Joe Berk
New member
EDIT: I also am curious about the patent status of the Zongshen engine in relation to the similar previous offering from Honda. It is a generally accepted economic principal that new entrants to market use imitation to catch up to established competitors. Although, not to the point of patent infringement...
That is a very good question. Please allow me to address it along with a few prior comments regarding metallurgy.
The CG engine design (which forms the basis for our TT250 engine) is old technology. The engine was developed by Honda, but the patent on it expired a long time ago. As I mentioned in a previous post, many companies in many countries build this engine. It's similar in that regard to the 1911 .45 auto pistol. For a while, only Colt built it. Once the patent expired, several other companies starting building 1911s. You can now buy 1911s made by Colt, Springfield, Ruger, Wilson, Smith and Wesson, and many other manufacturers.
Regarding the metallurgy issue (we hear comments about this from time to time), in China (just as is the case in the US and elsewhere) you can find varying metallurgical quality levels. Zongshen is not one of the companies using pot metal, "Chinesium" (whatever that is), or other substandard alloys. Zongshen has a large die casting operation and they produce most (but not all) of the parts used in their engines. I've consulted for two of the Big Four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers and I've spent extensive time in one of their engine component casting and machining centers. In my opinion, Zongshen's controls and processes are superior. Zongshen also buys from outside casting suppliers that meet Zongshen standards. I've personally been in the Zongshen plant many times, and I've visited their major outside casting supplier. I've also been in numerous casting houses for some of my non-motorcycle US clients. With the exception of a die casting operation at Aerojet (a US munitions supplier), the Chinese casting houses Zongshen uses and the Zongshen casting operation are much cleaner operations. Other Zongshen suppliers produce parts for Honda (both automobiles and motorcycles), Suzuki, and several European auto manufacturers. Zongshen also produces castings for several European automobile manufacturers. The posts in this thread about inferior metallurgy are not applicable to Zongshen.
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