Minsk Motorcycle, (Russian: Минск) or also known as Motovelo Corp, is a company that produces bicycles and motorcycles.
It is situated in the capital of Belarus in Minsk.
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History
The plant was founded on 6 November 1945 making bicycles. In 1951 motorcycle production started with the transfer of production lines from MMZ in Moscow.
The company produced a two stroke 125cc motorcycle based on a pre-World War II DKW RT 125 design made in Minsk in the former Soviet Union (now Belarus). This model was imported into Great Britain by Neval Motorcycles and initially tradenamed as "Neval".
Minsk motorcycles were among the Soviet motorcycles distributed by SATRA, UK, under the brand name Cossack, (Satra was originally located in Surrey, England, later moving to Carnaby) from 1973 to 1979.[1]
Present situation
The plant manufactures on parallel assembly lines motorcycles and bicycles. 70% of bicycles are exported to Russia, while 90% of motorcycles are exported to countries outside of former USSR - Iran, Vietnam, Turkey, Mexico, UK, France, USA and Germany.
The plant was privatized in the 1990s with most of the share going to workers. The MotoVelo Corporation has been in decline, some experts attribute this to the rapid increase of steel price from Russia in 2003-2005. Also Vietnam - a major importer of Motovelo production - introduced a 40% import duty for the Belarusian company forcing it to lose to cheaper Chinese production [2].
On 25 November 2005 some 600 employees of MotoVelo rallied and blocked a Minsk street in protest at low salaries (average $200/month[3]) and poor work conditions. On 16 December 2005 the majority stock (90% of stock options) was transferred to the Belarusian state to save the plant. Which in Belarusian socialist economy means that the plant will have an influx of state money.
Christopher Hunt wrote about his experience in riding a Minsk motorcycle along the Ho Chi Minh trail after the Vietnam War in his book Sparring With Charlie: Motorbiking Down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. A Minsk was featured in Top Gear's Vietnam Special, ridden by Richard Hammond.
Motorcycle has a strong fan base in some countries.[4] For example, in Vietnam annual 'Minsk Olympics' is held in the northern part of the country.[5]
Sources
- ^ [1]RussianMotorcycles Cossack Motorcycles (Retrieved 30 November 2006)
- ^ http://naviny.by/rubrics/economic/2004/11/08/ic_articles_113_138072/print/ (rus)
- ^ http://minsk.kp.ru/2005/11/29/doc92488/ (rus)
- ^ [2]Expat Bikers Fall for Beast From Belarus(Retrieved September 9, 2009)
- ^ [3]The Minsk and the Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance (Retrieved September 4, 2009)
- ^ Sparring With Charlie: Motorbiking Down the Ho Chi Minh Trail by Christopher Hunt (1996), ISBN 0-385-48128-4; Anchor Books
- ^ http://www.belarusguide.com/industry1/Minsk_motor.htm
External links
Coordinates: 53°52′59″N 27°35′31″E / 53.88306°N 27.59194°E
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