And indeed, one look at it is enough to understand what kind of habitat it was created for. Massive chrome fenders, like on some old Minsk or Voskhod, trunks in front and rear, toothy standard tires... The Stels Desna Country 200 motorcycle is a real guest from the past. A kind of ghost of communism that wanders and wanders, never finding peace. But since such bikes are still being produced, it means that someone needs them, and we must admit that this model is excellent for use in rural areas. Everything in it is subordinated to practicality, and designers, apparently, were not allowed near it at all. And to hell with them, before us is not a city dandy, but a real country guy, uncomplicated, but very good.
Technical characteristics of Stels Desna 200 Country
What can you expect from a motorcycle that costs about 50 thousand rubles ? Not much, of course, but even this little can be done in completely different ways. The Stels Desna 200 Country technical characteristics are quite good for such a budget bike, so it’s worth the money. Steel frame, 1-cylinder air-cooled engine, 5-speed gearbox , carburetor, and exactly the same as on many other Stealth cars... Nothing new, but this motorcycle doesn’t need new items. It should feel confident on any road and can be repaired in an open field with a screwdriver and pliers. By the way, he succeeds.
The engine produces 12.9 hp. , however, for more or less dynamic driving you need to desperately twist it. But outside the city, roads do not always allow acceleration, so this drawback does not seem critical. The gearbox works quite clearly, without false neutrals, and the primitive suspension absorbs potholes and other irregularities tolerably. put a passenger on the bike or load a bag of potatoes , but then the Stealth Desna 200 will immediately sag, and the suspension will begin to “punch”, and the braking distance will increase sharply. Speaking of brakes, they are here, and that’s all that can be said about them. Who in our time thought of putting a drum brake on the front wheel? And don’t point your finger at the Yamaha SR 400, it’s still a retro bike. But... Stels, for what?
Otherwise, nothing unusual. If you, looking at the Stels Desna Country 200, expect to get a more or less reliable, maintainable and cheap utilitarian motorcycle that, with normal maintenance, will serve you for many years, then you are right. The bike is indeed quite durable and tenacious , but this is due more to the simplicity of its design than to Chinese designers. The 11-liter gas tank lasts for a long time, given that fuel consumption does not exceed 3-3.5 liters , and the luggage racks can carry everything that fits on them. A real workhorse, budget and unpretentious.
Rural intelligentsia
The model with the “urban” name “125 City” is equipped with a single-cylinder air-cooled carburetor engine with a capacity of 125 cc. cm and power 7 hp. In terms of its location on the motorcycle - with the cylinder forward, almost horizontally - it strongly resembles the famous “Kab” from Honda. The wheels, like on most modern “street” and “sports”, are without spokes, and the tires look more like road wheels than those designed for driving on the ground. The motorcycle is already equipped with a rear trunk in the “base”, and in case of a fall, special protective arches are designed to protect the driver’s legs from contact with the hot engine cylinder. Their installation, however, does not inspire confidence in their reliability (and the attachment to the engine cylinder was simply surprising), but these are nuances that will certainly be examined during test runs.
“City” is a fairly light motorcycle; even a teenager, or even a graduate of a pedagogical college who was lured to work in the village by numerous benefits, can easily handle it.
The instrument panel and the layout of the controls are also very reminiscent of Honda products - this time the classic CB250, also known as Nighthawk. This “Nighthawk” comes from the 70s, but was produced at the beginning of this century. It’s not for nothing that they say that classics are eternal!
City are not fast, but they know their stuff. At medium speeds it runs quite confidently. Asphalt or hard ground – it doesn’t matter to him. But if the wheels end up in mud, the road pattern of the tires is affected and the baby begins to have trouble obeying the steering wheel. Too much gas can lead to skidding and falling. This is where the insufficiently reliable fastening of the protective arc appeared. When the motorcycle fell, it simply turned around its mount! At low speeds, the driver will most likely have time to put his foot out, but at high speeds, it’s unlikely.
“Desna 125 City” is presented in two versions – “Mirage” and “Comfort”. The latter is distinguished by a more elegant design (arch bars, kickstarter and black wheels, a different muffler) and is 1000 rubles more expensive.
Pros and cons of Stels Desna 200 Country
Advantages
- Price! The motorcycle is cheap, spare parts and consumables for it are also cheap, and since many of them are unified with other bikes from the same manufacturer, they are available in different stores. Aliexpress also has everything you need.
- Reliable, albeit clumsy, design . At Desna 200 Country you will not find brittle thin plastic and mirrors made from recycled Lego toys that crumble from vibrations. The bike is very simple, but very durable, and reviews from owners serve as further confirmation of this.
