There’s a new cruiser in town, and it’s from Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Jedi. We’ve talked about this brand on multiple occasions in the past, and back then, it seemed as though Jedi was all about sportbikes that looked like they were plucked out of the set of a Star Wars movie. Well, as it would turn out, Jedi’s branching out into cruisers, with its new 250 4L.
For the record, the Chinese brand doesn’t have anything to do with Star Wars contrary to what its name suggests. In fact, its new 250 4L seems pretty underwhelming, especially when put in comparison with the other bikes in its lineup. From a styling perspective, the 250 4L is very obviously inspired by big American baggers from the likes of Indian and Harley-Davidson. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find that it’s more like a caricature of these bikes.
That’s right, what we have here seems to be the first of its kind, or at least that which I’m aware of. The 250 4L seems like it isn’t sure whether it wants to be a mini-bike or a bagger, so it decided to be both. The bike rolls on a 16-inch wheel up front and a 15-inch wheel at the back, and has a very low seat height of just 690 millimeters (27 inches). That being said, it gets the whole shebang in terms of features, with a large fairing up front and two saddlebags to provide quite a lot of storage.
Jedi’s known for making motorcycles used by police forces in China, and given how crowded it can get in some cities over there, a compact cruiser with a lot of storage space simply makes a lot of sense for urban police forces. Interestingly, there’s a police-specific version of this cruiser being used in China, and the 250 4L is Jedi’s attempt at commercializing this model to the private sector.
Beneath the surface, the Jedi 250 4L makes use of some rudimentary technology found in old Suzuki bikes, particularly the GZ 250 and GN 250. It’s powered by a 249cc, air-cooled single-cylinder engine with 18 horsepower and 18 Nm (13.3 pound-feet) of torque. It has a top speed of about 81 miles an hour, and comes to a stop with front and rear disc brakes equipped with dual-channel ABS. Given how fuel-efficient this little engine is, the bike’s massive 20-liter fuel tank should give it a range of about 700 kilometers (438 miles) in between fill-ups.
After all is said and done, it doesn’t appear as though Jedi has any plans of releasing the 250 4L outside of China. It’s priced at a very affordable 15,400 yuan, translating to approximately $2,164 USD at the time of writing, so it’s surely an affordable and somewhat stylish alternative to plain old scooters and commuters.
