The rumours about Kawasaki and Modenas creating a super moped has been circulating for years with the photo above being the driving force behind it.
We are not sure who created the photo but it has been making its rounds around the internet for some time now.
But the rumours are getting stronger and the latest ones are that the bike in question is currently being developed in Europe.
There is no word about where in Europe it is being developed but apparently there are a few Modenas engineers that are currently stationed in Europe for the past three months.
They are apparently there to help prepare the super moped for an imminent local launch.
It is believed that their main area of focus is on the powertrain development as well as technical training.
According to reports from a few Malaysian outlets, the new super moped was designed in Malaysia, received technical input from the Japanese and is currently being developed in Europe.
Now you may be wondering why Europe since mopeds are not exactly popular in Europe.
A quick search online has revealed that Kawasaki actually has a few factories and offices scattered all around the region, particularly for Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Interestingly though, there is a Kawasaki Motors division in The Netherlands which has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
It is not immediately clear if these branches are sales outlets or also play a role in development though the former seems more likely considering that Kawasaki has booted out a few of its global dealerships in favour of an official presence. Case in hand being Kawasaki Malaysia.
But what if the rumours are true? Which engine would Kawasaki use since it does not have a small capacity engine in the local market? Well that is not exactly true.
Kawasaki India recently launched the updated W175 (seen above) for 2024. It has a 177cc, air-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine with an output of 13hp and 13Nm of torque. It is not a new engine and has been in the market for a while, which means it is tried and tested and is widely available.
In the spirit of the super moped, could this be the engine to power the highly anticipated bike?
As usual, it is all still speculative, just as it was for the past few years. But with a number of local outlets reporting on it, the rumour could be true, or it could be what it always has been – click bait.
If you understand Bahasa Malaysia, below is an video interview we did with the CEO of Modenas En Roslan not too long ago about this exact same topic:
