All Tests – Kymco Downtown 125 scooter test: relief guaranteed! – The next generation of Dink Street

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Kymco Downtown 125 scooter test: relief guaranteed !

All Tests - Kymco Downtown 125 scooter test: relief guaranteed! - The next generation of Dink Street

Successor of the Dink Street in the segment of GT 125 cm3 scooters, the Kymco Downtown does not lack convincing arguments, starting with a new design, aggressive and rewarding. Test.

The next generation of Dink Street

The Kymco Dowtown 125 scooter, a new opus from the Taiwanese manufacturer, uses the fundamentals of its predecessor, called on the French market and Super Dink on others, but more generally known as Downtown in most countries..

Introduced in 2009, the Downtown is truly the scooter that has enabled Kymco to establish its reputation in Europe and to rise to the level of the main players in the market, with more than 100,000 units sold worldwide (Kymco produces nearly 500 000 vehicles per year and has more than 10 million registrations since its creation).

The brand has also established partnerships with other mobility players, such as Kawasaki for its scooter or BMW to which it supplies the motor for scooters and, as well as the auxiliary heat engine for the BMW i3 electric car..

However, it had become necessary to breathe new life into the spearhead of the Kymco scooter range, faced with increasingly tough competition in a difficult economic context..

The brand is therefore counting a lot on this new version of the Downtown to restart its sales figures on the rise () with a completely revamped model, improved in various ways and equipped with ABS braking as standard..

Two versions are already available for sale: a 125 cm3 model that MNC has chosen to test on the following pages and a 350 cm3 maxi-scooter (320 real).

A more racy look

Plush and rewarding, the new Downtown is gaining in harmony with a multi-layered exterior with more complex lines (inspired by Kymco’s various partnerships with BMW?).

Its front face seems more aggressive, with double optical headlights surrounded by LED night lights and separated by a false air intake with aluminum rim.

We also notice the protruding arrow-shaped indicators, a shorter and stylish windshield, a more slender rear axle and extended with a luggage carrier (with grab handles) more flat and practical than before, as well as a group of LED rear lights, also rimmed in aluminum, in a very automotive style.

The long two-seater two-stage saddle is also refined, also benefiting from a more elegant topstitched upholstery. The exhaust silencer is also getting better – as much as possible! -, just like the brake discs, now petal-type front and rear.

As the new Downtown now has retractable passenger footrests, the length of the driver’s footboard is shortened, forming a notch that makes it easier to put your feet flat when stationary.

The level of equipment is as good as before, with a large trunk under the saddle accepting a full face helmet and a half jet (possibly a small full face) in addition to various personal effects, as well as two storage compartments (not lockable) one of which has a USB socket.

The saddle is conventionally opened from the switch (fitted with an anti-theft concealment flap) and is assisted by a jack. The trunk is not carpeted, but it incorporates LED lighting (not very efficient). Access to the fuel tank is via the central tunnel, via a hatch hiding a lockable cap.

Equipped with two crutches, the Downtown also has brake levers adjustable in spacing (4 positions), a lighthouse call to the left index and a warning control. Its mirrors adopt a more modern form but remain functional and offer a good rear view.

The dashboard changes little, losing its aluminum strapping in the process. It retains a tachometer and a tachometer, both analogical, on either side of a unique digital dial which displays the time, the daily and partial kilometer totalizers, the fuel level and the water temperature, the outside temperature, the battery voltage and the average and instantaneous consumption.

Many usual indicator lights are placed within the tachometer and this instrumentation also has a nice blue backlight, which accentuates the readability in night driving..

For the rest, we find more or less the same tubular steel frame and the same base 125 cm3 4-stroke engine with 4-valve cylinder head and liquid cooling of the previous model. The wheels remain in 14 (front) and 13 (rear) inches, but swap their Maxxis tires for Kenda. The combined shock absorber is adjustable in spring preload (5 positions), unlike the 37 mm telescopic tube fork. Finally, the surface area of ​​the water radiator is increased in order to improve engine cooling..

Easy but still firm

By taking a seat aboard the new Downtown 125, you are hardly out of place compared to the previous Dink Street. We note however a slightly higher seat (810 mm instead of 775), but also a wide handlebar and close to the driver who is familiar to us..

As before, it is possible to drive with your feet flat on the step or with your legs slightly forward, heels on the floor and your feet resting on the rising part of the apron. This is on condition that you do not have too long legs, because you are quickly limited in recoil at the level of the driver’s seat. The proposed seat remains nevertheless rather comfortable and the natural driving position, satisfactory for most drivers’ sizes..

