Chinese motorcycle firm Zontes, known for its small displacement, single-cylinder engines, announced in May 2021 that it will develop inline three-cylinder engines. The move was seen as a response to demand for 500 cc parallel-twin models in the Chinese market. Instead of developing a twin, Zontes announced inline three-cylinder engines, and now the firm has announced that the first motorcycle models to come from its inline triple platform will be a 650 cc model, as well as a 1,000 cc model. The 1,000 cc version of the engine will offer genuine superbike levels of performance, with a 13.5:1 compression ratio that is higher than rival three-cylinder motors from brands like MV Agusta, Yamaha and Triumph. The wide capacity difference between the 1,000 and a 650 cc triple-cylinder engines indicates that Zontes is working on more than one design, rather than derive one from the other. The smaller Zontes 650 cc triple is likely to rival the Triumph Trident 660’s inline three-cylinder engine. So, it will likely have performance more or less in the same region. For reference, the Triumph Trident 660’s inline three- cylinder 660 cc engine makes 80 bhp at 10,250 rpm and 64 Nm of peak torque at 6,250 rpm. So far though, we only have reports indicating that the engines are under development, with Zontes revealing a few images of its triple cylinder engines. Considering the rate at which Chinese motorcycle manufacturers are introducing new models, we won’t be surprised if Zontes also introduces the new 650 cc and 1,000 cc models before the year is over.
Chinese motorcycle firm Zontes, known for its small displacement, single-cylinder engines
