Benelli Parent Company QJMotor Reveals 550 cc Sportbike

Chinese motorcycle brand QJMotor has started teasing the introduction of a new 550 cc parallel-twin engine sport bike. The bike is based on a 554 cc parallel-twin engine which QJMotor will be supplying to MV Agusta's Lucky Explorer 5.5. The engine is essentially the same unit used in the Benelli TRK 502 and Leoncino 502 sold in India, but with a slightly larger bore and longer stroke. The engine has been tuned to make around 56 bhp and 54 Nm of peak torque.

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The bike is expected to be powered by a 550 cc parallel-twin engine with 56 bhp and 54 Nm of peak torque.

Right now, only a single image of the upcoming sports bike has been released in China, showing the design, bodywork and hardware. The twin headlights are forward-slanted and the face does bear a faint resemblance to the Ducati Panigale range. And there are winglets on the sides of the fairing as well, and instead of the double-sided swingarm and low-slung side-mounted exhausts, there's now a single-sided swingarm and a belly-mounted exhaust end can.

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Although at first glance, the QJMotor 550 does look aggressive, the seating position is designed to be relaxed, with a high-mounted handlebar, and low-set footpegs. The QJMotor 550 also sports an upside down front fork from KYB, and twin front disc brakes with radially-mounted calipers from Brembo. QJMotor is the Chinese market brand of the Qianjiang Group, the parent company of the Benelli brand. At the moment, the QJMotor brand seems to be focussing on the domestic market, but sooner than later, there's expected to be a Benelli model with the same engine which could be introduced as a global product, to be sold, not just in Europe, by maybe even in India.