Motorcycle Live kicked off at the NEC in Birmingham over the weekend and we know quite a few SLUK readers have already paid a visit.
We’ve published quite a bit of content from the recent EICMA show and sadly, many of the new/updated machines and concepts weren’t at Motorcycle Live. Here’s a quick look around at some of our highlights though and we’ve included a couple from Milan as well. This isn’t quite an A-Z of all scooters there but we’ve tried to bring you a decent selection.
You’ll no doubt notice a lack of Piaggio Group machines, they don’t usually exhibit at Motorcycle Live, which is a shame.
BMW
BMW Mottorad’s scooters always seem to attract plenty of bums on seats at shows. Their futuristic electric scooter designs are visually appealing and can be bought and ridden today. The CE02 and CE 04 are fairly unique from a styling point of view.
Of course, BMW also still have the petrol-powered C 400X and 400 GT scooters in their current range.
Honda
The mighty Honda have dipped a toe into the world of electric scooters this year with the release of their EM1 electric scooter (probably not the best year for it as electric sales have plummeted in 2023).
Honda were also showing their concept SCE electric scooter. This is part of Honda’s swappable battery initiative, with a vision (pardon the pun) of many different small cars and scooters utilising a common swappable battery source.
More scooters
Honda has one of the most comprehensive lineups of scooters at the minute with something for all occasions. From the humble Vision 110 through to the Excellent Forza 750. Then of course, they have the chart-topping PCX and popular SH 125 through to 350, as well as the ADV 350. You can see a few more images in the gallery above.
MotoGB
Multi-brand distributor, MotoGB are responsible for Royal Alloy, Italjet and Sym (amongst others). Sadly for any Royal Alloy fans, none of the updated models had made it to the show. The recent storms held the boat up and they literally docked in England on Monday. It’s unlikely we’ll see them at the NEC this week but they will be appearing in dealers very soon.
Italjet
A lone Dragster sat on the stand, but again, neither the Italjet Dragster 300 or the 559 concept were on show. However, there is a very good deal on the 200 at the minute. They’re offering £500 off the retail price, plus a free Malossi transmission upgrade (worth £229) and you can get an Akrapovic exhaust for a discounted price of £300. The package is worth £1400. Contact MotoGB for more info.
Keeway
Retro scooter fans will probably like the look of the Keeway Versilia 125. It’s got styling reminiscent to the Peugeot Django but is different enough to stand out. It looked great in grey and is priced at just £1999 (plus OTR). More Keeway info can be found here.
Kymco show offers
For the duration of Motorcycle Live buyers of the Agility City+ scooter will get a free Shad top box worth £120 and Kymco UK will pay the on-the-road charges (worth around £150). The VSR 125 bike will come with a free Delkevic exhaust system worth £300.
Kymco UK National Sales and Marketing Manager, Neil Keeble, commented: “We love to get out and meet our existing and potential customers, and this weekend at Motorcycle Live has been no different! To be able to offer these exclusive, limited-time offers to show visitors has been great and we look forward to meeting even more people throughout the rest of the event.”
These two offers are only available for the duration of Motorcycle Live, visit the stand or speak to your local Kymco dealer.
Coming up…
One Kymco that wasn’t on show in Milan was the CV3. We test-rode it (briefly) over a year ago and have been waiting to give it a more thorough road test. After Motorcycle Live is over we’ll be getting this green specimen, complete with luggage and will report on it in the next month or two.
We also plan to revisit the AK550 in the New Year but you can read our first impressions on that, the CV3 and DTX 360 here.
Ionex
Kymco’s Ionex is a battery-swapping solution that is now being rolled out to other manufacturers (it means a smaller manufacturer doesn’t have to go to the expense of making batteries and an end user doesn’t have to pay for them as part of a scooter purchase). We interviewed the chairman of Kymco Taiwan recently and will be bringing a full story on the latest Ionex developments soon.
Of course, Kymco also sell their own Ionex scooters. The Ionex i-One is already available in the UK for £3499.
Maeving
With the Modern side of ScooterLab, we’re never quite sure how far to push the boundaries with our readers. We like to stick to scooters as much as possible but there are modern machines that are so cool we don’t want you to miss out either. English firm, Maeving is one such example.
Like most electric machines, they’re ‘twist and go’, so that just about puts them into modern scooter territory (if you squint a bit). Let us know in the comments if you’re happy to see stuff like this on these pages.
