Apollo RXF 200 Freeride MAX

[Jim Rogers]

I've done some searching on this site and see very little about this bike. I just picked one up this evening-- a 2020 with only two hours on it (i.e., practically brand new!) came up for sale about a 15 minute drive from me.

I did a little test ride and I am very impressed! Power is very good-- actually more snappy than my DB36 250. The RXF smells like it's running a little rich, so maybe it was re-jetted (I've not done that yet on the DB36) and that might explain part of it.

The guy I bought it from hadn't ridden it in a while so the battery was really low (he had to kick start it). When I got it home, I took the seat off to recharge the battery and I have to say every part of the bike that I interacted with really had a high-quality feel. The quality seems to me to be quite a bit higher that the DB-36.

By the time the battery was charged it was too dark to ride any more, but I am really impressed with the quality and performance of this bike. I'll soon get some more hours on it and report back.

[culcune]

This site is not as active on the pitbike front. Dual-sports are the popular threads. CSC RX3 and to a lesser extent RX4 are popular and ATVs. I looked the bike up and on Kronik Racing's site they have it for $2699 so it better have some quality! I am sure the 190cc engine adds to the price. Do you have photos of your bike?

[Jim Rogers]

Well, I think this bike might change the pit bike activity on this site-- it's a game changer!

The bike is available at Orion, and it's $2,400.

https://www.orionpowersports.com/apo...embled-tested/

Here's a picture of mine-- I paid $1,650:

I got to ride it a little today, and I have a few first impressions. Given how short the riding was, these are definitely subject to change!

I live out in the country, so I was able to do some riding on the road. I'm just shocked at how much power this thing has! I road the (paved) route that I routinely ride my Apollo DB36 250 on, and I think the power is very similar.

As I mentioned before, I think the exhaust on the RFX smells a little rich, so maybe it doesn't have the EPA lean-ness that the 250 has. On the other hand, looking at the specs, the RFX (190cc actual) has 16 hp at 8,000 rpm, while the CB250 clone (166FM, 223cc actual) in the DB36 is rated anywhere from 16 to 17.1 hp (depending on what source I look at) at 7,000 rpm. So, spec-wise the two bikes are not all that different in hp. That's not a complete surprise as there is only a 33 cc difference in displacement (about 15% less).

While the displacement is 15% less, the weight is about 23% less. I weighed my DB36 with a full gas tank and oil while brand new, and I got 274 lbs. Weighing the RFX with about 1/3 of a tank of gas (and a little mud from today's ride!) I got 210 lbs. So, the hp to weight ratio is actually better with the RFX.

So, that's my impression on the road-- what about on dirt? We're still climbing out of winter so the trail on my property is mostly muddy, but I did do some riding on the dry parts. It was here where I did see a real difference-- in torque.

The torque spec for the DB36 is 13 ft lb at 5,500 rpm, but the RFX is 9.6 ft lbs at 9,000 rpm. So, not only is the torque 26% less, it happens at a really high 9,000 rpm.

On my trail I could really feel the difference. I stalled the RFX several times going over steep humps that the DB36 would just chug over. However, when the engine was revved up, it did fine. It almost felt like a two-stroke-- absolutely pathetic torque just off idle, but then it just sort of explodes when it rev's a little.

Exacerbating that effect are the facts that first gear seems fairly tall and (I believe) I read somewhere (or saw on Youtube) that these pit bikes have a quarter throttle. That seems to be the case with this bike-- the throttle is really sensitive. Between the tall first gear, touchy throttle, and the two stroke-like steep power curve, I was constantly either stalling it or nearly doing a whiskey throttle.

Neither of those are good, so I have to say that the first dirt ride was not all that satisfying. I think I'll probably get used to it, so I'm not going to form any firm judgements right now.

My conclusion after that really short ride (that wasn't really a fair test) was that it wasn't as fun as the DB36. But, we'll see. As I said, I don't want to form too strong a judgement until I get a few more hours on the bike.

It's ironic that I felt like the bike was better on the road than on dirt. I would love to see Apollo (or anyone) make a street bike with this motor. It would be freeway legal (150cc scooters are) and I think it would perform as well as the CB250-based DF250's (RTG, RTS, RTD).

A few other notes:
--The front brake was very weak-- scarily so. As I said, the bike only has 2 hours on it and I don't think it was ridden hard. So, perhaps the front brake needs to bed in. Rear brake was fine.

--The shift lever has the shortest throw of any bike I've ever ridden in my life! It's almost like it's a push button. However, it shifts very reliably and the feel is that of some really high quality super bike. I.e., if I rode that bike without knowing what it was, and someone told me it was a $30,000 bike, I would have totally believed it and been raving about how amazing the transmission was and how the feel was like a fine-jeweled watch.

--The exhaust sound is amazing. I can't believe how deep, bass-y, and bad-ass it sounds. It even has a nice lope-y sound at idle.

--The seat is barely padded at all and I believe the hardest I've ever sat on.

That's my first ride report-- more coming soon!

[Big Bird]

The 190 is probably putting out more power than db36. If not it will with a bigger carb. Even though it's a horizontal engine it is a step up from the typical "250cc" dual sport engine. They are good for 80mph+ in the grom clones.

They recently came out with a GPX adv190 which is a street legal(in some states) grom based motorcycle.