This is superbly
badass petrol-powered tri axle motorcycle dump truck. It is beautiful, big,
blue, and Chinese. It also has nine wheels. These massive machines are mostly
sold in China’s endless countryside, you won’t see them in the mega cities.
They are called, translated: agricultural-use tricycle-motorcycle.
They are officially
categorized as ‘tricycles’, even though they have obviously more wheels.
Perhaps the government just didn’t bother to add a new category. And after all;
it has a tricycle layout.
The brand name of
the blue truck on the first photos is brilliant: Shenghuoshen (圣火神), meaning Holy Fire God. The type
name is SHS175ZH-2.
All of these large
motorcycle dump trucks are petrol powered, whereas most smaller agricultural
tricycles are electric these days. The current generation of electric tricycle
motors isn’t strong enough to power these beasts, but it seems only a matter of
time before they will.
The Holy Fire God
SHS175ZH-2 is powered by a 175 cc one-cylinder four-stroke water cooled engine,
good for between 10 and 20 horses, depending on exact specifications. Top speed
is 60 km/h. Fuel tank capacity is 16 liter, and the manufacturer claims a
cruising range of 500 kilometer, which seems a bit too optimistic. Size is
3490/1360/1370 mm, and curb weight is 365 kilo. Price for all that
pretty: 16.999 yuan or US$ 2520.
This is another
one, branded Xinling and designated XL175ZH-A. It has very similar
specifications as the SHS175ZH-2, with a similar 175 cc motor, but it is
slightly slower with a top speed of 50 km/h. The factory also tells us there is
no ABS. Price starts at 13.588 yuan or US$ 2017.The front end looks pretty
standard-motorbike, with handlebar-mounted mirrors and a small dash with two
dials.
The character on
top of the bed is fu (福), meaning luck. Many vehicle makers in this segment put this character in
a visible place on their cars, because they and their customers believe this
brings good luck.
Note the double
mudflaps over the rear wheels. Developing a larger-single flap was probably
deemed as too expensive. Margins are indeed tight; there is a lot of
competition in this and all the other farm-vehicle segments.
The XL175ZH-A
compared to two compact sedans, a Besturn on the left and a Changan on the
right. The bike is a big. A variant with single wheels on the rear axles. This
one is branded Shuangshi, meaning Double Lion. It has a longer bed than the
other two. Top speed is claimed to be 70 km/h. It is much cheaper, with a base
price of just 9980 yuan, or US$ 1481. That seems a very good deal, but it just
doesn’t look as badass and heavy as the others.
And we end this
story with this wonder: a Zhongqi (Heavy Ride) ZQ200ZH-2A painted in army
green, with rather small wheels and yellow stripes on the fuel tank. Motor is
300 cc, top speed is 50 km/h. It looks very dangerous and racy. Price is a
crazy 10.350 yuan or US$ 1537.
