By Anton Ivanov
Minsk Motorcycle and Bicycle Plant was established in November 1945; by 1999, it had transformed into an open joint stock company — called Motovelo JSC. It produces a diverse range of bicycles, road and sport motorcycles, cargo power buggies, trailers, exercise bikes, wheelchairs and spare parts for bicycles and motorcycles. Recently, Motovelo took its ‘Minsk’ motorcycle to the EICMA-2011 Milan Motorcycle Show, attending for the first time. Motovelo’s Italian partners hosted the stand, at which the ‘Minsk M4 200’ was displayed. It was the first Belarusian model chosen for joining the European market, being designed in the style of 1950s by Belarusian Yuri Shif. It boasts a modern 13.5HP engine (produced under Honda CB license), consumes just 3 litres of fuel per 100km, weighs 115kg and would sell for almost 2,000 Euros.
Motovelo informs us that, following the Italian show, the company is planning to launch sales of this model in Europe, while producing a special version for those with a ‘B’ driver’s license: having an engine of just 125 cubic centimetres. The ‘Minsk’ model was created in 1951 and, over the 60 years of the brand’s existence, over 6.5 million have been manufactured.
