Mash motorcycles?

[linuxyeti]

[G]

[Rogerborg]

How is your strawman going to kick start the bike with his floppy straw legs?
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[linuxyeti]

Really, still going, have you not understood anything at all. The second can provide a perfectly valid subjective opinion as to what the bike was actually like to ride, why do they need a frame of reference.

First off, does that bike ride well, for them themselves, do it's riding qualities suit them? After gaining further experience, either from riding the same bike, or others, will their opinion/views change, quite possibly.

However, the crux of the hypothesis is that one of the riders has ridden the YBR125, irrespective of experience, and can therefore provide a valid view based of first hand experience, the second, can only offer an opinon, either based on hearsay and / or prejudice, but not any genuine first hand experience, of said bike, much the same as you are attempting to do here.

My views have ALL been from 1st hand experience, and that, is the difference
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Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Rogerborg]

You'll want to stay bang on topic with G.

Here's what I read: the bike did handle flawlessly when you rode it, where you rode it, in the way that you rode it.

That's not a particularly controversial statement unless you read more into it. If there were no flaws apparent, it was flawless.


Here's what I didn't read: the bike will handle flawlessly on any surface, under any conditions, and any use.

That would be hard to defend. Good job nobody said it.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[G]

[Rogerborg]

[linuxyeti]

Yes that was a typo for no, and I still stand by what I wrote then, and it's still true now, even as I approach 1000 miles ridden on this bike.

Thus far, the bike has indeed handled flawlessly, no matter what the road surface has been like that I have ridden it on. This inlcudes :-

A roads, single & dual carriageway
Motorway, M54
B roads, yes, paved, complete with the expected surface imperfections, such as, pot holes, fords (not related to the car manufacturer)
Unnamed roads, again, paved.

Over both flat, and hilly terrain.

Of course all of the above is based entirely on my own experience, but I do think, 1000 miles, does give me overall a very good feel for the bike, and how it does or doesn't ride, and if any niggles were to become apparent, they would have started becoming apparent by now. I have not, as yet, felt that for any reason, the bike is not riding flawlessly.

If I do hit a snag, then I'll report it here, however, that has simply not been the case, how difficult can that be to understand?
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Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Rogerborg]

Imagine G as a thrill junkie Vulcan with an addiction to 2-stroke oil.

If you'd said "has handled", past perfect continuous tense, pas de problème.

You said "handles" though, so it's present continuous and koon-ut-kal-if-fee time.

https://38.media.tumblr.com/068db1474446254a3a8dc863d1b86cc3/tumblr_mrvwd0m6cu1ry46hlo1_r1_400.gif
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[iansoady]

Hi everyone.

Just joined the forum as I have been looking at the MASH as a replacement for my current Suzuki Wee-Strom and this thread popped up via google. As age creeps up on me I'm finding the Wee more of a hassle to get in and out of the garage and to generally manhandle although once on the move it's fine. This all means I'm using it less than I would like.

Just to put it in context (and to introduce myself), I've been riding for over 45 years, have had at least one bike all that time although most of my experience has been with older Brits. The Suzuki replaced a Tiger 955i which again I liked very much but was even heavier and harder to shove around.

My days of spending a week to go across to France and have a couple of days of pass-storming in the Alps are, I feel, probably behind me so I'm looking more for something that will handle reasonably on A and B roads, will manage 100 miles or so with no problems, is reasonably lightweight and looks good. The MASH does seem to fill these requirements.

I'm very interested in what linuxyeti has posted, and it gives me some confidence although I know Chinese bikes have had a bad press generally . I live in Brum so think I will pop over to Chas Mann's next week and have a good look and maybe a test ride.

Any further experiences to share?

Many thanks
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Ian
1986 Honda XBR500
1952 Norton ES2

[Oldie]

Well Ian, if you've previously ridden a V Strom, then why not have a look at the Honley Venturer? I've only ever sat on one but it felt pretty decent. Look after it and it should be fine (ish).

[Rogerborg]

Hi Ian, I get where you're coming from.

You might want to have a look at Royal Enfields as well. Bit heavier but you don't notice it, mine's very easy to wheel around. Parts are plentiful, retained value is good and the modern ones are a lot better designed than they used to be.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[linuxyeti]

Hi Ian

Well, so far I can't fault my Mash. Also, I think you'll find Ian at Chas Mann very ameneable, and helpful.

If you pop across, tell him Tony says hello, apparently I was his first Mash sale A born again virgin !! Ha.

I do also agree about Enfields, I have an oldish 350 bullet, however, new Enfields are only available as 500's which puts them into the higher VED bracket, and are more expensive.

