Kymco
One of life’s great pleasures is riding with a bunch of mates. It doesn’t matter what you’re riding. These days I really don’t get many opportunities to do it, with work, family and life often getting in the way. I usually end up riding on my own.
Recently, I was invited to a media day by Kymco and jumped at the chance to spend the day riding some of their scooters with a bunch of media types. What’s not to like?
Kymco is a fascinating company. Founded in 1964, KYMCO originally started out with technology transfer from Honda, Japan. With the technical know-how from Honda, KYMCO became one of Honda’s high quality overseas manufacturing facilities.
As the relationship developed over the next two decades, Honda increased its business interest in KYMCO and became a significant shareholder
These days KYMCO is one of the leading global powersports brands producing a range of scooters, motorcycles, mobility scooters, ATVs and utility vehicles that are sold all over the world.
KYMCO’s mission is to create personal vehicles that win the hearts of consumers all over the world.
DTX 360
Kymco’s DTX 360 is what Kymco call an Adventure Crossover. It’s a funky looking maxi scooter with adventure-oriented tyres and chunky styling, giving you the feeling that this maxi scooter is more than a regular city commuter, and could take you on a real adventure.
The heart of the DTX is a four-valve liquid-cooled single of 320cc in size. It produces a claimed 28.2bhp and 20Nm of torque, and there’s a CVT gearbox to transfer the power to the road.
Wide bars make manouvering through city traffic a doddle, and a nice, large, comfy seat makes riding the DTX a pleasure.
It comes with TCS (Traction Control System) and has a funky, large, full colour dash that shows; speedometer, air temperature, fuel consumption, battery voltage, mileage, trip odometer, tachometer, clock, fuel guage and coolant temperature.
It’s got a keyless ignition, huge underseat storage compartment big enough for a helmet, and it’ll do 65mpg.
I had a great time whizzing around on the DTX, at 194kg dry it’s lighter than it’s competitors and the weight sits very low so you don’t feel it.
The telescopic front Suspension and twin shock rear suspension does a great job of absorbing the punishment dished out by out poorly maintained UK roads.
Curiously, the DTX360 isn’t actually a 360. There are two bikes in the range, the 320cc and the 125cc.
Engine Type – OHC, 4 Stroke, Single Cylinder
Cooling System – Liquid Cooling
Fuel System – Fuel Injection
Displacement – 320.6 cc
Max. Power Output (kW/rpm) – 21 kW (28.2 HP) / 7500 rpm
Max. Torque (Nm/rpm) – 30 Nm / 5750 rpm
Dry Weight Amount (kg) – 194 kg
Length x Width x Height (mm) – 2165 x 780 x 1290 mm
Seat Height (mm) – 800 mm
Wheelbase (mm) – 1545 mm
Fuel tank (L) – 12.5 L
Front Wheel Size – 120/80-14
Rear Wheel Size – 150/70-13
Front Suspension – Telescopic
Rear Suspension – Double Swing with 5-Steps
Brake System – ABS
Front Brake System – 280 mm Disk
Rear Brake System – 260 mm Disk
DTX 320 – *Priced at £5,559
DTX 125 – *Priced at £4,899
AK550
Kymco’s AK550 is a very polished product. The liquid-cooled 550cc Euro5 parallel twin, DOHC 8V engine, is silky smooth. It produces 52hp (39.3 kW) and 56Nm torque. It’s no slouch and with it’s low slung aluminium chassis it’s very well-balanced. We were told it has the lowest centre of gravity in it’s class, and almost 50/50 weight distribution.
You also have 41 mm up-side down forks at the front and horizontal trailing arm rear suspension with beefy Brembo brakes, all working to make this a very capable and fun maxi scooter.
There are 2 rider modes and a really cool dash, with 3 full colour panels and some funky button that operate things like; fuel tank cap, seat storage access, dashboard display settings, and handlebar locks.
The AK550 also has something called AIBS (Advanced Intelligent Braking System) which combines TCS traction control and dual-channel Corning ABS, making it a safe bike. Oh, and it also has cruise control.
Where the DTX360 is a fun and funky commuter, this AK550 is a grown up, serious bike that has all day comfort, is incredibly practical and fun too.
Engine Type – In-Line, 2 Cylinders, DOHC, 8 Valves
Cooling System – Liquid Cooling
Displacement – 550.4 cc
Max. Power Output (kW/rpm) – 39.3 kW (52.7 HP) / 7500 rpm
Max. Torque (Nm/rpm) – 55.64 Nm / 5500 rpm
Wheel Drive System – CVT
Dry Weight Amount (kg) – 226 kg (Aluminum Frame)
Length x Width x Height (mm) – 2165 x 795 x 1400 mm
Seat Height (mm) – 785 mm
Wheelbase (mm) – 1580 mm
Fuel tank (L) – 15 L
Front Wheel Size – 120/70-15
Rear Wheel Size – 160/60-15
Front Suspension – 41 mm Up-Side Down Fork
Rear Suspension – Horizontal Trailing Arm
Brake System – ABS
Front Brake System – 270 mm Dual Disk
Rear Brake System – 260 mm Disk
AK550 – *Priced at £9,899
AGILITY CITY+ 125
The Agility City+125 follows a format that can be found the world over. The step-through, rev and go 125 is just the perfect tool for commuting in urban areas.
