Zongshen plans: Naked bike with Norton two-cylinder

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Zongshen plans: Naked bike with Norton two-cylinder
Zongshen

Zongshen plans

Naked bike with Norton two-cylinder

The Chinese two-wheeler giant Zongshen has a deal with Norton to use their new two-cylinder. Now the plans for a first motorcycle seem to be concrete. The performance data are now also known.

W.he picture that appeared on the Internet, presumably for a patent application, shows that the Chinese two-wheeler manufacturer Zongshen is planning a new naked bike. As interesting in and of itself as the famous sack of rice, if it weren’t for the engine aspect. The uncovered machine in the style of a Yamaha MT-09 projected by the Chinese clearly carries the new 650 twin-cylinder from Norton.

Zongshen with 650 and 850 twin

Sounds obvious, since the Chinese made an agreement with Norton in the summer of 2017 to be able to use the Twin developed by Norton together with Ricardo. The 650 cc twin, which was derived from the Norton V4 engine, develops 84 hp and 64 Nm in the Atlas models. In the Norton Superlight, the two-cylinder should even have 105 hp and 75 Nm of torque. Zongshen himself specifies 70 hp and 62 Nm torque for his version of the two-cylinder. The performance deficit is likely to be attributed to the significantly lower turning capacity. The Chinese only let their twin turn a maximum of 9,000 revs, the British allow the two-cylinder up to 12,500 rpm. In addition to the 650 Zongshen wants to bring the two-cylinder in a variant with 850 cc. It should bring 95 hp at 8,500 tours and 85 Nm at 7,000 revs to the start.


Norton

Norton’s new twin cylinder in the Atlas Nomad.

In addition, Zongshen had signed an agreement directly with the development service provider Ricardo in January 2019 on the joint development of a 650 model family for the Chinese, which is to be created from a new construction kit.

The drawing that has now emerged shows a tubular space frame that surrounds the two-cylinder from above and integrates it as a load-bearing element. The rear wheel is supported by an extremely inclined suspension strut on the right swing arm directly on the frame. The front wheel with double disc brake system is guided by a USD fork.

Zongshen builds around two million motorcycles annually and is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in China.

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