+ Click to Enlarge ODD STYLING MIX: From some viewpoints the combination of retro chassis and rounded modern cosmetic doesn't quite gel but the fit and finish is good.

February 10, 2003
By Dave Abrahams

Basic little motorcycles are out of fashion these days – the role seems to have been taken over by the hordes of single-speed scooters infesting the world's roads – but there are things that a real motorcycle, even a very small one, can do that a mini-wheeler simply can’t.

For instance, it will teach a rookie rider that finely judged control by clutch fingers and throttle wrist produces a perfectly balanced, butter-smooth take-off. It will teach you how to turn into a corner with the brakes still on and how to change down at the apex for the best possible drive on the exit.

It will teach you the dozens of little skills you need to make you a motorcyclist and teach you just how satisfying it is to get them just right. Fortunately, there are still a few basic little motorcycles out there and Kymco's 125 Pulsar is one such.

It's also not so basic: for R16 500 you get an electric starter, front disc brake, alloy wheels, decent lights and full instrumentation. What you don't get is screaming performance; there are 125cc race replicas that'll do 180km/h – this one redlines at half that.

With just 7kW on tap, you learn to make the best use of its power delivery, how to make it work for you without stressing it.

And that will stand you in good stead no matter what you ride.

The Pulsar is a product of the well-established Kwang Yang Motor Co, based in Kaohsiung on the Beautiful Isle. The company is better known for a robust variety of scooters but of late has expanded with an interesting range of "real motorcycles", including the Venox 250cc cruiser recently reviewed by IOL.

The motor seems to be based on Honda's 30-year-old CG125 pushrod single; not a bad choice as it has a well-deserved reputation for indestructibility.

The barrel and head in particular are dead-ringers for the Honda stuff although the engine's outer casings have sharply modern chiselled edges and, of course, a neat little electric starter nestled under the old-fashioned 24mm carburettor.

It's interesting to note that Kymco is one of few manufacturers that produce their own carbs; making carburettors requires precision casting of a level seldom achieved in the automotive industry and indicates a considerable level of competence at Kwang Yang.

The makers claim 7kW for the 56.5x49.5mm bore/stroke mill at a conservative 8500rpm. That's fine, but at anything over eight the motor vibrates unpleasantly, particularly through the foot-peg brackets, which are bolted directly to the bottom of the motor in authentic 1960s style.

So you soon relax into a 7800rpm cruise, at just under 90km/h, which gives you time to look at the scenery and gets you there in an unexpectedly mellow frame of mind.

(It cuts both ways, though; when I returned the Pulsar to Cape Town Kymco dealer Nick Viljoen and jumped straight back on to my 750cc sport bike - which does 90 in first gear! - I scared myself witless for the first few minutes because I wasn't ready for everything happening so quickly.)

But that's not the Pulsar's fault; if you short-shift at the torque peak just under 7000rpm, it'll get you up to 80km/h in short order, well ahead of the gent in the Corolla reading his morning paper as he drives to work (I'm not kidding!).

Its acceleration is quite spunky in the lower gears but unless you rev its nuts off it becomes lazy above the old American speed limit of 88km/h - 55mph to you, Cyril.

Just once, on a national road, I got down on the tank with my nose between the clocks and screwed it wide open. On the flat, in still air, it slowly built up to an indicated 115km/h at 9800rpm, nearly a thousand into the red zone, with the motor buzzing like a chainsaw on steroids.

Didn't do it any harm, though I wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis.

The clutch is well up to the demands of stop-start city traffic; it gets grabby when hot, as do most lightweight clutches, but refuses to squeal or judder. It only needed adjustment once during our test.

The gearbox is probably the Pulsar's weakest point; as on the company's earlier Stryker 125cc scrambler, it's notchy on the way up and sometimes downright difficult on the way down.

Both are acceptable at higher revs but below 3000rpm the box sometimes refuses to change down at all and whatever gear you stop in is the gear you'll go away with – it won't shift down at a standstill for any money.

This makes neutral elusive, especially when standing still, like many a classic Italian sport bike of the 1980s, and you soon learn to pop it into neutral before you come to a stop.

There's also some drive-line lash, mostly in the final drive, which manifests itself as a little jerk in the left footpeg when you open the throttle suddenly, even with the chain tension correctly adjusted. Perhaps re-torquing the engine mounting bolts would help, although I didn't regard it as a problem – it was just there.

