All the Tests – Test Xciting 400i: the Kymco scooter makes its maximum – Maxisportif Maxiscooter

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Xciting 400i test: the Kymco scooter is at its best

All the Tests - Test Xciting 400i: the Kymco scooter makes its maximum - Maxisportif Maxiscooter

The maxiscooter segment is booming and Kymco intends to take advantage of it with a brand new model, the Xciting 400i. With the best weight / power ratio in its category, it plays the sporting card … like a certain Yamaha Tmax ! Test.

Maxisportive Maxiscooter

As soon as he gets on board, the driver – who will be called Tom, you will understand why – realizes that the Xciting 400i was made for "sportsmen"! Large and relatively soft, the saddle certainly reserves a good reception, but the small sizes will have difficulty putting both feet on the ground.

High saddle, floor without cutouts at the calves: access to the new Kymco maxiscooter is not the most obvious. The handlebars, on the other hand, go straight on the pilot and its two adjustable brake levers agree this time to both adults and children..

The position of the legs is then quite good: the feet must coexist with a cumbersome central pontoon, but the pilot (still Tom) can throw them far forward and wedge his buttocks well back against the backrest. Test the "custom" position of this Kymco and you will adopt it !

Easy to post on its central stand, the scooter is also easily dismounted. The use of the lateral is to match: that’s good! The lightness of the machine promised by the manufacturer is there. The front axle is particularly manoeuvrable and greatly facilitates maneuvers with the engine off.

Once started – at the quarter turn -, the single cylinder gently shakes the whole but the vibrations are quite bearable. The sound of the big exhaust is quite ordinary, a little too even, compared to the racy look of the machine…

Fortunately, the first acceleration makes you forget this lack of personality: spent a tiny downtime when opening the throttle, the Xciting 400i leaps far ahead of the flood of cars and taxes the "small" 125. Only the big cars can beat the Kymco , provided their pilot is on the lookout !

The maximum 50 km / h in the city is instantly reached and you can then perfectly regulate your speed, close and take the right grip according to the traffic, without the transmission or the injection (Keihin) not being noticed..

Perfect management of the injector ("with 10 holes, specifies Kymco!) and the balance wheel mounted on a torque shock absorber undoubtedly count for a lot in this driving pleasure. Likewise, the braking which is not excessively biting facilitates the taming of the scooter..

The changes of direction are done without forcing and can be very sharp. The general balance of the scooter is no less excellent, the large wheels of the Xciting (120 / 70-15 at the front, 150 / 70-14 at the rear) ensuring it remarkable stability in a straight line as well as in turn.

Still in town, we are surprised when activating the indicators to hear a particularly old-fashioned "ticking" … Once again, the Taiwanese amaze us by mixing high-tech and the obsolete: in this case, LED and a "chinese scooter sound reminder !", summarizes an acquaintance…

By taking the ring road and then the highway, we realize that the single cylinder has a good extension. It allows you to overtake without any problem and picks up 130km / h at 6000 rpm, i.e. 2000 laps before the start of the red zone.

This time, Tom "cruises" a little less quietly than his engine unfortunately, because of a too low and non-adjustable bubble. The helmet and the shoulders are tossed about by the gusts of wind and the driver gets tired more quickly than at the controls of a more “GT” type scooter..

It is by browsing the secondary network that the owner of the Xciting 400i will be more pleased with his purchase. Typed "Sport", the new Kymco cuts the road with exemplary rigor – for a big scooter, of course..

The front wheel guides the scooter perfectly, the fork does not sink too far during heavy braking and the frame holds up, even when you put on a brake strap. The rear follows without protesting and the ground clearance is sufficient to chain turns at high speed.

The 36 horsepower of the engine is not likely to unsettle the bikers – the real ones -, but they are enough to print a good rhythm and relaunch effectively out of the curves, small as well as large. The braking, which we appreciated the progressiveness of the attack in urban areas, offers very satisfactory power..

Led well throughout our test, the mono 400 consumed an average of 5.3 l / 100km. Although it is possible to reduce this consumption by one point, the 12.5 liters of the tank will therefore appear a little light for "commuters".

Back in the streets of the capital, the machine now perfectly in hand, MNC decides to perform a final test: the duo! We then appreciate the clever retractable footrests that deploy with a simple press on the round button.

Now a passenger, our brave Tom "pushes" (yes!) A heartbreaking complaint when passing a speed bump. Far too firm, the shock absorbers of the Xciting mistreat the two guests: the cobblestones, the potholes and even the simple fittings are not sufficiently absorbed … Such is the price of "maximum sportsmanship" !

Eager not to run a very dark orange light, the Net Motorcycle Journal then grabs the two brake levers and signs a nice comma … with its front tire! Even in the dry, the grip of the original Maxxis cannot withstand the maximum power of the two 320 mm discs…

The specific weight distribution of scooters does not help the front tire: "at the permissible total weight of 374 kg, the mass on axle 1 (front) is 132 kg, the mass on axle 2 (rear) is 242 kg, or approximately 36% front and 64% rear", specifies Kymco.

We regret all the more the absence of ABS, even optional: in the event of a hard blow, the driver will have to show the same application as when passing the motorcycle license (quick plate, emergency braking, you will remember ?).

For his next romantic trip "by night" in Paname, Tom Selleck will undoubtedly select another scooter, more comfortable and able to accommodate two helmets … But to make his daily trips solo and dominate the urban fauna, the all new Kymco demonstrates formidable efficiency !

Undoubtedly sporty – and almost half the price of the Yamaha Tmax 530 and BMW C600Sport – the Xciting 400i has two main advantages to impose itself on the juicy market of maxiscooters. Place your bets !

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