I am surprised that I have hitherto failed to mention the Souo S2000 on Dancing the Polka. It’s exactly the sort of moto silliness that this blog thrives on. And with reports surfacing that it may soon be coming to the United States, I can’t help but wonder about the likelihood of it showing up in Europe/the UK.
First launched at the Motor China Beijing International Motorcycle Exhibition in 2024, the S2000 is a behemoth touring motorcycle that’s clearly designed to out-bling and out-big iconic tourers like the Honda Gold Wing or BMW K 1600 Grand America. Powered by a 1999cc eight-cylinder (!) engine, it claims peak outputs of 151.5 bhp and 140 lb-ft of torque.
Built by Souo Moto, a motorcycle sub-brand of China’s Great Wall Motor Company (GWM), the bike has so far only been available in China. According to a report in Autopian, however, that’s set to change. The website says that it spoke to a GWM representative at this year’s CES show in Las Vegas, who said that “the bike will eventually make its way Stateside.”
There are a lot of potential points of failure in that reporting (a seemingly off-the-record comment from an unnamed person at an event that isn’t really about motorcycles), but let’s run with it. Ignoring the fact that the target demographic in America may be politically disinclined to buy a Chinese vehicle, you can certainly imagine that the S2000 would be well-suited to exploring North America’s great rivers of tarmac.
The question I have, which no one seems to be able to answer at the moment, is whether the eight-cylinder beast will ever make an appearance in the European market. It’s hard to guess whether it would succeed if it did, though.
Gold Wings aren’t completely unheard of on European roads, nor the odd full-dresser touring machine from Harley-Davidson. But they’re not particularly common. Other touring bikes are even less likely. The size and weight of the S2000 makes me think you wouldn’t want to take it on any particularly narrow, twisty, or broken-up roads; that eliminates roughly 80 percent of the scenic routes in the United Kingdom.
Plus, there are the challenges of meeting European emissions standards – something that seems to be difficult for other Chinese manufacturers. I’ve been riding bikes from Voge and QJMotor lately (reviews coming soon) and throttle mapping is a consistent issue for all of them. Apparently, the cause of this boils down to meeting emissions regulations.
Meanwhile, one of the problems with having China’s internet be under state control is that it can be quite difficult to hunt down info about Chinese manufacturers and bikes. Soup doesn’t have a website that is accessible to Westerners, for example.
For the most part, the only reliable information I can find comes from moto-journalist Ben Purvis, who frequently writes for MCN and Cycle World.
Through him, we know that the S2000 is dripping with bling (hence its being on display at CES, I suppose). Heated grips, heated seat, keyless ignition, keyless locking, automatic headlights, a parking brake, stability control, cruise control, rear warning system, blind spot monitoring, electronically adjustable windshield, and an eight-speaker sound system are just some of the goodies.
On top of that, you get a 12.3-inch touchscreen display (currently larger than any other in the motorcycle world) that runs on a powerful Snapdragon 8155 chip.
And it’s huge. Autopia reporter Brian Silvestro points out that the S2000’s bulk is on par with that of a microcar.
“The wheelbase is 71.3 inches, about a foot longer than the BMW Isetta’s,” he writes. “It’s a large machine that would probably need a regular-ass parking spot in most situations.”
When will we see it showing up in US parking lots? Or British car parks, for that matter? The answer to both those questions is: no clue.
Souo Moto S2000 specs
| STARTING PRICE | 218,800 Chinese Yuan (about £23,500) |
| ENGINE | 1999cc liquid-cooled flat-eight, DOHC |
| TRANSMISSION | 8-speed, plus reverse – dual-clutch |
| POWER | 151.5 bhp at 6500 rpm |
| TORQUE | 140 lb-ft at 4500 rpm |
| TOP SPEED | 130 mph |
| SEAT HEIGHT | 740 mm |
| GROUND CLEARANCE | 130 mm |
| WEIGHT | 461 kg |
| FUEL CAPACITY | 26.2 liters |
| FRONT TIRE | 130/70R-18 |
| REAR TIRE | 200/55R-16 |
| FRONT BRAKES | Dual 320mm discs, four-piston calipers |
| REAR BRAKE | Single 295mm disc, four-piston caliper |
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