Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125856
i -= Riding ilDpressionsl IlQ ..,; ~ g -:r r--. 01 , ' 250&350 Gringo Story by J im Stewart For the first time, the American sporting rider can now order a competitive 2-stroke motorcycle made in the U.S.A. It is called, for reaso ns nobody can explain, the Gringo, an d it is made in Rh od e Island ("The Tool and Die Capit ol of the World" ) by Power-Dyne Veh icles, Inc. (PDV). 26 PDV has four mo d els in production available fo r sale. Two are moto cross m odels, a 250 and a 3 6 0 , and a 25 0 and 36 0 read y-t o -race n at track model. A test re port on the nat trackers will co me along later. A first lo o k a t the Gri ngo will re mind y o u o f a 19 7 2 Ya maha ~ IX . This is m ain ly due 10 th e use of th e sa me type of w hee ls and basic engine design . T he ta nk, seat, frame, a nd exha ust pipe are th e m ain d iffere nces to t he eye. Bu t a closer lo o k, and a ride, will tell yo u it sure isn't a Yamaha. Upon fir st riding the bike ac ross rough terrain , you will immed iately notice if y o u've ridden a Ya maha before, h ow much sm o other the suspension ab so rb s ro ugh gro und shock. This is mainly due to th e fact th a t Gringos h ave Betor sus pe nsion fro n t and rear. The fr ont forks have about se ven in ches o f smooth, predictable travel, Ride a late model Bul a nd yo u' ll ge t some idea o f how well the bike will track. The rea r sh o cks a rc five-way adjust able Betors and th e settin g will have to be di aled 10 the rider' s weight and rid ing requiremen ts . Benny Padilla, Distric t 37 d esert Expert, co uld n' t b el ieve h ow much smoother rid e th e Gringo gave o ver h is Yamaha. Benny w eigh s 19 0 p ounds an d said the rear shoc ks will have to be notch ed up a cou p le of p ositi ons to accom m o da te his we ight, or h ave heavier sp rings m o un ted . I am n ot o ne fo r loft ing the fro n t whee l, b ut it was so e ffo rtless o n th e Gringos. th a t it w as fun . C ornerin g, eve n fo r a desert ra cer like myself was fu n , not a cho re. It's light w eigh t mad e th e bike eas y to throw a ro und . Effecti vel y, it proved " European " ha n d ling a t " j ap an ese" p rice s, \\'h e n so m e t h in g breaks. you can go to y our ne arest Yamah a shop a nd get th e p art yo u need . T he Gringo just may be th e ho ttes t Mexican-named product to hit th e st ates since the green Chile burrito . The wheels are purchased th rough the same distributor Yamah a uses, an d arc exactly the same . They a re very ligh t and the"braking is good, some tim es too good. (A sh o rt e r brake a rm on the rear hub will eliminate this problem. ) CUlling cross hatches in th e brake shoe , su rfaces, thus limiting th e sw ept surface s, also makes the m less tou chy. A full-floating rear brake ad ds to th e ve ry fast reacti on. There is a return sp ring o n th e foot brake pedal th us sto p p ing the problem of stic k ing b rakes, which th e old Yam ah as used t o enc o u n te r occasionally . . m atter of seconds. II really d o esn 't ride as uncomfo rtab ly as it looks, tho ugh , m ainl y beca use of the soft suspension. The rear fen der, like the fro n t, should have be en p last ic in stead of glass. T he front fende r will break pretty ea sily , wh ile th e re ar o ne is more protected by the fra me st ruct u re. The engine b re a thes through a st ill air box m ad e o u t of steel w h ich will not par t at th e sea m s lik e o thers. J I is m ounted 10 th e frame wi th hose clamps, whi ch d id come lo ose during th e ride. The Gr in go co me s sto ck with a fib er-aver-foam air clean er elemen t whi ch does do th e job, but it c ould d o a little better j ob with a K&N, Filtron, or Twin Air. The frame is a cle an , double loop, chrome alloy type wi th fo lding footpegs , All welds are T IG /welded a nd stress relieved. Though th e pe gs fold, they are not spring-loaded, but can b e very easily modified to accep t springs. All engine bolts a nd others are American SAE thread and dimensions. The nut that holds the seat on ca me off du ring th e te st, but this p roblem ca n be easily resolved by doubled nutting it wit h Lo c-tite, Pre-mi x is mete red , through a 32 m m :\Iik uni carb in th e 250 a nd a 34 mm on the 3 6ll . Both bikes co m e wit h a three pe ta l reed va lve set-up. The 25ll Gringo co m es jelled a size too sma ll, wh ill' the 360 Gringo comes fro m the fact'?,ry a little fat o n th e jetting for lo cal co nd itio ns. Neither loaded up. The Grin go has plenty of gro und cleara nce ; 81'. in ches. A longish wheelbase of 551'. to 56 inc hes, keeps th e bi ke from sid e-h o p p ing, The re is an adjustment to the swingarrn that all ows you to m ove the ax le forward o r b ack ab out an in ch to change th e effective wheelbase o f the bike. ' Ignition is pumped out through an American internal flywheel unit , th at puts out a very hot sp a rk. As the engine's revs climb , th e spark be comes hotter, never fading. This helps exp lain the Grin go's easy sta rtin g char acteristi cs a nd fu ll range end pulling p ow er . T ra ction to the ground is provided b y a 4 .00 x 18 Cheng S hin ti re o n the back on both 250 and 3 60 m ach ines. The 3 6 0 w ould be better off with a 4. 