Zontes 350R Road Test Review: Likes & Dislikes

Can this Chinese bike pose a threat to the KTM 390 Duke?

Zontes – A Chinese motorcycle that was unheard of until last year, now has as many 5 motorcycles in our market. One of them is the Zontes 350R, a streetfighter introduced to take on the likes of the KTM 390 Duke and the BMW G 310 R. We spent a few days testing the 350R to understand if it has the potential to take on its European rivals, and here’s what we liked and disliked about the motorcycle:

LIKES:

Design

In a market that’s filled with KTMs, the Zontes 350R stands out with its distinct styling. Its robot-face headlight, the muscular tank with the indicators integrated in the tank extensions and the arrowhead-style LED tail light are unlike any bike in this segment. During the time we had the bike, we have had a bunch of people enquiring about it, and even just ogled.  

Features

Complementing the futuristic styling are the features on the Zontes 350R. The highlight is its keyless experience. With a little pill-like fob in your pocket, you can operate the controls without any hiccups. Once on the bike, you can unlock with a button, thumb the starter and roll out. And when you park the bike, pressing the lock button, or even just walking away will lock the bike. Even the seat and the fuel tank can be opened using dedicated buttons on the handlebar.

Other features on the bike include Bluetooth connectivity, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, and a compact full-colour TFT display with four display modes. There’s also Eco and Sport riding modes, however, they seemed just a gimmick, and didn’t make any actual difference in performance.

Tyres

The CST Migra S3 tyres were a pleasant surprise. Although they take some time to heat up, the tyres offer good grip on tarmac. Even under hard braking, the tyres don’t lose traction and stay latched on to the tarmac. 

DISLIKES:

Engine

On paper, the Zontes 350R’s liquid-cooled single-cylinder 348cc engine with its 39PS and 32Nm sounds enticing, but the reality is quite different. Not only does it sound unrefined and gruff, but lacks the punch you’d expect from a bike like this. Even at city speeds, around 4,000rpm, the engine feels strained, and that’s also because of its gearbox.

Gearbox

The Zontes 350R’s gear ratios are very weird. After a short-ish second gear, there’s an even shorter third, which makes it almost unusable in the city. The only way around this is running a gear higher or keep shuffling between gears. And given that this engine isn’t as tractable, you’ll have to work the gearbox a lot, anyways.

Then there’s this peculiar issue of the gearbox feeling all jammed up and clunky, especially once the bike begins heating up. On most occasions, we ended up actually stomping on the shifter to downshift.

Suspension

The Zontes 350R has a very soft suspension setup, so bottoming out when going over speed breakers on even potholes is a regular affair. And thanks to its low 152mm ground clearance, speed bumps are even more problematic with a pillion. At high speeds, the bike starts feeling a bit wallowy and robs you of confidence.

VERDICT

The KTM 390 Duke and the BMW G 310 R aren’t as feature-rich as the Zontes 350R, but then again, there’s a reason why we see so many of them plying our roads. These European bikes offer great performance and are reliable, something that the Zontes simply can’t do. The 350R doesn’t floor you with its performance or with its handling and the only thing going for it, are its features. But is that why you’d shell out Rs 3.25 lakh (ex-showroom India)? Well, we wouldn’t suggest so.

On top of its lacklustre riding experience, there’s the problem of service network and spare part availability. With limited dealerships and service centres, and our market’s history with new brands like the FB Mondial, SWM, UM and Cleveland Cycleworks, we’d pick the KTM 390 Duke over this bike any day.