KymcoForum.com
Scooters - 125 to 300 => Super 8 150 => Topic started by: PeTroL42 on August 04, 2013, 09:51:23 AM
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It looks like Kymco has done a Mid-Year refresh of the Super 8
http://www.kymcousa.com/showroom/scooters/super8150/specifications.html (http://www.kymcousa.com/showroom/scooters/super8150/specifications.html)
And the specs changed a little.
The MPG went down to 69 from 75 and the braking system is different. I doubt it's real ABS though.
Also, the tire sizes are different than my 2013 Super 8. My Super 8 has a 120/80-14 in the rear and a 120/70-14 in the front.
I'm not digging the new color schemes though.
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It looks like Kymco has done a Mid-Year refresh of the Super 8
http://www.kymcousa.com/showroom/scooters/super8150/specifications.html (http://www.kymcousa.com/showroom/scooters/super8150/specifications.html)
And the specs changed a little.
The MPG went down to 69 from 75 and the braking system is different. I doubt it's real ABS though.
Also, the tire sizes are different than my 2013 Super 8. My Super 8 has a 120/80-14 in the rear and a 120/70-14 in the front.
I'm not digging the new color schemes though.
I don't know...it says ABS BOSCH.....
Bosch are the folks who put these brakes on a lot of vehicles.
Shoot, ANY kind of ABS has got to be nothing but good news for the rider (or driver)
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Kymco uses real ABS with sensors and valves and computers to prevent wheel lockup. They do not use the fake ABS bottles like on Chinese brands that stop you from having maximum braking.
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Real ABS is usually a $500+ option on any motorcycle so I find it really hard to believe that the Super 8 refresh has real ABS at the same MSRP of $2499.
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Maybe it is a misprint on Kymco USA's website. There is no other mention of ABS anywhere else for the Super 8. The picture of the refreshed Super 8 doesn't show any ABS hardware.
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Looks like the HP went-up 1HP. My 2013 has 9.38HP, hence the lower fuel rating. I always wished the Super 8 would come in one color scheme, not Red/White etc. At $2499.00 the Super 8 is getting-up there in price (I paid $2200.00 for mine a year ago) Hell Piaggio Fly 150 smokes the Super 8 & it's only $400.00 more @ retail. You get 3 valves, fuel-injection & 12.69HP! That's so worth the extra coin. The problem is Piaggio kills their dealers in freight costs, so it will cost more then $400.00 in the end.
http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html#/ (http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.html#/)!s=overview/fly-150-3v
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Even with the lower HP rating, I'd much rather have a Super 8 than a Piaggio Fly 150.
To me, the Fly 150 looks a little bland and generic but the Super 8 LOOKS like a Sports Scooter. I don't think there's another scooter on the market that has looks as aggressive as the Super 8.
But the Super 8 is let down by it's somewhat weak motor. It would be nice to see the Super 8 with the Kymco Movie 150's 4 valve engine. If the specs could be trusted, the Movie's 150 sports 13.5HP but what intrigues me most about that motor is it's short stroke. That would mean that the motor would be able to sustain higher RPMs for longer than a square or long stroke motor. But that's only if the specs are to be believed. Since the Super 8's motor is so weak, I want to modify the transmission but am going to hold off a bit since I still have 1.5 years on my warranty.
And I agree with you about having a solid color option. I was fortunate to pick up a Black/Silver one and after I took off the silver accent stickers on the front of the scooter, my Super 8 is now solid black with the silver accent just on the bottom that is painted. Maybe I should see how much it would cost to get that painted black.
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Petrol: The Super 8 HP is about "standard" for 150cc air-cooled engine. It gets the job done. I find the S8 has very weak headlights, but I don't drive much @ night myself. Looks are subjective. The Fly doesn't win any beauty contests that's for sure, but then again The Movie 150 isn't that great looking either. Plus the Movie 150 frame is on the smallish side. I feel Kymco completely missed the mark with the Movie 150 as it has a carb. It's almost 2014 & for that type of money, FI should have be a must. Kymco needs a mid-range scooter with FI (aside from the Like 200i) in their line-up. I simply don't care for the Like200i either. Plastics are thin & my impression overall is it's "cheap" looking. But @ $2699.00, they needed to cut some corners to keep the price down. Kymco needs a "sporty" type (think S8) with FI for a tad under $3,000 IMHO.
