Norton-powered Zongshen Cyclone RX6 officially revealed
The Zongshen Cyclone RX6 is a Chinese build sports adventure motorcycle powered by a Norton-derived parallel twin-cylinder
CHINESE motorcycle giant Zongshen has revealed its production Cyclone RX6, the first bike is has released using the Norton 650cc parallel twin-cylinder powerplant.
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The images have come from the Shanghai Motor Show, where Zongshen pulled the wraps off the production-ready machine for the first time. The overall style of the bike is that of a lanky sports tourer, with more than a passing resemblance to the Yamaha Tracer 9 – if you squint a bit!
The twin-cylinder 650cc powerplant is mechanically the same as the one found in the yet-to-be-released Norton Atlas and Nomad scrambler models. It’s a twin-cam, four-valve unit, that produces around 70bhp and is itself derived from the Norton V4 engine.
Engine aside, the RX6 features a neat-looking TFT dash that comes complete with connectivity, an electrically adjusted windscreen, a 21l fuel tank, and keyless ignition. Hardware is provided by Nissin for the brakes, Kayaba suspension, Pirelli hoops, and Bosch ABS. One slight fly in the ointment of what actually looks like quite a good bike is its weight. The RX6 is quoted at 245kg. That makes it one of the more portly machines in the sports adventure middleweight segment.
The bike was revealed in two flavours, stock sports touring, with mag wheels and short-throw suspension, and another more rugged offering with longer legs and ADV-spec spoked wheels.
While the bike has only been officially announced for the Asian continent, it is expected that at some time in the future the RX6 could make its way to Europe and the UK.
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!
