Dot 250 California
DOT 250 CALIFORNIA
THE ART OF TT scrambles, involving a race through a short, generally smooth, leftand right-turning dirt circuit, is a specialized one. Thus, it is no surprise that many machines, while being excellent in the function for which they were originally designed, do not excel in this sport.
To meet this challenge, the makers of Dot have come up with a TT scrambles version of their 250cc scrambler. The changes from the standard scrambler aren’t many and the most important of these is in the speed department. Reason for this is obvious, as TT courses begin to take on a suspicious resemblance to airport road circuits, minus only the tarmac.
The Dot has been pepped up by lightening, involving the use of a magnesium cylinder barrel, alloy rims and removal of front and rear fenders, which are unnecessary until it rains. Of course, the engine is delivered in a higher state of tune than the standard Dot and no attempt has been made to preserve low-end performance. As a result, 1/4-mile times are a bit better than standard, even though the engine is winding past peak rpm before the timing trap is reached. Eighth-mile time is extremely good, with the bike knocking off a 9.9-second e.t. at 66.4 mph in spite of the fact that carburetion was a bit fuzzy.
Handling seems excellent for the purpose at hand — flopping over and sliding with a big fistful of throttle. The 55-inch wheelbase is longer than needed for a twofifty on a graded track, so the cross-up action is quite slow; the lack of quickness (not a fault) is made up for by a feeling of great stability.
Suspension is much stiffer, naturally, to provide greater steering precision and avoid the frightful yawing that will befall spongily sprung equipment in certain situations commonly met in TT scrambling, notably entering straights at above 50 mph with the back wheel barely breaking loose, or rushing sideways into slightly bumpy turns below 50.
The layout of controls seems just right for a rider of large stature, more so than on most other bikes of this displacement. However, the rear brake and shift levers leave something to be desired. The shift lever is shorter than that gangly thing on the standard Dot we tested, but doesn’t offer much sureness of feel. The rear brake lever seemed hastily mounted, too short, and it was necessary to lift the foot off the peg to apply pressure.
One important feature on the California Scrambler is the five-way adjustable swing arm, which makes it possible to eliminate the aforementioned slowness of action. This will be a blessing to riders who alternate between flat track, short track and TT circuit. To go along with this are three-way adjustable foot pegs.
All in all, it’s a fun machine, very stable and forgiving, and should be quite competitive. ■
