Modenas
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| Private | |
| Industry | Motorcycles |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Gurun, Kedah, Malaysia |
| Website | www |
Syarikat Motosikal dan Enjin Nasional Sdn. Bhd (National Motorcycle and Engine Company), or known as Modenas for short is a Malaysian national motorcycle company producing various small motorcycle models below 200 cc targeted for local market and export. The company's headquarters and factory are located at the small town of Gurun, Kedah, Malaysia.
The history of the company began at the early 1990s. After the success of Malaysian automotive manufacturer Proton, the government looked forward to launch a national motorcycle project. Modenas was formed in 1995 and majority of its shares were held by Kawasaki, Sojitz, Khazanah Nasional and DRB-HICOM.
Modenas achieved its 1,000,000th unit production in June 2007. Currently Modenas is exporting its products to 17 countries worldwide with Greece, Russia and South America being the largest importer.
Generally, Modenas produces motorcycle models ranging below 250 cc. Most models are scooter models and Honda Super Cub compatible mopeds, or known by Malaysians as cub仔 (kapcai).
Modenas Kriss is the first model launched by Modenas in 1996. The model is actually named after a Malay traditional weapon, kris, though some motorcycle shops in the United Kingdom had mistakenly advertised the model to be named from the acronym of a famous American motorcycle racer, Kenny Roberts because Modenas had once built some racing motorcycles for Modenas KR Motorcycle Grand Prix team.
It was previewed to the public during Malaysian National Day parade in 1996 and began production at the end of 1996. The original model only uses drum brakes, but in 1999 the front disc brake model was launched, known as Kriss 2 (or Kriss 115 Sports in some countries). Powered by 111 cc Kawasaki-developed engines, Modenas Kriss becomes the best-selling motorcycle model in Malaysia.
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Wikipedia