A year ago, the Honda Gold Wing–rivalling the Souo S2000 was launched as the debut model from the new Chinese brand Souo. The Souo is a motorcycle sub-brand of one of China’s largest car manufacturers, Great Wall Motors, in a bid to position itself as a leader in a segment dominated by Honda and its Gold Wing. Now, there’s a second model in the stable utilising the same engine platform as the original Souo S2000 from last year.
The Souo S2000, when launched, came equipped with a 2.0-litre flat-eight engine, capable of producing 151 hp at 6,500 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque at 4,500 rpm, which is transmitted to the rear wheels via a dual-clutch transmission. Souo’s decision to use a flat eight engine for their first-ever cruiser already topped Honda Gold Wing’s flat six, and Souo’s flat eight produced more power at 151hp compared to Honda’s 120hp.
Now, there’s a new iteration of this Luxury tourer – Souo Motorcycle has unveiled the S2000 CT with four additional variants, which, on paper, share the same platform as the S2000, but have been modified slightly to individualise each model enough that they all offer and represent a different segment altogether. On the Souo approval document, the four variants are termed as LH2000-3, LH2000-4, LH2000-5, and LH2000-6; they will likely get a new name when they hit the showroom. The first two variants currently on sale were originally termed as LH2000-1 and LH2000-2, which are now badged as the Souo S2000 ST and S2000 GL.
LH2000-3 and LH2000-4
LH2000-3 is a single-seater cruiser with quite a clean design. The eerie similarities between the legend from the past and LH2000-3 are not lost on the citizen, since many took to the internet to point out the derived styling from Honda Rune, which debuted 20 years back. Once touted for its very aggressive styling, it is now making a comeback, albeit with a different badge. The LH2000-4 is similar to the LH2000-3 but with an extended seat to accommodate a pillion.
LH2000-5 and LH2000-6
The other two models, LH2000-5 and LH2000-6, are baggers, with a redesigned exhaust system and luggage compartment, and similar to that found with the former two models; the only difference between LH2000-5 and LH2000-6 is the addition of a windshield on the “5’’, whereas the “6” doesn’t.
All four models share the same platform as the original S2000 – from the same bonkers flat eight engine to instrument clusters and other electronic nannies, such as ride modes, vehicle stability program, traction control, cruise control, etc.
The Souo brand has already made an impact in the Chinese market, and with the inclusion of the Souo S2000 at CES 2025, it clearly highlights GMW’s intention to go global, especially in the American market, where such motorcycles have a huge fan following. which evidently is also Honda Gold Wing’s biggest market, trailed by Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycle.
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