50 on the rear, while the tir e on th e 25 0 was perfect . Rim lo cks are m ounted on b o th th e front and rea r rims. T he fro n t tire on ,bo th , is a 3 .0 0 x 21 Ch en g Sh in. The fro n t end never o nce wanted to w ash out so th e Betor/Ch en g Shin seemto work. The transmission is built o n Am erican st eel h ard ened gears and holds 1000cc of t ran sm issio n oil , T he tra nsmission a t first was a lit tle hard to sh ift a nd alwa ys seemed to shi ft better wit hout the clu tch. Ano ther feature o f the Gr ingo, especially good for desert racers, is in -gear st arting. Pull in the clutch lever a nd st omp. T he cla imed w eigh ts o n th e bikes a re 2 0 7 lb s. for th e 250 a nd 2 14 1bs. fo r th e 36 0. Th is see m ed an impos sibilit y until I p icked up th e front e nd with ou t any trouble at all. Th e rear e nd lifted the same wa y . It was a su rp rise. I I' I had d one this to m y new J ap an ese di r t b ike , it would have been h ernia tim e. O ther feat ur es include ex tra m ou ntin g tab s w eld ed on the fram e fo r nu m ber p lates wh ich the bike d oe sn ' t have. Most o f t he time, the nu mbe r plates th at d o co me from th e factory are th e wrong size o r co lo r for th e type of racing yo u h ave pl a nn ed, any way. A n accessory gas cap is a must , as the stock o ne leak s. Circle Indust ries m a kes one that fi ts. T he cylin de r head co mes tapped for tw o spark plu gs, or a dual ignition set-u p. o r eve n a com p ress io n rele ase sh ould yo u use o ne. The bike d oes n 't have a k ick stand, st ric tly a racing machine. A plat ed frame , like t he o ne used by PDV for the Gringo is eas y to spot c rac ks in. A built-in silencer does a good j o b, a nd doesn't fall off. Cl ut ch and Sl im and trim , like an MX sho uld. front brake levers should have co vers ove r them to keep dirt out of the cab les. Case screws are Phillips type and after removing them a couple of times, will have to be replaced. While riding it, in fact, one of the bolts on the clutch cove r c am e loose. Whether as a res ult of that or not, th e clutch quit wo rki ng. PDV Western distributor, Sa m my Tanner, said the fa ct ory is now wo rking on a 125 and 17 5 model, a nd maybe an enduro la ter. I I' they are an y t hi ng like the 250 an d 360, the y sho uld prove co m pe tit ive. Everyone wh n rode the bik es during th e t est, wh ich in cluded a Beginner, o n up to Experts lik e Dw ayn e J ones a nd Benny Padilla, th rough so -so racers like m yself a nd playriders lik e Blackie , agre ed that th e b ikes we re as go o d , if no t b etter th an anyth ing they 've ridden befo re . T he suspensio n is w ha t m a kes th e bike. It is unbe lievab ly smoo th and neve r jarring. T he p owerband on th e 250 is smooth and co n tro lla ble , w hile the 360 is a bit mo re pipey , bu t nothing se rio us co m pa red to so m e of the J ap anese d irt b ik es. Thanks to Takahashi Yamaha in La Habra, Californ ia fo r the use of th eir first G rin gos. If y o u' re t empted , stop at Tak ah as hi 's an d ta ke a lo ok at one yourself. T he 250 and 3 6 0 n at tr ackers ca n be o rd e red w ith Kennedy wh eels, incl ud ing a rear di sc br ke and spool a ~onthub. • Reed valve , p rim ary ki ck start in g, made in U.S.A. Eu ro pe an handlin g at Japanese pr ice . T he e xpansio n c ha m b er IS very sa n ita ry. It d o esn 't wrap th roug h and aro u nd th e fra me lik e the Yamah a' s a nd is rubber-m ounted to th e fram e in tw o pl aces. Tw o sp rin gs hold it int o the ex ha ust mani fold. :\ mo re th a n su fficie n t heat shi e ld keep s th e p ip e fro m pu t t ing' a n y unnec essa ry m arks nn th e rider's lea thers or b od . T he bike w as d efin ite ly hui lt for m o tocro ss. Th e G ringo' s p re-m ix is stored in a 1.7 gall on plast ic la n k. •\ fuel filter is a good id ea . as plast ic ta n ks h ave a te n d e n cy 10 le t lo ose Flash in gs fr om ca sting int o the ca rb , even if th or ou ghly rin sed. T he scat is d efin it el y not o ne o f the fin er p o in Is o f the bi ke . It is sna p ped o n to the tin rea r fen d er. T he a ir b ox cove r, and filt er w it h in , ca n b e remo ved in a /