Introduction:
Thanks to TVS which started an era for girls on wheels. Yes, the credit goes to the light and nimble scooty, a boon for school and college girls. My sister owned this piece of machinery n I also shared it before selling it for 14 thousand grands for this 8000 kms old. Heavy kinetics were not the choice of many girls n scooty set the market on fire with this 74 kg machine as opposed to the 100 kg kinetic honda.
Look:
Stylish, stylish n stylish for girls n even for school boys though never macho. This scoot is for enhancing ur girl’s beauty though it never suits a muscular boy for posing as one does with CBZs n pulsars. It’s defenitely female !!! The all new scooty looks better than the old one for many eyes n for me too. But I rode the old one only. Any way its the same scoot. For sure it’s better than spirt and a thousand times better than its rivals like trendy n the horrible looking kinetic style. The head light is good but the tail lamp is not very striking though it gives a good overall look.
Features:
The most special feature of this scoot is its light weight. Its instrumentation consists of a speedo and odo. No fuel guage. A choke lever is also provided. Actually it was positioned better in the old scooty. A basket or a stepheny can be attached on the front but space for the legs will be limited very much. It sports a mere 3.5 litre fuel tank (If I remember) which asks for frequent visits to the bunk. The oil should be added with the petrol and when the scoot is new it should be added as 1:2 and after running 1:1. It is good to run for 1000 kms, that is dont exceed 40 kms before 1000 kms.. There is a reflector in the back mud guard as in other TVS vehicles (good for scooty but not for bikes). Electricals are not that good with the lights for the instru panel and tail light fusing. Also the rubber foot board that is poorly attached is not good. I have seen scores of scooty without that rubber footboard. It also has a fuel position knob for ON, OFF and RESERVE that once broke loose on our scooty, nothing to worry but. Horn is not very good but ok. Another minus point is that the centre stand is long and is a tough job to employ it, especially for girls.No such hassles with the side stand.
Engine, suspension and Handling:
The 60 cc engine of scooty generates 3.5 bhp @ 5500 rpm and 4.5 nm torque @ 5000 rpm. Anyway the scooty has adequate power atleast for a girl. The suspension is very good without a pillion. But bottoms out badly in doubles or triples. The scooty remains reliable for atleast 7000 kms if u stop with the free services or else upto 10, 000 or even more. My friend has a 14, 000 kms scooty in good condition and he services regularily. Reliability is where the scooty beats the spirt the most. Bajaj proves unreliable as you can see rattling spirits all over. a girl near ny house bought the spirt and I could see her riding the rattling machine in about two months, shame for bajaj (I noticed it coz I notice her!!!). Meanwhile the scooty shows no flaws in its mechanical parts like central stand etc. vibrating. The seat is excellent and broad, very comfy. and also easy to ride. To say the truth the scooty is fun to ride in city bcoz of its light weight. The weak point of the scooty is in handling, though good for a scoot it should be like the kinetic shod with atleast 3’’ tyres against its 2.5’’ tyres. The old scooty used to skid a lot on its tyres, my sister had atleast 4 or 5 falls on the scooty but never fell from our Kinetic marvel that comes with 3.5’’ tyres. The tread pattern on the new scooty looks good but whether it rides good is suspect. Anyway it is easy to steer the scooty and that suits girls !
On the road:
The scooty suits well for small roads and city for driving within 10 kms at a stretch. But you feel handicapped on highways, afterall it’s only a scoot. The only vehicle that you can enjoy in thick traffic is the scooty - no manual gears, clutch and electric start and a adequately powerful engine. Leaning is dangerous bcoz of the slippery tyres. It dosent thrill you with its throttle response and even more worser with a pillion, some times you cant even climb some steep parts of the roads, but again this is only a 60 cc. It reaches upto 40 quickly and takes time to go to 60 for a top whack. Pretty descent as kinetics go to 60 quickly and 75 top whack, the difference being in throttle response. It is not easy as in the Kinetic Marvel to drive hands free.
Fuel efficiency:
Beleive me that I drive in the most ugly roads ... if u call those as roads for my house is at an unapproved land. So the fuel efficiency that I get will be close to the worst, I got around 40-45. Quite good. If driven (and maintained) well unlike me it may touch 50 easily I hope.
Conclusion:
The scooty is the best machine for a beginner and for girls. If you can afford, the Activa and the Dio will be a good choice considering reliability and power delivery and also technology. Thus the scooty beats the spirt, LML trendy and kinetic style hands off.
Verdict: If you are a girl buy the scooty, it is the best. If you are a boy think about activa and then KineticHonda but if money matters then ... Scooty, Scooty all the way !
Ab!shek.