2011 Kymco Downtown 300i

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i

ROUNDUP

QUICKRIDE

Mid-size power, full-size scooting

WHEN I WAS 13 YEARS old, a friend and I hot wired a 125 Vespa scooter that we found stored in a barn. We fashioned a license plate out of cardboard and markers, unaware that, without the proper coating of reflective paint, our efforts were fruitless. So there we were, dull to lights and dim to laws, headed out into the night, in ever-widening and daring loops of local country lanes. Because of those memories, I have a warm place in my heart for scooters. Every motorcycle enthusiast started out on something humble. And maybe stolen.

A quick ride on the new Kymco Downtown 300i shows that it, too, is a scooter worth stealing. I mean buying.

Few know scooters better than Kymco, the Taiwanese company producing them since 1963. Kymco started out as a component supplier for Japanese-branded scooters, and it has applied that same quality to its own line of products from materials to assembly.

In price and performance, the Downtown 300i—an early-release 2011 model—fits between the company’s existing Xciting 250 Ri ($5249) and Xciting 500 Ri ($6299), all machines big enough for the open road. With fuel injection, liquid cooling, and disc brakes front and rear, the 300i provides a meaningful upgrade in power over the 250 while sporting I2l fewer pounds than the 500. For riders anticipating carrying passengers, freeway commuting or impatient traffic, the Downtown 300i’s increased performance over the 250 makes it a much better investment.

Features ringing of utility make up the Downtown: a big, comfortable seat, excellent wind protection, trunk-like storage space, lots of passenger room and an accessory outlet. Everything but a cupholder. Oh, and as with every Kymco, drive is through a CVT automatic transmission; it’s twist and go, squeeze to stop, the hand levers operating the front and rear brakes.

Kymco introduced its latest line of scooters to the press in Asheville, North Carolina, and dared to have the media ride the 300i up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Pisgah, a climb of more than 3000 feet in 20 miles. The Downtown performed well, always having a bit more power in the bank than what was needed to ascend the steep slopes.

Whether it’s a result of its low-slung light weight, suspension or geometry, the 300i offers light steering yet has a planted feel with or without a passenger, exhibiting none of the sketchy numbness of some scooters.

Due to the machine’s low center of gravity, the rear brake is nearly as effective as the front.

Maybe the most telling positive thing about this large-sized scooter’s performance is that there is nothing unpredictable or intrusive to notice; on the Downtown 300i, everything functions firmly and without concern.

It has two wheels, goes swiftly enough for any expressway, stops like a real motorcycle and can be the inspiration for new riders. Plus, it’s difficult to hot wire.

Peter Jones

“The Downtown performed well, always having a bit more power in the bank than what was needed to ascend the steep slopes.”