand owner, KSR, in Austria.
In China, the bike will be sold as the Gaokin 1200GK, with that brand's badge on the tank, although the name 'Brixton' is clearly cast into the parallel twin engine's covers.
That twin, one of the largest-capacity bike engines ever made in China, is claimed to make 61kw (81.8 bhp) at 6,550 rpm and 108 Nm (79.7 lb/ft) of torque at 3,100 rpm. For comparison, Triumph's Bonneville T120 manages 58.8 kW (78.9 bhp) at 6,550 rpm and 105 Nm (77.4l b/ft) at 3,500 rpm. The engines are hard to separate in terms of performance, and although Brixton hasn't revealed the internal dimensions of its design, the similarity in peak power and torque revs suggests the bore, stroke and compression will be very similar to the Bonneville.
The similarities continue in the bike's hidden catalytic converters and exhaust collector box, sited under the engine. Brushed steel sleeves over the exhaust header pipes, running straight to the twin silencers, draw the eye away from real exhaust routing, and the use of matt black paint does a good job of making the radiator unobtrusive.
Bosch ABS, Pirelli tubeless tyres, Nissin brakes, Marelli fuel injection and modern tech including multiple riding modes and a subtle, circular TFT screen mounted in a retro-looking dial mean owners won't have to make do with retro amenities to go with the bike's old school styling.
The suspension - with conventional forks and twin shocks - comes from Kayaba, which also supplies the Bonneville T120 suspension and, externally, the components appear to be virtually identical.
The bike is due to reach production in early 2022. Whether Chinese manufacturing is a recipe for a lower price tag than that of the Thai-made Bonneville remains to be seen, but undercutting the British brand's iconic machine will be vital if the Brixton 1200 is to claim a slice of the retro market.
