Review of the Kymco
People 150
June 2008
 Hey Dave - How about some scooter reviews OTHER THAN new stuff with no
miles on it? Hmmmm, not a bad idea. I am a fan of Taiwanese scooters. They
tend to have top-of-the-line build quality at a price that reflects very
good value. Taiwanese companies like Kymco, SYM and PGO produce some of
the best scooters in the world. At the time of this review, all three
offer two-year warranty coverage (as opposed to one year coverage from
most Japanese and Italian brands) and are building strong USA
dealership networks. I have a Kymco People 250 that has several thousand
miles on it and I’m very happy with the scooter. But what about a smaller
Taiwanese scooter that SOMEBODY ELSE has racked up some miles on? Do they
hold up?
Thanks to Bob Hedstrom at
Scooterville,
I had the opportunity to review a 2006 Kymco People 150 with over 5,000 km
on it. It had a few scuffs and scratches, but otherwise represented a good
basic scooter that had seen some use. Other than cosmetically, I treated
this scooter the same as I would a “new” one for the purposes of this
review. I did not make any “allowances” for its age or miles in my
expectations. As far as the specifications go, this scooter is virtually
identical to a new 2008 model, so I used the “new” specifications in my
comparison chart. I suppose that will be the next step – doing
side-by-side reviews of multiple USED scooters…. Yeah, I really need to
get a life.
Speedometer Reading/Speed/Fuel Economy
I picked the scooter up from Scooterville in Minneapolis, Minnesota and
did a quick check-over (tire pressure and whatnot) and topped off
the fuel tank. Then it was testing time. As this scooter had over 3,000
miles on it, I didn’t hold back as far as acceleration or top speed goes.
I was, dare I say, pretty hard on the machine. After a little over 100
miles, I think I have a pretty clear picture of what to expect from a
Kymco People 150.
No great shock, the speedometer was nearly 10% optimistic. That is to
say that when it indicates 40 Miles-Per-Hour, the actual speed is 36 MPH.
I checked this with a GPS unit at several speeds and it was always about
10% off. The top speed with a 210 lb. person riding was an indicated 70
MPH, or an ACTUAL 63 MPH. I had a 150 lb. “volunteer” ride the scooter and
he got it to over 70 MPH indicated, but didn’t have the GPS unit with him
to verify. In all likelihood, the actual top speed is probably 65 MPH.
Remember, I was not gentle with this scooter and spent a good bit of
time at higher speeds. The actual fuel economy was 82 Miles-Per-Gallon.
That’s corrected for the optimistic speedometer. I consider this to be
very good and wouldn’t be at all surprised if a lighter person who was NOT
running the scooter hard could expect to see 85 – 90 MPG.
Features
The Kymco People 150 is in a high-demand class of scooters – small
enough to be VERY easy to ride and not at all intimidating, yet big enough
for (relatively short) freeway jaunts. I chose to compare it to the
Genuine Buddy 150 and the Vespa LX 150.
As you can see from the comparison chart, all three scooters are
4-stroke, 150cc air-cooled, carbureted, automatic scooters. They range
from seat heights of 29 inches (Genuine Buddy) to 30.9 inches (Kymco
People) and weigh from 223 lbs (the Buddy again) to 245 lbs (the
Kymco again). All three have disc brakes up front and drum brakes in
the rear. The difference really hit home in the wheelbase and tires. The
Kymco has a 53 inch wheelbase and 16 inch tires as compared to the Buddy’s
48 inch wheelbase and 10 inch tires. These specifications will really come
into play when we talk about the ride of the Kymco People.
The Kymco People 150 has reasonable, though not great, storage. There
is a small locking glove box and a small under-seat bucket. The under-seat
area could NOT hold my ¾ style XXL helmet. It was close, but I couldn’t
latch the seat back down. There is a clip for locking a helmet by the
D-ring under the seat. On the storage plus side, the People 150 comes with
a very nice luggage rack that would be an additional-cost add-on to either
the buddy or the Vespa. The rear rack on the People 150 is just screaming
for a top-case. With the addition of a nice SHAD or Givi removable
top-case, the People150 would have very good storage capacity.
The seat on the Kymco People 150 is comfortable and can accommodate two
people. There are flip-put passenger foot-pegs which I like. A lot of
scooters have passenger footrests that are integrated in the body of the
scooter and they tend to be overly “tight” to the scooter and force the
passenger into a bowlegged position when riding. The People 150 has all of
the “usual” controls and a nice dash with a clear and easy-to-read
speedometer and fuel gauge as well as indicator lights for high beam, low
beam and turning. The People 150 is equipped with push-button electric
starting and a kick-starter. There are both side and center stands for the
scooter.
I did do a little night-time riding and found the headlight to be
adequate. The rest of the lighting was good and the required number of
reflectors are on the scooter, but I still found night-time visibility to
be just barely adequate. Of course I find this to be true of just about
EVERY scooter which is why I always recommend additional reflective
material on scooters and/or riders.
Everything still worked just fine on my test People 150 after 5,000 km.
The seat latch was just a little lose. Every switch, control, etc. was in
perfect working order, I’d say, “as good as new.”
Riding Impressions
I have to admit that it’s kind of nice to hop on a scooter and NOT be
concerned about engine break-in for a review. Full throttle, hold her
open, damn the torpedoes! I’m not sure what I expected from the Kymco
People 150. I mean, I OWN a Kymco People 250 and have been thrilled with
it. I KNOW how nice riding on big wheels can be. I KNOW how strong Kymco
motors are. I suppose I was expecting to be “let down” by the 150,
especially because I am so used to the 250. Boy, was I ever wrong.
The Kymco People 150 is one of the nicest riding 150cc scooters I have
been on. Most of the 150cc scooters in the marketplace have small wheels (the
Genuine Buddy has 10” wheels, the Vespa 10” & 11”, the Piaggio Fly 12”)
and I enjoy the quick, responsive ride from the smaller wheels. Also, most
people typically think of a scooter as having small wheels – its part of
the look that a scooter is “supposed” to have. Big wheels on a scooter
make for a smoother and more stable ride. The Kymco People 150 may not be
as quick handling as a Buddy, but the ride at speed is pretty darn nice on
the Kymco.
The disc/drum brakes worked just fine with no fade and easy modulation.
The Kymco People 150 is not as quick off the line as a Buddy 150, but is
quicker than a Vespa LX150. The People 150 is happiest in the mid-range,
say from 20 MPH to 45 MPH. I didn’t have any ergonomic issues with the
scooter. I can see that a person with long legs and/or large feet might
run out of room on the People 150, but that could also be said of the
other scooters in this class. My wife, Beverly, rode the People 150 and
she also fit just fine. Both of us said pretty much the same thing about
the Kymco People 150 – it’s a smooth ride.
Fit & Finish
Having owned a Kymco for several years and being able to see a good
number of them at dealers, I am completely impressed with the fit and
finish. Kymcos are right up there with Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki for high
quality finish. The People 150 that I reviewed had some scuffs and wear on
it, yet the overall scooter still looked great. The panels still fit well
and nothing rattled or otherwise seemed loose. The one item that was
showing some wear was the hinge for the seat, but it was minor and took
only slightly more care than normal to close and latch.
Conclusions
In my opinion, the choice of the “best” scooter for any buyer comes
down to how they will use it and their own preferences. The Kymco People
150 is not as “retro” looking as a Genuine Buddy or a Vespa LX. It isn’t
as sporty as any number of other scooters. The People 150 is a top
quality, practical and fun scooter with a smoother ride than the
small-wheeled competitors. If it fits you and your riding needs, you’d
have a tough search to find another scooter as good.
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