Moxiao four-cylinder sports bike By Ben Purvis
China's motorcycle industry might be taking huge leaps in terms of quality and originality, but there are still brands that perpetuate the stereotype of copying and disregard for intellectual property that's hampered the country for so long.
This is one of them. Moxiao has spent years making bikes that wrap uninspiring parts in Ducati-copying bodywork, and on the surface its latest creation appears to do the same. But unlike older models, which used bland 500 cc parallel twin engines, this machine - the BMT800-A - features a 777 cc four-cylinder, water-cooled DOHC motor. That means this is among the first of China's new breed of four-cylinder bikes, and if it wasn't for the fake Ducati styling, it could be something of a landmark rather than an object of derision.
The bike hasn't been officially launched yet, but appeared in the latest batch of new models to be type-approved for sale by Chinese authorities. The paperwork shows that it puts out 86 kW (115 hp) and uses a four-cylinder engine with a 69 mm bore and 52 mm stroke. The same engine has also recently appeared in the Jiajue JJ800, a naked roadster that takes inspiration from the Honda CB650R, and is due to reach a Jiajue sports bike in the near future.
The Moxiao weighs a claimed 216 kg wet, with a 1,475 mm wheelbase and superbike-sized 17-inch wheels wearing 120/70ZR17 front and 190/50ZR17 rear tyres. The styling is very clearly inspired by the Ducati Panigale 1299, including the vast single-sided swingarm and horizontal rear shock, although the four-cylinder engine means the Moxiao is much wider than the Ducati.
Although wearing Moxiao-branded radial brake calipers, the Chinese characters on the bike's approval document and the side bodywork suggest that the parent company behind Moxiao - Taizhou Senlong - wants to use a different name on this machine. Those characters translate to 'Bimota', even though there's clearly no connection between this machine and the Kawasaki-owned Italian brand of the same name. The use of Chinese characters rather than the Roman alphabet could be an attempt to circumvent Bimota's own trademarks on its name.
