V4 roadster concept is heading for showrooms

Fast-growing Chinese brand QJMotor might have only recently entered the Australian market but it’s already got a vast range of models in its global catalogue covering almost every niche of motorcycling and is increasingly exploring avenues that other companies haven’t even tried.

One such novelty was previewed last year with QJMotor’s Equus (or Eqvvs, as the company seems to use both names) concept bike: a 561cc V4-powered roadster that debuted at November’s EICMA show. We’ve already seen design patents showing that some of the Equus’s elements are heading for a future cruiser model, but now another piece of IP suggests the roadster concept itself is being prepared for production.

The document in question is a design patent for the bike’s exhaust system, nearly identical to that of the EICMA concept but with just enough changes to prove it’s actually for a production bike. Most notably, the design shows two catalytic converters, one for each cylinder bank, as well as threaded holes in the exhaust before and after the cats, allowing for lambda sensors to be fitted to monitor their emissions performance as required by the latest Euro5+ regulations. The EICMA concept bike lacked catalytic converters, and there would be no sense in adding the sensors needed to meet roadgoing emissions rules.

Aside from the catalysts and sensors, the exhaust system is nearly identical to the Equus’s design, including a similar central collector box and upswept end can on the righthand side. Even the heat shield and the silencer’s details are similar, but with a few small tweaks including a subtle reshaping of that heat shield, a repositioned ‘QJMotor’ badge and a redesigned exhaust bracket that attaches to the bike’s pillion peg.

The conclusion has to be that the Equus is heading for showrooms, and probably in the near future.

Its V4 engine is based on the same motor already used in QJMotor’s SRV600 V4 cruiser, but with tweaks to its cases and covers to suit the Equus’s sportier style. It’s expected to make around 68hp/51kW in the production model, which has no obvious rival since the vast majority of roadsters in capacity class are parallel twins, not V4s.