+ Click to Enlarge CUTE AND CLEVER: The Zongshen ZS125 is the first scooter with a remote-controlled alarm and immobiliser. Pictures: DAVE ABRAHAMS

January 27, 2003
By Dave Abrahams

With dozens of manufacturers the world over turning out literally hundreds of similar models every year it's very difficult for any scooter maker to come up with a really different miniwheeler, particularly under the price constraints of the cut-throat world market.

Nonetheless, Chinese engineering firm Zongshen has brought to market a uniquely featured single-speeder – at the cost of a few rand's worth of electronics.

The ZS125 Dragon is the first scooter (as far as I can ascertain, even the first motorcycle) with a remote-operated immobiliser and alarm. Each scooter comes with a little transponder, very similar to those in modern cars, as well as the more commonplace ignition keys.

Press the "lock" key once and the bike won't start, even with the key, and the alarm is set; if someone shakes the bike a loud beeper sounds four times, as if to say, "Don't mess with me". Shake the ZS again within 15 seconds and all hell breaks loose as an ear-splitting police-type siren goes off, wailing and yelping like something out of an American TV series.

I tried it once –it was enough.

Press the "unlock" key, insert the key and the bike will start in the normal way, except that a distinctly sexy Chinese lady's voice from somewhere inside the instrument panel says "Hello! Welcome to ride on the Zongshen moto!"

When you switch off the bike the same lady, sounding just a little bereft, reminds you, "Please use immobiliser to prevent burglary". It's the first bike that's ever talked to me.

But keep the keys in your pocket, push the button with the lightning logo twice in rapid succession – and the bike starts, all by itself! It won't fire first thing in the morning; it needs a bit of throttle to start when it's ice-cold but once it's halfway warm, you can start it from anything up to six metres away (to the astonishment of passers-by) and walk up to it pulling on your gloves as if to the manner born.

I caused a near-riot among street vendors in downtown Cape Town by telling the Zongshen firmly (with one hand in my jacket pocket), "Come on, let's go home," climbing aboard and pulling away. The possibilities are endless.

But then, when you get home, how do you switch it off, with no kill switch, the ignition off and the key out? Just hit the "unlock" button, and the engine simply stops.

And, to quote the maker's delightful instruction manual verbatim:

"If the motorcycle is burglarised by any robber in riding, press the button "lock" in the critical danger, then the motorcycle will be extinguished and the speaker will begin to beep sharply, and the direction lights will flash continuously.

"At the same time, the engine cannot be restarted in the locked condition, and the robbers are forced to run away leaving the motorcycle"

By modern electronics standards, the whole system is neither complex nor expensive; a lot of hand-held kids' games have more sophisticated functions. But in terms of security in Third World countries (including ours) where scooters are prime targets for affirmative shopping, it's no gimmick.

It's also a whole lotta fun – so much so that when I arrived to fetch the demo unit its battery was flat because the staff at the distributors had parked it on the pavement and used the remote to make it beep suggestively at every pretty girl walking by.

No matter, a few quick prods on the kick starter soon had it going and by the time I got home there were enough amps in the 7ah battery to operate the system.

And so to the nuts and bolts: the Zongshen ZS125 Dragon has a low-revving, fan-cooled 125cc four-stroke single rated for an uninspiring 5.2kW at 7500rpm. The motor is a built-in unit with conventional CVT transmission and the whole drive-train pivots with the rear suspension, just as on every scooter since the first Vespa in 1947.

Zongshen claims the ZS125 will reach 90km/h; well, with my 104kg on board, it needs some help from either a following wind or a slope to get there. On the flat, in still air, the best the test bike will do is 85.5km/h. I grant you, this perky little city bike is aimed more at teenagers weighing about half as much as I do; in my hands it averaged 3.6 litres/100km.

Accompanied by ribald comments, local distributor Owen Roberts claimed that with a more suitably sized pilot at the helm it'll use less than three.

The well-damped little single-cam motor spins up quickly but loses impetus as the centrifugal clutch bites. Initial acceleration is a little underwhelming but picks up as the revs build; above 20km/h the Zongshen will hold its own in city traffic. Vibration is confined to a little rumbling on overrun and, thanks to a neat electronic choke, the bike will idle reliably, hot or cold.

