Benda Rover 500 is reportedly real, and the name is pure British comedy
Benda's reported new Rover 500 cruiser has a V-twin engine, belt drive and a name that is straight from the script of a Carry On film.
Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Benda has reportedly unveiled a new cruiser called the Rover 500, and while the bike itself looks fairly conventional by the brand's standards, its name is likely to prove rather more memorable on this side of the world.
For British readers, the name sounds suspiciously like a line from a Carry On film, meaning the Chinese brand may have stumbled across one of the finest accidental double entendres in motorcycle history.
Whether the company has any idea what it's saying to English-speaking audiences is another matter entirely.
The Rover 500 was reported by New Zealand's AutoTrader on 23 October, with images credited to Momo Motorbike. According to that report, the new machine is a cruiser combining retro styling with more modern design elements, including a low-slung profile, muscular bodywork, belt final drive and a pair of side-mounted exhausts.
Power reportedly comes from a V-twin engine, although no displacement figures beyond the model name, performance data, pricing or detailed technical specifications have been confirmed through an official Benda announcement that we could locate.
Indeed, the Rover 500 does not currently appear in the model line-up published on Benda's official website, so its precise status remains unclear.
AutoTrader suggests the motorcycle could reach the market in 2027, but that timeline should be treated as unconfirmed until the manufacturer provides further details.
That uncertainty hasn't stopped the name from doing the rounds among motorcycle enthusiasts, with online discussion already producing the inevitable variations on the joke.
It is, after all, difficult to introduce yourself as the owner of a Benda Rover without inviting at least one entirely predictable response.
Visordown will be out at EICMA in a couple of weeks, and we’ll be sure to bring you all the details regarding the *chuckles* Benda Rover as we have them.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
