Macbor is a name that might not be familiar to you, and I must admit, it wasn’t for me, either. Claiming a heritage spanning more than 50 years, the motorcycle company based in Barcelona, Spain is interesting that the brand has, for the most part, remained under the radar on the global stage.
Nevertheless, over in its home country of Spain, Macbor seems to have quite a following. And it’s clear that the brand has managed to gain such a following thanks to its wide selection of models catering to the entry-level segment.
Now, all it takes is one visit to Macbor’s official website to see that the brand sources its models from China. Nearly the entirety of its lineup seems to be rebadged versions of existing made-in-China bikes. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up for debate, but one thing’s for sure: Macbor makes motorcycling accessible to a wider audience thanks to its presence in the entry-level scene, especially for those wanting to adopt the two-wheeled lifestyle on a budget.
While Macbor’s bikes consist mostly of A1-focused 125cc bikes, there are quite a few “premium” models in its lineup. Chief of which just has to be the Montana XR5 510, a bike that seems to be Macbor’s entry into the rapidly growing entry-level ADV market. In recent months, bikes like the Royal Enfield Himalayan and CFMoto Ibex 450 have been flexing their muscles in the entry-level ADV game, and it’s clear that these two bikes are leading the charge in the segment.
But instead of going for full-on off-road prowess, the Macbor Montana seems to be going in a different direction. It presents itself as a more well-rounded machine, with a more road-focused touring configuration. It’s also surprisingly pricier than the competition, retailing for 6,199 euros (around $6,850 USD). This makes it almost a thousand euros more expensive than the CFMoto and the Royal Enfield.
But if you look beneath the surface, you’ll notice that the Macbor Montana XR5 510 isn’t exactly an all-new machine. In fact, it does very little to hide its true identity.
It seems that the Macbor Montana is essentially just a rebadged Colove 500X, also known as the KL Raticosa 500X, or the Bristol Venturi 500—you get it. In essence, all these bikes share the same platform, and are all stamped out in the same Chinese factory for distribution to multiple markets all over the world under different names. They’re all powered by the same engine: the Loncin KE500 which is essentially an upsized, reverse-engineered clone of Honda’s CB500 engine.
And so, it’s clear that the Macbor Montana XR5 will by no means revolutionize the entry-level ADV scene, as it’s well and truly just another rebadged made-in-China ADV. But we can’t deny that it contributes to the variety of choices available to European riders. And given that it’s more than a thousand euros cheaper than the bike it’s essentially trying to imitate—the Honda NX500—who knows?
Perhaps it does have some potential.
