Bangers & Mash: First Ride on Mash X-Ride Classic 650

Is this Yamaha XT500 replica from France (via China) a worthy investment for retro bike fans? Or is it a case of style over substance for the A2 licence-friendly thumper?

WORDS: Ross Mowbray PHOTOS: Gary Chapman

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you’ll have no doubt heard of Mash. No, not the TV show, nor the creamy potato accompaniment to the perfect roast… the motorcycle manufacturer. The French firm is the brainchild of distribution experts SIMA. It’s been on the go since 1976, and over the years it’s imported Ducati, Husqvarna and GasGas bikes into France. Today it looks after Royal Enfield, Moto Morini and Hyosung which is more than enough to keep it busy – but back in 2012, it decided it was time to launch its own bike brand, too.

So, that’s exactly what it did – punting production out to Shineray in China to create a now extensive range of 60s and 70s-inspired motorcycles (and a few scooters, too) under the Mash name. And the fledgling brand has gone from strength to strength since, building up a decent reputation with its eclectic range of retro-styled 125, 250, 400 and 650cc singles – all while establishing close to 400 dealers across Europe. That’s quite impressive in such a short space of time, don’t you think…?

Mash was previously looked after on British shores by HQB before it went bust, but now it’s in the safe hands of the UK arm of MotoMondo, a Dutch company that’s been importing bikes across Europe for years. It knows what it’s doing – and it means that Mash bikes, parts and spares are relatively easily accessible right across the UK.

I’ve actually ridden a few bikes from Mash over the years, spending time on the Dirt Track 125, Black Seven 250 and TT40 (its bikini-faired 400cc café racer). They’ve impressed. Simple, straightforward, stylish and good value for money, they’re a sure sign that the bikes coming out of China are becoming ever more capable with each passing year. But I’ve never had a proper chance to ride its flagship bike, the X-Ride 650 (aside from a quick blast on the recent launch of the Moto Morini X-Cape 650 over in Corsica).

It caught my eye back when it was first revealed to the world back in 2020, offering what looked to be a near-perfect balance of modern reliability and retro-styling.

But despite its age, the X-Ride 650 isn’t actually all that modern. That’s because Mash’s partner Shineray specialises in building motorcycles based around existing designs, and in this case it’s knocked up a version of the tried and tested single-cylinder engine that was used to power Honda’s now iconic NX650 Dominator.

Based on looks alone, the X-Ride has more than a hint of Yamaha’s much-loved and increasingly desirable XT500. It works well – even if its pair of diminutive-sized 17-inch wheels hint that it’s not quite the old school trail bike it first appears to be. That said, the simple and straightforward bike does come kitted out with some nice bits of kit as standard, including radial brakes; Kenda tyres; adjustable levers; a twin exhaust; gold rims; a rear rack; LED lights; and ABS – although the plastic sump guard is a bit of a letdown.  

It’s comfortable, though. While it might not be the biggest bike in the world, its 860mm-high bench seat, wide bars and neutral peg position combine to create a riding position that’s plenty roomy enough to accommodate my 6ft 1in frame. There’s little in the way of technology to play with; the dash is just a simple, era-appropriate circular clock with a small LCD screen to show a few key bits of information, including which gear you’re in and how much fuel you’ve got left (among other things). 

Out on the road the X-Ride quietly impresses. While there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about the bike, it’s a fine example of a back-to-basics machine that evokes the simple pleasures of motorcycling from ‘back in the day’. As you’d probably expect, the engine’s the highlight. The air-cooled 644cc single is a Honda design (utilised for the NX650 and XR650), for which Shineray acquired the rights in 2016. Sadly, tightening emissions regulations mean that the modern version isn’t quite as punchy as Honda’s original which made around 39lb-ft of torque and 44bhp back in the day, compared to the Mash’s respectable but not exactly thrilling 32ft-lb of torque and 40bhp. Still, it pulls swiftly and smoothly up to motorway speeds and beyond.

You won’t want to ride it flat-out though, as the front end has a tendency to get a bit loose and shaky. Not exactly confidence-inspiring, though I must say it never felt like I was out of control. I suspected that the knobbly tyres from Kenda weren’t exactly helping the situation (even if they do offer perfectly decent levels of grip both on- and off-road).

