Ayup everyone,
Today I will be looking at a company who few of you will know much about. ZX-JC aren’t exactly a household name. This is a company formed from a rift, but that rift may just be the start of something special.
Those of you that were around back then will remember when I began to talk about this upstart company from China with a passionate CEO, who were taking on the Dakar.
It seems an age ago now, and Kove have made leaps and bounds from the image of cheap Chinese bikes we had back then, but as I said in 2024 in the video I will link at the end, they lost their inspirational leader.
Zhang Xue is an enigmatic character and I will never forget his tears of despair and joy at the Dakar, and his determined face as he worked through the night in the bivouac to try and make sure the bikes reached the finish.
After his resignation, all went quiet and we have never had any real explanation as to what happened, but last year I told you about a new 500cc 4 cylinder sports bike that was coming and that he had started a new company called ZX-JC.
The bike actually has a 470cc motor, and it is to be the first in a whole new range of bikes, and the new company, driven by the passion of Zhang Xue, is coming to take on the west.
Euro 5+ homologation isn’t quite there yet, but it is on the horizon, and with a big stand at both CIMA, the biggest Chinese motorcycle exhibition, and Eicma in Europe planned, that homologation looks to be getting closer by the day.
Zhang Xue left a lot at Kove, and all of the bikes in the Kove range are still the bikes he designed. Now, having put everything on the line starting his own company, with the sole focus of making the best bikes ever to leave China.
I will talk about some of the specs for the 500RR later because I do like the concept, but on top of the launch of this high-revving inline 4-cylinder, 470cc sportbike, there are a host of other bikes coming.
You can see from the initial marketing catalogue pictured here that they have some serious plans.
When you see comments like Extreme Performance and Driven By Passion it does reassure me that the people involved are coming at it for the right reasons. With a focus on simplicity and purity talked about in the briefing, I start to get really interested.
Looking at his history, it seems Apollino are possibly the biggest Dirt bike manufacturer I have never heard of and at Huang He Moto he was a part of the team that developed China’s first fuel injected dirt bike.
He boasts more than 100 workers that are focussed purely on R&D and for such a small company that is a huge statement of intent, and with Hiroki Onodera among the several Japanese engine development staff, we have to take notice.
They have their eyes on the World Supersport 600 Championship in Europe now and it looks very much like he is taking on the Dakar again as soon as the new Rally 450 is finished.
There are 6 different 4 stroke engines in development as well as some 2 strokes we are yet to hear about so this company is on the move and anyone who ignores them is a bit daft in my opinion.
The projected top speed of the 500RR is 146 mph, but that is just the beginning. Next to come will be an 820cc triple, and there are actually 3 bikes coming using the 820cc triple engine. The first will be the 820RR.
The result of a project dubbed Project 299.
The number 299, is the target speed of 299kmh, or 186mph, taking it up to the speed specified by the “Gentlemans agreement” which has restricted most bikes for years now.
The aim, to produce the smallest, lightest bike that would reach that speed.
Power is reported to be just over 151HP and I have a hunch where this design has come from, but that is a longer story I will talk about in a video coming soon.
What can be seen from the designs is that the porting on both inlet and exhaust side are oval, not round.
The engine also has the cam chain positioned on the left-hand-side and it shares both these design tweaks with the MV Agusta F3. Most of the other triples have the timing chain on the right. And there is a story coming that will explain this connection more.
I think the only time I can remember seeing anything like that was on the Honda oval piston race bike from the 1980’s. When I get more details I will let you know.
Wherever the base design came from, be sure it has Zhang Xue’s personal stamp all over the build. This is not a clone engine. Development is where Zhang Xue has always shone.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a one man show. Behind the scenes we have an engineer that many of you won’t know, but Hiroki Onodera was one of the central figures in the development of the Yamaha Genesis engine designs.
Born in Hamamatsu, the home of Honda and Suzuki, it was always likely he would work in the motorcycle industry, but it was Yamaha where his true potential was revealed.
He is listed as patent inventor on several of Yamaha’s multi valve valvetrain designs, and his portfolio of patents includes valve actuation methods and camshaft placement, but also the exhaust valve we so fondly called the EXUP valve.
