QJMotor

QJMotor - two new four-cylinder machines planned

By Ben Purvis 

Few bikes show the incredible speed of development in China as clearly as QJMotor's SRK450RR four-cylinder sports bike. Initially shown as the SRK421RR around a year ago as a rival to machines like Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-4RR it's since been renamed SRK450RR with the same 421 cc engine but also evolved into the visually identical 399 cc SRK400RS and the 249 cc SRK250RD - giving the brand an array of small four-cylinder models to suit the licence and insurance requirements of various global markets.

Now another variant, seen here and badged SRK450R, has been type-approved, taking the mechanical parts of the existing SRK450RR but restyling the front end for a more conventional appearance than the initial version, which didn't meet with unanimous approval thanks to a slightly unusual, hooded appearance to the headlights.

SRK450R

The engine is still the same 421 cc four that debuted a year ago, with an impressive claim of 76.4 hp at 14,000 rpm, paired to 28.8 lb-ft of torque at 13,000 rpm, using a 57 mm bore and 41.2 mm stroke, two overhead camshafts, 16 valves and fuel injection. It's mounted in an unchanged frame that combines a tubular front section with pressed elements around the swingarm pivot, with a cast alloy swingarm and upside-down Marchesini forks. Two variants have been type-approved, one with Brembo radial brakes, the other with unbranded callipers of a similar design.

The current SRK450RR borrows its styling from the SRK1000RC Ten78 concept bike that QJMotor unveiled a couple of years ago, with design work from C-Creative in Italy, headed by ex-Benelli and ex-MV design boss Adrian Morton. From the bars back, the new SRK450R looks identical, with the same tank, tail and seat as the existing bike, but at the front it's redesigned with twin, slanted headlights set relatively flush with the nose rather than set back in a hooded slot, as on the original design. The new model, perhaps inevitably, also gains winglets on the previously-unadorned side panels, while the mirrors - which are fairing-mounted on the current model - are shifted to a bar-end design.

SRK921

The second new four-cylinder is expected to go by the title SRK921, and looks to be a production version of the SRK1000 that was shown last year. It's a naked bike, again with design from C-Creative in Italy, but using a chassis and engine borrowed from MV Agusta. The motor is a 921cc version of MV's original F4 four-cylinder, sitting in a Brutale-like frame - part steel trellis, part aluminium castings - with a single-sided swingarm that's also straight from the MV Agusta school of design.

The SRK1000 shown last year promised 161hp, but has yet to appear in QJMotor's full model range. The new version seen in the latest type-approval in China has a tamer 127 hp, matching the output of the SRK921RR sports bike that uses the same engine and chassis in the company's current model range. Paired to a kerb weight of 215 kg, the result should still be one of the highest-performance bikes yet to emerge from China - even if most of the engineering is Italian.