Maeving RM1 S
Pictured above is the learner legal RM1 S, a £7495 125cc equivalent with a top speed of 65mph, the slower RM1 does 45mph and comes in at a more manageable £4995. These exquisite creations are more likely to be ridden by well-heeled city gentlemen than spotty college kids though.
Silence
One of the fastest-accelerating learner-legal electric scooters we’ve road-tested has to be the Silence S01. The Spanish brand is being used by a few BSB teams as paddock bikes and the company were also keen to show off their AA liveried Silence scooter at the NEC.
It’s a brand well worth considering if you’re looking for something a bit funky and fast.
Sur-Ron
I couldn’t help but smirk at the Sur-Ron Ultra Bee in full police spec. I’m sure most of us will have seen these being ridden by riders on the opposite side of the law, they’re a status symbol for young drugs runners and bad lads across the UK. Maybe the police would have more chance of catching them if they deployed a load of Ultra Bee riders…
Sym
Most manufacturers have an adventure style/crossover model and the Sym ADX 125 certainly fits the brief very well. The chunky-looking liquid-cooled 125 is pretty stylish and looks good close-up. It retails at £3799 (plus OTR).
Max Sym TL508
This super scooter boasts a twin-cylinder 508cc liquid-cooled engine and makes just short of 45bhp. A good friend recently bought one and can’t stop banging on about how great it is. He has a varied stable of superbikes, tourers and scooters to choose from and usually chooses to take this out. There’s a £1000 discount on it at the minute so you can bag one for £8499.
Suzuki
Having launched three new/updated 125cc scooters this year it was hardly a surprise that there was nothing else new from Suzuki at the NEC. However, I was pretty sure we’d be seeing a new Burgman 400 at one of the shows, maybe next year? You can read about the Suzuki Avenis and Address 125s here, and the Burgman 125 here. Let’s hope Suzuki impresses us with something new/updated for the maxi scooter riders next year.
V Moto (Soco UK)
Now going under the factory name, V Moto (rather than the brand name – Super Soco) this company have some interesting products and can also boast a tie-in with Ducati to produce a special edition scooter with Ducati branding.
The Stash
Branded, “Half motorbike, half scooter” the Stash can swallow a helmet or store your equipment inside the dummy tank. The 75mph machine also boasts a full-colour TFT dash and can be ridden on an A1 licence.
TC Max
This cool little electric 125-equivalent costs £4499 (or £4599 with spoiled wheels) and gives cafe racer styling with a modern electric twist.
Power of the air – VMoto APD Max
Not shown at the NEC but taking centre stage in Milan was the concept VMoto APD Max. Developed using a wind tunnel this state-of-the-art scooter should reduce wind resistance and friction to help increase range and speed.
World record distance holder
Also at EICMA was the VMoto CPX Pro that had recently taken part in a 24-hour non-stop long-distance challenge. The electric scooter covered 1931km in 24 hours to make a new world record, although we’re not sure just how many battery changes it needed…
Yamaha
Scooter-wise Yamaha are showing the new Ray-ZR 125. The existing range of XMAX/TMAX and Tricity scooters were all on the stand, as you’d expect and are unchanged for 2024.
Urban mobility
Yamaha also had a fairly large presence for their Urban Mobility range, including ebikes and the Booster we rode in Amsterdam earlier this year (we may revisit that one in the new year). They also had the Neo’s electric scooter, which we rode at the press launch in 2022.
XSR 900
Although this is in no way a scooter, you’ve got to admit the new Yamaha XSR900 is a beautiful machine with enough retro Grand Prix styling to evoke teenage memories for many of us. Available in naked form, or GP variant with half fairing, this thing will fly out of dealers. Yamaha are bang-on with this beauty.
Zero SR-X
Whilst we’re talking about motorcycles, the Zero SR-X concept bike is one design for the future that I’ll be pleased to see making it into reality. The sleek lines, modern wraparound front lights, aggressive stance and subtle yet striking paintwork all blend into one stunning motorcycle. With Zero’s advanced ZF75-10 electric motor and the latest ZF17.3 lithium-ion battery the SR-X will make this a true performance electric bike.
Still want to visit the show?
Motorcycle Live is on until Sunday 26th of November, you can book tickets here or pay on the day. It costs £28.30 for an adult, kids under five go free and children aged six to 18 are £2.50.
Car parking is a whopping £17.95 for the day but if you book the day before you can save a fiver. Motorcycle/scooter parking is free in the Honda bike park (signposted) and there’s a kit room to leave your riding gear, it costs £2.
