Scooter Review Kymco Downtown 300i ABS The Kymco Downtown has proven to be a class act. We give it the full treatment and things just keep getting better.
Allen Drysdale
Summary
The Downtown 300 burst onto the scene last year with two key points of difference. One was that it boasted a full 298.9 cc engine, not so common in a school of in-betweens. Secondly it's only one of a handful of scooters to come with ABS standard. So in Part 2 of our winter challenge, we take the Downtown for the ride of its life....
Specifications
What better way to test a mid-capacity scooter? The Downtown, Melbourne to Sydney, mid-winter, and some of the best roads in Australia. We picked up the Kymco Downtown from Scoota City in Melbourne, absolutely no K's on the clock, a brand spanka. First thing you notice is the Downtown struts an executive-type pose, smart clean lines, a real classy machine. This one's the ABS model, full title is Kymco Downtown 300i ABS.
Lets knock over the big features first. The engine/transmission has been developed by Kymco in-house, codenamed G5. The 298.9 cc engine cranks out 22 Kw of power, which on paper topped our travelling partners, CF Moto's Jet Max and Piaggio's X7 300. The single cylinder engine is liquid cooled, fuel injected and runs a 4 valve head.
The other big feature, ABS Brakes. For many of us ABS should be a standard choice, a basic safety requirement. The Downtown is a unique individual, the only scooter under 400 cc in Australia available with ABS as an option. The front wave rotor is 260 mm in diameter whilst the rear is 240 mm, both front and rear employ ABS. Wheel size on the Downtown is favourable, 14 inch on the front and a 13 inch on the rear, this helps with storage, also easy sizes to source for replacement. The rear suspension is a beefy looking dual adjustable set-up, again very easy to access.
The seat is two tiered, the passenger sits nice and high, the rider is supported by a backrest. The seat opens off the ignition and is held up via a handy gas strut. The storage area is long but loses some of its practicality by being a little thin in width. I found the grab handles for strapping items onto the seat particularly handy, especially when in touring mode. Some helmets fit easily under the seat but this really depends on the design of the helmet. You can use a D-clasp helmet wire(not supplied) to lock your helmet outside the scooter, the Downtown has two of these hooks available. The underseat storage area contains a light for those darker moments.
The Downtown, like all scooters in this configuration, has a raised floor tunnel. It's wide and flat so it actually makes it handy when you're hanging bags off the hook provided. The tunnel houses the fuel filler which makes refuelling a breeze. Another storage option is the weatherproof bin which resides on the dash and houses a 12 volt charger. The dash itself has a very European feel about it. Analogue gauges for both speed and revs, digital gauges for fuel, ODO, trip meters and time.
Weight is posted at 166 kg but it feels much lighter on the road. And although it runs a maxi type configuration the Downtown does feel thin, the figures say 810 mm wide. The fuel tank holds 12.5 litres and this was good for well over 300 km's in the saddle. Basic fuel consumption over the trip was somewhere between 25 and 30 km's per litre. Pretty good going considering the type of riding being conducted.
Other nice ergonomic features include: A front screen that is adjustable for rake. A nice set of handgrips that are well positioned for ease of reach. A smart looking twin headlight configuration that works. Centre and side stands. A short note on build quality, this ones from the top shelf.
On The Road
When we first picked up the Downtown it was fresh, and I mean fresh. Both the X7 and Jet Max left it for dead. Which was surprising given the specified power output and true 299 cc capacity. By the time we'd performed our first stop just outside Marysville, the Downtown was like a bullet. It would easily out-accelerate our two colleagues, and from this point on with a few hundred K's on the clock the Downtown became king. Easily cruising at 110 km/h plus, easily keeping steady speeds even over long inclines. This is a scooter that will hold freeway speeds all day long, overtake with ease. The Downtown was overall 10 km/h quicker in top speed in comparison to the X7 and Jet Max. In favourable circumstances and given plenty of room, the Downtown will see a GPS measured 140 km/h.
A few things to mention about the engine. It has a rough, raw, viby nature. In no way is it as smooth as the Piaggio's Quasar in comparison, quite apparent when ridden side by side. The power comes on with a fair degree of urgency and I would go as far to say that this would be probably the quickest 300 class scooter on the market. On faster B-grade country roads the Downtown was a blast, it had enough torque to power its way out of corners and is fairly deceptive when you look down for a speed check. The brakes felt strong and it just helps knowing you have ABS to help out when required. Try as hard as you like, you can't lock up a wheel on the Downtown, the lever pulsates to let you know when the ABS is in action.
Handling is another strong point. The frame is as rigid as they come and the Downtown likes it on the throttle. The more power being fed to the rear wheel, the better it feels planted on the road. I suggest doing some dialling in of the rear suspension to suit your own personal circumstances. When scratching at a fast rate of knots the Downtown is magic. Turn in is positively quick and trustworthy, no flex in this baby. It's when you bring the speeds down and you're moving on and off the throttle that the attitude changes. In this situation things can get a little choppy as the Downtown tends to bounce its way over large bumps and potholes rather than dealing with them one by one.
