Up till now, the powersports trade continues to be dominated primarily by Japanese, European, and American corporations. You recognize, huge names like Yamaha, Ducati, and Polaris—every of that are prime gamers in their very own respective video games. However latest years have seen the rise of Chinese language producers.
Little by little, made-in-China bikes and powersports autos have been making their technique to the highlight. And that may solely imply one factor: they’re getting good. So good, in reality, that some models have pressured larger names within the trade to take motion and provide you with their very own choices.
And it’s clear that there’s no stopping the Chinese language from invading the powersports trade.
You see, a brand new model you will have by no means heard of not too long ago confirmed off its improvements, not simply on this planet of two wheels, but in addition 4. Benda, a Chinese language producer identified for its wild and outlandish cruisers, desires to broaden into the off-road scene. And to do that, it pulled the covers off the Redstone 550 ATV.
Photograph by: Benda Bikes
The Redstone 550 is powered by a V-Twin engine.
Photograph by: Benda Bikes
Benda’s new Redstone 550 desires to lift the bar for middleweight ATVs.
In line with Benda, the Redstone 550 goals to set a brand new customary within the ATV section. It’s one of many few mid-displacement quads to characteristic a V-Twin engine, on this case, a 550cc unit Benda claims to have developed in-house. Similar to in bikes, V-Twin engined ATVs are likely to run smoother than their single-cylinder-equipped counterparts. Benda says that the Redstone 550 pumps out 48 horsepower, which is fairly first rate given its displacement.
And judging from the best way this factor appears to be like, it’s clear that Benda desires this factor to be each inch an adventure-capable four-wheeler. Though not depicted within the render, it’s greater than possible {that a} vast assortment of racks, baggage equipment, and different upgrades shall be made accessible for this factor.
However aside from ATVs, Benda’s additionally flexing its muscular tissues in different areas, too. The LFC700 cruiser we talked about beforehand, identified for its otherworldly styling and odd selection of an inline-four engine, has bagged a Purple Dot Design Award. It isn’t all too shocking, actually, as there’s actually no different cruiser in the marketplace right this moment that appears like this—not to mention powered by an engine you’d in any other case anticipate finding in a sportbike.
Photograph by: Benda Bikes
Benda’s LFC700 cruiser managed to bag the 2024 Purple Dot Design Award.
Benda has additionally introduced that it’ll be investing closely in hybrid know-how. Judging from the corporate’s press launch, evidently Benda will attempt to hit two birds with one stone with future hybrid fashions—changing displacement with electrical help. “This progressive strategy eliminates the restrictions related to engine displacement, combining the strengths of inner combustion engines and electrical powertrains,” says Libo Liu, Normal Supervisor and Design Director of Benda Motor Europe.
So yeah, it’s clear that Benda’s taking the sport fairly rattling significantly, because it has quite a bit in retailer for the trade. And whereas that’s cool and all, this doesn’t imply that manufacturers like Benda and others from China are immediately worthy of your belief. Within the grand scheme of issues, these manufacturers had been just about born yesterday, and it’s greater than possible that the goings-on beneath the floor are way more risky than they would appear.
As such, it at all times pays to do your homework earlier than deciding to drag the set off on a brand-new Chinese language-made machine within the hopes of saving a couple of dollars. Based mostly on private expertise (I’ve owned a pair and ridden a handful of Chinese language bikes pretty not too long ago), Chinese language-made bikes are getting there—however they’re not fairly there simply but. Personally, I nonetheless discover myself gravitating to the used market when purchasing for a new-to-me machine, and my preferences are likely to lean in the direction of extra tried and examined choices.
However hey, that’s simply me, and maybe your urge for food for brand spanking new and novel powersports toys is bigger than mine. Would you take into account a Chinese language-made ATV just like the Redstone 550? Or maybe a wild, otherworldly cruiser just like the LFC700? Share your ideas within the feedback beneath.
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