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Petrol: The Super 8 HP is about "standard" for 150cc air-cooled engine. It gets the job done. I find the S8 has very weak headlights, but I don't drive much @ night myself. Looks are subjective. The Fly doesn't win any beauty contests that's for sure, but then again The Movie 150 isn't that great looking either. Plus the Movie 150 frame is on the smallish side. I feel Kymco completely missed the mark with the Movie 150 as it has a carb. It's almost 2014 & for that type of money, FI should have be a must. Kymco needs a mid-range scooter with FI (aside from the Like 200i) in their line-up. I simply don't care for the Like200i either. Plastics are thin & my impression overall is it's "cheap" looking. But @ $2699.00, they needed to cut some corners to keep the price down. Kymco needs a "sporty" type (think S8) with FI for a tad under $3,000 IMHO.
I could live with a carbureted Super 8 if it were more powerful like a SYM HD200. Then the Super 8's performance would match it's looks. As far as the headlights, I like that it has two 55 watt bulbs that are lit at the same time which creates a nice wide beam although the lens could be redesigned to create a smooth beam pattern instead of it's jagged edge butterfly look. The only thing I don't like about the headlights is that they're aimed a little low. I'm going to adjust the spring preload to it's lowest setting and hopefully my beam will be aimed a little higher. I had a cheap China scoot that used a single 35 watt bulb and that thing sucked to ride at night.
I think Kymco had to make some compromises when designing the Movie 150. The cheap Chinese scooter market changed the expectations of what a scooter should cost. In general, Chinese scooters don't have a dealer network and aren't put together well so that's why they cost what they do. Brand name scooters on the other hand stand by their products with a nice warranty and have a dealer network setup so the consumer has somewhere to take their broken scooters to get fixed. Honda tried to sell the SH150 in the USA for $4000 and nobody bought them and they're no longer in Honda's lineup. The SH150 was one of the, if not the best 150cc scooter on the market but that wasn't enough for people to want to buy them. I think in general, most people don't understand how an engine works and won't know the difference between FI and Carburetion, liquid cooled vs. air cooled and other things that make an engine run better. What most people do understand is a low price and the Movie 150 is a result of that although an MSRP of $3199 doesn't seem that low. I did check one out at my scooter dealer and it is made in Taiwan and it did seem a little more solid than my Super 8 and I would like one but it's a hard call when a SYM HD200 only retails for $300 more which would probably be the better investment.
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The Honda SH150 was my first choice for a scooter... I tried 4 different dealers, sent emails and acknowledged that they didn't have any in stock but asked how long it would take to order one. Every single dealer only wanted to sell me what they had on the floor, none would talk about ordering an SH150. The dealers weren't carrying the 150 nor were they entertaining the idea of the 150 at their shops. I think I found 2 in all of California, all 6+ hours away to pick up with no trailer. Honda couldn't sell the 150 because the dealers wouldn't order them. That was when I came across Kymco. For half the price and nearly as good a reputation, I couldn't beat it. And I have no regrets either.
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I'm going to adjust the spring preload to it's lowest setting and hopefully my beam will be aimed a little higher. I had a cheap China scoot that used a single 35 watt bulb and that thing sucked to ride at night.
Have you tried the headlight aim adjusters already? Usually there is a knob or screw that will point the bulb up or down.
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The Honda SH150 was my first choice for a scooter... I tried 4 different dealers, sent emails and acknowledged that they didn't have any in stock but asked how long it would take to order one. Every single dealer only wanted to sell me what they had on the floor, none would talk about ordering an SH150. The dealers weren't carrying the 150 nor were they entertaining the idea of the 150 at their shops. I think I found 2 in all of California, all 6+ hours away to pick up with no trailer. Honda couldn't sell the 150 because the dealers wouldn't order them. That was when I came across Kymco. For half the price and nearly as good a reputation, I couldn't beat it. And I have no regrets either.
I'm pretty sure that if there was enough interest in the Honda SH150 that the Honda dealers would have stocked up on them.
Take the Honda Grom for instance. This little Monkey Bike is garnering all kinds of attention right now with a lot of people asking their dealers when they're going to be in stock. The SH150 didn't get this kind of attention before it was released and nobody paid attention when they were released to the public.
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Have you tried the headlight aim adjusters already? Usually there is a knob or screw that will point the bulb up or down.
