Like 150i vs Liberty vs Smax vs Hooligan

[klaviator]

I plan on getting a replacement for my Super 8 in the next 3 to 6 months.  the Like 150i is the top contender right now but the Liberty 150, Smax and Hooligan 170i are all still contenders.

My Super 8 has been one of the most fun bikes I have owned but it's getting old and many newer scooters have better performance and features.  I have about 31,500 miles on my Super 8. 

The contenders: 

Like 150i.  This scooter seems like a big step up in performance and features for a really low price.
Likes:  Styling, performance, fuel filler not under the seat.  Disc brakes front and rear with ABS. Good underseat storage, best price.
Cons:  Nearest dealer 2 hours away, seating a bit cramped, Still new and no long term reviews, Limited cornering clearance?

Smax. 
Likes.  Best performing 150 class scooter, Great local dealer, Yamaha quality and reliability, front and rear disc brakes, fuel filler not under seat, tachometer, great underseat storage, largest fuel tank of these scooters, handles like a small sportbike.
Cons.  Cramped seating, heaviest 150 class scooter, will there be a 2019 model?  I don't like the 2018 black.

Liberty. 
Likes:  Great Styling, I fit on it OK.  Seems comfortable, great fuel mileage, front ABS
Cons.  Nearest dealer 2 hours away, underseat fuel filler, uses premium fuel.

Hooligan 170i.
Likes:  Most comfortable for me, great local dealer, good suspension, fuel filler not under seat, front and rear disc brakes.
Cons.  Marginal performance increase over Super 8, overheating issues?  Smallest fuel tank of these scooters.

Some other considerations for me are ease of maintenance and I hate linked brakes.  Because of these I'm not really considering the PCX but there are changes to the 2019 model so maybe?  The only one of these I have ridden is the Smax.  I can easily get a test ride on the Hooligan but I'm not sure about the others.  Big wheels vs small wheels is not an issue for me as long as they are at least 12"

Any thoughts about these scooters or any other suggestions?

[klaviator]

Some other thoughts.  This scooter will mostly be used to ride around town.  Any of these scooter will do that just fine.  I also will occasionally take this scooter to the mountains where I love twisty roads and tend to ride more like a sportbike rider than a scooter rider.  The Smax will handle this just fine but I'm not sure about the  others. 

I will also go touring on this scooter.  I know some don't care about top speed but I do since it makes a difference on where I can comfortably ride it.  The Smax will go 70+.  The Hooligan just over 60.  I'm not sure yet about the Liberty and Like 150i.  The owner of Cleveland Moto claimed up to 71MPH for this scooter but I haven't seen any other reports.  I'm not sure about the Liberty either but I think maybe somewhere between 60 and 65 MPH. 

[Snoopzilla]

I can’t recommend the Like 150i enough.  Love it.  Plenty of power (rivals the Yamaha, really surprised me, just purrs at 50 mph, waiting to 1000 miles to do a top speed run, but 2 different people report hitting 70 mph, not that it’s a great freeway bike or anything) great fit (was really worried about this it first but am 6’ tall and find it very comfortable), underseat storage is amazingly huge, LED lights are so bright, the abs brakes are amazing, thing handles so well and of course can’t beat the price. I too was considering the Liberty 150 and was a very close call for me, but went with the new Like. 


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[Snoopzilla]

Some other thoughts.  This scooter will mostly be used to ride around town.  Any of these scooter will do that just fine.  I also will occasionally take this scooter to the mountains where I love twisty roads and tend to ride more like a sportbike rider than a scooter rider.  The Smax will handle this just fine but I'm not sure about the  others. 

I will also go touring on this scooter.  I know some don't care about top speed but I do since it makes a difference on where I can comfortably ride it.  The Smax will go 70+.  The Hooligan just over 60.  I'm not sure yet about the Liberty and Like 150i.  The owner of Cleveland Moto claimed up to 71MPH for this scooter but I haven't seen any other reports.  I'm not sure about the Liberty either but I think maybe somewhere between 60 and 65 MPH.

