Two-Strokes, Corn Fairings and an Update on KTM

As all the time, the beginning of 2025 has introduced a ton of motion within the moto business, persevering with with this week’s record under:

Kawasaki’s engaged on a two-stroke that’s headed throughout the pond to England!
KTM’s restructuring efforts now included the stepping down of the face of KTM, CEO Stephan Pierer.
Honda’s received massive plans to take over half the motorbike market by 2030… whereas staying true to their carbon neutralization objectives within the subsequent decade.
Honda can be getting extra cozy utilizing motorbike fairings customary from non-edible corn.

Let’s take a sniff round this Crew Inexperienced two-stroke, lets?

Rumor Has It: Kawasaki’s Engaged on a Two-Stroke

A view of Kawasaki’s 2007 KX250. Media sourced from Prime Velocity.

Social Media Teaser Contains Potential for the Return of the KX™250

It’s been virtually 20 years since Kawasaki final got here out with a brand new two-stroke dust bike – and this 12 months may simply be the 12 months for off-roaders to rejoice!

The hullabaloo hit the fan lately when Motorcycle News lined a brand new tease on social media (through Instagram). To the myriad of feedback of riders asking for Kawasaki to “convey again the two-stroke,” Kawasaki is proven to reply thus:

“We Heard You.”

If Crew Inexperienced is definitely pondering of what we’re pondering they’re pondering of, then this upcoming bike is the primary two-stroke dust bike that Kawi’s put out since 2007 (2006 if it’s the 125), and we’re about to get a better power-to-weight ratio than your standard four-stroke engine that has potential to be lighter and cheaper to fabricate than the competing platform.

Estimations from the general public additionally embody the probabilities of “gas injection, compelled induction, or perhaps a camshaft and accompanying valve association to mechanically regulate inlet and exhaust movement.”

In fact, that is all rumour till Kawasaki is extra forthcoming with what they’ve deliberate for his or her return to the two-stroke class. Keep tuned!

You may learn extra about Kawasaki’s two-stroke teaser right here:

The Legalities: An Replace on KTM’s Chapter

CEO Stephan Pierer Steps Down

The European Union’s largest motorbike maker is at the moment sorting by way of a barrage of restructuring methods; ought to they succeed, KTM might emerge with minimal scarring.. till then, adjustments are inevitable.

The largest change between immediately and after we final lined KTM’s monetary difficulties features a new backside within the Chief Government chair. Protection from Motocross Action Magazine tells us that Stefan Pierer has stepped down from his position as KTM CEO, permitting Co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister to step into the position of Chief Government.

Previous to this variation, In a latest interview with Cycle World, KTM CEO Stefan Pierer mentioned that the corporate is “engaged on a plan to restructure our debt and to enhance our profitability.”

Right here is the abstract of what’s been taking place up to now (excerpt from Ben Purvis’s article on CycleWorld):

“The corporate entered its present state, a course of referred to as “self-administration” underneath Austrian regulation, again in November 2024 after months of considerations because the share value of its mum or dad group, Pierer Mobility AG, took a nosedive throughout 2023 and 2024. After peaking at over 90 CHF (Swiss francs) per share in 2022 (round $100), Pierer Mobility’s share values dipped under 9 CHF ($10) in November 2024.

… In November, three firms within the Pierer Mobility group filed for self-administration, which permits the present administration to stay in place and offers safety from collectors for 90 days, throughout which era firms want to attract up a restructuring plan that’s accepted by a majority of these collectors to fend off chapter. These firms have been KTM AG (the primary a part of KTM) in addition to KTM Elements GmbH and KTM F&E GmbH (the R&D arm of KTM).

Since then, one other Pierer firm, Avocado GmbH, additionally a part of the KTM group and a provider of software program providers to the opposite components of KTM, has began insolvency proceedings.”

– Ben Purvis, “KTM Bankruptcy Update” (Cycle World)

At present, KTM is in a gray zone state for future doings with MotoGP (past their 2026 contract); based mostly on the superb print, KTM wouldn’t have the ability to depart MotoGP earlier than 2026 with out penalty, so there’s a robust chance that the Home of Mattighofen will proceed in MotoGP till the top of their contract.

Purvis additionally makes point out of an engine freeze that’s slotted for the MotoGP 2026 grid, so it’s additionally cheap to imagine that KTM would want to align with that deadline within the face of their very own rising requirements.