I think in the August edition of Classic Bike, they are doing a reeview/write up of the Mash 400.

Cheers

Tony
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Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[ScaredyCat]

Looking at those pictures reminds me how much I want a W650 ...
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[linuxyeti]

Hi, yeah I know what you mean, nice looking bike, and I have considered one of those in the past. Perhaps if they did a W400, to get it into the A2 class and lower VED bracket, I reckon it'd do well

Cheers

Tony
____________________
Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Rogerborg]

[iansoady]

Many thanks all.

I used to ride a (Redditch) Bullet in pre-65 trials for several years although with no great success and that did put me off the marque to some extent although I appreciate the modern versions are totally different. They're also more expensive and heavier (at least on quoted weight) than the MASH.

The MASH looks (to me) better than all the other bikes I'm considering and is reasonably priced, although I can see it dropping a lot in depreciation in the first year. I've always been a firm believer in letting someone else take that hit in the past.

I'm in no rush to change, although as usual once I've decided the money starts to burn a hole in my pocket....

I've just had a quick look at the Honley but TBH fancy a more conventional looking machine this time round. The MASH seems to be very similar in power, weight and general dimensions to the unit Triumph 500 I've just parted with but I like to have one bike to tinker with (currently the 1931 Sunbeam) and one to just get on and ride. The Triumph certainly wasn't the latter......
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Ian
1986 Honda XBR500
1952 Norton ES2

[Rogerborg]

Put a Mash and an Enfield in my garage and I'd probably chose to ride the Mash based on the specifications.

However, I wouldn't have both. I'd buy and own the Enfield over the Mash based on parts supply and retained value. Oh, and that there are no Mash dealers anywhere near.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[linuxyeti]

Hi

It's not the extra £??, but if I was going to get a new classic bike in the A1 & higher VED category, it would have to be a new Triumph Bonneville. Same as my America effectively, so can say from 4 years ownership that the engine is reliable, and the chrome holds up well, not too sure about the laqueted forks etc though.

Anyhow, I loke both my Enfield 350 & Mash, for some of the same reasons, and for some differing reasons But I can't see me putting above 1000miles a year on the Enfield, fair bit of pfaff what with blocked breather tubes etc & convoluted oil changes !!

Cheers

Tony
____________________
Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[ScaredyCat]

[Oldie]

Just in case no one has mentioned it, there's a decent French forum dedicated to Mash motorcycles. I spent a day or two reading through the posts and came away thinking that these guys generally loved their bikes. A few common issues arose, all with easy fixes.

Having been available in France for a few years now it seems that the bikes are holding up rather well.

The site is in French, of course, but just use the translate function on your 'puter.

https://www.mash70-75.com/index.php

[Rogerborg]

That is helpful and informative and such, but at the risk of Teffing out a bit, I'm compelled to point out that:

1) You can say exactly the same for Indian owners of (modern) Royal Enfields.

2) We don't live in France or India. However, I can order Indian parts online very easily. Does the same hold true for Mash bikes?


However, please ignore me and buy Mash bikes today so that it makes more sense for me to do so tomorrow.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[linuxyeti]

Already have Although I should point out the Mash 400 ( known as the 500) in France, has only been available for a relatively short time, but yeah Mash so seem to have a pretty good reputation in mainland europe, which can only bode well.
____________________
Beware what photos you upload, or link to on here, especially if you have family members on them

[Oldie]

Having toyed with getting something "interesting" I still haven't ridden any of the hopefuls yet. I'm not even sure that it's a good idea to be tempted by (mainly) price (circa £4k) as it's still a decent whack of cash.

The Mash 400 should be cheaper, if only because of the weaker Euro, but the importer will just treat it as a windfall. Otherwise, I might be tempted.

The SR400i is £4k second hand (not many about) and possibly flawed.

The Enfields are a decent bet - I like them - but my favorite (Electra) is no longer available new. I could probably still get one for circa £4k if I travelled.

The Sinnis 250 is a nice retro bike, the only downside being the lightweight feel to the bike (and the shocking shockers). However, it's well priced if it's not going to be your main bike.

The Honley Venturer is probably as good as any Chinese bike and not too over-priced but I see pre-reg bikes going for low prices, which doesn't bode well for depreciation.

Then, when the dust settles, I realise that I've just come back from a superb run on my CX500 Eurosport (£1k) and wonder what the hell I'm doing drooling over other, potentially suspect, bikes. Probably because they are shiny, and nothing else.

[Rogerborg]