Motiv Motiv Thrash Frenzy Review

jason_doust

The Bowling Geek
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The Thrash Frenzy is one of the most eagerly awaited releases from Motiv in a while. One of their best covers and my favourite Motiv core. It's a handsome looking ball with a very useful reaction shape; long and strong with a powerful midlane and backend.

Cover
The Motiv Thrash Frenzy is the third ball in recent months to use the Whiplash cover, after the 2Cruel and Primal Scream. The Thrash Frenzy, however takes it to a new level, being the first ball to use Whiplash Pearl, increasing the length and strength. Make no mistake about it, this is a strong cover, but really clean through the front. More on that later...

Core
The Quadfire core, used previoulsy in the QZ-1, QZ-2 and Thrash provides a medium-high RG with a medium-low diferrential. What does that mean? Balls with this core will tend to clear the front and have a tighter flaring pattern, conserving rotational forces for the backend. The QZ-2 is one of the best balls I've ever drilled. I have bought and sold at least three balls that rolled close to it and weren't as good, so out they went and the QZ-2 stays on 3 years later. I have always wished for a longer, stronger version and here it is.

Layout
I had a ball with a short pin. (3") As I have a 5" span, that means pin down was where I had to go. So I laid it out at 75° x 5" x 60°, keeping the angle sum up to delay motion a hair. (If I had another one to drill I probably would have made the 5" more like 5 5/8", but that's just me being picky.)
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Ball Motion
The silver logos in the blue/teal pearl cover not only look nice, they provide a great indicator of ball motion. Surface is the biggest factor in ball motion. Previous balls using the Whiplash material are solid covers,The 2 Cruel hooks a lot, the Primal Scream uses a high RG core to get further down the lane, then just turns crazy-hard off the spot. The Thrash Frenzy is that nice spot in between. The ball gets through the front of the lane effortlessly and reads the midlane with confidence. The Quadfire core's tighter flaring holds the strong cover on line, giving you that really handy (and forgiving) "banana" shape on the lane.

You can cover a lot of boards or just a few by changing hand positions and rev rate. I have not fully explored the options with this ball, but I can confidently say that it's a very versatile piece. I have bowled from outside 10 board to inside 30 at the arrows and this ball has performed very well. I shot a respectable 860-something set using a "kill shot" straighter release from 30 board among the tumble-weeds at Belconnen and threw a 14-bagger with it a Bathurst getting all over it at the foul line. I can see a variety of conditions that this ball could match up nicely on. Strokers will be able to play up the boards and even a little swing. Crankers will be able to play all sorts of angles. Tweeners will just love the ability to float through the heads with good recovery.

Pin Carry
Pin carry is very good with the Thrash Frenzy in your hand. My first game out of the box was 258 at Belconnen, including a sighter shot in the first frame with a known ball for 9/! Solid pocket hits will crack a rack with that distinctive Motiv pitch that makes your opponent wince. I noticed bowling on the drier lanes at Belconnen that the ball left a few stone 9's. A quick line change fixed that nicely. (So be on the lookout for that - it is strong on the backend!) On the house shot at Bathurst, I shot a set of 226, 277, 242, 246 convincing me that the ball sure could carry! (Before the wheels fell of the bowler!) :) I was grabbing at the release during this session, so ran with it and hooked the ball through 15-20, out to 8 board. Once I got my touch back, I was also able to move back to the right and throw it straighter to great effect. When I kept the ball in the oil too long, it would leave flat 10 pins, but pretty much any shiny ball will do this at Bathurst. (That was my signal to go right and straighter once I was too far in.)

Another note on carry - the colours on the ball also let you see it go through the pins really well. This is very useful in observing ball motion and making predictive moves on the approach and lane.

Conclusion
This ball gives Motiv a new look on the lane and it's a winner. I can see a wide range of players finding a spot in their bag for a ball that is clean through the front with a predictably strong motion and reliable pin carry. It's a house shot monster that will also undoubtedly have opportunities on medium and even short length tournament shot.

The Motiv Thrash Frenzy is available right now. Ken McLachlan of KM Bowling Supplies kindly asked me to review this ball. Contact Ken at [email protected] for Australian wholesale enquiries or your local pro shop for retail enquiries.
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A little extra note - In a practice session on Saturday, I noticed that this ball seems to rev up faster off the hand than some of my other gear. Combined with the length and strength of the cover, this ball is looking great when the lanes break down. Like most pearl balls, it's a little too strong downlane for me on the fresh.

On the pro shop side of things - It's selling quite well and customers are loving it.
 
Yes, there is. His name is Ken McLachlan and I've mentioned him and his contact details in many reviews now. He does a lot to support bowling in this country and is worth supporting in return. [email protected]

Carl, you really should declare your vested interest as the "C" in AC. Makes you look dodgy otherwise.

Cheers,
Jason
 
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