Descrizione
Looking for a lightweight, comfortable, do everything bike? - Here is the answer to all your needs!
Having sold my trusty Cagiva Elefant 900i. e. I was searching for a lighter, more manageable bike and narrowed the list down to essentially three bikes - BMW R310GS, Royal Enfield Himalayan, and the Mash. I test rode all the three bikes both on and briefly off-road and quickly reached the conclusion that overall the Mash was the bike to have.
BMW had a revvy, sporty engine and nifty handling plus switchable ABS but poor suspension and far too many nuts and bolts holding the bike together - just look at the lower frame...
Royal Enfield had a solid on road feel mainly due to heavy weight and low riding position and no switchable ABS - not great off road! Oh and it was very slow.
I purchased the bike from a well known large multi-franchise dealer in the Dorset area in March 2019. It had done 1400 miles and was showing two previous owners. When the service dates were examined it seems that the bulk of the mileage was all within a period of one month! Additionally the ownership seems to point to have been pre-registered(?) by the then MASH importer - what a way to carry on!
This is the MASH 400R that should have become the most popular middle-weight bike in the UK apart from the company didn't really have a knowledgeable import team or distribution/ service logistics. The MASH is effectively a badge-engineered version of the Shineray X5 XY400GY.
This bike is produced in China and sold to a variety of markets with a variety of "marque" names. The main one for the UK market was WK who sold their version as the WK Trail 400. Other markets use names such as ROMET ADV 400 - Poland, GAS GAS Venturo - Spain, GEON Grand Tour - Russia, Kougar - Brazil, MASH is the chic, trendy French version!
If you carry out research on the bikes you will find all manner of articles stating that the bike is based on this Honda model or that Honda model. The reality is that the engine has a sticker on the block that states XR400. People whom I know have previously owned the Honda XR400 model all agree that the engine looks like the XR400 and all smile knowingly when the engine is started up!
Anyway - how does the bike ride? - given the long travel suspension and tall saddle, small engine and light weight - it is fabulous! It's absolutely perfect for everything - filtering through traffic or being able to do a month's worth of shopping at the supermarket and then carve your way home (the long way) through all the twisties. I have even taken the bike off road where I have ridden past dropped CRF250 Hondas littering the gravel...
The sound that the twin silencers emit whilst providing all this fun is shall we say - quite fruity!
The bike has had two faults within my ownership - the LCD speedo has been replaced in 2021 and now reads approximately 800. (Total = 2400 approx.) I have also replaced both rear indicators as one of the units was losing some LEDs. A pair of new indicators is included in the sale. All removed original parts will also be included.
The Mash has the full aluminium pannier kit fitted and these will be supplied in the sale. The oil and filter will be replaced prior to sale otherwise all is as shown in the photos. The panniers are slightly scratched to add to the authentic "adventure" theme.
The bike passed the first MOT with no adverse comments. Valid until September 2022.
Reason for sale - I fancy a scooter as I am more likely to be nipping to Tesco than crossing the Pyrenees any time soon.
The bike is located near Skipton.
