The 2018 Vin Duecinquanta 250 cc sports bike, priced at US$ 48,000 with the race version costing approximately US$ 60,000,
takes it to the extreme. Coming in both road and race version, the Duecinquanta
– meaning “250” in Italian – does this signal the return of the racing
two-stroke.
Carrying a 249 cc (288 cc in race trim)
liquid-cooled two-cylinder tandem-twin with the cylinders canted forward
90-degrees, the Duecinquanta claims a dry weight of below 95 kg. While no power
figures have been published for the road version, we would hazard a guess at
about 70 hp, a figure is not out of the question.
In Competizione fit out, the Duecinquanta weighs in
below 85 kg and has a “more than 80 hp” power figure, giving it, according to
Maranello, Italy-based Vins, a 240 km/h max speed. Said to be Euro 4 compliant,
the Duecinquanta’s slightly over square engine bore is fed by EFI, and comes
clad with carbon-fibre bodywork over a carbon-fibre monocouque chassis.
Front suspension is a Hossack style design with twin
wish-bone arms holding a carbon-fibre upright, while the rear is a push-rod
suspension with fully-adjustable monoshock. Carbon-fibre is also used for the
wheels, and machined billet aluminium parts abound, going some way to
explaining the cost of the Duecinquanta.
Braking is done with J Juan callipers, clamping twin
full-floating 300 mm diameter discs in front, and a single 220 mm disc at the
back, with ABS as standard. Vins claims the Duecinquanta is the lightest road
legal sports bike manufactured, and we are inclined to believe them, when you
consider a Honda EX-5 weighs 99 kg.
