Scooter Review

Arqin V3

Arqin’s V3 is an automatic motorcycle or an oddly styled scooter in disguise.Whatever, it’s a pioneer in a growing market.

JWords by JEREMY BOWDLER, photography by LOU MARTIN

So what are we to make of the V3 from Arqin? Neither fish nor fowl, at first glance the V3 looks neither one thing nor another. In a market dominated by styling niches, the new Arqin stands out on its own. Is it too much a motorcycle to be featured in these pages? Or too much of a scooter to be featured in our sister mag, twowheels? Where does it fit? Does it fit?

Before we get to the answer to that question, we should have a look at what it does, and does not do. The V3, despite its name, is a single-cylinder four-stroke 244cc engine mated to a CVT transmission. Scooter through and through. The styling, on the other hand, is all motorcycle. Power cruiser is possibly the best description, though there are styling cues from a lot of different models wrapped up in there. Whether or not it works as a design is up to a prospective purchaser.

Opinions around the office varied from one end of the spectrum to the other.

What’s more important is how the machine works, since when you’re stoking the fire you don’t look at the mantlepiece, and the Arqin works surprisingly well. The suspension was a little overwhelmed by my weight and a little more damping would have been nice as the bike tended to pitch forwards and back on the springs. To be fair, however, the V3 had been used as a charity vehicle on a ride from Wollongong to Cairns and back and a service and replacement of the oil in the suspension was probably due.

The hard life from the charity ride had also left its mark on some of the bodywork – not on the red painted areas which had stood up very well, but in some of the chrome-overplastic covers which had scratches down to the base material showing. You had to look to find them, though. All in all, the bike had stood up to the usage pretty well.

One aspect that did shine was the engine/ transmission package. Tight, slick and powerful with no hesitation or slop. A very good twist and go set-up indeed, and a pleasure in the ratbaggery of peak hour. It’s a similar story with the brakes. Powerful and effective, though perhaps lacking in feel at the lever,a combination of the suspension mentioned earlier and the tyres, but never an issue, wet or dry.

So the basics are good – impressive, even. And the peripherals? The stereo (and who uses cassettes these days?) is fairly rudimentary and the tank-mounted buttons a bit lifeless when your hands are in gloves. We found some FM radio stations, but there was a lot of ignition noise from the engine and, with speakers pointing outwards, the sound was pretty much blowing in the wind and not in our ears. Arqin has said it is working on an update and, to be fair, there is a USB port in the system, but an iPod won’t fit under the cover. Maybe next time.

Would I buy one? When it was dropped off at the office, I thought no. After a couple of weeks, my opinion has changed. It’s not entirely my cup of tea, but the V3 has been a worthy companion on the roads. I’m not a huge fan of the petrol cap under a hinged cover thing the Arqin has got going on, but that’s mainly because the flap caught on the nozzle of the pump and I almost ripped the tank cover off by accident. It’d be something to watch as an owner. Still, the bike had covered more than 7000km on the charity bash and the fuel cap lid was still in one piece, so...

The topbox is an essential, since there’s no underseat storage to speak of – that’s the motorcycle gene asserting its dominance – but the one fitted offered more than enough storage for most mundane tasks.

We scooter riders have known about twist and go convenience for a long time. It seems now that motorcyclists are discovering it, with the recent launches of the Aprilia Mana 850 and the Honda DN01. The Arqin V3 is an interesting hybrid, bridging the gap between cheap commuter scooter and exotic automatic motorcycle and it bridges that gap in its own, inimitable, style.

As published in TW SCOOTER MAGAZINE - 10/03/2009
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