Kinetic -Sym:
When kinetic launched its India’s first maxi scooter – blaze it expected a turnaround. 165cc blaze is the first model from kinetic-italijet JV. Yes, blaze does it but only to some extent. The reason is though Kinetic made sure that spare parts are widely available the product suffered from the lack of quality. Kinetic made a three year technical tie-up with SYM of Taiwan – which is well known for quality(it offers scooters with life long warranty). Kinetic doesn’t want to repeat this, hence this time before selecting the suppliers they were scrutinized in a tough manner and Kinetic imported 15-18% for the flyte. The 125cc segment has been left untouched by major scooter players like Bajaj,TVS and Honda. Kinetic and Suzuki want to grab this oppurtunity and want to be a niche player. The 125 cc gearless scooter Flyte priced at Rs 37,499 (ex-showroom Delhi) on par with 100cc TVS scooty pep. In the pricing front, flyte is already a winner What has to be seen is whether it scores on features, fuel efficiency and quality. Let’s check out.
Style and build:
Not so exclusive resembles TVS scooty pep plus and Bajaj kristal in many sense – headlamps and elliptical indicators on steeply raked aprons are its signs. Body coloured rear view mirrors are not just styling elements, impact resistant mirrors fold in case of impact. Flyte doesn’t looks heavy as activa it looks friendly, the tail lamp is simple and attractive. Panel gaps are minimal and flyte make use of high quality plastic. The only short-come is the painting and graphics which fails to charm.
Engine and Powertrain:
Kinetic Sym flyte’s 125cc mill generates output of 8bhp at 7000rpm and 9.1Nm at 5500rpm slightly lesser than the suzuki’s 125cc scooter access. The pick up is smooth and the torque is good enough for city commuting. Flyte reaches 70kmph with ease. Secondary air injection helps to cut the flyte’s emission and the cold starting is taken care by the powerful 9Ah battery(5Ah in other scooters). Flyte’s mileage/fuel efficiency is around 40kmpl in our test drive(city only) and similar to other scooters, Kinetic Sym flyte makes use of CVT(continuously variable transmission). Kinetic Sym drops the ceramic coating inside cylinder for the Indian flyte, hence no lifetime guarantee here. Flyte comes with a three-year warranty in India.
Ride and Handling:
Since Scooters are used for city commuting, handling dominates the ride flyte is no exception. Imported bike type telescopic forks are used at the front and single coilover is used at the rear.The ride is little bumpy. 130mm drum brakes at the fore and aft flyte offers good control over the flyte. 3.50? -10? wider tyres gives better grip and stability which is supported by a larger 1260mm wheelbase.
Nice Thoughts:
The air filter is superficially located which makes it easy for servicing. The dash choke and mobile charging point is an another useful feature. Fuel tank lid is mounted at the front hence no need to get off the vehicle for fuelling. Under the seat is an LED illuminated 22 – litre split storage space large enough to house a full helmet,gloves and even more. 4- in -1 locking system – under-seat storage lock, fuel filler lock, ignition lock and an innovative magnetic lock though useful mainly will be used for marketing.
Colours and the verdict:
Kinetic sym flyte 125cc comes in a choice of 5 colours – Black Mystique, silver flash, lavender groove, red oomph and jade charisma. If the Kinetic’s image, sales and service support and availability and cost of spares does not come in way of this 125cc flyte. Flyte will fly in Indian roads for a long time.
Kinetic’s Line- Up:
Kinetic would launch three new products over the next six months. Kinetic plans one more scooter on the Flyte platform and two electric scooters. Kinetic hopes to sell 5,000 units of Flyte every month and by June 2008 it plans to ramp it up to 8,000 units a month.
update:
Kinetic Motors will roll out five products in 12 months.Kinetic will launch its second scooter from Italjet Moto, the 135 cc Euro. There will be two new electric two-wheelers and two variants of Flyte. In fact, Korean maker, Sym, which holds an 11% in Kinetic will also bring in motorcycles.
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