Exclusive interview with the founder of TAIMU MOTO: tens of millions invested in R&D, staying true to the path of in-house development for Chinese off-road motorcycles

October 2026, Chongqing — The phrase “the man lives up to his name” could not be more apt for Shi Jian, founder of TAIMU MOTO. Act like a rock, and always stay true to your original aspiration. In a motorcycle manufacturing industry full of the temptation to make quick money, he has brought an almost obsessive stubbornness to the table and carved out a path of in-house R&D that belongs to Chinese off-road motorcycles.

At the TAIMU MOTO booth, Shi Jian does not look like a shrewd businessman; he looks more like a veteran rider with a fanatical passion for bikes and racing. He is usually a man of few words, but in private he likes to have a drink alone. He has too much on his mind during the day, and the moments when he is slightly tipsy at night are his most relaxed. “I don’t like drinking heavily out there. It’s a state of mind, and a way to relieve stress.”

It is precisely this reserved and resilient character that has shaped TAIMU’s underlying identity.

The R&D path carved out by stubbornness: no capital money, sell houses if we must to build bikes

In China’s motorcycle circles, pursuing in-house R&D is a path with a very slim chance of survival. Especially when you want to build an off-road bike that can truly go head-to-head on the international racing stage, what you need is not only technology but also a continuous stream of funding.

Shi Jian’s partner Ximi often says that he is so worried at night that he cannot sleep. Since 2023, in order to stick with in-house development, TAIMU has not only never made a single “generic-mold bike” commonly seen on the market, but has also lost more than 10 million over three years. To keep operations going, Shi Jian and Ximi each sold two houses.

During the R&D period, capital came knocking, hoping to inject funds. Anyone else might have taken the money long ago to expand production and buy traffic. But Shi Jian refused. “I don’t really like using other people’s money to realize my own dream. Capital is profit-driven; once it comes in, it definitely wants to recoup its investment quickly. Once you’re held hostage by capital, it’s hard to focus on making a product well, and you’ll lose your shape.”

What he wants is a say, and control over the ultimate perfection of every part.

This confidence comes from his early accumulation. At the age of 29, he bought a pile of parts at a motorcycle accessories market and assembled his first motorcycle himself. Later, he became a motorcycle stunt rider and even paid out of his own pocket to organize competitions. “Because I’m a rider too, I know how hard it is for riders.” He recalled organizing the “Cheng Shin Cup” motorcycle stunt competition back then, where the champion prize was 20,000 in cash directly, with a table piled with money on the awards stage and four burly men hired to guard it.

“Either don’t do it, or if you do it, do it well. You can’t treat people like beggars.”

It is precisely this empathy for riders that makes him absolutely unwilling to allow the industry’s hidden rule of “one set of parts for racing, another set for retail” to exist when building bikes. He demands that the bikes produced must be exactly the same as the bikes on the racetrack.

A Chinese face at the Red Bull race: I want to see the truest form of a bike

“If we’re just pleasing ourselves domestically, we can’t prove ourselves.” Shi Jian has always harbored a fire inside. Over the past decades, racing vehicles made in China have always been labeled “all show and no go” abroad. To tear off that label, you have to take the bike to the highest-level racetrack and give it a run.

In July 2026, the 23rd Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro took place as scheduled. This extreme event with an extremely low finish rate welcomed the first Chinese factory production bike in its history — the TAIMU S300R.

No foreign big-name riders, no hundreds-of-thousands modified suspension; Shi Jian went with two Chinese riders and a factory bike priced at only 27,800 yuan. At the event, this bike once charged into the top 20 of the Bronze class. When the bike retired and was parked at the side of the track, all the foreign riders and technicians gathered around. They found it unbelievable: the Chinese really dared to bring a production Chinese bike to race the Red Bull?

“Winning or losing doesn’t matter, the ranking doesn’t matter. I want to see the truest form of a bike,” Shi Jian said. If you only look at data in the lab, it’s all illusory. “I absolutely must know what defects my bike has. I don’t want one set of things for racing and another set for sale. I don’t like doing that kind of thing.”

After returning from the race, Shi Jian did not even have time to get over his jet lag before plunging straight into the workshop. Modifying the rear brake bracket, upgrading the EFI system across the entire lineup, fine-tuning the frame geometry… because he knows that if these problems exposed on the extreme racetrack are not fixed, the consumers will ultimately pay the price.

“Whatever it’s like on the racetrack, that’s what the bike sold to users will be like.” This is his most simple and plain persistence as a craftsman.

A heart as firm as a rock, riding through mountains and seas

Now, TAIMU has not only gained a firm foothold in the domestic market but has also successfully entered overseas markets. The Malaysian police purchased their police off-road motorcycles, and the full age-range product line (from children and teenagers to adults) has been fully rolled out, advancing on both fuel and electric fronts.

Facing global channel partners, Shi Jian shows his open-mindedness and sincerity. He is willing to use OEM/ODM customization services to help overseas brands develop; he is also willing to let dealers reduce risk through mixed-load containers and small-batch trial orders. “Suppliers are willing to support us because they see hope. There may be only one small company in the whole country truly sticking with in-house R&D — us. If we do well, everyone can see hope.”

If 10 years from now people mention TAIMU, what will they think of? Shi Jian’s answer is moving: “I don’t want people to discuss how rich this entrepreneur is or how big the factory is. I hope that when people mention Mr. Shi, they think of a factory with a craftsman’s spirit. When they mention us, they’ll say we have advanced a lot of manufacturing technology and elevated the entire supplier and manufacturing system; that we are the ones who truly dare to send racing bikes to the racetrack.”

A man named Shi Jian, a heart as firm as a rock. On the rugged racetrack leading to the world stage, Shi Jian and his TAIMU MOTO are twisting the throttle wide open and leaping into the wind.