Motovert’s 250XTR four-stroke off-roader is very much a surprise packet.

MOTOVERT’S 250XTR shows how good budget motorcycles can be. There’s plenty of flash, and for little cash you can be carving your way around the paddock or MX track. Don’t for a second think the 250XTR will match a 250cc MX four-stroke from the big Japanese and European manufacturers, but at around a third of the cost of said entrenched marques, the XTR isn’t two thirds behind.

Around six months ago I got to test a 125cc Motovert, which was very much in the style of the fast 50 set. It was surprisingly fast but was a handful when riding quickly because of the smaller wheels and shorter travel suspension. The bike was fun to ride but the engine overshadowed the rest of the bike.

When the 250XTR turned up at home it looked the business, there was more bling than you could take in during one viewing, and it was nearly the same height and dimensions as the YZ250F I usually ride. A look around the bike shows it has a liquid-cooled 250c four-stroke engine, electric start, upside down forks, disc brakes front and rear, and at the first stab of the button, a very fruity exhaust note.

It looked pretty familiar too, then I dragged out an old copy of Cycle Torque. The Motovert looked very similar to the Puzey 250cc dirt bike, and it even carries the same name, 250XTR. Not sure what’s happening there but it seems the bike is designed in South Africa and made in China. A little bit of badge engineering perhaps?

I’m not the tallest 15-year-old around but the seat height of the XTR suited me perfectly, it’s not the same size as a normal 250cc MXer but it’s very close. I could just get both feet on the ground, whereas on a YZ250F it’s one foot only.

Motovert’s XTR looks very trick, there’s billet and anodized alloy everywhere, but some of the bits look a bit cheap. It looks more like a freestyle bike than a MX race bike, and in black looks tough. It wouldn’t look out of place at a custom bike show.

Some of the parts seem to have been designed more for show than go, like the alloy levers which have a square edge which digs into your fingers slightly. Only a small criticism really. Off the trailer

The XTR fires up easily on the choke, and once warmed up idles nicely. I did wind the idle up slightly during warm up, otherwise the bike wanted to stall. Once warmed up I left the idle where it was. My first session was on a grass track with a few turns, slow and flat out. Brodie, my riding partner and mate, was on his 2006 Kawasaki KX125, so I thought it would be a great time to see how the XTR stacked up against a potent 125cc two-stroke. Well I can tell you it stacked up very well. Sure, the XTR didn’t have the top end of the 125 but it was very close, and proved a match for the little MX bike around the grass track circuit. We spent lap after lap roaring around the circuit with nothing between the two bikes.

I couldn’t find any quoted power figures for the XTR but it definitely isn’t in the ball park of a YZ250F or similar. It doesn’t have the acceleration, top speed or light weight of these hard core bikes, but it doesn’t have the frantic feel or price tag of these either.

After the grass track fun we decided to find some trails on the property and explored gullies, single trail tracks and some jumps. Brodie and I both liked the way the bike was planted in the rougher stuff, but as expected the suspension was a bit soft when we started to launch off the jumps. Flat out turns showed us the bike was very stable too, the handlebars stayed planted and the bike steered where you wanted it to.

Pulling the XTR up was easy work, both front and rear disc brakes gave plenty of feel, and the back brake didn’t lock up as soon as you touch it.

I liked the power because it wasn’t intimidating and was easy to explore its top end. For the average rider, or someone new to this class, the XTR is perfect to learn your craft without finding yourself flying over the handlebars because you were a bit free and easy with the throttle. It will go hard but not easily get out of control, and is a bike the whole family could have fun on. It’s not a wheelie hound, you could probably get it to launch into the air more easily with some gearing changes but as it was you needed to use plenty of clutch to get it reaching for the sky.

my verdict

I was really impressed by the Motovert 250XTR, it was heaps of fun on the throttle and in the turns, and looks flasher than a rap star. People often get the impression Chinese made bikes are ready for the scrap heap straight after the first ride, but we hammered the bike for hours and it never missed a beat, starting up every time on the button (it does have a kickstarter too). It’s not going to go head-to-head with the big name quarter litre rockets on performance, and I don’t know if it will last as long, but at only $????? it could very well be worth a gamble if racing isn’t your go.

Pics and wording Taken from Cycle torque Magazine

http://www.cycletorque.com.au/