Finally had the chance to put a few hundred miles on the spade between commitments and storm prep. Now at least have have almost as much time on it as the Grom. Here's what I have at the moment.
I KNOW ITS A MOTORCYCLE.
Yes before anyone feels the need to state the obvious The spade 150 is not a scooter it's a motorcycle in every way. It may be a small bore diminutive motorcycle but it is a motorcycle just the same. That said I'll post a review here as we've done with small bikes in the past.
http://www.kymcousa.com/2018_SellSheets/2018_Spade150_SellSheet.pdf
NOT A SPADE vs GROM DEAL
Although it would be hard to talk about any of the small bikes without mentioning the Grom from time to time this is not some sort of comparison. Honda created the class so they are in the conversation. In the end the difference between the two are negligible in some cases and a matter of taste in others.
FIT and FINISH
The Spade looks like a little classic style cycle. The proportions are correct as nothing seems to large for the small bike with the exception of the mirrors. Body parts or the lack there of are well finished and fit right. Paint on the frame and motor are good overall, not great but nice. Controls , switches etc are fine and what you would expect at the price. Much like the Hondas from my youth I'll call it industrial. It's bolted together and kymco didn't see the need to hide the bolts and that's fine. It fits the retro look.
IMO if you were to put the spade and the grom side-by-side it would be obvious that there was far more thought put into the Hondas over all prettiness. From the graphic to the fuel cap Honda would win the contest. That's not to say it's better built that's to say it has the typical Honda design, very deliberate.
THE RIDE
Stab at the starter and the Little fuel injected thumper starts right up and and quickly settles into a smooth idle. Let the clutch out give the throttle a twist and quickly run through the first four gears, they are spaced closely. You have a little more time to ring it out a little bit between fourth and fifth gears. The shifter is smooth and easy as is the clutch
With my 130 pound butt a board by the time I was making the shift from 4th to 5th I was already near 50 mph GPS. I would say broken in with the rider my weight you're looking at a 70 mph/gps top speed. Speaking of that the speedometer was accurate within one and a half mph. Negligible error. But as I said it is not about top speed. It's about blasting away from the traffic lights winding through the gears on a motorcycle that reminds me of my first. It's about wheelies, sit back on the long flat seat and let it rip. Oh and let's not forget the stoppies.......
While I am on the subject of stopping let me talk about the brakes. The front disk is fine. But the back drum, well it's a drum and I don't know what kymco was thinking. If the plan was to sell this bike to the entry-level rider then there should've been a disc in the back. No biggie for me I cut my teeth on rear drums and can use them to make some exciting entrances but just a poor choice. Reminds me that Honda still insists on putting the drum on the back of the PCX. Just confuses me. I will go out on a limb I see a a disk on future models.
I found the ride to be stable at any speed and it's easy to get deep into the corners. You need to keep the engine spinning to make power. But that's really not a problem as the 12.5hp 4 valve mill does very good for this bike. Drop down a gear no bogging just more power. The suspension is on the firm side as is the seat. It that reminds me scooter suspensions suck.
The Spade is heavier than both the Honda and the Kawasaki but makes up for that the old-fashioned way, horse power and the fifth gear and in the end is faster if that's what you're into. Loose that exhaust pipe and you'll loose 8 lbs to start.
WHOS GONNA BUY ONE
Me and other old guys like me. Retro baby reminds me of my youth. To me as nice as the Grom is the style leaves me flat. Just one mans eye. They have also sold a few to college dudes that find scoots offensive.
When it comes down to numbers they seem close. MSRP 2999.00 on the spade and 3299.00 on the Grom. Close 300.000 right. No then big red starts 150.00 destination, 125.00 prep than another odd fee. In the end the Kymco was almost 700.00 less.
In my case price wasn't The determining factor style was but but that was that's way too big of a gap when you compare the two rides.
The man in the box and I'm sure others makes a line of accessories for this cycle. It would be easy to turn it into a 6000.00 ride if that's what you're into. For me it's fine just stock with the exception of the butt ugly exhaust.
http://mnnthbx.com/product-category/kymco/This guys prone to hyperbole but it's an good review.
As a rule im a very conservative rider but the little bike tends to bring out the Inner hooligan in me. For me well worth the price of admission.
A few random pics to show size as compared to a standard scoot.
I have no idea why they left off the pinstripe so I added it .
BTW-no sooner did I take delivery than did I relive why I like scoots. I had no place to put the paperwork etc from the purchase. Stuffed it in my shirt.
AMAC
