I bought an Active way back in September 2001, just within
three months of its launch. I am generally a person who waits for other people to review a new product before buying it. But at that time, there were not many options around (I did not want to buy a Kinetic ZX). So I took the risk and bought this. Do I regret the decision? Not at all.
The first thing that struck me was the refinement of this package. The accelerator is easy on your hand and the vehicle responds instantaneously to your inputs. Also the pick-up is pretty decent.
The next thing I noticed is the lack of vibrations. You feel you are doing a forty when the speedo shows sixty. And on empty roads you can easily pull it to 75+ speeds without almost no vibrations. You can also do lean angles on this vehicle without it losing grip with the ground. More so, you feel some level of confidence doing this. The vehicle stays in line on hard braking. Also the handle does not become light at high speeds. Must have some thing to do with the 60-40 weight distribution.
In the early days, it was pretty much noiseless also. You had to strain to hear the engine running. But after the last free servicing at the end of the first year, the service guys tuned it to deliver a little more power. Now the engine is audible though not intrusively.
So is everything perfect in this package? Well, I dont think so. The magazine guys (BS motoring, Overdrive, etc.) say that these are the best brakes in this class. However, I still feel that they are not as effective as they should be. There are vibrations at the lower speed range, though these vanish when the speed goes above 20.
The switchgears are not very well located. You really have to reach to switch the high-low beam buttons. Also for ladies (read my wife) the seat is just a bit high and weight a bit heavy. Also I would have liked a city light option on this package, ie. you can just switch on the tail light but not the head light. It would be very good for evening rides.
Lets summarize all that I said (and some more points also):
Pros -
(1) Refinement
(2) Stability (Straight line and at angles)
(3) Absence of vibrations (at 20+ speeds)
(4) Pickup
(5) Head light is really good
Cons -
(1) Braking
(2) Vibrations at low speeds
(3) Position of switch-gears
(4) Height and weight (for ladies)
(5) No city light
Other observations (Cant tell whether a pro or a con) - (1) Mileage 45kpl even with a heavy hand on accelerator.
Overall, I would rate this scooter with 4 stars.