My Kymco Downtown 300i test ride

[SOOTYGULL]

Following on from my recent Honda Forza Review http://www.maxi-muppets.co.uk/forum/vie ... =5&t=16375 I next had a test ride on the Kymco Downtown 300i.

I had trouble tracking down a dealer with a demonstrator but after appealing to Kymco they found one at a dealer 40 miles from where I live.

I was really disappointed to find that that the demonstrator (which is owned by Kymco) was not a 2014 model but was 3 years old so didn't have ABS which I wanted to test.

Let me say straight away that the dealer was very helpful and I don't blame him that he had been recently been give this by Kymco as a demonstrator and that it been from dealer to dealer.

It was scruffy and didn't look very clean; on top of that the dealer had trouble trying to open the seat - he said he didn't think it had been used very much and was just stiff.

It had 5500 miles on the clock and was well run in; so after warming it up I took it up on to a nice bit of dual carriageway and opened it up, it fairly shot up to 70mph and felt as though it had plenty of pull from the word go. Brakes seemed fine even though there was no ABS.

I then went round some country lanes and it handled nicely on the bends and the suspension seemed to handle most of the bumpy bits quite nicely until I hit a huge raised strip running across the carriageway and boy did I feel it; however to be fair you would have felt the same on almost any scooter.

Next I tried the traffic lights grand prix and it definitely had enough oomph to get off the line quickly and keep ahead of town traffic. Finally I tootled around some back streets checking the low speed balance which was good.

Nearly forgot to mention that the seat seemed hard but that could be because it had been in the hands of quite a few customers.

To sum up it handled well and had quite a potent engine - certainly no slouch and also in it's favour front, back and side views all looked quite modern but to me the dash and bars looked a little dated but then it was scruffy.

The dealer who had been in the trade for a long time mentioned that once upon a time KYMCO were owned (?) by HONDA but split with them .. he said that he is a parts man and could tell that the same parts that are used on some Hondas are used on kymcos ! In his view they were very well made and reliable.

I contacted KYMCO who apologized for the demonstrator not being in pristine condition and that they were unable to provide a newer demonstrator model; they added that the Downtown 300 is so popular that they are never on showroom floors for very long so dealers are reluctant to tie up a machine they could sell. They also said that despite the demonstrator being 3 years old, apart from the 2014 model having ABS the specification is identical to the existing model.

Before I went for this test ride, the Downtown was really on my shortlist, I so wanted to be impressed but I walked away unsure - it just didn't have that brand new feeling.

Monday I shall be having a test ride on the Kawasaki J300.

[horobags]

Kymco history
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kymco" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Split with honda in 1963, imo build on certain models ive seen isnt quite up to honda standard, but ive not had a close look at the downtown. Must admit I do like it.

[michaelphillips]

good feedback lad, i went to my kymco dealer in dartford and he had the 300 downtown and the one i wanted to see the kymco 400i xciting, only brand new and no demonstrator, yet my more local catford kymco dealer then rang and said they had the xciting 400i demonstrator in for a week, seems the 400i is going to be a hit, been too busy toi get a go though, yet the 400i xciting might be one for you to try also.. same tax band and yet not as frugral as the 300`s around 60+ to gallon, my j300 is achieving 90_ miles per gallon and chuffed with its every eager engine.. make sure the J300 rear dampers are on no3 for solo riding and i put on no4 for pillion ... just twist the number to the arrow on rear shock.. scoot not to everyones taste, yet the riding position suits my age and condition

[MrGrumpy]

Before I went for this test ride, the Downtown was really on my shortlist, I so wanted to be impressed but I walked away unsure - it just didn't have that brand new feeling.

Monday I shall be having a test ride on the Kawasaki J300.

Errm not quite sure what the connection is between not feeling sure about the product and a dodgy demonstrator which didn't feel brand new - cos it wasn't (and clearly had a lack of love & care)!!!! You have to concentrate on the underlying characteristics of the scoot and which one would meet your needs best, rather than get entangled with the actual scoot you rode.

Well at least your ride confirms that the Kymco (and Kawasaki) have got decent grunt which is what you'd expect.

As you know, the J300 is basically the same thing as the Downtown but Kawasaki did some mods - I think its possible that a softer seat was one of them!!! When I glanaced at the J300 in a showroom, all the markings round the ignition switch indicated that a degree might be needed to operate it, so its possible your dealer wasn't trying to open the seat correctly!

[SOOTYGULL]

What I mean't about not feeling sure was I didn't walk away with that I really must have this scooter feeling, a bit subjective maybe but then that's us people !

Yes you are right that the underlying engine is great but the cosmetics didn't shout at me as I thought they would.

In fact reading all the reviews of the J300 and the Downtown beforehand, I thought ah yes the Downtown seems like the more sensible better priced option and in principle more my cup of tea but after what I saw, I felt a bit let down.

As far as opening the seat goes, the dealer, the mechanic and I all tried but it was hit and miss.

Anyway, monday will tell when I see the J300 in the flesh and have that test ride .... somebody else has suggested I also look at the SYM joymax 300i.

I see you are a TMAX rider as well, so you'll know what I know ... on my way over to the test ride and on the way back my TMAX was everything you could ask for and more ...but for me it's that more bit, ie the weight ! It's a bit too heavy for me at times, only last week I almost had a low speed topple try to weave amongst gridlocked traffic.

[MrGrumpy]

W.

I see you are a TMAX rider as well, so you'll know what I know ... on my way over to the test ride and on the way back my TMAX was everything you could ask for and more ...but for me it's that more bit, ie the weight ! It's a bit too heavy for me at times, only last week I almost had a low speed topple try to weave amongst gridlocked traffic.

Ah well - there's your problem! Nothing else will ever quite match up to the Tmax!! Whilst some of the smaller scoots I've had have been OK, they have been light years behind the Tmax. Test rides are funny things...normally the only thing you find out is how different what you are testing is to what you normally ride. The longest test ride I had was on the BMW C600, and whilst there were good things about it, perhaps a bit like your ride on the Downtown, I didn't have the 'I must have this scooter' feeling. There again, a test ride only gives you an impresssion - sometimes a scoot can give a good impression initially but one's love fades, or conversely, you don't like something initially but you get to like it more! The extreme version of the former is when I bought one of the first Ford Focus cars - it felt fine on a test ride, but after half an hour of owning it, I'd grown to detest it. Also I did test ride a Pan European before buying one, and of course it felt extremely different to a Tmax, but when I bought one I hated it immediately!!!

[michaelphillips]

to be honest i think kymco should have brung the Kymco K-XCT 300 instead of the downtown to the UK, yet not sure if kawasaki had anything to do with this as the upspec engine etc and style is what the j300 is based on ... anyways review here
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[SOOTYGULL]

Mr Gumpy, my pal is also a TMAX rider (he got me in to buying mine) and we went off last year to test ride the then new BMW C600 sport.

I liked the agricultural lumpy feeling of the KYMCO engined BMW, the sound, it's braking, its cornering ability and general feel - he couldn't stand it, saying the TMAX is much smoother.

What we both agreed on is we didn't like the price !

[SOOTYGULL]

MIchaelphilips I am liking the sound of the J300 more and more especially that you can get 90mpg ... wow nearly as frugal as a Honda C90.

[gn2]

Doubt 90 mpg will be a realistic average.
My Forza can do 105mpg but 78mpg is the norm.