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  1. #1 SSR / Pioneer XF250 
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    I worked my way through university by working in a BMW & Aprilia motorcycle shop in a suburb of Pittsburgh. When I graduated, I continued to work there mainly because I enjoyed it so much - stopping down every Saturday to post new bikes to the web, doing a little parts work behind the counter when needed, installing patches on PC and generally keeping everything technical running in tip-top shape. The wring was on the wall though...

    A little over 5 years ago, the shop closed. The owner was recently divorced and the purchase of it by one of the world's worst individuals was (thankfully?) botched. I spent my new-found time starting a motorcycling forum, then selling aftermarket parts to folks on the forum, and finally, mid-last year, selling motorcycles.

    I didn't know much about SSR until early this year. I've been selling the Sachs MadAss for about six months more for enjoyment than anything. Seeing them, and specifically the XF200 and XF250 at the Dealer Expo this February was enough to make me want to become a dealer for them - if for nothing more than I wanted one for myself.

    Flash forward to late March, and my XF250 arrived. Here it is:



    Uncrating it did NOT go smoothly. While the MadAss 125's are nearly fully assembled, the SSR's are not. The XF250 in particular needs it front wheel installed. When we were done removing all of the cardboard, guess what? No wheel. That somewhat important missing bit stopped me in my tracks for 3 days until SSR USA expedited a 'replacement' over.

    Having finally received the wheel, and nearly pulled a groin by installing it, setup of the remainder of the motorcycle was easy. Nuts and bolts where all tight. Slack on the chain was perfect. The 1400 ML oil change was exactly as expected. The lithium ion battery (yes, seriously...) changed up and popped right in with a little bit of extra foam just to keep it comfortable. The bike fired right up. I opted out of putting the stickers on.

    A 170 mile (275km) break in ride later, I have a few observations to share:




    Power from the engine is exactly what I hoped it would be. It revs a bit slow, and overall grunt is not as extensive as my other motorcycle (BMW F800GS) but it's more than enough to be A) interesting and B) interstate highway worthy. The motorcycle accelerates quickly through the first 4 (of 5) gears reaching a top speed in excess of 70 mph or 112 km. Vibration is practically non-existing until way up in the RPM range.

    The spacing of the gear ratios is excellent as well. The motorcycle will pull the front wheel off the ground in first gear, but the low gear is still very useable. Before ordering the motorcycle, I purchases a pinion and sprocket combination that I read worked well for the XF200. (16/44) Both of these remain on the shelf as they are completely unneeded.

    I'm glad I didn't proactively purchase a set of pegs with rubber on them. The stock setup works well without communicating the vibes that I was anticipating:





    The seat as well was surprisingly good. Generally, my arse is only good for about 100 miles at a clip. 120 later, and I had zero pain or numbness - which is more than I can say for my BMW. I wish it was easily removable though, so I can store my paperwork under it, like the BMW.



    What's not so good however is the instrument cluster. It looks pretty cheap and frankly, acts pretty cheap too. The needles waver a bit when they have to correct either way quickly, and I quickly noticed what was missing - mainly a fuel indicator, and yes, a trip odometer. The latter is a minimum requirement in my opinion, as how else when you know when you're about to run out of fuel?

    Incidentally, I did run out of fuel at just under 110 miles, or 175 km. The bike just sputtered and that was pretty much it. I flipped over to reserve and away I went for another 8 miles to a fuel station. I put 1.8 gallons in it. (6.8L) So, that works out to be around 3.4L per 100KM. I don't believe that is typical however...



    Speaking of not typical, did you notice the steel braided brake line from the dash picture? Both front and back are steel braided discs. The bike stops better than expected. It's not BMW Brembo ABS braking, but still much better than expected and totally sufficient.

    One braking niggle is the rear pedal height. You can tell this bike was dirt bike first - foldable brake and shifter levels are a dead giveaway. The height of the rear brake however isn't so noticeable, until you ride. It's dirt bike high - designed to be used when standing:









    Other observations:

    • The tires on the bike are a brand I don't recognize - Kingstone. They are OK, but I would assume they are quite poor in the rain. When I test them in the rain, I'll let you know.
    • The mirrors have a ridiculously large DOT label on them. At first it quite annoyed me, but now I don't notice it so much. They actually function quite well, all things considered.
    • The front fork covers are faux carbon fiber. They look great from one side, but super cheap from the other as the back is bright, white plastic. They're also the only carbon fiber on the bike. I would rather them have just been all black plastic.
    • What doesn't function quite so well is the license plate bracket. It's not designed for a North American sized plate. So, cable ties for now. I'm pondering on a long term solution for this...
    • Not pictured, unfortunately, is the motorcycle has a completely adjustable front suspension. The ride, while good, is a bit harsh when riding on poor road conditions, so I'm going to attempt to correct it via adjustments. There is exactly nothing in the manual about it however, so I'm flying a bit blind...


    As of right now, there are about 250 miles on the bike. Zero issues, so far. TONS of compliments as no one can seem to figure out what it is without the stickers on it. It's a hella fun ride too.
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  2. #2 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
    C-Moto Regular
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    Thanks for the review.

    I am rather impressed with the initial quality especially the steel braided brake lines and wave rotors.

    Please keep the forum updated on longer term reliability.
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  3. #3 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Zorge's Avatar
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    They are really stingy - again they left out kickstarter.
    Ask me nothing - I DO NOT speak english. Really...
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  4. #4 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
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    Quote Originally Posted by Motofan View Post
    Thanks for the review.

    I am rather impressed with the initial quality especially the steel braided brake lines and wave rotors.

    Please keep the forum updated on longer term reliability.
    You're welcome and I absolutely will do. I'm going to try to put as much milage as possible on it this year.


