The Surprise Thrill…

First Impressions
Should a ball at this price point roll like this? Maybe but I can say the Thrill did offer a pleasant surprise.

Our Testers:
Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 375 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 65 x 5 x 40
Intent: Medium/long roll with a medium transition at the breakpoint

Bryan Hoffman (Righty)
Style: Higher Tilt Stroker
RPM: 280 rpm
PAP: 4 1/4 & 1/8 down
Average Speed: 17.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 65 x 4.5 x 35
Intent: Medium roll with a slow transition at the breakpoint

Thanks to Jeff Smith and Pure It Bowling for drilling our equipment.
Buy the Motiv Thrill at PureItBowling.com.
Thanks to Limerick Bowl in Limerick, PA. I want to thank Limerick Bowl for their support. If you’re in the area, don’t forget to visit Limerick Bowl.

“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”

Test Pattern:
THS: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: PBA Chameleon: 39ft, 25 ml, 2:1 ratio

Value
B+
The Motiv Thrill offers great bang for the buck. Yes it will be limited to some extent to lower volume situations but for experienced bowlers looking for a stepdown, this looks like a legit option.

Specs
The Motiv Thrill uses the Flux™ weight block (symmetrical) inside the new Agility XP (Striking Precision) Reactive pearl coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.57, diff of .015
14 pound = RG of 2.57, diff of .018
Coverstock finish: 5500 Grit LSP

Overall
THS: B+
Sport: C
We expected the Thrill to be played fairly directly given its fit in the light oil spectrum on the Motiv resource guide. For the most part, that was true. But what took us off guard was its pop and shape. I usually expect little shape out of a ball that’s supposed to be weak and smooth. Actually what we saw is a really nice addition and a perfect fit in the lineup. While this is our standard house pattern, as summer approaches, it plays with more overall hook. So The Thrill looked right at home. To be honest, if I’m bowling summer league and I want to play fairly direct, this could easily be a ball that could not only start with but likely stay with all night. It’s a pearl so clean but is smooth and readable with good pop downlane. It may sound a bit contradictory but if you watch the ball reaction you see what I mean. It’s not like it jumps on you. If you get it into friction, you see it and know it’s going to read early. But it doesn’t get down lane and just snap off the end of the pattern. I did have room to miss in and out. It does react quick enough to dry that you feel you will get reaction down lane.

Bryan is next and he was also surprised at the amount of motion the Thrill offered on the house shot. Like me, he saw that starting too direct will lead to shots going high. He generally had a good look and enjoyed the shape overall. It’s not too much and not too little for a low end ball. Now it is a very low differential ball so it is relatively weak so Bryan saw his share of flat 10 pins. In the end it was pretty predictable. He could easily get to the pocket. Carry was middling. Ocassionally, he might leave a bucket type leave if he gets a little fast or opens the angles too much. Still overall, it was a thought-provoking ball reaction that had us feeling, hem, in a positive way.

Sport Shot
We tested on a fresh 39ft Chameleon pattern. It’s a reasonable length pattern and while it would be more appropriate to have some breakdown, we didn’t have the luxury to create significant breakdown. Nevertheless, not only was in not very difficult to get to the pocket, carry was good when I got there and I had good forgiveness missing in. Missing out was another story but that’s to be expected. I wouldn’t normally consider this an option at this point but it opened my eyes to how I might consider playing this pattern in the future. Main thing here was bring ball speed down to allow the Thrill to read the pattern.
For Bryan it wasn’t very different. He could get to the pocket with a more direct line and his carry was incrementally less than mine. Same deal, he had to drop ball speed to ensure the ball read. But the ball really didn’t say to us, I am the wrong ball for this pattern and that in and of itself was a surprise to be honest.

Final Thoughts
While we never had a chance to test the Hydra, from what we saw from it, the Motiv Thrill looks like a nice compliment but with a cleaner look. But what I really liked about it is that lower end and relatively smooth did not equal weak and soft hit. The Thrill was enjoyable to throw and we liked the overall shape and motion. And it gave us a little extra bang for the buck by looking pretty good on our sport pattern as well.