CEOs and founders come and go. They're mostly transient, as they float from one board room to another. But few depart under mysterious circumstances and so soon after their companies launch. And that's especially true when said company is just starting to gain some proper traction.
But that was the case of Zhang Xue, the off-road race enthusiast turned CEO and founder of Kove Moto, a new motorcycle manufacturer out of China, as in February of this year, Xue apparently resigned his position. The circumstances at the time were very weird, as Xue was both the face of the company on the business side (he was CEO after all), but also the face of the company across social media, taking up a position that's usually held by marketers or brand ambassadors.
And yet, he left the fledgling company without a real explanation as to why. The only reason stated in the official resignation letter offered up by Kove Moto was, "He has decided to temporarily step away from the Kove management team. However, he remains a member of the Kove shareholder team." But for all intents and purposes, he was out. Since then, however, Xue's been quiet. That is until our friends over at ADV Rider found a video out of the Chongqing Motorcycle Show where Xue resurfaced with another all-new motorcycle company called "Zhang Xue Motorcycles."
Hmmm.
The motorcycle itself is a 500cc sportbike that looks like an amalgamation of a few different models, including things from Ducati, BMW, Suzuki and, of course, Kawasaki. I mean, the name of the bike is the ZXJC ZX-500RR. And the ZX lettering is exactly where you'd find it on most Ninjas.
It's also lime green.
Xue's motorcycle also apparently comes with ABS, a standard quickshifter, a four-cylinder powerplant making 85 horsepower allowing it to have a top speed of 150 mph, and weighing only 370 pounds. That's pretty standard fair for a sportbike of this class, which isn't to say it isn't interesting or good. It's just average, you know?
The former Kove founder also stated that he plans on releasing a naked version of the ZXJC ZX-500RR, as well as a triple-powered 820RR, and an adventure motorcycle in the near future. That's quite the lineup and one that, while not mirroring Kove's lineup fully, represents a good portion of his former company's models.
But it's weird, right? At the time, Xue was everywhere on the brand's social media. He was being stoked with the company's success at Dakar, while also being the first to apologize for when something went wrong during the race. He was the company's cheerleader one day and then, poof, just gone. There wasn't any explanation to the whole affair, he was just out.
And now, only a few months later, he's back with a new company? The whole thing is odd to say the least. We'll just have to see how this all goes this time.
