Copycat products are a common occurrence even in the Chinese vehicle market, and the Excelle 321R one such motorcycle.
At first glance, it is not hard to figure out that the manufacturer has copied the KTM 390 Duke’s design. If someone were to describe this bike as a repainted, knock-off version of the Duke, they would mostly be right.
The most obvious and prominent similarities between the two are the trellis frame, sharp bodywork, exposed engine, and split seat. On the other hand, to make it seem less obvious and avoid potential lawsuits, Excelle 321R A has some unique design touches to the headlight and fuel tank.
Excelle 321R A features an LED headlight and taillight, a full-color LCD/TFT display with adaptive brightness adjustment, and inverted front forks. It also comes with a 320mm single disc brake at the front wheel and a 240mm single disc brake at the rear wheel.
Interestingly enough, its engine is also borrowed from another motorcycle as it is powered by a liquid-cooled 321cc inline two-cylinder, as present in the Yamaha YZF-R3. Some sources even claim that the 321R A’s engine was literally reverse-engineered.
With this engine’s help, the bike puts out 42 horsepower at 10,500 RPM and 21 lb-ft of torque at 9,000 RPM and can reach a top speed of 112 mph. Of course, it’s not much. But given the market and target audience, it’s more than enough.
Interested buyers in China can get their hands on this bike for CNY 25,000, equivalent to $3,813 as per current exchange rates. At the moment, it is still unclear whether the 321R A will be sold anywhere outside the Chinese market, but, in all cases, don’t expect it to make it to the USA—these Chinese bikes rarely do.
