Chinese Gold Wing copy with 8 cylinders:

Alzero

Alzero

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The GWM S2000 is going into production in a few months.

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amcn.com.au

GREAT WALL SOUO S2000 ST TECH DETAILS

The new eight-cylinder Great Wall Souo S2000 ST and GL tourers will have 113kW engines and weigh as much as 461kg. This makes them around 20 percent more powerful and heavier than their main competitor, Honda's Goldwing.
amcn.com.au

There will be a naked cruiser version similar to the Rune as well. Curious to see what they will price it at.
 
Alzero said:
The GWM S2000 is going into production in a few months.

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amcn.com.au

GREAT WALL SOUO S2000 ST TECH DETAILS

The new eight-cylinder Great Wall Souo S2000 ST and GL tourers will have 113kW engines and weigh as much as 461kg. This makes them around 20 percent more powerful and heavier than their main competitor, Honda's Goldwing.
amcn.com.au

There will be a naked cruiser version similar to the Rune as well. Curious to see what they will price it at.
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The question is, will the Chinesium have the same life span as a Honda's japanesium?
 
The real question is, will it fit in an old Beetle? Otherwise, can’t see the point.
 
Multi-cylinder engines are good for max power output, but that thing is a bit of a slug. It weighs nearly half a ton and only makes 113 kW (152HP) from a 2 litre engine. Pretty much any 1000cc sports bike will make more power than that. What's the point of 8 cylinders if you don't crank up the ponies a little bit?

Anyway, it seems to me like a missed opportunity for something really innovative. I've always thought a flat 8 engine should be of Scotch yoke design rather than boxer. It's way more compact than a boxer and has 100% perfect balance of all reciprocating forces and rocking couples without the need for balance shafts or counterweights.

I've actually seen an Australian designed and built Scotch yoke flat 8 engine running on a test bed in the mechanical engineering faculty of Melbourne University about 30 years ago. It was designed by a team of students under the supervision of Professor Harry Watson with whom I had a long and interesting discussion about the pros and cons of Scotch yoke design. The concept has been around forever, but has never taken off in a commercial way. Harry formed a company called CMC Research to try to get the engine into commercial production, apparently without much success during his working life (he's still around but has been retired for a long time now). It seems the Scotch yoke engine may be about to hit the market (albeit a 4-cylinder version) through a German company called ASF Technologies as a range extender engine in electric vehicles.

If you want more info on Scotch yoke engines and ASF Technologies, this bloke has made very comprehensive video.
 
It does not need to make big power. Goldwing owners who they are hoping to sell this bike to, don't care. They want low RPM torque.

It just has to have features a goldwing does not have, such as:

Two extra cylinders.
More power
More torque
Eight speed trans. One more gear than Honda.
Dual overhead cam. Honda is single overhead cam.
400cc more capacity.
Blind spot warning system.
Rear collision warning.
Brembo brakes instead of Japanese.
More weight, not a good thing. It weighs 993lbs.
And other electronic features they have not stated yet that Honda does not have.

Their big problem will be Goldwing owners who buy nothing but Goldwings and have no interest in anything else. I know people who buy a new Goldwing anytime Honda makes any changes to the bike. They would not care if this bike sold for 1/2 the price of a goldwing.
 
I understand the reasoning behind buying a $1500 Chinese built motorcycle- a few seasons of riding & off to the scrap yard if it breaks- but the GWM S2000 is expected to cost $35k USD & I can't forsee a strong dealer/service network in the U.S. So who would be foolish enough to buy it?
 
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Would anyone seriously use major horsepower on a tank on two wheels weighing nearly a tonne? I'd hate to see what it'll do to cars that it runs into.
 
It takes all sorts ... I reckon it'll sell OK. There will be people around who'll drool after it and be happy to stump up the cash. $35k isn't a lot for a big cruiser these days. What are Honda Valkyrie Runes going for these days? Probably north of $100k US. Chinese cars sell pretty well and the quality seems OK to a casual observer like myself (never had a close encounter with one).

If I got my hands on one I'd be tempted to make a bare bones cafe racer out of it. You could probably strip 200kg of junk off it and still have plenty of bike left. It would have to sound good with a free flowing exhaust and open can.
 
Dellortoman said:
It takes all sorts ... I reckon it'll sell OK. There will be people around who'll drool after it and be happy to stump up the cash. $35k isn't a lot for a big cruiser these days. What are Honda Valkyrie Runes going for these days? Probably north of $100k US. Chinese cars sell pretty well and the quality seems OK to a casual observer like myself (never had a close encounter with one).

If I got my hands on one I'd be tempted to make a bare bones cafe racer out of it. You could probably strip 200kg of junk off it and still have plenty of bike left. It would have to sound good with a free flowing exhaust and open can.
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They have stated there will be four models of the bike. One is supposed to be a cruiser like a Honda Valkyrie.
 
3C-Wayne said:
Scanning the comments here sounds like what our parents said about Japanese products in the 1950's.

Look where we are now.
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Nah, it's not anti-Chinese that I detect - it's the universal astonishment that anyone would ever build something like that and that people will actually ride it. Well ... that's just my unhumble opinion anyways ...
 
It appears to be made for the American market. An enormous touring bike at home on wide straight highways. There is also the fact that Chinese electric cars are specifically banned there through high tariffs. This could be a way of introducing the Great Wall Motors brand into that market.
 
Alzero said:
It appears to be made for the American market. An enormous touring bike at home on wide straight highways. There is also the fact that Chinese electric cars are specifically banned there through high tariffs. This could be a way of introducing the Great Wall Motors brand into that market.
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Sounds ideal for the iron butt types and the coast-to-coast-in-50-hours players if it has a sensibly sized fuel tank.
 
IMO,,,,made in China = Hard No! Why? Because unlike the Japanese products , motorbikes, of the 1960’s to date, Chinese stuff do not have a goal of building the best, they just want to build down to a price to take over a business segment. I work with and install Chinese products, and say to you all it is utter garbage. A Chinese made motorcycle shall never find itself in my garage.
 
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