Not long ago, we talked about a crazy cruiser from the Chinese car company Great Wall Motor (GWM). This high-capacity motorcycle was clearly inspired by the Honda Gold Wing, with GWM clearly trying to one-up the Japanese grand tourer in every possible way.
Back then, little was known about the bike other than the fact that it was to be equipped with a boxer eight-cylinder engine and sold under GWM’s motorcycle brand Souo. But now, GWM has released official photos and some details of the new cruiser, and it makes it extremely clear that the company wants to make the ultimate grand-tourer.
Dubbed the S2000 GL—yet another name ripoff from Honda–the cruiser features a massive 2,000cc eight-cylinder engine. It isn’t just two cylinders up the Gold Wing, it gets an extra gear, as it sends power to the rear wheel via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, as against the Gold Wing’s seven-speed gearbox.
Beneath the surface, the S2000 GL gets similar underpinnings as big tourers like the Gold Wing and BMW K 1600. It gets a Hossack-style girder front fork, and a cast-aluminum frame in a bid to reduce some weight given the bike’s sheer size.
Its tech package is also pretty comprehensive, as there's a full-color TFT screen, an electronically adjustable windscreen, heated grips and seats, an electronic parking brake, and even a stereo system as standard. Infotainment and safety features are similar to what you’d find in a car, with voice-recognition, 4G connectivity, and blind spot monitoring.
Styling-wise, the S2000 GL gets a fascia that also looks like a Gold Wing, with twin LED headlights. But GWM insists that the headlights were inspired by the eyes of a lion. Now, I’m not exactly sure what kind of lion has eyes like that. Of course, in true tourer fashion, the bike sees massive bodywork complete with built-in storage, a large windscreen, and a two-up saddle complete with a backrest for the passenger.
Now, all this certainly seems pretty impressive, especially considering that it’s the very first motorcycle GWM has come up with.
But it’s important to note that this is just the start for GWM and its Souo brand. The company says that it plans to roll out new models of varying displacements very soon, all of which will be sold as “premium models.”
In fact, GWM has wasted no time in building off the S2000 GL’s platform, and it seems to be working on a cruiser version of the bike. Something similar to Honda’s F6C, a muscular cruiser based on the Gold Wing platform.
Judging from the spy shots, GWM’s take on this looks pretty muscular. It seems to sport Triumph Rocket 3 proportions, with the engine exposed in all its glory.
