Zongshen Cyclone RX6: Adventure bike with Norton twin

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Zongshen Cyclone RX6

Adventure bike with Norton twin

While the future of the newly developed two-cylinder engine at the British motorcycle manufacturer Norton is currently uncertain, the plans of the Chinese engine licensee Zongshen are becoming more and more concrete.

The Chinese motorcycle giant Zongshen already had one in 2017 L.License agreement secured the rights to use the newly developed Norton 650 twin-cylinder. The Chinese were also allowed to develop the twin into the 850. Norton himself had presented the Atlas and Ranger models with the new two-cylinder, which was derived from the in-house V4. With the bankruptcy of the British, none of these models will make it into series production in the foreseeable future.

Tourer, adventure and naked bikes planned

Zongshen had already announced a whole model family around the new two-cylinder in 2019, which will be created from a modular system. At the 17th China International Motorcycle Trade Exhibition, the Chinese then showed the first prototypes of an adventure bike and a tourer.

Zongshen / Facebook

The Zongshen Cyclone RX6 and the Zongshen Cyclone RK6 already looked very ready for series production. Now, in China, images of the design patent application have surfaced that further substantiate the RX6 adventure model. The 70 hp and 62 Nm torque model is reminiscent of competitors such as the Kawasaki Versys 650 or the Yamaha Tracer 700. You can see two variants – one with and one without a case system.

Twins are coming for the 2021 model year

The new Zongshen two-cylinder should come in model year 2021. While the adventure bike RX6 should find its way to international markets, the tourer RK6 will probably remain reserved for the Chinese market. The models are to be marketed under the label of the subsidiary brand Cyclone. Later a naked bike variant and versions with the twin enlarged to 850 cm³ and then 95 hp and 85 Nm torque will follow.

Norton fans take note: Even the old 961 twin of the British is likely to reappear in new China clothes soon, because the British sold the rights to this engine to Jinlang shortly before the bankruptcy.

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