This Chinese Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 Rival Looks Gorgeous
Modified On Jun 1, 2022 05:15 PM By Nishaad Joshi for Husqvarna Svartpilen 250
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It comes with the charm of a retro bike but the goodies of a modern one
Neo-retro themed motorcycles are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. Chinese manufacturer Zongshen has given the customers one more motorcycle to choose from by launching the RE250, a small capacity retro motorcycle abroad.
In the design department, the RE250 strikes a good balance between sporty and retro. The retro styling is visible in the round theme found on the bike. It gets a round headlight, instrument cluster and a small flyscreen. That said, it’s not all old-fashioned and you get an LCD instrument cluster along with an all-LED lighting system.
At the heart of this retro motorcycle is a 249cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine, churning out 27.87PS and 22Nm. What’s interesting is that this is the same engine as seen on the Aprilia GP250 because of the partnership between Piaggio Group (parent company of Aprilia) and Zongshen. The engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission and gets a slipper-clutch as standard too. The RE250 hence makes 2.13PS and 2Nm less than the Huskies. That said, a much more manageable 775mm seat height, an 11kg lesser 143kg kerb weight and a massive 15-litre fuel tank should make the RE250 a lot more manageable and practical than the Huskies.
At the front, you get a 41mm inverted fork and a monoshock at the rear. The braking duties are handled by a 300mm disc at the front and 218mm disc at the rear along with dual-channel ABS. What’s interesting to note is that their Indian quarter-litre retro-style bikes: the Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 and Vitpilen 250 are a lot better equipped as they get a fatter front suspension and bigger brakes.
At a price of 18,800 Yuan (approximately Rs 2,18,123), the RE250 is even priced in the same ballpark as the Husqvarna twins, which retail at Rs 2.17 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). That said, it’s highly unlikely that the bikes will make their way to India. Hence if you’re looking for a quarter-litre retro bike, you could consider the Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 and Vitpilen 250.