Zontes S310 due imminently

THE Haojiang S310 – which will appear in Europe under the Zontes brand – has been seen in prototype form already but is expected to appear in its final production guise in the very near future.

It’s surely likely that the final bike, and its all-important specification, will be revealed at the CIMAMotor show in China this weekend.

Unlike a lot of Chinese bikes, the Zontes S310 is sure to be coming to Europe. The firm’s French importer already lists it as a 2018 model, with a price tag over there of €4,590. That’s just over £4,000 at the current, unfavourable exchange rate, but it may end up costing less than that. In France the existing S250 costs €3,490 (£3,092) while the UK version is listed at £2,799.99. That means the S310 will hopefully slide under the £4k mark as and when it goes on sale here.

It’s a big step forward compared to the S250, though. It’s water-cooled, for a start, and the single-cylinder, 312cc engine – competing directly against BMW’s G310 range, surely – is reckoned to make 26kW (35hp), which is fractionally more than the 25kW (34hp) BMW manages.

There’s all the kit needed to be legal in Europe, including a Bosch ABS system and Euro4 emissions compliance, and weight is expected to be as little as 155kg.