Zontes ZT350 Details Revealed

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Type-approval documents have revealed details of Zontes’ new production ZT350-GK model, along with an entire range of 350cc-based variants. (Zontes/)

Last month we showed you the patents for Zontes’ upcoming ZT350-GK and now the final production model has broken cover thanks to the firm’s type-approval filings in its Chinese homeland. Zontes might not have made a splash in the US market yet, but it’s a firm that’s becoming increasingly well known elsewhere, with a wide range of bikes built around the same 310cc single-cylinder engine. With the ZT350-GK model, the company is debuting its second-generation version of the motor with a capacity increase to 348cc, and a hike in power to go with it. New type approvals also confirm that the entire existing 310 range is set to get the same power unit in 2022.

A version of the 350cc single with cast wheels has also been approved. Both variants get a new cast alloy swingarm. (Zontes/)

Starting with the headlining ZT350-GK, the type-approval documents confirm its exact 348cc capacity along with key dimensions including a curb weight of 188 kilograms (414 pounds) complete with fuel. Peak power isn’t quite at the 43 hp that Zontes initially suggested for the model, but in emissions-compliant form the engine makes 39 hp according to the certification, which is still pretty close to the 43 hp claimed for its most obvious rival, Husqvarna’s Vitpilen 401.

While the standard version of the ZT350-GK gets wire wheels, as shown on the original renders and the firm’s patent illustrations, the company has also approved a derivative with cast alloy wheels. The chassis is expected to be carried over from the firm’s existing models, but the GK does get a new swingarm. Like Zontes’ earlier bikes, it’s a cast alloy design with external bracing, a style also used by KTM, but the 350-GK has a single diagonal casting line down either side instead of the previous design’s X-shaped reinforcement.

Related: Will We See a Triple-Cylinder Naked Bike From Zontes?

The naked 350-R model also has a redesigned swingarm and cast wheels, while the lighter R-1 version brings a single-sided swingarm. (Zontes/)

The new Zontes engine is spreading across the rest of the range, including the ZT350-R and ZT350-R1 naked sport models. As in the GK, its power is certified at 39 hp, up from the old ZT310-R’s 35 hp, while the R is lighter than the GK at 180 kilograms (397 pounds). It also shares the new design of cast alloy wheel that’s shown on the GK, along with the redesigned swingarm. The second version, the ZT350-R1, features a single-sided swingarm, again with redesigned wheels compared to its predecessor, bringing a 5-kilogram (11 pounds) weight penalty compared to the base model.

The same formula—new engine and swingarm—is applied to the new adventure model in the range, the ZT350-T1, which will see three versions. (Zontes/)

The aforementioned is a pattern that’s repeated on the adventure bike variant of the Zontes range, the ZT350-T, which is set to replace the existing ZT310-T. Again, there’s the 39 hp, 348cc single and the new swingarm, though the rest of the bike appears largely unaltered. Three versions have been certified; the T with either wire wheels or alloys, and the T1 with alloy wheels and a single-sided swingarm. All versions have a wet curb weight of 196 kilograms (432 pounds) according to the approval documents.

The ZT350-V1 will represent the cruiser segment of the range, and is basically a more powerful version of the existing ZT310-V. (Zontes/)

The closest Zontes comes to a cruiser is currently the ZT310-V, along with a V1 version with a single-sided swingarm, but the company’s new type-approval certifications currently only show the higher-spec, single-sided-swingarm version with the new 348cc engine. Predictably called the ZT350-V1, it’s largely unchanged except the more powerful new engine and the same redesigned wheels shown on the other bikes in the range.

Yes, there’s a touring variant as well, dubbed the ZT350-X1, which will come with either a single or dual swingarms in addition to the bigger engine. (Zontes/)

Touring on a single-cylinder, 39 hp bike might seem like a bit of a stretch, but nonetheless Zontes also has a touring model based on the existing engine and chassis, and like the rest of the range it’s shown to be rising to 348cc in 2022 by the latest type-approval documents. Like several of the other Zontes models, it’s going to be offered with either dual or single-sided swingarms, the latter version designated ZT350-X1, with both getting the firm’s latest alloy wheel design. The dual-sided swingarm is also updated, along with the other models, to use the new design from the ZT350-GK.

All these new bikes have yet to be officially shown, but they’re likely to be unveiled later this year as 2022 machines. At the same time we should hear more about Zontes’ project to develop 650cc and 1,000cc three-cylinder engines, which are intended to allow the firm to leapfrog its rivals, many of whom are focusing solely on parallel twins between 400cc and 700cc.

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