You do sit fairly upright and your feet are pretty much set in place. Its not like other maxi-type scooters where you can ride with your feet forward. This could be a problem for some, as getting comfortable can be individual thing. All three participants on the trip didn't have an issue with the riding position, though after a while(2 hours) in the saddle the seat can become a little on the firm side. The frontal design does help and the Downtown offered the best protection overall from the elements. Good screen and a well designed aerodynamic front end making all the difference.
Summary
What I look for in a scooter is ones ability to accomplish more than one role. And this is where the Downtown 300 shines. As a touring option, the Downtown gives you the capability to get out onto open freeways and hold sufficient speeds. As a city commuter the Downtown is quite thin and fast with a deceptive ability to get off the mark. And as a shop runner the Downtown can carry enough goods to feed a family for a week - I've proven it. The Downtown also gets the big thumbs up for that reassuring feeling that comes with knowing you have ABS front and rear.
The build quality is above par and reliability-wise the Kymco brand poses a reassuring prospect. At a retail value of $7490, the Kymco wont be for everybody. The value for money equation will seem like a stretch for some. Though given everything we have achieved with the Downtown this scooter could fill a number of everyday voids. A daily commuter, a weekend tourer, not too heavy, easy to live with, it's why we have the 300 class.
From a design perspective you can see that Kymco have placed a great deal of thought into this scooter. In the land of the scooter "Italy" the Downtown resides in the top 10 scooters sold this year and it makes sense why. The Downtown looks cool(to me anyway) and offers a huge wide range of flexibility and did I mention how quick it is.
So well worth a look if you're after this class of scooter. I've put another 1000km's on the clock since our trip from Melbourne so I'm really getting used to living day to day with this one. The Downtown is a scooter I would pull out of the garage regardless of the destination. And that my friends is the sign of a great scooter.
ScooterMan
I picked up the Downtown from Scoota City with only 5ks on the clock, straight out of the crate and we were about to break all the rules of running in a new scooter. Met up with Muz and Al, filled the tank with 95ron and headed out to Healesville via a series of Melbourne’s freeways. The Downtown is really a maxi, a true 300, solid, well built, ABS brakes, audible blinkers, full screen, heaps of room under the seat. The engine was a bit tight at first and although it was fast away from the lights the Downtown didn’t want to go much more than 90 km/h. Out to Marysville along the famous Black Spur it started to loosen up and the top speed just got better and better. This road winds through some beautiful forested twisties and although the tarmac was wet the Downtown was smooth and tight, it felt like it was on rails, accelerating strongly up the hills, it was maturing into a class act.
From Marysville we headed to Alexander then out to Wangaratta and up the Hume to Albury. The Downtown proved to be a perfect touring scooter. By the end of the first day it was cruising easily at 140km/h indicated. When we calibrated the speedo on the GPS this was revised to a true 132km/h, about 8km/h out. Fuel consumption was 27 Km/l.
We had 3 drags on some of these Victorian back roads and the Downtown was definitely the fastest of the three scooters with terrific initial surge out of the blocks and able to accelerate all the way to top speed. On the second day when we got into the mountains and the rain turned into sleet the Downtown was the scooter we all wanted to be riding because of the good screen and weather protection. Though we couldn’t get it off Muz, who is no idiot when choosing which was the best scooter in these truly bleak conditions. Along the Hume from Gundagai to Goulburn no one was overtaking the Downtown. In one way its good to have a top speed of 140km/h, fast enough to keep ahead of the traffic but not too fast to loose your licence.
In the pure scooter touring stakes the Downtown got the points. The solid build meant little flexing at speed, great weather protection, excellent handling, tons of grunt, almost comfortable seat and excellent under seat storage, it loved the country roads, the mountain twisties as well as the freeway. After 1000 k's of hard riding the Downtown felt that it would just get better and better the more you rode it.
Muz
In 2009 I was lucky enough to travel to Taiwan and to see the factory operations and get to test ride Kymcos new test scooter, the Downtown 300i.
Working with Kymco R&D engineers we were asked our opinions on handling, engine performance, even ground clearance. In 2010 the production model finally arrived in Australia, and many of the small changes were there to be seen. Kymco take their scooter range very seriously, and getting to ride 1000 km's plus on this brand new 2011 ABS model spoke volumes about Kymco's commitment to their range of scoots here in Oz. I really liked the instrument layout, deep storage area under the seat, (with a complimentary light), and a tall screen that was a cracker on the highway.
Brakes are class leading, with an Anti Lock Braking system that keeps the front and rear brake from locking up and causing concern under heavy braking. I even tested the rear alone on very wet roads and it did a great job of holding and releasing until the scooter stopped. It did a much better job than I could do without ABS.
I loved riding the Downtown around long country corners in particular. The package was precise and direct, the suspension compliant, even over mid corner bumps with plenty of lean angle. The engine has plenty of torque, pulling me up mountain hills with ease, and as a bonus the seating system is broad and compliments a pillion rider nicely.
Kymco build quality is very good, with the body panels all meeting nicely, and I really like the sporty raked front body panel that leads nicely into the semi adjustable front windscreen.
If you’re after a great all-rounder whether it's city or highway, cruising with a pillion on board, or riding alone through your favourite corners, I can highly recommend the Downtown 300i.
published 25/08/2011 |