After a good carb cleaning I've been riding my People 150 quite a bit. It's still low mileage (or kilometerage I suppose I should say) at about 300 kilometers. It looks like it's getting around 70-75 miles per US gallon. I can tell you a few things I noticed comparing it to my wife's SYM HD200. The SYM is extremely touchy about adding fuel. You cannot get a consistant fill with the thing. You will never get it to the same fill level twice. The fill neck builds up back pressure and shuts off the pump and you have no idea how full the tank is. And no two pumps react the same. The People is much easier to fill, and easy to fill to the same level each time. And the SYM can get a runnability problem if you keep topping off the tank, as the gas vapor emission system is a touchy one.
I believe both speedometrs are about equally off reading maybe 10% optomistic. The People is physically a little bit smaller and lighter scooter, and I like that it feels lighter and more maneverable. Of course the wife's HD200 has a rear cargo box which kind of adds to the feeling of larger size. Certainly there is more that can go wrong with the SYM due to it's water cooling, but that may also make the engine last longer-along with the ceramic coated cylinder. I like the bigger wheels on both scooters as they give a more stable ride at higher speeds.
Gas mileage seems comperable, but the People 150 holds more gas I'm sure. Neither holds enough as far as I'm concerned. You don't see small motorcycles running around with 1-2 gallon capacities. The fine Suzuki DR200 dual sport holds 3.6 gallons, and gets better gas mileage than either of these two scooters.
I like both of these scooters a lot. The SYM has a power and cruising speed advantage-but not by too much, and is roomier. Looks wise I prefer my People 150. Price? We bought both of these as new leftover models and I got the people for about $2200 new. The SYM was more, but still very reasonable. Weather protection? I think the SYM wins here. I have ridden the SYM in very cold weather and rain.
I think I'm going to like my Kymco People 150 a lot over time. I am going to still have one motorcycle as I want a dual sport again, but the People will get a lot of use. I haven't had my wife ride the Kymco yet. I've ridden her SYM a bunch. I'm a little afraid my wife might glom onto my Kymco and not let go. She may like the better manueverability and lighter weight better than her SYMs.
I hope Kymco is keeping the People 150 in the US lineup. Some people think it looks too dated, and prefer the newer Super 8 150. I like that one too, but the People 150 really is a great scooter for the people, and I made the right choice.
Jon in Keaau, Hawaii (where scooters are everyuwhere it seems)