    Quote Originally Posted by Zorge View Post
    They are really stingy - again they left out kickstarter.
    Good point. Yep, no kick starter either. I guess I didn't expect it for something this sized. All of the other, smaller SSR motorcycles have it.
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  5. #5 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
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    In my prior post, one of the things that I noted that I was a bit underwhelmed by was the onboard storage of the XF250. Nearly all of the other motorcycles that I've owned had an area right under the seat to store stuff like the registration and insurance papers in. Waisting no time, I snagged one of these:



    It's a Hornig Handlebar Bar (full disclosure, I sell them) and my thought was to use it for keeping the aforementioned papers along with my wallet and cell phone when riding. I think it fits quite well, and just happens to match the black of the bike and the silver of the braided brake line. I can see over it and use the key no problem. I did manage to tie it down quite a bit tighter after I took these pictures.




    The bag install went better than expected - with one somewhat awesome caveat. I was standing back, admiring my work, when I saw this guy:







    A little onboard tool container thing. Sure enough, it contained an extremely cheap looking black plastic bag with a philips head and flat head screwdriver, 10MM and 12MM wrenchs, and what I believe is a spark plug socket. My papers (pictured right) fit in there no problem along with the kit. Awesome.




    Discovery made, next was adjusting the rear brake lever. Out of the crate, it's setup like a dirt bike, and needed to be lowered down. I used the 12MM wrench to loosen the retainer nut, and from there it was really simple to alter the position of the brake lever - the job took all of 5 minutes. Unfortunately, I also noticed the brake has made some contact with the engine case and has left a gouge in it. Bummer.

    As I've continued to ride the bike, I've been consistently impressed with just how straight forward it is. Everything is connected exactly how you would think it logically should be using hardware that is common. Coming from a BMW, and having seen over and over and over again just how over-engineered it is - many times needlessly - experiencing the opposite end of the spectrum is very welcome. I wouldn't consider myself to be a very mechanically inclined person. I've installed aux lighting on a bike - once. I've installed a wheel on a car / bike - once. This bike makes me feel like I can do more without being penalized horrendously if I screw something up.

    Case in point, the headlight assembly. Did you know it attaches onto the front end with just four rubber straps around the forks? To detach it, just open the strap with you hands. Awesome, again.

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  6. #6 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    Nice reporting Rwerksman, your XF250 looks very nice in all black. I really like the black engine and fork tubes, wish my bike had those instead of silver. I see that Pioneer is shaving some cost with the old style brake discs. Keep an eye on those, they are notorious for overheating. I've had two of these bikes (thread here) and do enjoy their simplicity. Stay on top of the maintenance and it should last a long time.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  7. #7 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
    Duct tape savant felix's Avatar
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    Yes i also have black fork jealousy. I've owned my QM250 coming up on two years, 15000km, no major problems to report. It's been very reliable and consistently fun even if the power delivery is a little underwhelming.

    Is that a BMW K1 i see in the background? Those have a special place in my heart. On my 12th birthday my uncle came to pick me up at school on one of those, that was the day i discovered what 200km/h feels like on a bike and i haven't really been the same since...
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  8. #8 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChinaV View Post
    Nice reporting Rwerksman, your XF250 looks very nice in all black. I really like the black engine and fork tubes, wish my bike had those instead of silver. I see that Pioneer is shaving some cost with the old style brake discs. Keep an eye on those, they are notorious for overheating. I've had two of these bikes (thread here) and do enjoy their simplicity. Stay on top of the maintenance and it should last a long time.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
    Thanks! I'm really digging it in all black - the engine being black really tops it off, I think.

    I read your thread prior - it's pretty friggin awesome! It's one of the reasons I actually so adamant about becoming a dealer and getting my bike. Funny thing is, the pictures on page 4 weren't working when I read it prior. Now that they are working (yay!) I find myself a bit disappointed that I don't have a floating disc additional pistons on my front and rear brake.

    Did you ever make progress on the gauge cluster or replace it with the Trailtech unit that you talked about here?

    BTW, I do seem to have the newer carb:
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  9. #9 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
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    Quote Originally Posted by felix View Post
    Yes i also have black fork jealousy. I've owned my QM250 coming up on two years, 15000km, no major problems to report. It's been very reliable and consistently fun even if the power delivery is a little underwhelming.

    Is that a BMW K1 i see in the background? Those have a special place in my heart. On my 12th birthday my uncle came to pick me up at school on one of those, that was the day i discovered what 200km/h feels like on a bike and i haven't really been the same since...
    That *is* a K1 in the background - good eyes! It's actually the 9th one imported into the US and first owned by the BMW Motorrad USA Exec VP, at the time. The local dealer to their HQ took it in on trade when the K1200RS came out in 1998. My father purchased it from them, sold it off a few years later to a family friend, purchased it back, and then I purchased it when I graduated university. In addition to being the 2nd and 4th owner, he'll probably be the 6th as well. I put a grand total of 140 miles on it last year, and it needs to be ridden more. With the XF250 available in addition to my F800GS, it's my last option to ride.

    A little K1 trivia - they're pretty crappy bikes. Big. Heavy. Slow. More vibrations than a single cylendar 250CC Chinese motorcycle. They're also ridiculously hot. BMW introduced a insulation kit sometime after they launched the motorcycle. The guy from BMW NA had it installed, thankfully. Without it, legs melt after the fan turns on.
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  10. #10 Re: SSR / Pioneer XF250 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
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    I may not know the BMW K1 secret handshake like you guys do, but I do have Wikipedia and bike porn resources....

    I think you are supposed to wear a superhero mask and cape to ride one of these! Felix, you'd look great on this bike in your reflective tape outfit.

    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
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