Of all the emerging motorcycle companies from China, the one I'm most excited about is ZXMoto and its 820 lineup. Although CFMoto and its V4 SR-RR come in a very close second. But since ZXMoto took back-to-back race wins at Portimão in the WorldSSP championship with its 820RR platform, becoming the first Chinese brand to win a race in that championship, I've been fixated on this motorcycle.
But how does the production 820RR compare to the benchmarks in the category, like Ducati's Panigale V2? Richard Hammond, former presenter on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, went to China to find out.
Hammond linked up with ZXMoto's founder and CEO, Zhang Xue, to put the 820RR through its paces on track, as well as a gymkhana-style event. In fact, Hammond went head-to-head with Xue, but I'd be lying if I told you the British presenter was any real form of competition for Xue, who also founded Kove. Hammond cut his teeth on motorcycles, and they were his first passion, but it's fair to say that Xue is a bit of a ripper on two wheels.
As fun as it is to watch a TV presenter go head to head with the founder of a motorcycle company, on his own motorcycle, the most interesting part of the video is when the ZXMoto 820RR goes up against arguably the benchmark of the supersport category, a Ducati Panigale V2.
Hammond rides both bikes around the track before ultimately coming to the conclusion that the 820RR is the bike he'd choose on the road due to the smooth nature of its inline three-cylinder engine. He then admitted that he's not a competent enough track rider to say what was best on track; fortunately, ZXMoto had a pro rider on site to put both bikes up against each other. Around a track where both bikes did a sub-one-minute 10-second lap time, the ZXMoto was nearly one second faster than the Ducati. But there are a couple of caveats that I must call out.
The test wasn't like-for-like, as the 820RR is an all-new machine, whereas the Panigale V2 used for the test is the previous generation, which ceased production in 2024.
The second note isn't as much of a caveat as an observation. The test took place at a ZXMoto media event by what we have to assume is a pro rider employed by the company; I'm not saying this automatically voids the test, but the results would carry more weight if the test was conducted by an impartial third party. Thankfully, the 820RR is destined to hit the European market toward the end of this year, so here's hoping there are many more tests to come.
