![]() We also managed to bottom out the front fork a few times over sharper pot holes at slow speeds. The suspension setup is on the softer side and while that results in a comfy ride over our city roads, at highway speeds, the bike feels wallowy. In terms of hardware, the 350R gets a 43mm upside down front fork and a monoshock at the rear. When we tested the better maintained GK 350, the city fuel efficiency we got was 26kmpl, so maybe the 350R was just a victim of negligence. City riding is pretty effortless and most of the slow crawling can be done in second and third, but at this point it must be highlighted, the poor upkeep of the bike took a toll on its fuel efficiency- just 20kmpl in the city and 27kmpl on the highway. ![]() ![]() While holding triple digit speeds is easy, shuffling through the gear box for quick overtakes is simply annoying because of that flat fourth gear. We’ve so far ridden the Zontes 350ADV, GK 350 and the 350R and all three behaved the same way- short- first and second, tall- third, short- fourth, tall- fifth and sixth. However, on the road, the 350R’s motor feels more like a 250cc and what makes matter worse are the gear ratios of its 6-speed gearbox. In fact, the Zontes 350R makes just as much power and the Kawasaki Ninja 300! It’s the closest rival to the KTM 390 Duke. And that’s the disappointing bit, because on paper this 348cc motor is packing nearly 39PS and 32.8Nm, which is way more than the BMW G 310 R (35PS and 28Nm). While all these features and design elements can be enjoyed best at standstill, the Zontes 350R isn’t as exciting when in motion. From locking/unlocking the bike, to ignition, to opening the fuel filler cap and seat, it’s all keyless and convinient. You have a key fob instead of a conventional key and buttons on the handlebar for virtually everything. Not impressed yet? Operating the 350R (like all its siblings) is a fully keyless affair. The display is customisable like a smartphone and has multiple themes to choose from. It gets a 5-inch colour TFT screen with a screen mirroring feature. ![]() While most sub-500cc bikes are just about getting LCD screens, Bluetooth connectivity and USB charging, the Zontes 350R is a smartphone among landlines. Later, we encountered another problem which was pretty frightening to say the least.įeatures is another area where the Chinese are blowing the competition into the middle of last week. After its last outing, it was benched, the battery had drained, the engine and gearbox felt gruff from the lack of TLC. Hence it’s surprising that the Zontes 350R feels more like a Chinese bike of the past and not the present.īut before we begin, we must tell you, this particular media unit of the Zontes 350R was not in the best shape due to the lack of care at the Pune service centre. However, in recent times our neighbours have bagged the rights to make bikes for well known brands like KTM, Harley-Davidson, BMW and more, and the recent crop of motorcycles from China have been impressive too. But, what if I said ‘Chinese’? I sense your hesitation, I feel it too. Similarly when we think of motorcycles, ‘Japanese’ stands for reliable, and ‘European’ stands for exotic. For example, if I asked you, who makes the best watches? You’d probably say the Swiss do. It underscores how the country where a product originates from can have a positive effect on a consumer’s perception of it. Practically speaking, competitive riders will immediately draw confidence from the absence of the notorious “oversteering” usually associated with technical cornering of track bikes and the way in which, in deceleration leading into a corner, the rear wheel skips and skids less, “hugging” the surface of the road more completely, thus improving rider control.There’s a theory called the ‘country of origin effect’. The naturally superior elasticity of Columbus’s cold-drawn steel allows for the frame to better absorb vibrations and other disturbances from the road’s surface, particularly in moments when the frame is subject to the greatest deformation and stress (in the three stages of cornering). Steel is soul of the new Vigorelli’s performance. ![]() The use of Columbus Cromolly steel tubing for the frame’s construction. The new geometry features a higher bottom bracket and increased fork rake, further reducing toe overlap and providing a more stable ride quality a response to ever higher race speeds at events such as the Red Hook Criterium. It is characterized above all by its extraordinary handling abilities in technical racing conditions.Īt the heart of the Vigorelli Steel’s precise race handling, are two distinguishing innovations: a re-tuned, fixed-gear crit specific, track geometry. The Cinelli Vigorelli Steel – introduced to the public in 2017 after more than a year of development and testing with Team Cinelli – is the first production bike in the world designed specifically for fixed gear criteriums. ![]()
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