What the heck does a flat-8 engine do on a travel motorcycle, and why is it produced in a country that doesn’t allow motorcycles on many of its roads?Well, Great Wall’s latest motorcycle sub-brand, Souo, has a smart. . . or strange, depending on how you look at it, answer those questions.
The Chinese brand unveiled its flagship luxury travel motorcycle at the Beijing International Motorcycle Show today, and it is currently powered by the world’s only 2. 0-liter eight-cylinder motorcycle engine.
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Unfortunately, Great Wall has not yet released the engine functionality specifications, however, flat engines are found on large motorcycles (hello BMW) because they stay low at the center of gravity, provide greater stability, and are less difficult to lift. After all, this is a 400 kg (882 lb) bike.
This gigantic engine (for a motorcycle) is connected to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. It is said to have been designed to make it easier for drivers to take off from a stop and adds to the sumptuous riding experience when the rider is on the open road.
Speaking of luxury, the Souo travel motorcycle comes with a heated seat, a windshield that lifts up at the touch of a button, blind-spot monitoring, and a 12. 3-inch touchscreen powered via an automotive-grade 8155 chip with wireless connection. update. Voice and control.
Surprisingly, the craziest thing about this motorcycle is not the engine, but the fact that it comes from China, where motorcycles are not allowed on many highways and where they are, they are usually limited to 50 mph (80 km/h). As a result, it has only two domestic competitors, both powered by relatively smaller 1. 2-litre engines.
This means that it is a large motorcycle with a strange engine, produced in a country where riders cannot use their full potential. So why do it? During the presentation of the motorcycle, Great Wall President Wei Jianjun said that he loves motorcycles and that this is a task that he is passionate about.
While that’s great, there may also be a business case for the Souo travel bike, which can be interpreted as the motorcycle equivalent of the Bugatti Veyron. VW president Ferdinand Piech commissioned this car, which has a large (and weird) engine and offers more functionality than anyone can use on a daily basis. But it also attracted a lot of attention from Bugatti and has become one of the Wall Cars of all time.
Attracting attention and building credibility in engineering is especially for Great Wall, as it strives to penetrate the motorcycle segment, which is largely dominated by a few Japanese logos. The Chinese logo turns out to have developed a strategy according to which a significant technological boast can simply bring its logo to life. If it manages to seduce some Honda Goldwing (and BMW) customers, so much the better.