- Standard luggage racks . If you take a motorcycle as a “every day worker”, this is a significant plus. The racks are reliable, if you don't overload them, and quite practical.
- Possibility of independent repair and maintenance . Such bikes are not taken to the dealer for scheduled maintenance; they are usually tinkered with themselves somewhere in grandfather’s garage. You can disassemble and reassemble the Stealth Desna 200 Country in a couple of days, if you don’t try too hard.
- Gasoline . More precisely, the fact that this motorcycle is not at all demanding on its quality.
- Versatility . The bike feels fine both on asphalt and on moderate off-road conditions, especially with suitable tires.
Flaws
- Brakes . The effectiveness of the drum brake system on both wheels can be called satisfactory, if one does not find fault too much.
- Standard headlight . The luminous flux emanating from it is comparable to that of a Chinese LED flashlight. Fortunately, on Aliexpress there are inexpensive tuning options that correct the situation.
- Standard chain . According to reviews, it stretches very quickly, but after replacing it with a better one, the problem disappears.
- An ill-conceived regular place for a license plate. In view of the upcoming change in GRNZ standards for motorcycles and their replacement with more compact ones, the problem can be considered solved.
- Vibrations . They occur at high speeds, and during measured driving they quickly begin to irritate.
"Desna" 200 Country
The motorcycle in “combat” camouflage coloring looks very convincing. In addition to camouflage, “evil” tires and a serious frame of tubular racks and protective arches that literally encircle the motorcycle on all sides are responsible for the morale. Classic arches on the front of the frame, footrests with folding luggage racks on the sides of the rear wheel, luggage rack on the “tail”, protection of the handlebars. Particularly brutal look are the trunk above the headlight, on which you immediately want to install a machine gun (what if there’s a bear, it’s the wilderness after all!), and the brackets above the rear turn signals, which look capable of supporting the weight of a person. In general, harsh, reliable, brutal and without any pretensions to glamour. The chrome fenders, front arches and muffler look somewhat strange against this background. This is nothing less than a tribute to the memory of the legendary IZH-Planet. By the way, there is also a more “civilian” version of the motorcycle, painted in soothing colors and shod with less toothy tires.
The seat is quite capable of accommodating two adults, and if the boys go to a disco, then another one will fit on the trunk. We, of course, understand that this is against traffic rules and generally dangerous, but the traditions of the outback are stronger. The levers are covered with powerful steel steering wheel protection brackets, so an accidental fall on the road from a disco from a country club will not force tired cowboys to walk, and even push a motorcycle that has suddenly lost its clutch. By the way, other protruding controls and parts are also, for the most part, made of steel, and it is quite difficult to break them, at least in appearance.
The chain (of course, sealless) is hidden in a metal casing: it will get dirty less - less wear. And the wheels are equipped with mechanical drum brakes, already forgotten by many. Both the design is lighter and cheaper, there are fewer maintenance problems, and the pads last many times longer than disc pads, especially considering the predominant movement on dusty and dirty primers.
It should be noted that archaic brake mechanisms perform their functions well. In the usual “village” driving mode on dirt, asphalt and country roads, no lack of efficiency was identified. But by the end of the test, the chain began to treacherously scrape against the casing. Obviously, she stretched out. True, this is perhaps the only trouble that happened to the motorcycles during the test.
The low weight of the motorcycle and completely human ergonomics, coupled with off-road tires, allow you to feel comfortable on any road: dry dirt, ruts washed out and broken by tractors, on grass and asphalt. Naturally, it is not correct to measure this device (like others) by the standards of modern “large” motorcycles. Therefore, it is worth saying that Country copes with its task - moving one or two bodies in space - perfectly.
The engine pulls well from the very bottom, so driving in tension is the highest priority driving mode on, say, mud. If you try, you can even put the motorcycle in a candle. Even if it's in first gear with the clutch, it still has enough traction. There is no noticeable damping of the engine even with increasing speed. The motorcycle pulls smoothly, confidently and accelerates to 80 km/h. More than enough.
I was pleasantly surprised by the pendants. The new front fork really works. Of course, there is no need to talk about jumping and high-speed passage of a cross comb, but you can maintain 40-60 km/h on an average broken dirt road or a road “where asphalt once was” without straining and without fear for the condition of your spine. The only thing that looks a little strange is the absence of rubber corrugations on the fork legs, despite the fact that the last incarnation of the motorcycle had them. For driving through dust and dirt, such an option would be very useful - oil seals with them last much longer.
