ZXMoto founder Zhang Xue has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled on two wheels across open water. He covered 40.74km on a modified ZXMoto MX450 in Mayang Miao autonomous county, Huaihua, Hunan province. The run exceeded the previous mark of 31.8km; those distances are approximately 25.3 miles and 19.7 miles respectively.

The attempt took place on 25 October and was reported to have started at 11am local time. Rescue boats and medical teams were on standby throughout the challenge. Guinness World Records officials were present for the validation process, which used GPS data, timing information and audiovisual records to assess the run.

A motorcycle adapted for the water

This was not a standard MX450. Special flotation slides were fitted beneath both tyres, while the motorcycle also received waterproofing modifications for the attempt. Those changes allowed Zhang to take a motocross-based machine onto a course where maintaining support and forward movement across the water was the central challenge.

The result also revisits an unfinished project from Zhang’s past. Seventeen years earlier, at the age of 22, he had already tried to ride across water. All four attempts ended in the water, with the best reaching only 20 metres, as the vehicle technology and design available at the time limited the effort.

Zhang co-founded Kove with five other investors in 2017 and left the company in 2024. He launched ZXMoto a few months later. The newer company is also competing in the World Supersport Championship with the 820RR-RS, while Valentin Debise finished second in the championship for the ZXMoto Factory Evan Bros Racing Team.