Upcoming Chinese four-cylinder targets the small-capacity sportsbike segment
Barely a week seems to pass without QJMotor adding another model to its lineup and the latest is the newly revamped SRK421S – a revision of the earlier SRK421RR four-cylinder sports bike that gives it a completely new look.
While the new Australian arm of QJMotor hasn’t seen fit to bring the SRK421 to these shores yet, it’s one of the Chinese company’s most intriguing machines. Designed to go into the burgeoning market for small, four-cylinder sports bikes, competing with the likes of Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-4RR and Honda’s new CBR500R Four as well as Chinese-made rivals from Kove and ZXMoto, the original version sported intriguing styling derived from the brand’s Ten78 concept bike, itself penned by former MV Agusta and Benelli styling chief Adrian Morton.
It seems that original look didn’t hit the mark with Chinese customers, though, and QJMotor has asked Morton to reskin the machine to turn the SRK421RR into the SRK421S.
It’s a successful rebirth, too. The new look is strikingly appealing, dominated by vast winglets that act as a feature rather than a hindrance to its appearance.
Wings aside, the fairing has relatively clean sides, clear of both busy graphics and unnecessary creases and bulges, for a distinctly Italian flavour. Morton may be British, but he’s worked in Italy for decades, including stints working alongside Massimo Tamburini, eventually replacing him as MV Agusta’s design chief. Few have a stronger motorcycle design CV.
At the back the bike’s tail is so skimpy that it’s barely there, with huge intakes to allow airflow to pass through it and a distinctive X-shaped tail light slicing though the otherwise open rear.
The level of detail is noticeable and clear step up on QJMotor’s previous efforts, and those of the Chinese bike industry as a whole, when it comes to cohesive design. Check out the mirrors, for example: they might appear to be conventional but there’s actually a pair of intakes on the front of each, above and below the LED indicator strip, to channel air through the mirror body and reduce wind resistance.
On the technical side, the bike’s power is unchanged at 57kW, achieved at 14,000rpm, in a package that weighs in at only 177kg. A big, 6.2-inch TFT dash dominates the rider’s view, and in its Chinese homeland the bike costs the equivalent of only AU$6100 (around AU$900 more than the previous version, though). A higher-spec ‘Race’ version is also offered, adding ride-by-wire throttles and a bidirectional quickshifter with auto-blipper to the mix.