I haven't tried the adjusters yet since I'd have to take off the front body panel to access them but thanks for the tip.
I'm going to try the spring preload first and see if that gets the results I want. Also, I'd like to have a lower stance on my scooter since I don't carry any passengers or carry anything heavy on my Super 8.
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Upon closer inspection on the Super 8 refresh, it looks like redesigned the whole front end.
I think it lost some of it's sportiness.
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The bulbs I pulled out of my scoot were 35w... but it was a 2009 scoot. Have they increased to 55w now?
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The bulbs I pulled out of my scoot were 35w... but it was a 2009 scoot. Have they increased to 55w now?
I have a 2013 and My Super 8 manual says that the bulbs are "12v 60/55W x 2"
I don't know what the 60 means but if I had to assume something, I would think that the bulbs are 60 watts for the High Beam and 55 watts for the Low Beam.
I guess the best way to find out for sure is to pull the bulbs out myself and check because some of the info that Kymco prints seem to be suspect sometimes.
Was it hard to get to the bulbs?
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I'm pretty sure that if there was enough interest in the Honda SH150 that the Honda dealers would have stocked up on them.
Take the Honda Grom for instance. This little Monkey Bike is garnering all kinds of attention right now with a lot of people asking their dealers when they're going to be in stock. The SH150 didn't get this kind of attention before it was released and nobody paid attention when they were released to the public.
PeTrol: I'm sure you know this, the Honda SH150 was the standard (& the 1st) 150cc scooter with 16" wheels. My 2005 Kymco People S200 was a "copy" of the SH150, only that it was A/C & had a carb. BTW...That was a great scooter! I had it for 6 years & the only issue I had was a broken speedo cable. Sold it for $1950.00 & paid $3000 for it new. Now there are countless copies of the SH150. It's too bad the retail price was so high for the SH150 when it came to the US shores a few years back. As I recall it had only one model year here. My concern is the Super 8 is getting too expensive for what it is. I purchased a S8 last year to keep @ my parents home in Florida. If I had to do it all over again, I would have picked-up a SYM HD200 instead.
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I believe the 1993 Aprilia Scarabeo came before the Honda SH150i, and I thought the first gen Kymco People were Aprilia Scarabeo clones. But maybe the Scarabeo was like a Honda Super Cub with an automatic transmission.
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The Honda was a much newer engine with fuel injection and it got 90 mpg. That was why I was so interested in it. I don't know how to show a greater interest in a scooter than with money in hand to order one... the dealerships (there were 4 that I tried) near me wouldn't even try but they all were ready to give me a "deal" on one they "had in stock", which wasn't the SH150. I really disliked the bait and switch they tried and won't be shopping them for anything. A Yamaha dealership told me they didn't have anything to compare to the Kymco 150 at the time I was shopping and didn't offer alternatives. I purchased my jacket, 2nd helmet, top case and gloves through them. They got my business with straight up honesty.
The LED headlights I ordered were difficult to get. One company sent them to Russia and never refunded the money... I canceled the charge on my credit card... which was why I would only order through companies who took a credit card. A second company did send it but it was delayed in customs for 2 months in China. No idea why there was such a delay. That company did not have secure website when paying by credit card (no https in the website domain name) and I used an old card that I was about to cancel... which then got paid off and was canceled 2 months later. While the company was good, the security was lax and is the reason I don't recommend them. Basically, I searched for "H4 bulbs LED headlights" in google. Only chinese websites offered them... it was difficult to find one that would let me buy just 2 as most of them were suppliers and had minimum orders of 20 or more.
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PeTrol: I'm sure you know this, the Honda SH150 was the standard (& the 1st) 150cc scooter with 16" wheels. My 2005 Kymco People S200 was a "copy" of the SH150, only that it was A/C & had a carb. BTW...That was a great scooter! I had it for 6 years & the only issue I had was a broken speedo cable. Sold it for $1950.00 & paid $3000 for it new. Now there are countless copies of the SH150. It's too bad the retail price was so high for the SH150 when it came to the US shores a few years back. As I recall it had only one model year here. My concern is the Super 8 is getting too expensive for what it is. I purchased a S8 last year to keep @ my parents home in Florida. If I had to do it all over again, I would have picked-up a SYM HD200 instead.
