Kymco Myroad 700oi first ride

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Quick review of a used 2012 Kymco Myroad test ride in Shanghai, China recently... yes a real test ride on a motorised 'bike' from a dealer in China that is not a BMW Motorrad store. Amazing that in itself.

Rode a used/second hand 2012 Kymco Myroad700i with mileage of approx 23000km being offered for sale at a Kymco dealer shop in Shanghai, last weekend while in the city for my wife's cousins wedding. The previous owner of the scoot was a local Shanghai cop, who supposedly had had the scoot serviced and otherwise well maintained. Rule of thumb is in PRC, the locals will tell you anything you care to hear, even blatantly lying to part you/me with our moolah/cash.

First impressions...

Found the Myroad700i to appear to have a narrower frontal profile both in terms of aesthetics and also while sitting in the pilot seat compared with the Burgman650's with which I'm very familar having owned three, a K4, K7 and a shiny new L4 all exec models. The Myroad's back end is bulbous but is more pleasing to the eye given the sharper angular lines when compared with the K3-L2 Burgman650 rounded whale tail IMO, not that I complain about the Burgy whale tail or lardy as some affectionately refer to the big Burgy back end as. The newer remodelled AN650L3+ take away the rounded lines though so there is less of the Lardy on the latest Burgman650's. The Myroad was actually quite pleasing to the eye as compared to what some reviewers have mentioned elsewhere. This Myroad was a white coloured scooter too, as other Myroad reviewers have mentioned, though for some white is not an attractive colour, however various research studies from vehicle insurance industry sectors and crash statistics would suggest white is the better colour choice to be conspicuous and consequently has less numbers in various crash statistics. A number of my scoots are white, and it's my preferred colour for a scoot at least and many motorcycles.

The stacked headlights design employed on the Myraod were interesting choice, when switched on (yes, switchable headlights) the low beam LHS switch activates the two headlights (side-by-side at the top) while the highbeam switch activates the single headlight filament (below), so there are three headlights in a inverted triangular pattern. If the low beam lights are on when the 'flash-to-pass' is activated, then the high beam light illuminates together, effectively making all three headlights illuminate. The lights also include a pair of parklights, and the lights themselves can be switched 'off-park-on' via the RHS handle bar switch cluster. Of towards the sides or outer edges of the front fairing (tupperware) are two rectangualr clear lenses/lights that encompass a series of LED's which serve as the indicators. Too bad these don't serve a dual function as LED day-lights as they have prominence and would provide a visual profile of the scoot.

There are storage compartments in the front dash which are deep. The right side of the dash area is where the petrol refill is located. There is also a plastic hook placed middle of the tunnel just down from the handle bars, that could be utilised for carrying/hanging shopping bags. The tunnel is raised somewhat meaning the tunnel floor is not flat like some scoots. There is what appears to be an access panel on the tunnel hump - which according to the manual is to access the spark plug (much easier than the method required to access the spark plugs on a Burgman650.
Valve adjustment require shims).

The Myroad underseat storage is narrower then the Burgman650 but perhaps fractionally longer though I didn't measure this, not sure how deep the storage is either. The storage area doesn't have a flat floor and looks as though it is designed to fit two helmets and that is partially what the storage floor pan has recesses for IMO. It has an always on LED underseat light when the seat is raised (so no standard off/on switch for the underseat light like the Burgman650 seat), there's also a electrical auto accessory socket. Removing the underseat storage felt lining one then can remove a panel in the RHS 'wall' of the underseat storage bin, and access the battery. At the front of the seat there is a cubby with lid for small items e.g. small phone, changes etc.

The test ride was a simple affair, just around the block on wet roads. If the roads had been dry I would have ridden a bit further and for longer, so these are really just first impressions of the Myroad at this point.

Don't recall any wind buffeting from the front screen which is manually adjustable, but then my ride was not far nor long, so I'd reserve that conclusion or view. I'm 183cm (5'11' -ish) with a 32 in-seam and did not find the frontal area cramped, and my knees didn't feel jammed against the frontal plastics, as some reviewers of the Myroad seem to complain about. I think scooter reviews should be undertaken and written by scooter riders, much in the same way as trail/DS/track/ADV rides should be reviewed by competent riders of that particular category etc. So to my mind I pay little attention to what a MC magazine reviewer has to say about a particular make/model, but also I read widely and often to get a sense of a bikes/scoots attributes or otherwise. YMMV.