It's housed in a conventional J-shaped "underbone" frame, with extensions for the side- and main-stand mounting pivot. The suspension is very straightforward as well, with telescopic forks in front and a single hydraulic damper, adjustable for preload only, on the final-drive casing.

Both ends are a little firmer than I am used to on miniwheelers (other than the Italian hotshots) and the Zongshen suffers from very little nose-dive even under hard braking. That's something of a relative term; the ZS125 has a miniature version of what used to be known in the 1930s as an accumulator – this is actually the first one I have seen.

Its purpose is to prevent the front wheel from locking when a nervous (or untrained) rider grabs a handful at low speed by diverting some of the hydraulic pressure into a separate chamber with a spring-loaded plunger. As soon as the spring bottoms out, of course, the brakes work as normal, although with very little feel.

Still, the 140mm stainless-steel disk with twin-piston floating calliper has enough muscle to make the chunky front tyre howl in protest on a firm surface.

The rear brake is a traditional single-leading shoe drum, fully enclosed within the rear hub; the design hasn't changed since the First World War but still works well and has the inestimable advantage of being unaffected by rain. Since all scooters have a distinct rearwards weight bias, the back brake is more important than on conventional motorcycles and is often deliberately made more powerful.

In this example, both stoppers are more than adequate and together they haul down the ZS like it's run into wet cement.

With its combination of short wheelbase and firm suspension and chunky tyres, the Zongshen should be able to corner like a kitten chasing its own tail; while it's eminently chuckable, it suffers from a dire lack of ground clearance. The main-stand grounds on both sides at very conservative angles of lean, as does the side-stand on the left.

You don't have to be riding hard at all to lay down impressive rooster-tails and if you get heavy-handed with it you can unload the rear suspension and induce rear wheel chatter.

The problem seems to be that neither stand retracts far enough; Roberts mentioned that he had already contacted the factory with a view to introducing modified stand brackets that will stow them closer to the chassis, out of harm's way – which would certainly help to unlock the bike's potential for sprightly handling.

The ZS125's saddle slopes quite sharply towards the front and the step between the seats is rather too far forward; the net effect is that taller riders find their knees constantly bumping against the lid of the cubby-hole built into the leg-shield.

It's relatively simple to correct by removing the upholstery, cutting the top of the foam padding to be more level and re-stapling the seat-cover, but if Zongshen wants to compete on the world stage with their cute little scooter, it would do well to address this point in-house.

The Zongshen's styling is busy, with more little plates, nooks and crannies than European tastes prefer, but everything fits neatly. It's finished in blue and silver, with self-coloured (and therefore scratchproof) black plastic panels in areas where careless riders' shoes are likely to scuff.

It even comes with a carpet in the footwell (removable for cleaning) and a sturdy alloy carrier over the tail light. There is a very neat little top-box available as a R500 optional extra which will hold a full-face helmet; that's important, as you'll see.

Unlock the saddle with the ignition key and the seat comes up by itself with aid of a neat little gas strut, revealing the cap for the 5.5-litre fuel tank and a fully carpeted helmet-shaped storage compartment.

Unfortunately the gas strut gets in the way and prevents the seat from closing with a helmet in there – which is why you need the top box if you don't want to carry your brain-bin around with you.

In contrast to the body panels, the switchgear and instruments are so restrained as to look almost Swedish in their austere simplicity. The single oval panel houses a speedo and fuel gauge, both analogue, and three warning lights, on a plain light-blue background, clean and easy to read.

The chunky switchgear is built into the handlebar covers, making it both cheaper and easier to work on.

The cubby can be locked with the ignition key and there are hooks for handbags or shopping bags, one high up on the leg-shield and the other on the front of the saddle, emphasising the workhorse role for which this practical little scooter is intended.

But it also has a lot of cute, fun and clever features that lift it out of the ordinary; with its ground clearance sorted and the saddle reshaped, it'll be a worthy and distinctive player in the world market.

Test bike from SA distributors Owen Roberts Motorcycles in Claremont, Cape Town.

Price: R14 995 (R15 495 with top box).

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RECOMMENDED: The optional top box is well worth having – if only as a place to store your helmet when you're not riding the Dragon.
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