2010 Megelli 250R

The market for small displacement street motorcycles is slim pickin’s in the States. Models such as the Honda Rebel, Ninja 250R, Kawasaki Eliminator 250 are somewhat exciting but sometimes go decades without redesign or major updates. They are great, proven bikes but are kind of lacking in the looks department.

About 4 years ago Hyosung showed up in the states under the Alpha Sport badge with a 250cc cruiser and fully faired sportbike. Both bikes looked good but the big story was the GT250R which looked more like a middle weight sportbike than a dated learner bike. A few years later Kawasaki redesigned the Ninja 250R. I personally doubt this was a coincidence. The Hyosung no doubt took a small bite out of the little Ninja’s sales.

For 2010 the bar has been raised by Italian manufacturer Megelli and US importer QLINK. QLINK quietly rolled out 3 liquid cooled 250cc single cylinder street bikes that bring ¼ liter styling to a new level. Steel trellis frame and swingarm, under seat exhaust, 31.4 inch seat height all delivered in a dirtbike light 248 lbs. These bikes look incredibly sexy and on paper sound silly fun to ride. A fully faired sportbike, a naked street fighter and a supermoto version is available.

2010 Megelli 250S

Compared to the 330 lb vTwin powered Hyosung GT250R’s 28 HP and 16.7 lb-ft of torque, the Migelli may be lacking in overall power with 16.2 HP. However, 17.8 lb-ft of torque coming from the SYM built motor combined with it’s light weight should provide for some great launches from the line and serious front wheel lofting. SYM, a powersports company out of Taiwan is known for building powerful engines with durable ceramic coated cylindar walls. The 2 year warranty puts the two bikes on par for coverage.

The price of the Megelli 250R sport bike is $3499 saving you $500 over the solid colored Hyosung models which could buy a good amount of safety gear for a learner rider. The 250S Streetfighter costs $3199 saving $300 compared to the Hyosung GT250 naked which is also a substantial amount of cash.

2010 Megelli 250M

The model that may have the largest sale potential is the 250M supermoto. It comes in at $2899 making it one of the best values in the US motorcycle market today. Comparing it to the Yamaha WR250X you loose some torque and a little HP but your also saving a staggering $3600. It remains to be seen how much you loose in fit and finish and component quality compared to the Yamaha but many flaws can be ironed out with 3 and a half large.

If you want all the details on how these bikes are engineered check out the Megelli Parts site for complete microfiche for the bikes.

Scooter-news.com reported a sighting of a small displacement Qlink sport bike at the 2009 Dealer Expo. As Scooter News mentioned it looks a lot like a Ducati sport bike. I figured Alternative Cruisers would have some information on it since they usually cover Qlink cruisers. Sure enough they did.

Turns out this bike is a 125cc single (in Europe) and a 250cc (in the USA). The designed is by Megelli of England. These bikes debuted at EICMA back in 2007. Price range will be $3000 to $3500. The 125cc engine is produced by SYM Taiwan and has a ceramic coated cylinder. There is also a 50cc version in the works.

The Megelli website explains:
75% of all components are Taiwanese manufactured and raw materials purchased are to Western standards to ensure the quality box remains ticked. The power unit is purchased from SYM Taiwan which includes a ceramic coating cylinder – not a cheap option, but worth every one of your hard earned Euros! Developing a genuine 11hp, this unit has a proven track record and creates a respectful power to weight ratio for a lively ride.

Also found this spy footage on youtube…

Sources:
Scooter News
Alternative Cruisers
Megelli
Megelli Forum

Italjet is about to enter the big bike market with the Grifon 650. The Italian mark is catching a second wind after it’s banruptcy in 2003. The Grifon’s blacked out Italian styling is accented with spoked rims, Giannelli exhaust and Brembo brakes. The Pre-production Grifon looks to be a combination of the Grifon and Bazooka prototypes introduced in late 2005. MCN posted the following video of a test ride…

Italjet is the latest company to outsource the chassis and 650 vTwin engine to South Korean Motorcycle manufacturer Hyosung. This most likely will allow them to hit a lower price point than previous prototypes with outsourced engines. Diamo USA is set to import the Grifon to the United States under the name Italjet USA. Let’s hope we see it spice up the bike meet parking lots some time in the near future.