Over the course of the past five years or so, we've seen Chinese motorcycle manufacturers level up their product offerings, not just in China, but in the global market, as well. Once obscure brands like CFMOTO and Voge have now hit the global stage with models that are close to, if not at par with, models from Europe, the U.S., and Japan.
Other brands that once focused on small-displacement, entry-level offerings have also decided to up the displacement, too. One such brand is Brixton Motorcycles. Now, we've talked quite a bit about Brixton in the past. The motorcycle manufacturer is indeed a European brand with headquarters in Austria. However, it's no secret that it sources its production to Chinese motorcycle manufacturers. This is true even with its newest, most premium offering, the Brixton Cromwell 1200.
One glance at the Cromwell 1200 makes it clear as day to see what Brixton's intentions were—to challenge the mighty Triumph Bonneville. Indeed, on paper, the two bikes are fairly similar. Both of them feature retro styling, with the Cromwell 1200 clearly "borrowing" some stylistic elements from the Triumph. Beneath the surface, they're also fairly similar, with the Cromwell rocking a 1,222cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, parallel-twin engine with a 270-degree crankshaft. The Cromwell produces 83 horsepower, while the Bonnie pumps out 80 ponies. The Cromwell also sends power to the rear wheel via a six-speed manual transmission.
Having said all that, it isn't all too surprising that Brixton is trying to differentiate the Cromwell a tad. It's doing this by launching it in an additional variant, the Cromwell 1200 X, which is a more rugged, scramblery machine, although not quite as purpose-built as the Triumph Scrambler 1200. Nevertheless, it's built on the same foundations as the Cromwell 1200, but with dual-purpose tires, higher ground clearance, as well as scrambler-derived styling such as fork gaiters, a sump guard, headlight grill, and flyscreen.
At present, pricing and availability information on the new Cromwell 1200 X is scarce, although we can certainly expect the bike to hit European roads in the coming months. For reference, the standard Cromwell 1200 retails for $11,653 USD (10,999 Euros), so expect the 1200 X to be priced slightly higher than this.