You may learn extra about KTM’s present monetary state and its restructuring plans right here:

Business Insider: Honda Units Objective to Take Over Half of the Motorbike Market

New Initiative to Improve Huge Pink Bikes within the Southeastern Hemisphere

Huge Pink is dreaming larger than ever with sights set on India and the Southeastern Hemisphere – and who can blame them? The next quantity of lower-displacement machines means a extra accessible pool of bikes for the native markets – and for Honda, which means 40% of the motorbike market may very well be comprised of Honda machines as quickly as 2026.

In response to Honda’s recent press release, Honda has a world manufacturing capability of over 20 million bikes yearly. By the top of the 2025 Monetary Yr, Huge Pink is estimating that they are going to be making 20.2 million bikes, which is roughly 40% of the worldwide motorbike market. For Honda, which means they may dominate half of the motorbike market worldwide by 2030 – and that features electrical bikes in there, by the best way.

What’s attention-grabbing is that these gorgeous figures are finally forecasted to plummet, and Honda is the forecaster. Listed below are the details in chronological order:

It’s 2025, and Honda has hit 20 million models yearly; this interprets to round 40% of the whole international motorbike market.
Honda is estimating that they may make up 50% of the worldwide motorbike market by 2030.
Honda additionally estimates that they are going to be making 4 million electrical motorbike models by 2030.
Honda is aiming to be totally carbon-neutral by 2040.
Except Honda pivots with nice alacrity into enlargement efforts for EV bike manufacture or turns to alternate strategies of two-wheeled solutions within the title of carbon neutrality, Honda will lose cash within the years between 2030 and 2040.
Pursuant to the above and assuming Honda will maintain quick to their 2040 objective, Honda must convert nearly all of their 50 million-odd bikes into electrical bikes by 2040, or else watch gross sales drop from 50 million bikes each year to our guess of someplace underneath the 20 million unit mark.

Honda believes that carbon neutrality will assist it to remain forward of the competitors and to proceed to develop its market share; to this impact, it’s assumed that Honda is bolstering their efforts within the Southwestern Hemisphere as a result of lower-displacement, lighter autos are simpler to transform to electrical, thus preserving as a lot of the market’s accessibility as doable.

To study extra about Honda’s plans for the approaching quarters, try their EOY Monetary assertion right here:

How Corny: Honda Makes use of Corn to Create Sustainable Fairings

Plant-Based mostly Bodywork to Help within the Model’s Clear Initiative

People have discovered an alarming variety of makes use of for the yellow-kernelled grain identified to many as “corn” – and whereas many people may deal with it like a vegetable in our culinary adventures, one bike firm has determined to transform the stuff right into a bio-based polycarbonate resin made by the Mitsubishi Chemical Group that can be utilized to make motorbike fairings.

The fairings are referred to as “Durabio fairings,” and so they’re one of many extra outlandish concepts that Honda has adopted for themselves (CAKE’s paper-based fairings got here shut). In response to coverage from MCN, Honda has moved ahead with plans to start out utilizing Durabio fairings on their bikes this 12 months, with “corny” bodywork being simply one among many ways in which Honda has been making an attempt to repurpose waste.

Check out what Honda’s American Vice President mentioned of Honda’s reclamation strategies again in 2023 (courtesy of MCN’s contributions):

“The idea is straightforward: We are going to now not should dig holes within the floor for finite supplies and power sources or bury spent supplies in a gap within the floor on the finish of their usable life. That doesn’t change the values that go into our merchandise – clear, secure, and enjoyable autos which are prime quality and of fine worth.

Even after a car is bought, by Honda and our sellers sustaining a relationship with successive clients and the car, we goal to reclaim the product at finish of life. This may allow us to recycle or reuse each little bit of the supplies from our autos, reprocess them again to uncooked supplies, and reuse these supplies within the creation of recent merchandise.”

– Joseph Jay, Honda America Vice President (MCN)

So, how good are these corn-based fairings?

Apparently, they’re top-tier; Nye Davis tells us that one among ‘Durabis traits is excessive transparency, permitting the manufacturing of the stuff to lead to a “excessive customary of end with out the necessity for a visit to the paint store – and regardless of being made out of corn, it gained’t degrade into compost both.”

If you happen to’re nonetheless questioning in regards to the weirdness of this tech, Nye reminds us that Durabio and recycled plastics exist already on the next Honda fashions: