Well this is the first in what I hope can become a new series of videos with the initial aim of doing one each month, but if there is some big news I think needs to be out there I may do additional short bulletins about my initial thoughts on any announcements.
This won’t be the usual shilling you get on most channels and the aim as always will be to cut through the bull crap to reach what the real news is.
Today I am going to look at the motorcycle news from June 2026 in a different way which I hope you appreciate.
Don’t take it too seriously, it’s all just a bit of fun.
Anyway.
Moto Guzzi
I have to start off with the new Moto Guzzi Parallel twin that’s coming. Built around the Aprilia 457 engine that is built by Piaggio in India it looks to be an A2 licence 450cc retro parallel twin with a round headlight aimed at the sector CF Moto opened up with the MT450 Ibex.
An upright riding position is about all the details we have at the minute but it will be a departure for the Guzzi purists, and it enters a crowded market.
It will probably look better than most, but it doesn’t quite seem the adventure bike people have been screaming for from Aprilia and I think a 450 Tuareg would sell better, but what do I know eh.
What it will mean is a chain drive non transverse V Twin in the Guzzi line up, and probably a little higher price tag than it should have seeing as it will be built in India not Italy by Piaggio, but I will bet it still has an Italian flag on it somewhere.
Hero X-Pulse
Next we have GB Moto who have been hard at work and they’ve had every wannabee influencer in the country riding all the new QJ Motors bikes, but the bike they seem really focussed on at the minute is the new old Hero X-Pulse 200, that has finally come to the UK.
Firstly let us be clear, it is not a new bike, it’s been around for years in India and it was old tech then, and that is good in some ways.
I like many others saw it and thought, could it be we have a new version of the old Honda XL185.
Well the good news is that it is closer than anything else on the market, but the bad news is that over 45 years of intense research and development has made it a whole 50kg heavier, so basically its like riding an XL185 with a passenger all the time.
And yes I know, electric start adds some weight, but come on. 50Kg heavier? Really?
Why?
It is absolutely ridiculous, and it should be so much better.
Having said that, it brings entry level adventure bikes to a whole new audience and I think it will be a popular bike at the price it is being sold at.
It bridges a gap between commuter and trail bike and comes in at a price that even makes the Chinese bikes look expensive.
They put the Pro version on stilts to give it more ground clearance but that does mean a higher seat height
I guess any research and development costs were recouped long ago so they can cut margins at just above the break even mark knowing that they have the 440 coming soon, theoretically that is. India have been waiting for years for the 440.
There have been more spy shots and talk of testing in the Himalayas with Ross Branch and Nacho Cornejo, but if it’s only got the 27 horsepower engine of the 440 Hunk, I am sure The Kalahari Ferrari and Nacho didn’t have to test the brakes much anywhere on the trip.
Honda Oil Usage
Next we go to Honda, who still haven’t figured out how to stop the CB1000F, CB650, 750 Hornet and others burning excessive oil.
Their recall is bonkers to be honest, the dealers have been told to simply change the oil or just to top it up, with Honda adding “Keep an eye on it”.
There is no fix, because they simply haven’t figured out what is causing it. And they don’t want to loose half the range by stopping production until they figure it out.
The sad thing really is that if they don’t know, they are blind.
This has become an increasing problem caused by the thin ring systems they have used on many modern Honda’s, and it does have advantages, but it also has a downside, the oil rings compress and stick very easily, and the sprung compression rings loose their spring if they get too hot, which in a bike engine is a pretty obvious flaw.
Loncin, Keeway, Gaokin, Brixton
Loncin have copied the system as have Gaokin, and they have both inherited the same problems.
I wonder if Keeway will change the Gaokin pistons and rings now they have bought the company out.
Keeway purchased both the Gaokin and Brixton brands, and ruined one of the better bikes coming out of China.
They have neutered the engine of the 1200.
They managed to kill about 25% of the power on the Brixton Cromwell engine, so whatever they have done inside it is quite major.
The Keeway takeover of the Gaokin and Brixton brands has pushed them up the table when it comes to the biggest manufacturers in China, but only time will tell how that all works out.
This now creates a giant company with QJ Motors owning Keeway. So there are 4 layers of shareholders that then all fall under the umbrella of the Geely group.
That is a lot of shareholder dividends to pay out.
Rieju
Rieju have redesigned the 500 Aventura and stolen its huge fuel tanks while still managing to make it heavier.
Then we have the Rieju 307 Aventura, which so far does not live up to the promises.
Unless you buy a power up kit of course. The aftermarket finished building that set up before Rieju could put one together, but it creates a problem that means in many countries that all the parts will need storing, to be refitted every time the relevant testing like our MOT comes around.
Without the power up kit, it is even down on power compared to the Voge and Honda 300’s and the fuelling is a bit pants. In some ways it is still more of a work in progress than a finished bike, but they are still selling them anyway.
Beta still haven’t sorted out the fuelling on the Beta Alp either. So this is becoming a problem across the industry.