In a word, the motorcycle turned out to completely meet the requirements. It’s just the right time to take grandpa fishing, and the boys to a disco in the neighboring village.
Reviews from owners of Stels Desna 200 Country
A normal bike, if you need equipment “for your grandfather’s village,” is better than an ancient boxer bike and other devices. It can be repaired with a sledgehammer, but it hardly breaks; the only problem is the rattling of the body kit elements, but this can be treated by installing rubber washers in the right places and then tightening them. Riding around the village is the best. Ildar, Lipetsk, Desna 200 Country '2014.
The motorcycle, of course, is so-so, but for the money it costs, you can forgive it a lot. From time to time it requires attention to small things, but finding any hardware for it is not a problem, and the prices are pleasantly surprising. There were no serious problems, the mileage has already exceeded 35k km. Alexey, Cheboksary, Desna 200 Country '2015.
I would like better brakes, but for the price it will do. I took it new, immediately changed the oil, filled in normal Motul, checked the tightness of all bolts and nuts, properly insulated and filled the wiring under the seat with silicone. All the negative aspects that exist were caused by problems with the assembly, and the quality of the parts themselves is quite normal, I expected the worst at this price. I have a motorcycle at the dacha, I ride it on weekends, the local postman rides exactly the same one, I talked to him - he’s quite happy, he’s been riding on the Desna for many years. Victor, Rostov-on-Don, Desna 200 Country '2013.
"Desna" 125 Mirage/Comfort
This motorcycle is one of the most budget-friendly on the domestic market. The decades-proven engine, a copy of Honda's Super Cub with a horizontal cylinder and a four-speed gearbox, is as simple as a hammer. The entire design of the motorcycle is simplified to the minimum, but, at the same time, without fanaticism. Backbone frame, crash bars, full instrumentation, large double seat. Of course, the seven-horsepower engine is not capable of MotoGP combat feats, and narrow tires with an asphalt pattern are not very suitable for storming the mud, but the engine confidently drags a hundred-kilogram man. Moreover, if anything, the curb weight of the motorcycle is only 86 kg. That is, less than the “curb weight” of the average village guy, which makes it absolutely unstuck in any puddles. He picked it up and placed it on the earth's surface with his bare hands, without the help of strangers or special equipment.
If necessary, if on a hard surface, it will take two people away. Of course, unlike the “Country”, the suspensions here are installed simpler, although they can’t be said, which was very noticeable on Nikola-Lenivets potholes.
The differences in the 125 trim levels are not great: the Comfort has a little more chrome parts and the trunk is designed a little differently. Otherwise the motos are identical. And the difference in price of a thousand rubles reduces the choice between them only to the choice of color. Another nice thing compared to its competitors is that Desna, like all Stels equipment, is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. So, if your ancient scoop cycle breaks down for the millionth time, maybe it’s worth rethinking. It's really cheaper to just walk.
Internet edition
Total
The Stels Desna 200 Country motorcycle is truly a return to basics. Imagine some Soviet Voskhod, only new and with a normal 4-stroke engine . This will be the hero of our article - a classic of Soviet motorcycle construction, at least in spirit. However, the archaic design solutions clearly make the Stealth motorcycle similar to the bikes of the Soviet era. Everything about it is subordinated to practicality and maximum cost reduction, but is that bad? We need different motorcycles, and the Desna 200 Country also found its buyers.
Specifications
| Maximum engine power: | 12.9(8000) HP |
| Torque: | 12.0 (7000) Nm |
| Working volume: | 196.0 cm3 |
| Motor type (cylinder arrangement, number of strokes): | 4-stroke, 1-cylinder, air cooled |
| Number of cylinders: | 1 |
| Number of valves: | |
| Intake type (Injector / Carburetor): | |
| Bore and stroke: | |
| Starting system (Electric starter, kick starter): | |
| Cooling system: | Air |
| Transmission (gearbox): | Manual transmission, 5 gears (1-N-2-3-4-5) |
| Clutch (Dry / Wet): | |
| Drive unit: | Chain |
| Frame: | Steel, welded, tubular |
| Chassis | |
| Suspension (front/rear travel): | |
| Brakes (Front/Rear): | |
| Wheels / Tires / Rubber: | |
| Dimensions and weight | |
| Dimensions (Length / Width): | |
| Seat height: | |
| Ground clearance: | |
| Curb weight: | |
| Wheelbase: | 1315 mm |
| Weight: | 142 kg |
| Fuel tank capacity: | 11 l. |
| Battery capacity: | |
| Year of release: | |
| Country of Origin: |