He holds patents on an airbox restrictor valve too. Another way to adjust potential performance at low revs without compromising top end speed.
This isn’t some production line worker. He is the person who’s name is listed as inventor on a whole host of patents.
He saw a passion with Zhang Xue and decided to make the move across the water to work on developing what they both believe will be the bikes with the most sporting potential to have come from China so far.
The 820RR is a track focussed weapon that is wholeheartedly sportsbike, with no apologies.
Weight hasn’t been officially revealed yet, but a little bird told me that the aim was for the bike to be just 165Kg or 364lbs, which I assume will be a dry weight.
Following on from that will likely be the naked 500 called the 500F which is based on the 500RR. Looking at the prototypes it is obviously styled along the lines of the classic Honda CB1, and with a slightly re tuned version of the engine, they have pushed the torque curve lower for a less race bred ride.
An 820R is rumoured that I imagine will be a more touring oriented version of the 820RR, but the bike that I see as potentially quite special is a 820cc triple ADV bike.
Again the focus is to keep weight down. The aim, to build a more powerful and lighter Adventure bike than the Kove 800X, and therefore, if he achieves that, it will almost certainly be the lightest high power ADV bike on the market.
There is a 450 Rally coming too, so he is tackling Kove head on. His new engine is reportedly sitting at 60HP now, which is a good jump of over 10% on the Kove, and we know he can build a great chassis.
After that, the range will be finished off by 3, MX bikes, a 250, 350 and 450, as well as a street legal 350cc enduro motorcycle.
There is a more laid back 620cc V-Twin cruiser in the pipeline, and now I have it direct from the company that they also have a 1,000cc boxer engined adventure touring motorcycle in development.
The companies tag line is that “Every ZXMOTO model is designed to push boundaries and elevate the riding experience, from track to trail, street to summit.”
Well from what I have seen, they have well and truly stamped their mark with their first steps toward climbing the mountain that is the Western motorcycle market.
Zhang Xue’s contacts throughout the Chinese motorcycle industry and his experience at Kove will undoubtedly help, and bringing people like Hiroki Onodera in to bolster his own skills in engineering and design, will help to push this fledgeling company forward.
As I said in my last video about him, Zhang Xue was never going to be quiet for long.
Looking deeper into the 500RR, the 470cc double overhead cam engine produces 83 HP at 13,500 rpm, and 34 ft/lbs of torque at 11,500 rpm, but it weighs in at just 158kg or 348lbs dry.
That is almost 10Kg lighter than its closest rval the Kawasaki ZX400RR
The steering head angle is slightly steeper than the ZX400RR at 24.5 degrees, so it should be a scalpel of a bike. Wheelbase is 15mm longer, so that may be the balance to hold better stability.
Bore and stroke mean it is not quite as oversquare as the ZX400RR engine, but it is still going to be a screamer, and with peak torque up at 11,500rpm it will will be a bike that needs to be kept on the boil.
Taisko brakes are well known and of established quality, and it looks like there will be a choice between a standard twin sided swingarm, or a single sided swingarm, which is something he has offered previously on other designs.
Front forks are listed as 41mm upside down forks, adjustable for both preload and damping, but so far I am yet to find out which brand they have gone for.
KYB seem to have become the standard, but there are other options that may offer better performance for a similar price point.
We shall have to wait and see on that one.
A centrally mounted rear monoshock again is fully adjustable for both preload and damping so suspension set up should be pretty well sorted.
The final specifications are now on the table, and they are awaiting homologation, but whether you want a track only bike, or a fast sports bike for the road, this is definitely one of the more exciting new bikes on the horizon.
The company too I think is one to watch. Zhang Xue will never go down quietly, and managing to attract an exalted Japanese engineer like Hiroki Onodera says a lot about both his attitude and determination.
The 2 companies may well be “cut from the same cloth”, but make no mistake, ZX-JC are coming for the market that Kove have broken into, so I can see some exciting times ahead as the 2 companies face off against each other as the performance option in the world of Chinese motorcycles.
Thanks as always for the support.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Will Zhang Xue be able to take on the company he resigned from?
Which will be the winner in the Western markets?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
