*disclaimer* " this post has overt and possibly offense Vertigo worship. You've been warned !!!! Hey guys. Its winter here and each year older I get (yeah yeah I know I'm still a "kid") I seem to be more prone to hibernation. We did just pick up a new bike for Stacy. Got an amazing deal on a 2020 Vertigo R2 250 that we just couldn't pass up. Just had a little play on the bike in the drive. Figured I'd share some of my initial observations on 250 vs 300 since we now have matching Vertigos. Any other 250 I have ridden isn't really a fair compare because of efi vs not efi. First off (trying not to make this a shameless Vertigo plug) this is the first 250 I have ridden that I don't strongly dislike. I actually rather like the bike. I have had good in section test rides on all the modern offerings and generally find 250s to be too surgy, surgie, sur-gee,.... ,well you get the idea, on the bottom end and then too revvy, ie, ee...lol , ok having way too much fun with words, when you give them some gas. Don't get me wrong its not unmanageable but its not stupid smooth like I'm used too. I do find 300's in general to be smoother and more confidence inspiring when fighting for traction on slick off-cambers and such. EFI takes that smoothness to another level. If you haven't tried a 2020 + Vertigo and ever get the chance to....DO!!! It isn't so much something you notice when you ride the bike, but its when you go back to a carb all the sudden you notice whats missing. Anyway crappy written Vertigo plug aside...... Now finally to the real point of this.... Initial 250 vs 300 driveway imnpressions, 1. the 250 is still super lively up top and maybe more free revving then the 300 once into the midrange. 2. Off idle snap the 300 is more instant and if you don't have a good clutch hand could easily throw you offline. Then 250 is now slouch, but its not working as effortlessly as the 300 and thus not quite as instantly ready to go. 3. Building on the previous point.... Slow Wheelies. The 250 allows you to play more with/ be more sloppy/ develop better feel for clutch and throttle effects when working to hold the front tire up when floating between balance point and just below with the throttle at just above idle. Not talking power wheelies held by constant acceleration, both bikes will happily rip the front tire off the ground if you give it a fist full of throttle. Back to slow balance wheelies. The 250 you can modulate the power more, play with the throttle more, and feel the effects of it more. The 300 is basically just hold barely above idle and make barely perceptible changes to throttle or clutch. You have to be precise as the 300 isn't in the least bit working to hold the tire up. The 250 you can feel and hear the engine making the slight effort to hold the wheel up. This does free up the mind to focus a bit more on body position and balance because the bike is reacting a bit slower to wrist/ clutch input so less mental effort is needed to make the smallest of power adjustments and can go to body adjustments. 4. Last initial impression. The 300 still feels smoother when put under a load ,think uphill off camber turns when crawling up at below walking pace. This difference is huge when comparing a 300 EFI bike to a 250 carbed bike. It becomes less when comparing efi to efi. The difference is still there though. Final observation...Danny Butler was 100% right. The 250 Vertigo could certainly give my 300 Scorpas a run for their money on power , "just off idle" ability to lug, and response speed out of the lugged condition. Oddly most people ask me if my 300 is a 250 because of how smooth and docile it is off idle. The 250 R2 is even more docile initially then my 300. I would highly recommend one. The big difference between efi and carb is the EFI gives you exactly what you ask for, but in a smoother more precise manner. Carbed bikes are a bit more wild, and not as precise, They feel more powerful because of the aggression curve the carb delivers. Just for fairness sake I've owned a Beta 300 Evo, 2 Scorpa 300s, and tested all the 2019-2022ish bikes on the market in the US. Really like TRS 300s, not a fan of the 250s for above stated reasons, but do think they are an awesome well built bike, just not my cup o tea. GasGas was a great bike. Slightly more snappy then my Scorpas, not as much so as the TRS, easy to ride, good exhaust note. Hated Beta clutch, but the bike turned good (as long as you didn't abuse it) and had a comfortable rider stance. Montesa is well a 4t, but I can see why people like them, and I had fun when I tested one. Pre-Idle EM's took a lot of clutch control to be as smooth as a gas bike and I hated the rear shock, but they have addressed both of those complaints and I would love a chance to test the current version. Could be cool if in a city. Anyway my point isn't to pick on any other brand of bike, and the intent is to just note some early observational differences between a 250 and 300 EFI bike, but in doing so felt the need to bring up the difference between EFI and Carb in the process. Let the hate mail begin 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Posted by Shawn McGinnis at 2022-12-21 00:10:27 UTC