I actually didn't know the Honda SH150 was the first 16 inch wheeled scooter. Although I've never rode a scooter with 16 inch wheels, I don't feel 16 inch wheels are necessary. Since the wheels are bigger, it gives the scooter a higher seat and the bigger wheels take up more space which mainly affects the size of the trunk. I had a scooter with 10 inch wheels and to be quite honest, I don't feel any more stable on my Super 8 than I did on that 10 inch wheeled scooter I had. Also, Honda's Helix had 10 inch wheels and Suzuki Burgmans have 14 inch wheels and those things hauled A$$ and their users don't seem to complain about high speed stability.
I think at $2499, a Super 8 is a fair price for what you get. There isn't another 150cc scooter on the market at $2499 that is put together well with a 2 year warranty and a Dealer network to get your scooter fixed and order parts.
But the SYM HD 200 is probably going to be my next scooter. Now THAT scooter is in a class of it's own.
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The Honda was a much newer engine with fuel injection and it got 90 mpg. That was why I was so interested in it. I don't know how to show a greater interest in a scooter than with money in hand to order one... the dealerships (there were 4 that I tried) near me wouldn't even try but they all were ready to give me a "deal" on one they "had in stock", which wasn't the SH150. I really disliked the bait and switch they tried and won't be shopping them for anything. A Yamaha dealership told me they didn't have anything to compare to the Kymco 150 at the time I was shopping and didn't offer alternatives. I purchased my jacket, 2nd helmet, top case and gloves through them. They got my business with straight up honesty.
The LED headlights I ordered were difficult to get. One company sent them to Russia and never refunded the money... I canceled the charge on my credit card... which was why I would only order through companies who took a credit card. A second company did send it but it was delayed in customs for 2 months in China. No idea why there was such a delay. That company did not have secure website when paying by credit card (no https in the website domain name) and I used an old card that I was about to cancel... which then got paid off and was canceled 2 months later. While the company was good, the security was lax and is the reason I don't recommend them. Basically, I searched for "H4 bulbs LED headlights" in google. Only chinese websites offered them... it was difficult to find one that would let me buy just 2 as most of them were suppliers and had minimum orders of 20 or more.
All 4 dealers must know something that the average consumer doesn't and that's why they didn't want to order the SH150 for you even with cash in hand. Maybe the dealerships get a discount if they order multiple scooters at once and didn't feel the profit margin for ordering one scooter was high enough for them to bother with.
And what LED lights are you talking about?
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Although I've never rode a scooter with 16 inch wheels, I don't feel 16 inch wheels are necessary. Since the wheels are bigger, it gives the scooter a higher seat and the bigger wheels take up more space which mainly affects the size of the trunk. I had a scooter with 10 inch wheels and to be quite honest, I don't feel any more stable on my Super 8 than I did on that 10 inch wheeled scooter I had. Also, Honda's Helix had 10 inch wheels and Suzuki Burgmans have 14 inch wheels and those things hauled A$$ and their users don't seem to complain about high speed stability.
Maybe the roads are much smoother where you live, and the advantage of a bigger wheel is less pronounced. The big wheel rolls over bumps better with less shock. I would love bigger >12" wheels on my Bet and Win 250 especially at freeway speeds, where bumps can really unsettle the bike. For me, a larger wheeled bike feels much more stable holding a line in a turn with some speed too. I have more fun on my motorcycle in curves.
The Helix has a really long wheelbase that might help with stability. I have a friend with the successor Reflex, and he likes corner carving with the Vstrom or his new big 15" wheel scooter much better too.
I wouldn't want another 10" wheel scooter or small wheel touring scooter again if I had to buy. Doesn't suit me. I'd love a Scarabeo or Super 8 or People.
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When I pulled the 35w HS1 bulbs out, I replaced them with 15/21w HS4 LED bulbs. They were difficult to get as I had to try two different distributers in China as only one was able to send to the USA but it took 3 months... the second one sent it to Russia (that order was canceled and the charges reversed on my card). They are considered experimental as well and are not currently approved for highway use in the USA. While I do like having them, they have their own problems and require additional changes to the scoot, including bypassing the LCM. I am still looking for a diode that is rated for 15 to 35 watts... or possibly as high as 60w... so I can get full function from the headlights (they currently have so little resistance, enough power is pulled from the shared ground to light up both hi and low).