QJMotor

QJMotor develops 700 cc twins
By Ben Purvis

China's Qianjiang has launched a stunning number of bikes over the last couple of years - largely using Benelli models as a template, but already with a range that outstrips that of its European sister company. Now it's adding an array of new machines around a 693 cc parallel twin engine that has yet to appear under the Benelli badge.
The first of these, a naked roadster called the Chase 700, was shown in China last year, but now there are plans for a horde of bikes from fully faired sports models to cruisers under development using the same engine.

The engine itself is all but identical to the 693 cc twin used in CFMoto's 700CL-X, itself derived from CFMoto's earlier Kawasaki-inspired 650 cc twin. However, QJMotor's version is manufactured by Qianjiang, a situation that's not unusual in the Chinese motorcycle industry, where multiple companies manufacturing near-identical engines is the norm. Spec-wise, it matches the CFMoto engine's 693 cc capacity, its 83 mm bore and its 64 mm stroke, and unsurprisingly achieves the same level of power at 56 kW.
The sports bikes with the engine will be called the 701 and 701R, where the 'R' inevitably indicates a higher specification. Both machines use the same tubular steel frame that's debuted in the Chase 700, but wrapped in modern-looking sports bodywork including the inevitable winglets that seem to be part of the uniform in the 2020s.
Photos of both versions have emerged in Chinese type-approval documents, and they're undeniably handsome, and will clearly be rivals to Yamaha's R7 - itself recently launched on the Chinese market and spearhead of a new generation of mid-sized parallel twin sports bikes.

Both versions of the bike have inverted forks, probably Marzocchi units since Qianjiang has recently signed a deal to take on manufacturing responsibilities for the Marzocchi brand, and already uses the parts in its other models. Nissin provides the brakes, which are, unusually in today's market, axially mounted rather than radial.
The 701R version is uprated with gold-coloured fork legs, suggesting higher-spec parts, and more notably with a single-sided swingarm in the place of the base version's dual-sided design. That single-sided arm adds to the bike's weight, though - the 701R is 198 kg wet, where the 701 is 193 kg.
It's clear that both bikes take Ducati inspiration when it comes to paintwork, with the 701 finished in glossy red and the 701R mimicking the 'Winter Test' paint of Ducati's Panigale V4 SP, with matt black paint, red stripes and a silver fuel tank.
As well as the sports bikes, QJMotor has revealed sketches of two new custom cruisers to be built around the same engine. Both adopt standard cruiser styling cues, with flowing fenders and a teardrop-shaped fuel tank, but while one model is a custom-style machine, with a small headlight cowl, pulled-back bars and no screen, the other is a bagger with hard side cases, a batwing fairing and repositioned pegs and bars. Both are due to be launched imminently.