QJ quietly revealed a new Supersport bike at Magny Cours
QJ Motor brought a new and updated SRK 800 RS to Magny Cours, and it did surprisingly well.
QJ Motors' baptism in the World Supersport Championship (WSSP) wasn’t all the Chinese factory would have dreamed of. For first season results in a world championship, languishing near the back of the pack is expected, but not ideal for any racing team.
To combat this, QJ went back to the drawing board, overhauled the bike, giving it a new frame, swingarm, and aerodynamic package. The result was a machine that was only 2.5mph down through the speed trap than the all-conquering Yamaha R9 of Can Oncu.
That reflected in the team's results with a 12th-place finish in race two for Nikki Tuuli, and a 13th-place finish for the Italian Raffaele de Rosa in race one. Indeed, the speed of the bike’s turnaround in WSSP was evident right out of the box, with Tuuli topping the time sheets in Free Practice in an impressive 15th place.
But why does any of this matter? QJ’s global expansion is continuing at pace, with the SIMA Group already shipping bikes to Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Here in the UK, it matters because MotoGB, the same brand that brings us Morbidelli, Benelli, Voge, and Benda, is beginning to see QJ-branded bikes arriving. Granted, the SRK 800 R and SRK 800 RS aren’t sitting in the UK range just yet, although with the resurgence in supersport bike popularity, thanks to bikes like the Yamaha R9 and new Panigale V2, it’s hard to imagine that they won’t find their way to UK shores sooner or later.
If we take one of QJ’s existing machines, for example, the SRK 800 RR, which is already listed on the QJ UK website. It boasts a 778cc inline four-cylinder engine, pumping out 120bhp and 55.3lb ft of torque. Its suspension is fully adjustable and comes from Marzocchi, and its brakes are from Brembo. It has a TFT, riding modes, traction control and a quickshifter. It might not be quite as high-spec as the competition in some areas, but it’s pretty much all there.
Yet it costs just £6,999 plus an OTR charge of £200. The Yamaha R9, for comparison, comes in at £12,254, while the Ducati Panigale V2 (which is in another league to the QJ on the spec and desirability front) is £14,995. In fact, the QJ even outguns the price of the more cost-effective and less powerful Yamaha R7, which is priced at £8,920. If you want to get supersport performance without the supersport pricetag, bikes like this could be the way to go.
Check out the bike for yourself on the official website.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
