2018 KYMCO SCOOTERS AND SPADE MOTORCYCLE
FIRST TEST
P102
That said, there is still a
desire to possess a certain
degree of independence and
mobility. This is reflected in
the increasing number of peo-
ple using scooters and small
displacement motorcycles to
navigate their new lives in the
city. Scooters, though utilitar-
ian in premise, possess an
inherent fun factor that makes
getting from point A to point
B somewhat more enjoyable
than dealing with driving, and
have an ease of operation that
allows anyone who can ride
a bicycle the ability to join the
rank and file of the scooter
crowd.
Enter Kymco. The Taiwan-
ese company is celebrating its
54th year of manufacturing en-
gines and vehicles for industry
partners (including Kawasaki,
BMW, and Arctic Cat) as well
as for the Kymco brand. The
second largest scooter manu-
facturer in Taiwan, and fifth
largest in the world, Kymco
has introduced its lineup for
2018 that provides a range of
vehicles to suit specific needs
and application.
In the traditional "twist and
go" category for 2018, Kymco
offers the Like 150i ABS, the
Xtown 300i ABS, and the Xcit-
ing 400i ABS, and in an all-new
category is the Spade 150, a
miniature motorcycle that has a
clutch and five-speed trans-
mission. The machines tested
represent a diverse approach
to tackling two-wheel mobil-
ity. The company's choice of
Ashville, North Carolina, to
showcase the new machines
provided the perfect environ-
ment to see how the machines
perform in diverse urban
situations, with a dash into the
surrounding Smoky Mountains
for some recreational riding.
Then the North Carolina clouds
opened up and drenched
the roads we were travers-
ing through the Appalachian
Mountains. Though not the
most inviting conditions for rid-
ing, it did provide a real-world
test of the bike's ABS systems
in a scenario more likely to be
encountered when a vehicle is
to be used for commuting as
opposed to waiting for week-
end sunshine.
