Weird Flex: Meet Pan China, The Affordable Alternative To The Pan America 1250

The Lifan KPT 400 has made its debut at the Shenzhen Motor Expo

When Harley-Davidson ventured into uncharted territory with its Pan America 1250, it grabbed the world’s attention, and how! After all,  an established player like H-D riding against the tides of tradition is bound to cause a stir. But as it appears, the ripples of change were felt all the way to China, where Lifan Motorcycles, a brand known for making small-capacity cruisers and mopeds, introduced an ADV christened the KPT 400, or as we’d like to call it, the Pan China.

Just like the American big-bore ADV, this tourer isn’t intended for hardcore trail riding, but for some rough-roading and primarily for touring. The Lifan KPT 400 looks like it's heavily inspired  from the Pan America 1250, from its bulky silhouette and rectangular headlight, to its  tall windscreen and an exoskeleton intended to protect the body panels in the event of a crash.

But the KPT 400 isn’t just about the glitz and glam. It gets a class D LED headlight with LED DRLs, and an adjustable windscreen. Adding to its touring cred is the TFT instrument console complete with smartphone connectivity and onboard navigation, along with the basic tell-tale info. An interesting feature on this bike is the inclusion of heated grips. Of course, like its American inspiration, it gets a key fob instead of a physical key,  so you don’t have to worry about getting your key out everytime.

And that’s where the similarities end. Unlike the 1250cc V-twin from Yankeeland, the Lifan KPT 400 is powered by a 400cc parallel-twin mill that generates 42.8PS at 9500rpm and 35Nm at 7500rpm. With 211kg to lug around, that doesn’t seem much.

This engine is nestled in a trellis frame suspended off a fully adjustable USD fork and a monoshock with preload adjustability. For braking, twin discs up front clamp onto four-pot calipers and a single disc at the rear with a twin-pot caliper has been deployed.

The Lifan KPT 400 joins the long list of blatant ripoffs from China. While these bikes are subjected to a lot of mockery, some turn out impressive too, like the Longjia XADV300i. While the Pan China will never make it to India, it will hit the streets next year in China and will be priced CNY 29,980 (roughly Rs 3.42 lakh) onwards.