From the first turns of the wheels, the front axle surprises by its relative lightness, more sensitive at low speed than once launched. Fortunately, the wide handlebars allow you to maintain good control of the front axle during maneuvers in an urban cycle, where the Downtown benefits from a good turning radius and good agility to extricate itself effortlessly from congestion..

Very stable in line once launched, this full-filled 178 kg scooter fits smoothly and naturally in curve, accepting to pass effortlessly from one angle to another thanks to its low center of gravity and a low profile. suitable tires.

The driver quickly gains confidence and can then significantly increase the pace, while respecting the limitations in force naturally! In this urban context, the work of the suspensions is rather satisfactory although they work even more in spring than in hydraulics, sometimes struggling to completely erase the imperfections of the road surface or the jerking due to the Parisian cobblestones. But the Downtown is progressing compared to its predecessor, which was even more sensitive to small shocks.

A depolluted engine

On the engine side, the Taiwanese manufacturer has decided to anticipate the future Euro 4 antipollution standard applicable in 2016. Currently sold in Euro 3 version (to simplify the approval formalities, Editor’s note …), the Downtown therefore benefits from various measures aimed at reducing friction losses, in order to lower the level of pollutant emissions and fuel consumption.

Maximum power drops slightly from 14.9 to 14.3 horsepower, significantly affecting top speed performance. Pushed to its limits, our test model (150 km on the clock when measuring) only displayed 118 km / h counter (about 106 km / h chrono), against nearly 112 km / h chrono for the previous one. model.

Nothing dramatic, however, because the Downtown compensates for this small drop in power with greater flexibility and smoothness of use, as well as lower fuel consumption (measured at 3.9 l / 100 km in mixed use, i.e. a range of approximately 320 km reserve included).

In use, the Downtown suffers on the other hand from a transmission that struggles to hang at low speed as soon as the throttle opens. And this is its main fault! Suddenly, impossible to hope to grill everyone in the fire during a standing start…

Full throttle at the green light, the Downtown really takes off in three stages: the first by hooking up just enough to start, the second by transmitting a little more power to the drive wheel, and the third beyond 6000 rpm where the power finally passes.

Coming out of a parking lot with an ascent ramp, we almost thought that the passenger was going to have to descend to get to the top! It’s hard to say if all Downtowns are affected by this sluggish transmission at the bottom, but on the model tested by MNC the observation was obvious.

In the urban cycle, after this delicate starting point, the transmission works perfectly, offering great operating flexibility over a wide range of use, with a clear and efficient response to acceleration at intermediate speeds..

On the road, the Downtown shows good efficiency as long as one remains reasonable, with a correct recovery capacity that allows overtaking without too much apprehension. The chassis works correctly and shows satisfactory rigidity in quick sequences, with a firm but consistent suspension work as long as you do not cross a pothole or a too protruding bitumen connection..

Sitting in the "senatorial" position, bust straight, we then cash in sharply in the back the return of the shock absorbers. In curves, those in a hurry will lean their torso forward slightly more to load the front axle a little more and obtain a better feeling of the front wheel.

The grip of the Kenda tires seemed to us to be correct throughout this test, carried out on dry roads, with a round and pleasant behavior when setting the angle. On expressways, the Downtown shows good line stability and is not too sensitive to wind resistance. Well wedged behind his screen and the wide front apron, the driver is relatively well sheltered, which is not the case for his passenger, who is more exposed.

Verdict: progress at a tight price

The braking, sometimes considered too aggressive on the previous Dink Street, is particularly efficient and pleasant to use on the Downtown, thanks in particular to the addition of a Bosch 9.1 ABS and a new three-piston front caliper.

The dosage to the levers is smooth and progressive, with excellent control feeling and non-intrusive ABS operation during this test in the dry. In "sporty" driving, sustained braking from the front, on the other hand, causes the fork to dip quickly, which accelerates the preventive triggering of the ABS. The rear is for its part powerful and just as dosable, perfectly complementing the front device.

Sold for € 4,099, the Downtown 125 certainly gives you bang for your buck and is rather well placed compared to its direct competitors. There is no doubt that its modernized look and its honorable performance will stir up the envy of many motorists tired of hanging around in traffic. However, a more responsive transmission and a preserved top speed would certainly have increased its attractiveness..

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