Geely Group
Back to the Geely group and QJ Motors have increased production numbers massively with the opening of a new automated factory, unfortunately, an increase in the number of quality control issues at the new factory has also been evident, so someone hasn’t been programming the robots very well.
Maybe Elon did it for them.
Next, we get into what is obviously becoming a bit of a rivalry within the Chinese companies.
Chinese Rivalries
ZX Moto and CF Moto are both shooting for the top in racing, and along with the winning ways of ZX Moto in World Supersport, we also now have QJ Motors winning in the world championships. That means we now have 3 Chinese brands that have stood on the top step of the various podiums this year. ZX Moto in World Supersport, and CF Moto and QJ Motors in Moto 2.
China has another new fastest bike too, probably aimed at taking on the World Superbike Championshiip next year. The CF Moto V4 which even has fully adjustable winglets with smart capable controls.
What they will do behind an articulated lorry on the motorways is anyone’s guess though.
Whether they will stick to the gentleman’s agreement on maximum speed or send the full power engine to market is yet to be seen.
Kove haven’t been doing so well this year in what used to be the Supersport 300 class. With all the rule changes, they have been down the field, but after winning in 2025 I am sure they will get there again at some point, but it might be that this highlights the problems of loosing your best designer.
Talking of which.
ZX Moto continue to win, but the redesign on the 820RR has put delays on everything. Although I am now told there are 200 of the 820RR in Europe and some in the UK there is a problem.
If they are here now, unless the boats they came on were flown over, they left China before the recall and redesign was done, which means the new oil feed pick up and sump pan need swapping in the countries where they are being sold.
I am a bit concerned that the same issue was something that caused problems with the Kove 300 Zhang Xue designed too, A lack of baffles in the sump of a race bike where the oil is thrown around constantly as the bike is leaned over and an oil pick up that was prone to shake loose on 2 different bikes. Shows that maybe, some things are being overlooked.
CF Moto
CF Moto have also bored out their 450 parallel twin engine and stroked the crank to push capacity up to 550cc which in theory sounds great.
It is the same block as the MT450 and SR450, so the 450’s can be converted, but the redesign has left the casting on the barrels very thin in the middle between the 2 cylinder bores, and when I look at it, I think that is just a bit too thin.
Heat dissipation will be atrocious, especially because the water jacket can’t run through between the barrels. It means the metal is so thin that the heat build up could cause all sorts of distortions in the barrels over time and that is not good.
Benda
Benda assembly has been put in question too, with a piece of material, presumably a rag, being left inside an engine that was sent out for sale. Surely enough the engine blew and the person who stripped it for the first time literally found the shredded up rag inside.
They have also put a stupid compressor driven self lowering device on their cruiser with the ridiculous back tyre that makes turning in a road pretty much impossible as you can see in the video.
Then we get the combined effect of multiple manufacturers ignoring the market and insisting we should all be riding auto shift gearbox’s or electronic clutches that no one wants. And yes, OK, I say no one which is possibly not right. There may be someone somewhere who likes the idea of not having to ride their bike.
BMW
In one man’s words, BMW have ruined a perfectly good bike and are using buyers as beta testers. The BMW auto shift system not only changes gear and engages at the worst times possible, but it doesn’t have any sort of parking brake or wheel lock system, so short of never parking anywhere that’s not flat, you are stuffed. The bike will roll and you have no way of stopping it. So when you stop you might as well just lay it down and hope it goes to sleep for a while.
Now let me see, wasn’t it the 70’s that Honda worked out they needed one on their Hondamatics? Just saying.
Bull$hit Marketing
Loncin have been talking seriously about the engineering on their 500cc twin engines that they produce for every man and his dog and they insist they are all the same, the only difference being with the individual factories tuning.
What they didn’t comment on, is why when they have used expensive NTN main bearings and in many other places throughout the engine, why they chose to put the cheapest, nastiest, uncoated aluminium shells on the crank.
They also created a potential air cavity in the oil system that means after any oil change, unless you bleed the oil system, there is a delay in pumping the oil round so internal scoring has become problematic on both cam bridges and main bearings.
Just a small oversight.
They did the same thing with all the 525 engine crank shells too, although it looks like the latest batch do have copper based shells being installed so there is hope.
This is another one that makes my blood boil though.
The original 500 was actually a 470cc engine, just like the Kawasaki KLE 500 is really a 450. Calling a 470cc engine a 500 is stretching it a bit, but I guess calling it a 500 is just about OK. Then, when the newer engine is still only 490cc, they go and call it a 525?
Why? It isn’t.
I wish manufacturers would just say it how it is instead of trying to make it sound like everything is something that it is not.
Even Loncin’s newest 625 engine is only actually 580cc. So a 600 at best, not a 650.
Triumph and BMW have been playing the same game for a few years now and it is just getting silly.
Honestly, I’m not sure who I am most angry at, the manufacturers for doing it, or the people stupid enough to fall for it.
I am starting to think there is just no hope for some people.