Rieju

Rieju began in 1934. Two young businessmen, Luis Riera Carré and Jaime Juanola Farres, started out making bicycle accessories. They built the brand name from their surnames: RIEra plus JUanola.

The Spanish Civil War stopped the business before it began. The Republican government confiscated the unfinished factory and used it as a trucking center. After the war Rieju restarted. The limited company RIERA Y JUANOLA, S.L. was formally created in 1942, with 1 million pesetas of capital. Rieju's history notes that the deed was certified by the notary father of Salvador Dalí.

Timeline

Enduro before GasGas

Rieju's off-road story is older than the MR. In 1978 it entered the Spanish Enduro Championship for the first time, in the 75 cc class. Rieju says it won 12 national titles in that category. The 1979 Marathon made green the brand's off-road color, and Rieju then specialized in off-road bikes. In 1985 the Spanish government awarded Rieju a Silver Plate for Motorcycle Achievement after second place in the Enduro World Championship.

How Rieju took over the old GasGas enduro bikes

The MR range is the pre-KTM GasGas enduro platform. On 3 March 2020, Torrot Electric Europa and Rieju S.A. announced the sale of the platform and rights to the previous GasGas range. These were the bikes developed and built in Girona before Pierer Mobility AG acquired the GasGas brand.

The deal gave Rieju:

• the intellectual and industrial property of the platform, to be built and sold under the Rieju name;
• the rights to continue the 250 and 300 cc EC, XC and GP models developed from 2017;
• the Ranger model from 2019.

Production moved to Rieju's plant in Figueres. The first 2021 MR 300 Racing bikes rolled off the line in the first week of June 2020, with 200 cc and 250 cc versions to follow later that year. Rieju's own history calls it the acquisition of "the GasGas enduro industrial platform" in mid-2020.

The Rieju MR is not today's GasGas. Under Pierer, GasGas launched new-breed bikes that kept nothing of the previous models. The bike on our GasGas EC 300 page is that newer design. For the brand's side of the story, see our GasGas brand page.

Rieju builds its bikes at its plant in Figueres, in Catalonia. The MR enduro range moved there from Girona in 2020. Rieju states that the TFI two-stroke engine in the 2027 MR range is designed and built in Spain.

In 2020, Enduro21 reported that Rieju made more than 12,000 motorcycles a year and exported 85% of them to more than 40 countries.

The Vilamalla factory

In 2026 Rieju began building a new factory in the Empordà Internacional industrial area in Vilamalla. Rieju gives these figures:

• Plot: 71,973 m²
• Built area: 27,100 m²
• Layout: two warehouses, a production plant with five assembly lines, and offices
• Opening: planned for the first quarter of 2028

CEO Jordi Riera said the plant will raise production capacity, flexibility and digitalization. The project has support from Spain's PERTE program for electric and connected vehicles.

Rieju lists three full-size enduro models for 2027. All three share one engine: a 298 cc two-stroke with TFI electronic fuel injection. A small four-stroke, the MR Pro 125, sits below them.

Shared specification

From Rieju's spec sheets for the 2027 MR 300i:

• Engine: 298 cc two-stroke, 72 × 72.52 mm bore and stroke, TFI injection with two Bosch injectors
• Maps: three, called Race, Forest and Wet
• Engine parts: electronic exhaust valve, counter-rotating balance shaft, reed intake with VFORCE 4, diaphragm clutch in an oil bath, six-speed gearbox, electric start
• Frame: central spine in chrome-molybdenum steel, detachable aluminum subframe
• Suspension: 48 mm KYB inverted fork with AOS (Air Oil Separated) system and closed cartridge; KYB shock on a progressive linkage; 300 mm front and 310 mm rear travel
• Brakes: Nissin calipers and master cylinders, 260 mm front and 220 mm rear Galfer discs
• Fuel: 9.8 L

For 2027 the whole range gets a new LED headlight, a new front mask and model-specific graphics.

