Mash Motorcycles is a French company which started operations in 2014. The business model works in a way where motorcycles are made in China and then imported to go on sale across Europe. The brand has different motorcycles to offer in the 50cc, 125cc, 250cc, 400cc and 650cc range.
Their latest and the one featured here is the Mash Desert Force 400, a retro machine which does park itself very close to the Royal Enfield Classic Desert Storm.
What makes this motorcycle unique though is its unusually raised, spring-loaded pillion seat. Perhaps it has been designed that way to allow the pillion a better view. Or maybe so that the co-rider’s feet don’t brush against the side-mounted panniers which hold a jerry can. There’s also a soft bag on the other side to carry luggage which can be kept in place with some stylish straps.
The bike is held together by a single cradle frame which splits into two underneath the engine and the architecture is pretty basic. What really adds the retro to the Mash Desert Force is a leather-finished tank bag which can probably carry sunglasses at best, leather knee pads, a vertically mounted licence plate on the front fender and a horn which sits right next to the speedometer.
There’s a metal cage protecting the headlight, telescopic forks and twin rear springs for suspension, and on-off road rubber. Modern bits include dual-channel ABS which can be switched to work only for the front wheel and an all-digital instrument console.
Engine Details
Powering this French-Chinese machine is a 397cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine which exhales through twin pipes and makes about 27 horses and 30 Nm of torque. It is fuel-injected and features a single overhead cam. This motorcycle asks for about 5,795 Euros, which translates into about 4.80 lakh in Indian currency. In the 400cc class, Mash Motorcycles has a comprehensive portfolio of bikes which are styled to look like a Cafe Racer, a scrambler and a roadster. All these machines attempt to appeal to those who are after old school charm and wish to be in control of something easy going.