The Myroad had a Kymco topbox with integrated brake light(s) which set the scoot up nice visually. Headlights seemed more than adequate, but the ignition switch would take a little rider training to get familiar with how it activates certain functions (seat, gas cap access). I didn't find the reach to the bars an issue. Easy reach to all handle bar switchgear with the usual configuration for the most part but the RHS handle bar switch gear also includes a button for the electrically adjustable suspension which I didn't try.The turning indicators had a nice reassuring audible clicking sound on each flash of the indicators, unsure if this feature is factory standard or added by the first/previous owner and I don't know if they have an auto cancel feature or not.

The plastics especially on the underside of the pillion foot rests and the tunnel looked a little tired, but then this is normal routine apathy on the part of most dealers with second hand stock as I've experienced in my more than a decade of residing and all things motorcycling in PRC, no real detailing as such other maybe a wash. A little product application/treatment to the plastics to buff them up and get them shiny would do a lot for the appearance of the scoot. As for the pillion foot rests (released via a front dash release lever), the underside which I think was like a painted grey had worn on the edges so that the plastic underneath the paint surface was showing through. Nothing a bit of touch up wouldn't be able to handle. Again it depends on the previous owners use and care, and also that of the dealer in prep-ping the scoot for resale. The more external plastics or tupperware looked pretty good for the age of the scoot... nothing obvious or alarming. underneath the LHS foot floorboard is housed the engine coolant reservoir.

The scoots ride itself was nice, responsive as much as any other maxi scooter I own or ridden, though without my own Burgy650 or Jetmax there at the time to ride back to back, it's difficult to make any conclusive comparison. Seat was comfortable enough, if I owned the Myroad I might have a different opinion once able to explore different terrain. The dual tone horn was loud. The dash display was great to read with everything and then some all found somewhere on the dash (clock, two trip-meters, odometer, ability to switch from miles/km's, ambient temp reading, service reminder with a set of rest/adjustment buttons to control the displayed info). Usual array of switches or buttons on the handlebar switch gear, nothing I can recall being phased about. Handle bar mounted rear-view mirrors, which worked okay on my short ride. Both handle bar mounted brake levers are adjustable for play and span of the levers. The scoot has ABS as standard, front wheel is 15" and read wheel is 14" with a separate wheel mudguard cover. Tyre size: front 120/70-R15 Tyre size: rear 160/60-R14.
The air filter element is located on the LHS swingarm which provides some better access than some comparable scoots, but does add clutter round the rear wheel IMO. Crankcase breather hose exits just in front of the centre stand, which was easy to get the scoot up on to. Park brake located within the RHS front leg shield.

Oil filter: HF-147

I kind of like the simplicity of the CVT (variator with weights/rollers, final drive belt) which are likely much easier to deal with for a wrench hand who prefers to do his own preventative maintenance or has to due to lack of competent real mechanics locally, as compared with the complexity of the Burgman650 CVT as an example. Any local half competent in PRC doesn't stay in the trenches long in any field, it's either promotion or they go work for themselves.

The new Myroad PRC MSRP is CNY108-118K plus tax at 8% as well as registration fees.

I'm likely to head back to Shanghai (6 hour round trip via the Expressway by car or else it's a 12-14 hour round trip by bike which are banned from local Expressway access) this coming week to take another look and ride on the Myroad so I'll get some photos and update this first impression.

Hi Doc
Thank you for posting a very detailed review from you "fist impression" the bike looks great and I am sure if it ticks all the boxs the Doc with have to make some room in his garage
:scooter::scooter::scooter:

Thanks for posting your detailed review. I am actually thinking of pxing my 650TR for. Kymco Downtown 300i... Anyone on the forum own one or has any experience of one... Also considering the Xciting 400i although not ridden either of them as yet

The Kymco Downtown has been available for a couple of years so there are lots more forum threads on the model, while the 400 has only been available the past 6mth or so. The 400cc is available here in PRC at CNY78K plus tax. The reviews have been pretty good... power to weight ratio actually better than the Myroad 700i... and the 400cc has ABS too. A number of scooter forums e.g. try maxi-scooters.com kymcoforum.com burgmanUSA.com (look at the 'other' scooter section) also ADVrider.com (battle scooters section) just to name a few. There are others, but these should get you started. I do like cc's though and so I'd didn't really get into the Downtown as much as I would and have considered the 400.

Nice review bikerdoc. Would be interested to hear more about this bike when you have re-visited the shop and tested it again. I sold my Majesty 400 last month and upgraded to Honda Silverwing 600 ABS. The best decision i made with bikes. Its an awesome bike, the twin cyclinder is so smoooth and responsive with plenty of power.
We are planning on having another bike trip to ningbo end of the month to eat at the new glolondon restaurant. The one in Shanghai is awesome but Ningbo is closer to Taizhou so we will pop over for a night with some biker buddies. Will give you a call to see if your around to join us.