The Hard Enduro version

Rieju calls the MR 300i Hard Enduro the most fully equipped MR and builds it for hard enduro. Its changes:

• Engine: an inertia sleeve, a Hard water pump cover with a higher-flow impeller, and a specific spark plug, to add inertia and low-rev drive
• Cooling: a dedicated expansion tank and a twin electric fan module
• Drive and exhaust: a specific HARD exhaust tuned for low-rev torque, and a shorter final drive with an 11-tooth output sprocket and AXP chain guide
• Brakes: a 5 mm thick, 220 mm Galfer Wave rear disc made for hard off-road use
• Protection fitted as standard: AXP Enduro skid plate, swingarm protector, front and rear disc guards, handlebar protectors, offset stainless steel footpegs, and front and rear pull straps

Our full model page is the Rieju MR 300i Hard Enduro, with the Racing and Pro versions. To compare the MR 300i against other 300s, read our hard enduro 300 two-stroke buyer's guide.

Rieju's biggest international titles on the MR are in enduro, not hard enduro. Its hard enduro program is younger and smaller.

Hard enduro

• 2021: Francesc Moret, a former TrialGP rider, gave Rieju its first major hard enduro win at round three of the Spanish Hard Enduro Cup in Guadalajara. Teodor Kabakchiev crossed the line 27 seconds ahead of him but took a one-minute penalty for breaking the refueling rule.
• 2023: The Rieju Factory Team signed Alfredo Gómez to race the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and the SuperEnduro World Championship. His sister Sandra Gómez signed with Rieju for the 2023 Dakar Rally.
• 2024: Rieju launched a limited-edition MR 300 Hard Enduro Alfredo Gómez Replica, 100 units, with engine tuning Gómez helped develop. Gómez also worked on the TFI injection project.
• 2026: Moret and Eric Miquel race the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship on MR 300i bikes.

2026 so far

At Erzberg, Bert Boam was the fastest Rieju rider in the Iron Road Prologue, in 13th. Moret reached the front row by winning the Extreme Trial Challenge. Rieju notes that the 2026 Erzbergrodeo did not count toward the world championship.

Enduro world titles

Rieju has won the FIM EnduroGP Women's World Championship three years running on the MR Pro:

• 2024: Mireia Badia
• 2025: Rachel Gutish
• 2026: Rachel Gutish, with team-mate Rosie Rowett runner-up. Rieju counts two world runner-up finishes for Rowett.

Rieju's 2026 factory team lists Rosie Rowett, Dominik Olszowy and Rachel Gutish, all in enduro.

TFI injection with two injectors

The MR 300i uses Rieju's TFI system, short for throttle-body fuel injection. Two Bosch injectors split the work, one for low revs and one for high revs. Rieju says the aim is the feel and response of a carbureted two-stroke with the smoothness of injection. Three maps (Race, Forest and Wet) are chosen with a handlebar button. An electronic exhaust valve opens according to revs and throttle position.

Our TBI vs carb guide explains what throttle-body injection changes for a hard enduro rider, including the lack of re-jetting when altitude or temperature changes.

A counter-rotating balance shaft

The MR 300i has a counter-rotating balance shaft. Rieju says it steadies the engine and cuts vibration. On a long hard enduro day, less vibration is a real gain, because of how the sport is ridden. Riders spend hours at low speed with a constant grip on the bars. Our arm pump guide explains how that sustained grip wears out the forearms.

Linkage rear suspension and KYB

Rieju mounts the KYB shock on a progressive linkage. Every 2027 MR 300i gets a 48 mm KYB closed-cartridge fork with AOS. The Pro and Hard Enduro add a DLC anti-friction coating on the fork tubes. For how linkage compares with a linkless design on rocks and roots, see our PDS vs linkage explainer.

A dedicated hard enduro model

Our view: for hard enduro, the MR 300i Hard Enduro is the Rieju to shortlist. Rieju's own spec sheet makes the case. The inertia sleeve and exhaust target low-rev drive. The twin fans and dedicated expansion tank target overheating at walking pace. The 11-tooth sprocket shortens the gearing for climbs. The seat is 20 mm lower than the Racing's. The guards and pull straps come fitted, where Rieju lists them as options on the other versions. For more on why gearing and cooling matter here, see our enduro gearing guide and our bike setup checklist.

Spanish enduro lineage

The MR carries two Spanish enduro histories. One is Rieju's own, from its 75 cc Spanish titles and the Marathon. The other is the Girona-built GasGas range that Rieju bought in 2020. For riding in the country where both were built, see our Spain destination guide.