Another guy on adv forum reported 70 mph as well

https://advrider.com/index.php?threads/kymco-like-150i.1291028/page-2


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[klaviator]

I can’t recommend the Like 150i enough.  Love it.  Plenty of power (rivals the Yamaha, really surprised me, just purrs at 50 mph, waiting to 1000 miles to do a top speed run, but 2 different people report hitting 70 mph, not that it’s a great freeway bike or anything) great fit (was really worried about this it first but am 6’ tall and find it very comfortable), underseat storage is amazingly huge, LED lights are so bright, the abs brakes are amazing, thing handles so well and of course can’t beat the price. I too was considering the Liberty 150 and was a very close call for me, but went with the new Like. 


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Thanks.  The Like is at the top of my list but I I like to look at all the options.  How does it do in curves?  Many scooter have limited cornering clearance.  That is one of the biggest issues I have with my Super 8.  I took it to Deals Gap and was grinding stuff too easily.

[Snoopzilla]

Thanks.  The Like is at the top of my list but I I like to look at all the options.  How does it do in curves?  Many scooter have limited cornering clearance.  That is one of the biggest issues I have with my Super 8.  I took it to Deals Gap and was grinding stuff too easily.

So far so good. Each time I take it out I gain more confidence in leaning it.  I have scraped once but it was some construction work on a driveway to a  coffee shop.  Definitely still more scooter then sport bike though, but I love how this thing handles.   Tires aren’t bad for CST (maxxis). But will replace with Michelin’s when they wear.
But do suspect the fuel tank being down there does take up some clearance

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[Stig / Major Tom]

Yamaha = GREAT quality!
BUT an SMax with no ABS ?!?
Heavy.
13" tires.
One horizontal rear shock - very trendy but give me twin vertical shocks any day - 2 are easier to adjust and to mod with better aftermarket jobs.
Will the 2019 have ABS?
I would not entertain any scooter without ABS !
Water cooled complications.
Only 1 year warranty.


Hooligan …..no thoughts.


LIKE150i ---- Love it for urban run-about - got a lot of good stuff on it.
Some are leary of any 1st year model.
Quality just below Yamaha and Honda.
A/C is a + for me.
If I need top speed - I'd go with the Yamaha.
Absolutely not a believer that this Kymco will cruise 70mph in real world.
...and on anything close to that speed - I'd want to be on bigger than 12" wheels and (hate to say it) but I would want $1000 more in weight, wheelbase, engineering & build quality.

All of these scoots are reliable transportation, so...
My #1 priority at this point in my scootering experience is ABS....then ease of DIY* maintenance & parts.  (*I'd educate myself  by checking service manuals before purchase)


Dealer back-up has been a moot point in my 5 yrs of scooter riding. Never had it. Never relied on it.


But I gotta  l o v e whatever it is I walk up to each day. Including the color. Hang everything else....I gotta love the scooter!


You're in a good place - shopping new 150's!

Stig

[klaviator]

For me ABS is a plus but not a must have.  Linked brakes without ABS is a big No No for me.  Disc brakes front and rear are a plus but the Disc/drum combo on my Super 8 works just fine. 

The Liberty has ABS only on the front wheel.  ABS on both wheels is better on the pavement but off the pavement front wheel only ABS actually works better and I do take my scooters off the pavement. 

I'm pretty sure I would be happy with any of these scooters but I have plenty of time to make a decision so I might as well research this thoroughly.

[hypophthalmus]

You said you rode the Smax. Does it actually feel like a 150, or a larger bike?

I agree that watercooling is a liability.

As cramped as some of them might seem now, it's only going to get worse when you're touring on them.

Compared to the Like 150i, it looks like the Liberty is higher torque, and easier revving.

I remember being impressed by the ease of checking the valves on the Liberty as per Stig's write up... although the pictures aren't showing up now?

