PLAYING CATFISH

Just a bad reputation or is it more than just a case of the Chinese whisper?

- Keshav Teiva Poumai 

Conversations that ensue when the general public witness a new motorcycle on the road generally tend to be interesting, especially when someone asks where the company originates from. It is also hilarious to witness half the crowd try and slink away on the mention that it’s a Chinese company that manufactures the motorcycle. This is no surprise, considering Chinese companies still don’t really instil a lot of confidence in consumers when it comes to product quality and reliability, among other factors, but that is no reason to disregard them altogether.

This was exactly what happened when I was out riding the new QJ Motor SRC 500. I had stopped at a red light when the guy next to me tapped on my elbow and asked me what bike it was. When I told him about it, he pointed out that it looked very much like the Benelli Imperiale, and to be fair, it basically is the same thing with a few updates, the major one being the upgrade in engine displacement. It also has a new fuel tank, alloy wheels, a dual-pod LCD instrument cluster unit, and a single-piece seat with a dual-tone seat cover. He ended that interaction by stating that the Chinese are copying everything these days and slipped away before I could tell him that Benelli is in fact owned by the Qianjiang Group.