GWM Souo 2000 touring motorcycle Malaysian preview

Getting a surprise reveal at the recent Mforce Mid-Autumn Gala dinner was the GWM Souo 2000 touring motorcycle. Designed as a direct rival to the Honda Goldwing, and other touring motorcycles such as the Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra and the BMW Motorrad K1600LT, the Souo 2000 will have a provisional price in Malaysia of RM188,000, though this is as yet unconfirmed.

Unique to the Souo is its engine, the only production motorcycle to come with a flat-eight engine configuration with dual camshafts per cylinder bank. Displacing 1,999 cc, the flat-eight engine, or opposed-eight if you prefer, produces 151.5 hp at 6,000 rpm and 190 Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm.

Power goes through an eight-speed DCT (DualClutch Transmission) gearbox, with shaft drive to the rear wheel. An electric reverse gear aids parking lot manoeuvres while top speed is claimed to be 210 kmh with a fuel consumption of 5.9-litres per 100 km.

The flat-eight engine and DCT gearbox is mounted low in the frame to lower the centre of gravity. The frame itself is a welded die-cast aluminium unit, assembled without the use of screws or bolts.

The Souo 2000 also comes with a unique front suspension, a Hossack design girder fork with dual front wishbones while both the front and read ends get electronically controlled suspension with variable damping. As befits a touring mtoorcyle, three cases are provided, a top box and two side cases, giving 118-litres in storage capacity.

Electronics features prominently in the Souo 2000, with a 12.3-inch TFT-LCD digital instrument cluster powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 SoC (suite on chips) and supporting over-the-air updates. This allows for voice control of the various functions, alongside the usual buttons, switches and joysticks located on the handlebar pods, which might make this the world’s most expensive mobile phone.

Riding conveniences include heated seats and handlebar grips, power adjustable windshield, a 360-watt eight-speaker sound system, hill start assist, cruise control, rear parking sensors, and electronic parking brake. Riding aids include ABS, traction control, lane change assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear-collision warning, rear cross traffic alert, and emergency calls.

From the specifications sheets, the Souo 2000 tips the scales at 461 kg, with a fuel tank capacity of 26.2-litres and a seat height of 740 mm. The Souo 2000 is produced by Great Wall Souo Moto, a sub brand of Great Wall Motor (GWM) with development was led by Great Wall chairman Wei Jianjun, who considers it his passion project.