The Taiwanese 800cc single-cylinder

Biggest single since the DR Big?

SUZUKI'S DR750 and DR800 – better known as DR Big – have long held a special place as the biggest-capacity mass-produced single-cylinder bikes ever offered.

But now there's a new challenger for the title, or rather a pair of them, thanks to Taiwanese firm Dinli. Its new DL281 and DL282 models (yes, catchy names aren't they) each use a massive water-cooled single with a 106mm bore and 85mm stroke, trumping the DR750 in both measurements by a single millimetre.

DR Big fans can breathe easy. While at 750cc the new Dinlis are bigger than the original DR750 they don't quite beat the later 779cc DR800. Even so, with the DR Big long since dropped from production, the Dinlis promise to be the biggest current singles on the market.

Unusually, the DOHC singles are not beng bolted to a conventional gearbox but to a scooter-style CVT transmission, so despite the cruiser looks of the two bikes they're actually twist-and-go machines. Power has not been announced, but we're not expecting rocket-ship performance.

While the bikes were revealed at the Taiwan International Motocycle Show this month, so far there's no news on whether they'll be available in Europe or how much they might cost.