In general the ride’s good. The suspension might be softer than I’d like, but it helps the bike soak up sketchy road surfaces – and providing you get your braking done early and let the spring settle before you bank into a corner, you won’t have any problems with it getting unsettled. The brakes are decent enough, too, with the Hangte four-pot calliper and disc brake combination offering enough bite to pull the bike up quickly and safely. Don’t expect lots of feel and nice progressive braking though, it’s more of a case of grabbing a handful and trusting that you’ll slow up quickly and safely. You will – though it might take you a bit of time to get used to the lack of refinement when compared to bikes from bigger manufacturers.

It might have a few shortcomings, but personally, I’m a big fan of the Mash X-Ride 650. It’s by no means a serious off-roader (the plastic bash plate and 17-inch wheels should tell you that), and you definitely wouldn’t have much fun with it if you were forced to spend a lot of time sitting on the motorway (or even fast A roads), but get it off-the-beaten-track and on to some quieter, twistier and tighter roads and you’ll start to find plenty to love about the retro pseudo-scrambler.

There’s very little in the way of competition either (particularly for the money), so if 1970s-style scramblers are your thing and you haven’t got the cash to splash out on an original, the Mash is probably the next best thing.

Rubber revolution

We all know that a fresh set of rubber hoops have the potential to completely transform a motorcycle – and with some gentle criticism levelled at the X-Ride 650’s handling characteristics as a result of its standard knobbly tyres, we thought it’d be worth doing a little experiment and hooking up with Bridgestone to kit it out with a set of its seriously sticky S22s.

For those in the know, Bridgestone’s S22 tyres are a properly capable bit of kit. They’re much more commonly found on sportbikes, so fitting a pair to what’s essentially a 70s scrambler might initially appear to be a slightly odd choice. It’s not. All we’re doing is converting the pseudo-scrambler into something that’s much more akin to a sporty supermoto. Sounds like a good time to me. And when you consider that the X-Ride 650’s got 17-inch wheels front and rear, rather than the usual 19-inch or 21-inch front you’d expect to find on an off-road oriented machine, it starts to make a lot of sense.

We’d already heard good things about the Bridgestone Battlax S22. Our wheelie-loving, leather-clad, sportbike riding pals over at Fast Bikes magazine were out on the launch of the tyres a few years ago and were seriously impressed with the high-performance hoops out on track.

Speaking about the tyres, they reported: “After the first session, I switched to a BMW S1000RR to see how the tyres could cope with a more powerful, more agile bike. And they coped just fine. Again, the tyres dished out plenty of confidence straight from the off to bury your knee into the Tarmac, and it wasn’t long before I felt like I could start to take liberties with what is, essentially, a road tyre.

“As I started to increase the speed, the first minor limitation with the S22s was the ever so slight lethargy that the bike seemed to suffer from when being pulled from left to right. This is really only when compared to a proper track-focused tyre, like Bridgestone’s R11, or V02 slick, and in all honesty is only a limitation on track – in fact, realistically on the road (which is where this tyre was designed for), aggressive, track-focused handling would often hinder you more than help you. I’m just being super critical.

“What I cannot be critical about, though, is the front tyre. Not on the ZX-10, the S1000RR or the Gixer 1000 that I had ridden in the morning did I manage to push the front or cause the front tyre to do anything untoward. It was completely and utterly planted, no matter how hard I seemed to push it.”

While we didn’t get the chance to go full supermoto racer and take the X-Ride out on track, it must be said that the road-going rubber transformed the ride.

Sure, the Kenda knobblies look great and they definitely have their place, particularly if you’re up for a bit of light trail riding, but realistically the 17-inch wheels were always going to be much, much happier when they were clad in the S22s.

Once I’d covered the cursory 100-mile running-in period, I was chucking the bike around like never before, assured in the knowledge that there was more grip than I knew what to do with.

I know that many of you will have your own preference, and considering the factory has already made the choice to kit it out with off-road oriented rubber, you’d most likely be inclined to stick to something similar, but I think it’s quite cool to be able to have the choice and switch from ‘enduro’ to supermoto so easily. You just need a second set of wheels to make it even easier.

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