Twenty years ago, Chinese dual sport/ADV bikes were a joke in western markets. Things have changed, and while Chinese manufacturers still make bikes that are derivative of other OEMs’ products, they’ve come a long way from the Zongshen/Lifan/Qingqi 200cc days.

Take a look at the video below, showing the Excelle 525X, for a good look at what’s coming our way.

There are some key things to point out here. First of all, this design obviously owes much to BMW’s aesthetic. Second, the video is in Chinese, and unless you understand that, we’re left guessing as to many of the machine’s specs and features. Third, just because the bike handles a bit of mild hoonery in this video, that doesn’t mean it’s a full-on hard-core offroad-ready bike. Fourth, it’s a Chinese bike, and that always means questions about parts supply, warranty, and general quality control issues.

Having said all that … take a look at this thing. Proper spoked wheels, crash bars that seem to offer very good coverage, and a skid plate. If this is all standard equipment, then props to Excelle!

Photo: Excelle

According to online reports, the liquid-cooled parallel twin engine is built by Loncin (a relatively trustworthy name), with 53 horsepower and about 37 pound-feet of torque. There’s a  smartphone-compatible TFT screen on this bike, something the Europeans have just gotten around to including in their lineups. Supposedly, there’s an adaptive LED headlight, Bosch fuel injection, and the top-level trim version comes with full hard luggage. All that for 41,900 CNY in China, which works out to roughly $6,600 US.

Not that we expect to see this machine here in North America anytime soon, mind you. But you know what we do see already, along similar lines? The Benelli TRK502, and probably the similar MV Agusta Lucky Explorer 5.5 in the near future. Chinese bikes are here already, and more are coming—they’re just going to have Euro, British, maybe even North American badging. If the Excelle 525X comes here, you can expect the same for that bike.

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