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Spotted: Great Wall flat 8
prototype
Chinese Goldwing competitor emerges (May 2024, Guy 'Guido' Allen)
Images of Great Wall Motor's
flat eight tourer prototype have recently emerged, along
with some early branding using the name "Souo Motorcycle". The company recently showed an engine at
the Beijing Auto Show.
See a brief YouTube clip of
the show stand. Brief clips of a full prototype have
since emerged on social media. We're a little curious
about the front end, which appears as though it may be a
Hossack-style similar to a BMW-style telever. Patent application drawings of the
powerplant emerged a couple of weeks ago, though details
on its engine capacity still haven't surfaced. Most
pundits are guessing 2.0lt or above. We do know it's a
double-overhead cam design with four valves per cylinder. Australian Motor Cycle News has
dug out further background – see the story
here. Ed's note, May 20: further details
have emerged since we first published the story. The model
name is Souo S2000 GL and the bike shown below is one of a
few variants. A Valkyrie-like cruiser version is also
expected. Running
a four-valve, DOHC flat eight with eight-speed
dual-clutch transmission, it's a clear exercise in
one-upmanship over the Honda.
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