Quick Ride

Quick Ride

ROUNDUP

SDG PRO MINI China builds a knockout knockoff?

WHILE THE GRAPHICS on this mini-moto crosser state "SDG USA," the only American aspect about this bike is where it's sold. That's right, it's Made in China just like so many oher things we consume these days.

SDG—an acronym for “Speed Defies Gravity”—is actually a seat manufacturer, the Corbin of the dirtbike world. The company initially looked at building parts for the exploding Honda CRF50F hop-up market, but found that it would only take a little bit more effort to create a complete bike of its own.

The first two models-the Lil Mini and Speed Minidebuted in 2004 and were true 50cc machines built, shall we say, in the spirit of the Honda. One year after getting started, SDG went big with this larger-displacement version, the Pro Mini.

At the Pro’s heart is an air/oil-cooled, sohc, 125cc four-stroke Single with a manual clutch and fourspeed transmission. Built for the midsize racing class with a 12-inch rear wheel (smaller classes have 10inch rears), it features upgraded suspension and a CNC-machined oil-cooler.

On track, the first impression was not so good. The Pro Mini felt slow compared to the current class of bikes that are running 145cc and bigger engines. At this level, an extra 20cc makes a huge difference. So while the powerband is smooth and the engine is tractable, it had a hard time pulling fourth gear with a heavier rider aboard.

As is the case with a lot of the machinery coming from China, manufacturing tolerances are a little loose. How so? The transmission, for example, needs perfecting, as three out of the five bikes we tested frequently shifted from third to neutral, skipping second on the way down, while the other two bikes shifted great. SDG is working with its factory to improve this.

One thing not in need of improvement is the suspension. At the front is a 35mm inverted Marzocchi, arguably the best mini fork around. With wheel and brake, the front-end alone would cost about $1500, just under half of the Pro Mini’s MSRP of $3299. The generic shock isn’t as special, but the rebound-damping-adjustable unit does a good job of keeping the tapered-aluminum swingarm in check.

It was clear that the use of these fancier parts was achieved by compromising other key bits. Such is the case with the rear brake, or should we say, the lack thereof. Early on, the brake didn’t work at all without stomping on the pedal.

After some break-in, response improved, but it was never good. The single-piston front worked better, but these are not quality stoppers.

Nonetheless, overall handling was decent, and after a day of big jumps and exploding berms, the Pro Mini was still in one piece. There is compromise on quality as the shifting and brake performance in particular need improvement. Most certainly a cut above other offerings from its country of origin, the Pro Mini still has a long way to go to catch up with the Japanese. But how much longer until China fully catches on? -Ryan Dudek