Galaxy XTR 250 Review

**Andy Hird** · 03-14-2010, 08:32 PM

I recently imported a Galaxy XTR 250F direct from Galaxy in China. It arrived about a week ago and so here's a quick review.

It was packed very well from the factory, everything was well wrapped and protected. It wasn't much of a job to assemble it.

The overall fit and finish of the bike is very good, nearly up there with Japanese quality. There are a lot of CNC parts, and the swing arm is very nicely welded. Electrics seem quite good, everything worked ! and I the level of features was impressive, such as a hazard warning switch for the indicators, and a high beam "pass" switch. The fasteners are quite poor quality, but these can be easily replaced with stainless.

The most impressive thing about the bike is the styling, my brother came round to see the bike, and just couldn't believe how nice the bike looked ! It certainly looks worth more than what I paid for it.

The brakes are very good and it rides very nicely, it lacks a bit of power, however I haven't given it a good thraping yet, as I'm still running it in. I'm hoping it will loosen up a bit in time and have a bit more umph !

There were a few problems with the bike, such as the front axle being too small (I got a replacement made at work), and the headlight fixing straps being totally unuseable, but apart from that it is was all ok.

The whole import process was pretty pain free.Communication with the factory was generally ok, but email replies took quite a long time, and the build time for the bike was 3 months ! To be honest, I took a massive gamble handing over the money for the bike, without any guarantee that I'd actually receive the bike, but fairplay to Galaxy, they delivered the bike and made sure it all went well. I had a very good shipping agent to take care of the shipping and customs clearance, and I got a very reliable courier to pick the bike up from the bonded warehouse and deliver it to my door. Registering the bike was a doddle as the bike had an EEC certificate, so didn't need inspecting, I just filled out a couple of forms and sent them off with my insurance certificate, driving licence, registration and road licence fee, and customs clearance form.

Right here's the pictures

**Andy Hird** · 03-14-2010, 08:35 PM

13032010183..jpg 13032010178..jpg 13032010179..jpg 13032010181..jpgSome more pics:- 13032010182..jpg

**CrazyCarl** · 03-14-2010, 09:14 PM

Great looking bike and an adventure in itself just getting to your door!

How does it compare to the SMC available in the UK specs wise?

The header looks like stainless steel (which hopefully won't rust immediately)... is that right?

CC

**Andy Hird** · 03-14-2010, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Great looking bike and an adventure in itself just getting to your door!

How does it compare to the SMC available in the UK specs wise?

The header looks like stainless steel (which hopefully won't rust immediately)... is that right?

CC

Hi Carl,

the differences to the SMC are the round disc brakes, instead of the wavy on the SMC, and mine has fuel injection, which Galaxy said it needed to get the EEC certificate....however the SMC has a carb ?????

It is a stainless pipe......it seems strange that they don't skimp on stuff like that and CNC parts, but they skimp on stuff like putting cheap fasteners on !!

Cheers

Andy

**david3921** · 03-15-2010, 02:14 AM

Nice bike Andy. I see the headlight is a bit off but the straps you'll be getting will fix that. You speak the truth about the fasteners. Many talk about how "cheap" Chinese motos are when it's really a matter of the parts falling off because of the sub-standard fasteners. A little bit of thread locking compound and some spring washers would go a long way in raising people's opinion of the quality of the bikes. No one complains about the motors as they are pretty much bulletproof.

**ChinaV** · 03-15-2010, 02:48 AM

Thanks for the report Andy, I look forward to more of your Galaxy adventures. If you get a chance, please provide some close up picks of the EFI system. I haven't seen one and I'm curious how they fit that on the bike.

Cheers!
ChinaV

**ianl1201** · 03-16-2010, 01:13 PM

Congrats on the new bike Andy. Been following your import updates with interest as a fellow china moto owner here in the UK.

Get some ACF-50 to keep the corrosion at bay - my RMR gets more rusty after every ride!!

You got any plans for it? Supermoto wheels & tyres (the bike really suits them looking at Felix's pics in his review) Here's to many happy miles matey!

cheers

Ian