Zhan Xue, the visionary creator of Kove, has just presented a new biker project under the brand ZXJC (Zhang Xue Motorcycles) after his departure from the Asian firm at the beginning of 2024. As we already told you at the time, he made it public through social networks, where he talked about the “responsibility towards investors”of “value changes” or to see “some things I can’t make decisions about”as the main reason for his departure.
Already then he warned of the beginning of a new professional stage, and this now comes with the founding of his new homonymous brand, ZXJC, and the official presentation of the first of the models that will make up his range, the ZX-500RR. We are talking about a mid-displacement sports car that is presented with a clear objective: To put the most sporty ones in the category in the spotlight.
ZXJC ZX-500RR: 4 cylinders, 85 HP of power and a family image
Just by taking a first look at ZXJC’s first mount, what will be one of its biggest rivals within the category comes to mind, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4R/RR. And we are not just talking about the aesthetic where “it is given an air”, even down to the color. It also does so in mechanical terms with a new engine very similar to that of Akashi. Of course we are referring to a DOHC tetra-cylinder engine with 16 valves in the cylinder head, water-cooled and 500 cc displacement.
According to the data collected by Webike colleagues, at the official presentation of this ZXJC ZX-500RR, the brand declares 85 HP of power at 13,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 46 Nm at 12,000 revolutions. Without a doubt very respectable figures taking into account the barely 168 kilograms dry declared. To these we must add the 15 liters of fuel that its tank can hold.
With a wheelbase of 1,390mmZXJC approves maximum figures in terms of total length x width x height of 2,005mm x 706mm x 1,125mm. The seat is alone 795mm off the ground, making the ZX-500RR a motorcycle accessible to almost any size rider. Other important details that have already been made known are, for example, the use of tires in size 120/70ZR17 front and 180/55ZR17 rear.
The set is completed with truly suggestive equipment and finishes, with everything that can be expected from a frame of this type and aspirations. To start with the suspension equipment, with inverted front fork and rear monoshock. Braking is provided by double front discs, actuated by 4-piston radial calipers and a radial brake pump.
Likewise, there are details that denote the attention to detail, such as its powerful CNC machined seatpost, where we can find the suspension adjustment controls. The full color TFT screen offers us all the necessary information to be aware of the proper functioning of the motorcycle at all times. You can even see a tilt angle meter, alerting us to what the intentions of this ZXJC ZX-500RR are from the first moment.
For now there is no launch date in China and we do not know what the brand’s commercial expansion plans are at this time. What is clear is the professional worth of Zhan Xue, who emerges from her ashes stronger than ever and who knows, if she even surpasses her former brand.
