Motiv Alpha Jackal Bowling Ball

The Alpha Jackal,
So as everyone knows by now this is the most recent release in the famous jackal series from Motiv. Normally I do my reviews very shortly after receiving the ball and this time around I wanted to get a bunch of games on the ball so I could be a little more in-depth with what I'm seeing from the motion of the ball and my likes dislikes. So let's start off with my layout. I did my favorite Asym pin-up layout which is a 60*5*30 THis normally gives me good length and still has lots of power down lane.
Using that layout I left the jackal at its box finish which is about a 2k abralon finish. This ball got down the lane much easier than I thought it would be that it has such a strong cover. Shape wise downlane is tougher to explain it's not as long and snappy as the ghost and not nearly as early as a jackal rising. So I've put I dunno about 60 games on this ball so far and man its been pretty solid for me so far. It lets me open the lanes on higher volume house shots and lets me get in the middle of the lane when I move left on dryer lanes.
As I've owned it the ball has got well kinda dirty. That has been easily resolved. Anytime the ball gets some lane shine on it I just hit it with a fresh 2k pad and its back to normal!
All and all this is what you would expect from a High-performance piece of equipment. It loves the heavier volumes and has plenty to offer downlane for such a big hooking ball!
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Specs PAP 4 over 1/2 Up
Tilt 20 degree
Axis Rotation 50

Stephen Mohn
Motiv Staffer

Follow me on Instagram @motivmaniac where I review, showcase and show anything Motiv!

good name for this one, love the Jackal series, this one picks up just early enough to carry that stinking 10 pin

Great ball to use during tournaments or if the lanes are oily. The ball hooks hard.

tengo la LE y la Shost esta bola cumple mis expectativas de efectividad con una fuerte reaccion el pegar con los pinos.

65×5.5×35
Holy cow, this ball is amazing! Out of box at 2000 throwing on a fresh THS, the Alpha Jackal showed its true power. I was really surprised at just how smooth something that strong could be! The Alpha Jackal is definitely a ball for you if you need a strong, yet really smooth asymmetrical. I took the Alpha Jackal down to 4000 grit for the house I bowl in and shot back to back 250+ games in league. This is definitely a special piece in the bag. Not only can I score well bowling on the Dragon pattern, but I can score well on a fresh house shot. This ball is very versatile! Its a definite go-to when the lanes are fresh!

Jason Lettau
MOTIV Staff

65x5.25x35

I got the required number of strikes to make my ball review video (generally I use 5-8 depending on what keeps it under 2 minutes) in under 5 minutes, so I kept the camera rolling and actually ended up with so many strikes that I could literally make a 1:50 video of me only throwing strikes after I edited down the initial 12 minute video.

I’m editing the video as I write this, and I can tell you that this ball is running over the 8 pin almost every single shot as I rewatch them, and there’s a couple ways you can look at that; either I need to move left, or the ball doesn’t quit while going through the pins. Once the video is published, you’ll see that I eventually move about 10-15 by the end, and the 8 pin still has zero chance, so the ball might just be insane.

My early experiences with this ball was that it was too much for everything we had on the machine to throw at it, it actually was too much for Route 66 at box, but looked awesome at 5500~. At that surface I was also able to use it on the house shot effectively.

I took it back to a fresh 2k by resurfacer before shooting the video, then threw it on this year’s US Open 4 pattern after I got done shooting and made it look like a house shot, so that was pretty fun. No further surface adjustments before going front 8 in league on Thursday with it, so it seems that this one is also VERY surface friendly. All in all, this one’s pretty good!

Jamison Peyton
Motiv Staffer

The layout I used on the Alpha Jackal is 65-5-30. I’ve never been a big fan of asymmetrical bowling balls but this one I’m a huge fan of. Normally I have problems with asymmetrical balls rolling out and stopping but not with this ball. This ball reads the middle part of the lane perfectly and still continues through the pins. I will be using this ball a lot to start tournaments on longer patterns and some medium patterns when there is enough volume. This is definitely one of my favorite balls in my bag.
David Hooper Jr,
Motiv Staff

Ball flat out hooks. First time I used this ball was very impressed very smooth early rolling ball. Looking for a heavy oil ball this is it

The layout I used on the Alpha Jackal is 50x5x30. I was amazed with how this ball rolled for me. I typically cannot throw many asymmetric cores on house shots due to them using up all their energy in the front part of the lane. For how much the Alpha sees the fronts, it does not quit down lane. This ball is very continuous and will work well on fresh house shots and heavy oil patterns. The Alpha Jackal will be traveling with me for a while as my strongest ball in my bag.

Drew Crain
Motiv Staff