Kymco’s Agility is a polished product. The quality of components and the fit and finish are high quality.
You have 33 mm hydraulic telescopic forks with 95mm travel at the front and a single swing arm with an adjustable hydraulic shock absorber with 81mm travel at the rear. The suspension is perfect for the style of bike, It’s comfortable and soaks up the bumps well.
A 16” front wheel and 14” rear wheel mean it rides and steers more like a bigger bike too and is reassuring over poor road surfaces.
The engine is a 125cc 4 stroke, single cylinder, air-cooled unit that produces 8.8hp (6.6 kW) and 9Nm of torque. Not huge figures, but it’s more than enough for this type of bike and it’ll still do a claimed top speed of 52mph (85 km/h). Mine showed more, although we were having so much fun and laughing so much on these little bikes it was hard to see.
The brakes are very good and linked brakes; CBS (Combined Brake System). There’s a 260mm disc brake at the front and 240mm at the rear.
This is a great little bike. The build quality is excellent and for learners or commuters, it’s perfect. I’ve read reports that show people getting over 100 mpg from these, which is unbelievable, and at just 114 kg (dry) it’s very light and easy to ride.
Engine Type – OHC, 4 Stroke, Single Cylinder
Cooling System – Air Cooling
Displacement – 125cc
Max. Power Output (kW/rpm) – 6.6 kW (8.8 HP) / 8500 rpm
Max. Torque (Nm/rpm) – 9.0 Nm / 6750 rpm
Wheel Drive System – CVT
Dry Weight Amount (kg) – 114 kg
Length x Width x Height (mm) – 2050 x 735 x 1210 mm
Seat Height (mm) – 815 mm
Wheelbase (mm) – 1340 mm
Fuel tank (L) – 7 L
Front Wheel Size – 100/80-16
Rear Wheel Size – 120/80-14
Front Suspension – Telescopic
Rear Suspension – Double Swing
Brake System – CBS
Front Brake System – 260 mm Disk
Rear Brake System – 240 mm Disk
AGILITY CITY+ 125 – *PRICED AT £2,959
VSR 125
This is where many of us started our biking journey, on a little, low-cost 125 cc naked bike.
Kymco’s VSR 125 is a modern version of the bike many of us started on and took me back.
It has 17” alloy wheels, hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a single shock absorber at the rear. It’s pretty softly sprung, but it’s not aimed at a 50-year-old, slightly overweight guy if we’re honest.
The engine is a single-cylinder, 4-stroke air-cooled 125cc engine that makes 10.2 hp (7.6 kW) and 10.6 Nm torque and has a 5-speed manual gearbox. It felt almost unbreakable, perfect for learners and commuters who perhaps are building their experience.
Styling is modern and sporty, with an LED front headlight, a nice instrument dashboard showing gear position indication, partial odometer, speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge.
Brakes consist of a 276 mm disk up front and a 220 mm disk at the rear with unbranded calipers that do a good job. It has a linked braking system; CBS (Combined Braking System)
It’s easy to forget how much fun you can have at low speed. We get to ride all sorts of bikes but generally not little 125s. This was a lot of fun, grown-ups slipstreaming at legal speeds on country roads, with maybe 1 mph separating the front runners from the back markers. Great fun.
The VSR125 is a fun little first bike or commuter. It’ll run forever, is incredibly cheap to run and looks great. It’s also only £2750 brand new.
Engine Type – OHC, 4 Stroke, Single Cylinder
Cooling System – Air Cooling
Displacement – 125cc
Max. Power Output (kW/rpm) – 7.6 kW (10.2 HP) / 8000 rpm
Max. Torque (Nm/rpm) – 10.6 Nm / 6000 rpm
Wheel Drive System – Clutch
Dry Weight Amount (kg) – 136 kg
Length x Width x Height (mm) – 2050 x 740 x 1140 mm
Seat Height (mm) – 780 mm
Wheelbase (mm) – 1330 mm
Fuel tank (L) – 13.5 L
Front Wheel Size – 80/100-17
Rear Wheel Size – 110/80-17
Front Suspension – Telescopic
Rear Suspension – Adjustable Hydraulic
Brake System – CBS
Front Brake System – 276 mm Disk
Rear Brake System – 220 mm Disk
VSR 125 – *PRICED AT £2,750
