Voge RR660S four-cylinder Supersport bike By Ben Purvis
The four-cylinder 600 cc Supersport class dominated the European motorcycle market throughout the 1990s, before the dawn of the adventure bike boom, and while the Japanese machines that ruled the category 30 years ago have moved upmarket and become less practical - with diminishing sales as a result - the Chinese industry is now stepping in to exploit that market space.
We've seen several Chinese four-cylinder machines in the circa-600 cc class over the last few months, and now Voge - the luxury, export-targeted arm of Loncin - has type-approved its RR660S, which is on the verge of production.
Voge previewed the bike last year at the Beijing motorcycle show, wearing the name RR666S, but didn't reveal its specifications. The approval documents show a slightly toned-down production version, wearing less flamboyant paintwork and with a dual-sided swingarm instead of the show bike's single-sided version. More importantly, the documents fill in the gaps when it comes to the bike's key technical details.
The engine is confirmed to be built in-house by Loncin, wearing the codename LX467MT. Those numbers reflect its four-cylinder layout and 67 mm bore. The exact capacity is 663 cc, indicating that the stroke is 47 mm. The figures hint that the engine, like several other new Chinese-made fours, may be a reverse-engineered version of Honda's CBR650R design, which also has a 67 mm bore but 46 mm stroke for a 649 cc total capacity.
The Loncin-made engine is certified to make 74 kW (99 hp), which is the same figure claimed for the concept version shown last year. The type-approval shows that it's enough to power the bike to a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).
It's not just the engine that may owe a debt to Honda's designs. The bike's wheelbase is listed at 1,450 mm, the same as a CBR650R. The frame appears to be aluminium rather than the steel design used on the Japanese bike, but even so, the Voge comes in at 215 kg, which is six kilos more than the Honda.
At the moment, Honda's CBR650R is the only remaining four-cylinder Japanese sports bike that's designed as an all-rounder, competing in a growing market segment that also includes several twins - the Suzuki GSX-8R being the latest addition - and Triumph's new Daytona 660 triple.
China, however, has several upcoming models that will compete in the same segment, including not only the Voge RR660S, but Zongshen's four-cylinder RC680R, QJMotor's SRK800RR and CFMoto's three-cylinder 675SR, which is due later this year.
