QJMotor SRT800
Over the last two years Qianjiang's Chinese QJMotor brand has launched a jaw-dropping number of new bikes across a vast array of capacities and styles, and now another new generation of machine is on the way as revealed by type-approval filings for the QJMotor SRT800.
QJMotor's top adventure model is currently the SRT750, which is mechanically and visually a close relation to the newly launched Benelli TRK800. Benelli is QJMotor's European sister company, with both brands owned by Chinese giant Qianjiang. The SRT750 preceded the TRK800 and sports the same frame and 754 cc, 75 hp parallel twin engine, derived from Benelli's old 1130 cc three-cylinder engine.
The newly type-approved SRT800 visually appears to be a relatively minor update to the existing QJMotor and Benelli models, but its specification reveals that the bike is intended to use a completely new engine, dubbed 'QJ288MW', with a capacity of 799 cc and an output of 95 hp - a full 20 hp more than the existing design. The 'QJ288MW' name links the engine to a patent, published earlier this year, showing a Qianjiang-made parallel twin that's nearly identical to the 799 cc engine used in the KTM 790 Duke and Adventure models. That engine is made for KTM by Chinese brand CFMoto with the designation '288MW'. That suggests the new QJMotor version is a licence-built version of the same design.
In Qianjiang's patent for the QJ288MW engine the design bears the Benelli TNT logo on the side of the cylinder head, showing that the twin will be used in Benelli models as well as QJMotor machines. Chinese approval documents show that a version of the Benelli Leoncino 800 has already been developed with the 799 cc QJ288MW engine instead of the existing 754 cc twin.
As well as being much more powerful than the existing QJMotor SRT750 (and the mechanically similar Benelli TRK800), the SRT800 is 9 kg lighter. In the form seen here, with side cases and a top box, it comes in at 247 kg including fuel, compared to 256 kg for the 754 cc version in the same state.
The new parallel twin isn't the only apparent connection between Qianjiang and KTM or CFMoto. The Chinese company is running in the Moto3 World Championship this year with the Avintia team, using KTM-made bikes emblazoned with the QJMotor logo, and the company recently patented the visual design of a new 1301 cc V-twin engine in China. Dubbed the 'QJ2V108MYL', it is identical to KTM's 1301 cc LC8, as used in bikes like the 1290 Super Duke R and shares the same 108 mm bore and 71 mm stroke. QJMotor has also developed several new models with an engine that's essentially the same, both visually and mechanically, to the 693 cc twin used in CFMoto's 700CL-X.
As well as the new look, the SRT800 promises improved technology. The TFT dashboard appears to be larger than the current 750's 5" display, and it looks like there's a forward-facing camera mounted on the front mudguard, just below the headlight. That mirrors a recent trend in high-end Chinese bikes to have built-in dash-cams front and rear, started by the China-only Benelli 1200GT tourer.
The Norton 650-powered Zongshen RX6 has also adopted the same system, and the QJMotor SRT800 looks destined to do the same. If it's similar to the systems in the other machines, there's also likely to be a camera at the back, and the dashboard will be able to display images from both cameras on the move. They'll also be able to record rides, either for posterity or as a precaution to prove fault or innocence in the event of an accident.
