The story behind ZXMoto is unusual for an emerging Chinese motorcycle manufacturer. Rather than being an off-shoot of a mega-company, instead ZXMoto are the vision of one of China’s motorcycle manufacturing stars – Zhang Xue.
Having co-founded Kove in 2017, in April 2024 he split from the firm to set up his own company backed by private and state-backed investment, ZXMoto (the ZX part is taken from his initials).
ZXMoto already build 10,000 bikes a month and have plans for a new factory capable of producing 500,000 machines a year, so they are far from a flash-in-the-pan company.
There are currently 13 dealers signed up for selling ZXMoto’s products (the 500F naked, MX250 off-roader and 820RR will all arrive by early 2027) in the UK and they offer a three-year warranty with a dedicated UK warehouse set aside for spare parts, all of which is very reassuring. All factors considered, ZXMoto appear the real deal.
With an emphasis on performance, the first model from Xue’s new venture has now landed in the UK. And the ZXMoto 500RR suggests that this is a company to keep a close eye on…
Reasons to buy: + Excellent build quality, three year warranty and hard-to-fault standard equipment at an affordable £6049 OTR makes it great value. + Performance driven engine and well-sorted fundamentals make it a genuine contender for best small sportsbike. + Angle-sensitive ABS and traction control systems as standard.
Reasons to avoid: – Engine character is all-about high revs, usually not immediately accessible and can feel lethargic. – Choice of wording on the dash can sometimes be confusing. – The ZXMoto dealer network in the UK is brand new and fewer in number compared to alternatives, meaning servicing availability and a gauge of overall support is unknown at this time.
Impressively, according to ZXMoto the 470cc motor has been ‘100% independently developed’ and with a claimed 83.1bhp and 33.9ftlb it is the most powerful in its class. But that doesn’t stop it having a hunger for revs…
Below 6000rpm it is quite lethargic but it wakes up between 6000rpm and 10,000rpm and once you get over 10,000rpm it delivers a real kick of performance.
As long as you are happy to work the excellent quickshifter and gearbox you can make rapid progress but if you ride around below 6000rpm it struggles to accelerate.
There again, it is a small-capacity inline-four so this is to be expected and ZXMoto need to be applauded for their fuelling, which is absolutely spot-on – a rare trait on new models! The exhaust note is addictive with a deep burble at tickover and a typical inline-four scream once you get the motor spinning.
While there are five rider modes (two customisable), it’s annoying you need to be stationary to swap between them. Then again, you get time to read the weird warning message telling you to ‘choose wisely’ when selecting Sport mode with its lower TC and ABS levels…
With its single sided swingarm, inverted forks and radial brakes aligned to aggressive-styling (with wings, naturally…), the 500RR really stands out.
And it’s not all show and no go as the 500RR has a lovely natural balance about it and turns rapidly without ever feeling flighty (an adjustable steering damper is standard) while the suspension is equally compliant.
If you didn’t know, you’d guess it was Japanese-developed rather than Chinese as it feels like the team behind it have years of experience understanding how to make a bike handle.
It’s very impressive indeed and despi…