MotorStar Xplorer X200R

MotorStar seems to have had the right idea when it went about designing the bike. There are all the elements here that you’d expect from a bike like this. The front poses imposingly with its dual headlights and a large triangular pilot light in the middle. The windscreen above them looks all business too. Moving to the sides, the bike comes features sporty fairing covering its internals. Albeit with stalk-mounted indicators. The swell of the tank and the shapely split seat gives the impression of sporty intent. The tail end gets a split grab rail and even the number plate holder looks like a well-designed item. Upside down front forks and clip-on handlebars also suggest that the bike packs in a punch. The bike has compact dimensions with length of 2004 mm, width of 682 mm and height of 1093 mm. There are 17” alloy wheels on both ends shod with 110/70 front and 130/70 rear tires. The company has provided two color options for the bike – black with white graphics and red with black graphics. The bike seems to have been inspired by the old Honda Fireblade. But as is often the case with such designs, the effect is not really convincing. Let’s find out if the bike has the performance to match.

The bike comes with upside down forks on the front and a monoshock on the rear. There are clip-on handlebars mounted on risers which appear to be adjustable. The bike also features a compact wheelbase of 1320 mm and a light weight of just 136 kg. The adjustability in riding style and the compactness of the bike gives it versatility as the bike can be used for both carving corners and for a more relaxed driving style.

The MotorStar Xplorer X200R is powered by a 199cc air-cooled and carbureted engine that produces 15 hp at 8000 rpm and 13 Nm of torque at 500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed transmission. This gives the bike a top speed of 120 kmph. The bike comes with a fuel tank with a capacity of 14L and delivers fuel economy figure of around 30-35 kmpl.

MotorStar has provided the bike with disc brakes at the front and the rear.

The MotorStar Xplorer X200R looks good on paper. It sports the kind of styling that you’d expect from a small capacity sports bike. It also seems equipped for sporty performance. But it still seems to convey the image of a wannabe sports bike for the poor and that image hurts it in a bad way. With such a low price and its Chinese origin, prospective buyers are likely to be suspicious of the actual build quality of the bike. Bad service and parts availability only compounds that effect, leaving the bike only for people who are either really desperate or those who don’t want to use the bike for its intended purpose. So, what are your thoughts on this bike? Is it worth your time?