[klaviator]

You said you rode the Smax. Does it actually feel like a 150, or a larger bike?

I agree that watercooling is a liability.

As cramped as some of them might seem now, it's only going to get worse when you're touring on them.

Compared to the Like 150i, it looks like the Liberty is higher torque, and easier revving.

I remember being impressed by the ease of checking the valves on the Liberty as per Stig's write up... although the pictures aren't showing up now?

I rode about 5,000 miles on my Smax before I had a head on collision with a tow truck.  It definitely felt like a bigger and heavier scooter than my Super 8.  Despite being bigger it had a more cramped riding position. I had to move my knees in tight turns to avoid hitting them with the handlebars.  I still rode some 300+ mile days on it.  I made a thick seat pad to make it more comfortable but then I felt like I was sitting more on top of the scooter compared to the Super 8 which just feels more natural.  I did go on a 5 day tour on my Super 8.  The Smax was a much better touring scooter as well as being much faster.  The Smax felt almost like a 250 and performed  like one.

Keep in mind that the SMax is about 50 pounds heavier and has a 4 inch longer wheelbase than the Super 8.  I think the Like as about the same size and weight as the Super 8.

[klaviator]

I took a ride to the closest Kymco dealer last weekend to take a close look at the Like150i.  They had a decent selection of scooters on the showroom floor.



They had a couple of Like's.  A red one:



And a white one.



The seating position was more cramped than than my super 8 but slightly less cramped than the Smax.  The seat seemed pretty comfortable but if I got one I'd probably add a seat pad to raise me up a bit and improve the seating position.

I checked out underneath the scooter.  The bottom of the motor looks about the same as my Super 8.  I'm pretty sure it's basically the same motor with a 4 valve head and EFI.

I would guess that servicing the motor would be about as easy as the Super 8 although they did remove the bolt at the end of the shaft to the fan which makes it super easy to turn the crank on the S8.

Underseat storage is better than the S8 but less than the Smax.

They said they would service one and let me ride it if I set it up in advance.  I'll probably do that in the near future. 

While I was there I also checked out the 400.



Nice scooter but not a suitable replacement for my S8.  It might make a good replacement for my Majesty but with only 16,000 miles on my Majesty I'm not about to sell it.  Maybe if I had 50K on it?

After all this I rode back home on my Majesty.



.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Hey,
Thanks for your post and pictures.
Glad I can't see myself on a scooter ---- Americans look too tall for scooters - but then they aren't made to fit us!
The 400 pic looks like your hands are down by your knees.
One selling point for me on the Honda Forza was the motorcycle-like exposed handlebars. Soon as I rode it home i got out an allen wrench and rotated the handlebars way up, like you would on a bicycle!
Too many scooters don't offer any movement of that hand position.
Noce looking dealer!
Thanks again
Stig

[klaviator]

The seating position on the 400 seemed very comfortable for me.  On my Majesty I did rotated the bars forward so they wouldn't hit my knees as much on tight turns. 

On the Like the seating position was tight because of the high floorboards.  The Vespa 150 has about the same seat to bar position but it has lower floorboards making the seating position much better for a taller rider.  I think that's because the like has the fuel tank under the floorboards while the Vespa has it under the seat.

[CROSSBOLT]

Now THAT is informative! There is a wealth of information throughout this thread that should be of interest to anyone considering a scoot in the 150 to 170 cc range. Much better than most of the reviews by authors employed by magazines. I am very surprised by the 400i as it looks like they actually used a 6 foot rider to "ergo" the design! I may have the "hots" for one of those if I get tired of the DT. Fat chance!

That dealer a secret, Klav? I would like to visit that guy! I thought it looked like Sloan's in Murphresboro at first.

[Clampett]

Looks like Max Motorsports in Pelham, Al.   
I think Klav said that's what it was in another posts also.....
Edit: It was Max Motorsports, BUT it was on another forum where I read that.