Boutique Japanese cruiser company Zero Engineering (not to be confused with electric bike pioneers Zero Motorcycles) revealed a single-cylinder concept bike – the K2C – at the Tokyo Show in March. Now, patents reveal it is heading for production.
The bike marks a major departure for Zero, which has spent the last quarter of a century crafting short runs of Harley-powered V-twin custom bikes aimed at the very top end of the market. Instead of a whopping twin, it’s powered by an air-cooled, single-overhead-cam, single-cylinder engine of just 250cc. That means its performance is likely to be as vintage as its faux-hardtail styling.The roots of the single-cylinder engine are not known, but it’s unlikely to be purpose-made for the Zero Engineering machine.
The concept had few concessions to road use – it had no mirrors, instruments or turn signals, and its exhaust silencer was a strange oval-shaped device – but the photo presented here shows what appears to be a production version. It has indicators and mirrors as well as a conventional silencer, while there are other detail changes including a different seat, new engine covers, a licence-plate bracket and a speedometer.
