I'll be honest with you - it took us a while to find the "perfect" placement home for a long term test of this quad.

This is not a high-performance machine. It's relatively small and boxy, you sit up very straight and not very aggressive. Which makes it perfect for a beginning to moderate rider, large child or small adult. It's a great compliment to the family that goes to the dunes or the trails and dad takes off for the day racing around with the "men", and leaves mom behind with the kids. It's perfect for having around when company come over and want to spend the afternoon playing on ATVs with you and you don't want to spend an hour on a "How to start it" lesson.

We initially didn't like the placement and style of the shifter - it's rather down behind your leg and out of view. However, even beginning riders got the hang of it quickly.

Clear simple controls mean you'll be up and riding quickly, with electric start and even reverse.

What our Reviewers Had to Say

Thumbs Up: The Kymco was sized very well for a 150cc. Most quads at this size are usually very small. A rider of 16 years of age or older could ride this without bumping their knees, being cramped or looking like they should be riding something bigger. The 150cc 4-stroke motor felt very strong for its size and ran comparably smooth to the Japanese manufacturers. The quad has reverse and that does come in handy. All the controls seemed to be in the right place and easy enough to use.

On a power test of the Kymco compared to a Bombardier Rally 200, we started both quads at a fair incline on a mildly slick grassy hill. Surprisingly, the Kymco had no problem taking off and climbing up the grade with a 205 pound adult. The Bombardier could not climb the incline without a reasonable run at it.

What can we say - if it will haul THIS fella around, your wife will be zipping around the field in no time!

A rather surprising heavy-duty axle sits underneath the MXer - six months of abuse, no bends or breaks

Thumbs Down: This particular quad seemed to take an extended amount of time to warm up before it could be driven, however once it did warm up it was fine. The safety features worked so well that it did take more time to learn how to start and drive to bike. The Kymco would not start unless it was in neutral, and couldn't be shifted into forward or reverse unless the brake lever on the left side of the handlebar was applied. This sometimes made it hard for a small rider to reach the brake and the shifter, which is on the right side down next to the motor, at the same time. The suspension seemed too stiff for a lightweight rider. Over a short time it seemed that nuts and bolts would disappear. A constant check to make sure nothing is missing is a must.

Overall Impression / Comments: My overall impression of the Kymco is that the quality does lack behind other manufacturers but it is getting close. In fact, it has some features that I liked better than those competitors. It is a good quad for a beginner. Just keep checking for missing nuts….

Press Release - August 2002

Check out other Kymco ATVs for little riders
STR Bumble Beast 50 and STR Stinger XL90

U.S. Kymco Distributor
STR Motorsports
1770 Campton Rd.
Inman, SC 29349
Telephone (800) 845-7007
www.STRMotorsports.com
atvdealer@strmotorsports.com