Beast from the East | Chinese motorcycle manufacturer create luxury two-litre tourer that's gunning for the Goldwing

The Great Wall Souo S2000 Motorcycle has been created by China’s Great Wall Motor, a car maker that already owns five four-wheeled brands – Ora, Wey, Haval, Tank and Great Wall.

Ora recently entered the UK’s electric car market with the £31,995 Ora 03, with Great Wall also manufacturing BMW’s latest electric Mini Cooper via a joint venture.

Souo’s monstrous S2000 is their first motorcycle and it’s aimed squarely at out-doing the Honda GL1800 Gold Wing on being the biggest and best tourer available on the market.

Like the established Gold Wing family, the S2000 has been launched in two forms; the S2000ST has side cases but no topbox, while the S2000GL is the full-dress variant with a top case and armchair-style pillion accommodation.

Both share the same mechanical underpinnings, dominated by a 1999cc flat- eight engine. Honda have a seamless seven-speed semi-automatic transmission so Souo have developed their own eight-speed, dual-clutch self-shifter. Far from the old-fashioned copying that China’s bike industry is known for, this time it’s actually pushing rivals’ boundaries beyond their remit.

That eight-cylinder engine has DOHC (double overhead cam) cylinder heads where Honda’s six is an SOHC (single overhead cam) design, and while it’s tuned for low-rev torque rather than outright power (the redline is at just 6000rpm) it out-punches the Wing with a claimed peak of 151.5bhp, pushing the S2000 to a claimed 130mph top speed.

The bike is physically bigger than the Gold Wing, too, with a 1810mm wheelbase that’s 115mm longer than the Honda’s and an overall length of 2660mm against the Wing’s 2475mm. Weights start at 450kg wet for the ST version.

Souo use familiar brand names including Brembo for the radial four-pot brakes and Bosch electronics – with a 12.3in TFT touchscreen powered by a very clever Snapdragon 8155 processor.

The grips and seat are both heated and there’s electric screen adjustment together with tyre pressure monitors, an eight-speaker audio system, keyless ignition and locking, automatic headlights, an electronic parking brake and a walking-pace reverse gear.

The brand haven’t yet detailed their distribution plans but we understand that the S2000 is due to start rolling off production lines soon. A cruiser-style eight-cylinder model is set to follow the S2000 tourer with styling reminiscent of the six cylinder Honda F6C.