Modern retro:
Lexmoto Vendetta
We try this new, £2500, 250cc, V-twin out for size
DO YOU OWN a classic motorcycle? Great,
ALL THE GEAR
I’d spotted a Vendetta at a show and thought it jolly intriguing. It has a proper full-size motorcycle engine, for a start. A 250cc V-twin, no less, that bears significant similarities to the Yamaha XV250 mill.
There’s one cam and two valves per long-stroke cylinder and the stainless-steel exhaust specified by Lexmoto in the UK has a rather fruity sound.
There’s street scrambler styling, which adds a little flair while removing the expectation that the bike will be a high performing mount. There are slightly knobbly dual-purpose tyres far more suited to the road than the dirt, there are tiny mudguards, a thin but comfy seat, braced bars and an air of sparseness; this is apart from what seems to be an overly large tank. This might have something to do with finding somewhere to hide all the gizmos motorcycle manufacturers need to add these days, such as fuel injection modules and ABS electronics. Lexmoto couldn’t hide them behind the side panels, ’cos that’s where the monoshock goes, or under the seat, because that’s too slender.
There’s a bash plate and a headlight grille and conventional forks with decent gaiters. It would be great to find out who makes those, and persuade them to make gaiters for British classics, instead of the easy split garbage we get foisted upon us. The forks are not adjustable, but the monoshock is, and it’s easy to get to the adjusters. There’s a neat little multi-use instrument console, a single, small round clock. The needle shows your revs, and a digital display shows your speed, gear position and how much fuel you have left. Unlike many fuel gauges, the one on the Vendetta goes up and down as the petrol sloshes about. In bright sunlight the speedo can be hard to distinguish. There are LED running lights, and a USB charging socket to keep your phone or sat nav charged up. The switchgear is, well, switchgear. The important thing is everything works.
ON THE ROAD
The Vendetta isn’t terribly fast at the top end, but the low-down gearing gives everything a brisk take off.
This looks and feels like a motorcycle for city streets or back roads, with just enough poke to keep up with the traffic on A-roads. It will flip about nicely on twisty bits, cope with dirt tracks and the odd field and it’s moderately torquey, even though it puts out just under 17bhp. The bike will happily run at 60mph, but after that it starts to run out of steam – 75 was my limit, but who needs more? A lighter, more supple rider, with their chin on the tank, might have taken it past 80. There’s a rev limiter that kicks in at 9000rpm anyway, which should add to the bike’s longevity.
It’s a little buzzy at full throttle and that throttle is primitive for a modern fuel injected system. It’s not terribly sensitive and essentially feels on and off. For anyone used to an Amal monobloc, however, it feels incredibly smooth and progressive. If you are used to modern road tyres you might find the Lexmoto offerings a bit squirmy in wet weather. If, however you remember trying out a trail bike in the 1970s or 80s, then compared with an old chunky set of Yokohamas or Dunlop Trials Universals, they’re more than sticky enough.
They’re chubby too, and the rear tyre is just 15 inches. Meanwhile the riding position is excellent, and the thing is plenty light enough at 151kg to ride for considerable miles without wearing you out. The gearshift is up to Japanese standards, and the clutch is very light indeed. The brakes are good, with independent ABS on each wheel and decentsized discs. I wouldn’t try to overtake anything that wasn’t appreciably slower on the open road just in case you found yourself running out of steam at an inappropriate moment, but slipping through medium traffic on such a machine is very amusing. Covering 50 miles on the Vendetta was easily done, and I handed the keys back with some reluctance.
WHY A VENDETTA?
happier to see an offspring on one of these than on a 125, as it seems much safer. On paper this is just what many experienced bikers ask for. It’s light, it’s safe, it starts on the button and it feels like a real motorcycle.
Performance is superior to pretty much any British 250 and most 350s, and living with it would be less troublesome. A 1980s Japanese 250 would wipe the floor with it, but keeping one running would be far more problematic than a nice new Lexmoto, with its two-year warranty and decent spares back up. You can thrash it about and afterwards do little more than turn a spray bottle of cleaner on it, wipe it down and park it in a corner. Adjusting the chain and keeping an eye on oil levels is the limit of the regular care needed.
It’s a bike for everyone. If I had a family member interested in getting on two wheels, I’d snap one up, and end up riding it myself. And I reckon at the end of the first year keys for the Vendetta would have been the first I’d reach for if I was in a hurry, and would cover far more miles than anything else in the shed.
FINISH AND QUALITY
One thing Lexmoto is trying to get past is the idea that Chinese bikes are unreliable. Certainly, a decade-anda-half ago it seemed like every chancer who had ever seen a motorbike was bringing in container loads of poorly built mopeds that fell apart on a daily basis.
Quality on the Lexmoto these days is far better than it was. The chrome, where it hasn’t been replaced by stainless steel, stays on. The paint is more than a micron thick, the batteries don’t die, the lacquer on the aluminium brackets doesn’t flake and fall off. As a new model, it’ll take a couple of years for the impact of British potholes and road salt on a Vendetta’s bodywork to become clear, of course, but this machine was showing no sign of any deterioration after a few thousand miles in the lessthan-tender hands of road testers.