250 2c - wot are they like?

[mhsilverw]

Pondering on a 250 2C - V-twin - wot are they like?

Can only find info on the 350's (Strada and Sport) or the 500's - plus various 'off-road' style bikes.

Wondered what the 2C's were/are like, assume maybe a little lighter than the others, obviously less powerful - any experiences out there.

Assume thay were once the most expensive 250 (from a comment on a 500 test) but other than that....

Any info / thoughts out there on their ride, mpg, usefulness etc

Regards

mhsilverw

[boris tarpit]

Hiya mhsilverw, I can't really comment on the standard bike as my 250 has a 350 motor with some tuning bits, however I can tell you that it's a small bike by modern standards and very light - to wheel it around it feels like a 125. It looks quite cute and dinky and well designed - it has balance of line and form. . . The steering is light and precise tho the suspension is hard and well damped - this can make the bike feel a bit skittish with the extra power tho I don't think it would be a problem with a 250 motor. . . Brakes are good, the back brake a bit over sensitive. Lights are not really good enough, mine has the standard 250 6v rubbish but I don't use it out of town at night much so it doesn't matter. There is no side stand but the centre stand is easy to use. Overall build quality is not as good as the 3 1/2, eg. the swingarm ends are just flattened tube instead of the 3 1/2's elegantly curved and fabricated item, the shocks are bolted on to one sided mountings top and bottom and don't even have nylock nuts as standard, the seat bolts on to some untidy looking tabs under the frame rails and there appears to be just one coat of paint on the frame with no primer . . .

I like my 250 for all it's foibles it's an endearing little bike and I've never seen another on the road, it's nice to have something unusual . . . jd

[EVguru]

I really liked my 250 2C. They're about 20Kg lighter than a 350 and the wheelbase is about 100mm shorter, so they make the steering on a 350 feel a bit sluggish.

The engine is a real jem. Acording to Lambertini, he designed the engine as a 250, but it went into production as a 350 because of market changes. The French later introduced a 240cc tax break and the 250 version was dusted off and produced (slightly destroked) as a 239. It's certainly the smoothest version and very happy to rev. Most of them have the 'O' or touring cam and don't want to rev much above 10,000rpm, but apparently some got the 'S' cam and will pull to 11,000. Don't expect too much from it though, it is only a 250 and trying to pull up a long hill will reveal the limited torque.

With the bars in the 'Ace' configuration the riding position is pretty cramped, but you can flip them over and reposition the adjustable ends to get something easier on the back. Since the seat on mine wasn't comfortable from more than about 50 miles, I left the bars alone and enjoyed its 'scratching' potential.

It's worth sticking to the narrow tyres 2.75 and 3.0 and Metzler ME22s are pretty grippy in those sizes.

The lighting on mine was fine, but it's very important with those CEV headlights to get the correct bulb. Many pattern ones don't have the filament in the right place and so don't produce a proper beam pattern.

[mhsilverw]

Thx for that - I guess I was sort of interested in a comparison with a Strada (as opposed to Sport 350) and how it might go...and in terms of ride/reliability/riding position etc etc.

Guess the 250's are a little scarce, assume because they were so expensive when new compared to jap bikes about back in the day.....

Finding info on them seems more scarce as I said.

mhsilverw

[72degrees]

I only had the 250 motor in mine for about 6 months, but it was very smooth if a little gutless. Steeringng is superb and pin sharp though and with a 375 motor with L5 cam performance is certainly adequate by wee-vee standards. I've upgraded the headlight on mine with a Cibie unit and used a 12v regulator and 12N5.5 3B battery, but as you might expect the early 350 alternator isn't up to balancing the load of a 60/55w H4 unless really buzzing along. I'm going to change all the other bulbs for LED units to lower the demand and try a 45/40 bulb. If all else fails I'll go to a 35w H4 but the illumination provided by the present setup as spoilt me and i don't ride it much at night anyway.

The dual seat was a bit narrow and rock like, but since I had it re-furnished by R.K. Leighton it is much more comfortable. The front brake has the advantage of the smaller piston master cylinder that gives a superior brake to a standard single disk 350 IMO. The Sebac rear shocks are pretty naff, but after experiments with Konis I now run 350 length Marzocchis on mine. The Paoili forks aren't as bad as the cost saving design might suggest.

They really are light. My favourite party trick in crowded car parks was hotching the back of the bike round by lifting the rear wheel of the ground, though these days I settle for just taking some off the weight off and dragging it.

[mhsilverw]

Being frightened of squashing a 2C; being a little large for it - so I would look like a right **** on it; let alone I'd be scared of revving the engine to oblivion...so that's off the shopping list.....

Not a sport (too expensive for me, especially the early style) and I know deep down my old bones are not flexible enough to 'bend' to the clip-ons and rear-sets.....

Not a Kangu - I fear (even with several stones mounted on top) my feet would still be far above the floor (on the flat) let alone a nasty camber at a junction....

So - looks like Strada.....

oh, 500's.....also being to far away purse-wise too.

and more recent 1200's, not in range right now (and maybe too tall saddle-wise anyway) - maybe a nice 9 1/2 in a few yrs when prices tumble a little, I must say have seen a lovely shot of one on the web with a early 3 1/2 style paint job - assume photo-shopped pic but looked nice in a retro/modern coming together.

and a 175....only if the lottery comes up with a jackpot - mind you these days the size of a lottery win maybe one win wouldn't do

Time will tell.

M