Here we have the Moxiao 500RR, a Chinese motorcycle that desperately wants to be a Ducati Panigale 959 and almost pulls it off.
When one looks at the bike from a distance, it would be near enough difficult to mark it out as a product from Moxiao Motor. Rather, one could mistake it as a vehicle from Borgo Panigale.
Such is the blatant way in which the Panigale 959’s design has been copied to create the Moxiao 500RR. It is even called the Domestic Ducati (!) in the most populated country on earth.
Upfront, the 500RR has a very similar ‘face’ to that of the Ducati and even the paint job, graphics, tail light design, suspension components and single-sided swingarm have been copied almost accurately. Some might even say what Moxiao has done is impressive.
However brazen the styling of the bike might be, Moxiao could not emulate the stonking race-bred V-twin character of the Ducati 959. Instead, the motorcycle only comes with a parallel twin motor displacing 471cc.
It is good for 47.5 PS and 43 Nm of torque and thus the bike can accelerate from 0-100 km/hr in 6.1 seconds, hit 165 km/hr tops and return a claimed fuel economy figure of 22.2 km/l.
The Moxiao 500RR has a large 22-litre fuel tank and equally large 120-section front and 190-section rear tyres. Even the brakes, dual 320 mm discs at the front and 260 mm single rear disc, do seem overkill. There is dual channel ABS too.
Is going to such great lengths only to produce a knock-off motorcycle with inferior specifications to the original a good business tactic? I’ll let you decide.
