Huge batch of new QJMotor models coming this year
By Ben Purvis
Has any motorcycle brand expanded as fast as QJMotor in recent years? Having gone from nothing to a model range of more than 30 bikes in just a couple of years, the Qianjiang-owned brand is aiming higher still with an array of upcoming sports bikes including an MV-based superbike that's due before the end of 2023.
The company's next batch of upcoming models have been leaked in advance of their official release thanks to Chinese type-approvals, which are published on government websites including photographs of the approved bikes. They include no fewer than four fully-faired sports models, plus one naked machine and one Benelli-branded variant.
QJMotor SRK1000RR
One bike is likely to make more headlines than any other for QJMotor when it gets its official launch, and that's the planned SRK1000RR superbike. Although photographs of a styling model for the bike leaked earlier this year, the new approval includes the first specifications for the machine as well as a photo of a finished example.
You might be thinking something looks familiar here. It's the MV Agusta Brutale 1000's frame and swingarm, wrapped in svelte, full-fairing bodywork that does a good impression of what a future MV F4 could look like, if such a bike were built. The tie-in between MV Agusta and QJMotor's Qianjiang parent company dates back to 2020, when the Italian company's four-cylinder engine was announced as the power source for a future Benelli superbike.
Since then, Qianjiang made the MV Agusta Lucky Explorer 5.5 that was shown as a prototype in 2021, although that project appears to have since been dropped, with MV focusing on the larger, all-Italian Lucky Explorer 9.5 model.
Despite sharing its chassis with the Brutale 1000 and being referred to as the 1000RR by QJMotor, the new bike actually uses a new version of MV's four-cylinder engine, clocking in at 921 cc. This engine is already due for production next year in MV's own 921S and 921GT retro models, and its roots can be traced back to 2010 and the short-lived Brutale 921 that shared the same capacity. The engine itself is derived from the original 750 cc four that debuted in the original F4 superbike rather than the 1,000 cc design used in the current Brutale and makes substantially less power.
How much? According to the Chinese type-approval, the 1000RR is good for 95 kW, or 127 hp. Still a respectable figure, but far from the 200 hp-plus of the latest MV Agusta 1,000 cc engines. The top speed of 239 km/h will still make it among the fastest bikes ever to wear the logo of a Chinese brand.
The MV-based chassis isn't the lightest of its type, giving the QJMotor an all-in weight, including fuel, of 215 kg. Again, enough to make it extremely fast, but more akin to Japanese superbikes of two decades ago than the latest, fire-breathing MotoGP replicas.
There's a combination of Marzocchi suspension - already manufactured in China by Qianjiang on behalf of the Italian brand - and Brembo brakes, plus strong styling, including the inevitable winglets and lashings of carbon fibre (or faux carbon fibre).
A leaked product planning schedule from QJMotor suggests the 1000RR is due to be officially launched towards the end of 2023, although there are some question marks over the future of the bike. Since the project started, KTM's parent company has taken a large stake in MV Agusta and assumed control of its parts sourcing and distribution, leaving questions over whether the pre-established relationship with Qianjiang (a rival to KTM's Chinese partner, CFMoto) will remain in force.
QJMotor SRK800RR and SRK650RR
You might think that one four-cylinder sports bike project would be enough, but QJMotor has another two on the go at the same time.
The SRK800RR and SRK650RR are nearly identical apart from their engine capacities, both using a newly-designed four-cylinder engine that has distinct similarities - including an identical 67 mm bore - to Honda's CBR650R motor.
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| SRK 800RR |
The frame that both the SRK800RR and SRK650RR share also bears a similarity to the Honda CBR650R's design, made of steel and contributing to the bikes' weights - 207 kg and 206 kg respectively, including fuel - which are respectable, but not at the cutting-edge of sports bike expectations. The 1,450 mm wheelbase, also identical to the CBR650R, is shared by both QJMotor models.
Like other QJMotor machines, the suspension is Marzocchi and the brakes are Brembo, with radial-mount calipers. Both models share the same bodywork, with a frowning front end hooding two LED headlights and flanked by broad, MotoGP-style winglets.
In terms of performance, the smaller-engined 650RR, with a 649 cc version of the four-cylinder, is good for 69 kW (93 hp), enough to push it to 200 km/h. The larger version, with the same 67 mm bore but a longer stroke for a total capacity of 778 cc, makes 75 kW (101 hp) and manages a top speed of 220 km/h according to its type-approval information.
Neither bike has been officially shown or confirmed by QJMotor yet, but it's likely that the new engine will spell the end for the current SRK600RR, which uses a completely different DOHC four-cylinder engine descended from a Benelli design.
As with other QJMotor machines, there's a good chance that the SRK800RR and SRK650RR will be sold globally - the company already has distributors in Europe and the USA - and differently styled, Benelli-branded versions are also a distinct possibility.
QJMotor SRK550R, SRK550 and Benelli Tornado 550
There's still more to come from QJMotor, with further type-approval documents revealing the SRK550R and SRK550 twin-cylinder machines as well as a mechanically identical Benelli model called the Tornado 550.
The SRK550R and Tornado 550 are both fully-faired sports models, while the SRK550 is a streetfighter-style machine with no fairing and taller, wider bars. All three share the same 45 kW (60 hp), 549 cc parallel twin engine and an identical steel tube frame. With their fairings, the SRK550R and Tornado 550 both weigh in at 186 kg wet, while the naked SRK550 is lighter at 180 kg, and all three bikes are rated for the same top speed of 192 km/h.
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| Benelli Tornado 550 |
Once again, Marzocchi suspension and Brembo brakes are the order of the day, all three models sharing the same components. They also appear to share identical rear bodywork and seats, although the naked SRK550 has much lower footpegs to suit its upright riding position.
Where the three differ is in their frontal styling. The SRK550 tucks its headlight into a small, fork-mounted cowling, while the two fully-faired sports bikes take quite different approaches to their frontal design. The QJMotor SRK550R shares a family appearance with other sports bikes in the QJMotor range with heavily hooded twin headlights and distinct winglets on either side of the bodywork.
Meanwhile, the Benelli Tornado 550 adopts a more distinctive appearance, with two rectangular LED lights, stacked vertically and bracketed by a pair of large, swooping LED running lights that also form the inner surfaces of two side-mounted air intakes. Not conventionally pretty, but certainly a distinctive look.
All these bikes are expected to be officially unveiled during the latter part of 2023, with production in 2024.