Retro chassis

The frame is also a Honda clone, the familiar open-cradle tubular steel backbone of two generations of Benlys and CGs. The welds are neat and all the bolts are cadmium-plated, with retro-look eyebolts to tension the chain.

It even has the pillion pegs mounted on the swing-arm like a Harley-Davidson Sportster – which is not a compliment to the Kymco.

The suspension is conventional, with 31mm non-adjustable forks in front and a pair of no-name-brand chrome-plated shocks, adjustable for preload only, at the back. Like that of the old CG125, the running gear is oversprung and underdamped, making its action harsh and jarring around town but lending much-needed stability when cruising.

Historical note: regarded as a little spindly for even a 125 by today's standards, the 31mm fork stanchions are the same diameter as those on the original Honda GL1000 Gold Wing tourer of 1974 – and if that doesn't give you the cold shivers, it should; the Wing weighed more than 225kg.

The Pulsar's suspension, however copes well with 7kW. I was unable to make it misbehave within the limits of the spindly tyres and, beyond a slight wallowing on long bumpy sweeps, it's stable at the speeds for which it was built.

Nevertheless, with a cobby 1260mm wheelbase and low centre of effort, it's impressively agile at traffic speeds, turning in like a cat after a squirrel and happily out-manoeuvring a delivery Vespa through the evening gridlock.

Although it lacks the grunt to shoot through unexpected gaps, with its narrow chassis and tiny turning circle there are few through which it won't squeeze.

Braking is entrusted to a neat 240mm disc with a twin-piston calliper on the front wheel and a 150mm single-leading shoe drum at the back. It's probably more than it needs, considering the Pulsar's dry weight of 111kg, although the front wheel doesn't lock easily.

The firm suspension also prevents excessive nose-dive; in this respect the chassis' capabilities are remarkably well balanced.

Mixed styling cues

The styling is a slightly oddball mixture of classic single and rounded modern; there's a round chromed headlight, two white-faced clocks in chromed pods spaced well apart a la BSA or Norton (c.1965) and a long, straight-tapered chromed exhaust running almost parallel to the road.

It all contrasted with a blobby little fuel tank, bulbous side covers and an oddly curved little carrier that includes moulded-in grab handles in the modern idiom.

The wheels are beautifully cast in light alloy, five S-shaped spokes each, both lighter and stiffer than the old-fashioned wire wheels so beloved of Americans – who pay experts called detailers to clean their bikes.

The seat is a deeply curved and upholstered section that creates a well-defined "waist" in the bike's mid-section; unfortunately it's very thinly padded and, at first acquaintance, it was like sitting on a plastic plank.

After several hundred clicks, however, I didn't notice it any more – I suppose it's one of those things you get used to, the same as the long, curved rear-brake pedal cloned from an old Suzuki that comes perilously close to decking during even moderate cornering.

The seating position is surprisingly roomy, considering the bike's compact overall dimensions, with the rider leaning just a little bit forward and the slightly raised handle-bars falling neatly to hand. Certainly I never felt cramped, even on journeys of up to an hour, although the lack of squirming room on the saddle led to the early onset of the dreaded Num Bum Syndrome.

The major disadvantage of putting modern bodywork on a retro chassis is that you can't reach some parts of the motor; in time-honoured fashion a lever on the carburettor operates the choke (without which the Pulsar will not start, even on a warm morning).

To operate it one must squat by the bike and fiddle under the side panel, at some risk of scorching fingers when the motor's hot.

The fuel tap, fortunately, is much more accessible in the corner between the tank and the side panel.

The instrument panel is best I've seen on a budget bike; the two analogue clocks are large and clear with red needles and emerald-green lettering on white backgrounds. Between them is a gear position indicator that, unlike the examples fitted to Suzukis two decades ago, includes an icon for neutral.

With the Pulsar's recalcitrant gearshift and necessarily short gearing this is not a gimmick – you definitely need to check which gear you're in.

The switchgear is well up to modern standards – with the unexpected omission of a kill-switch. That doesn't bother me - I don't like 'em and scooters never have them anyway but they are required by law in some countries.

Kymco's Pulsar is a praiseworthy attempt to build a budget bike by combining proven mechanicals and modern styling in a solid package. It's not a road rocket but it's robust and well equipped, including both side and centre stands.

Fit and finish are commendable for an entry-level vehicle and it uses less than 3.3 litres/100km..

Test bike from Mototech, Cape Town.

Price: R16 495.

Click here to use Motoring.co.za's repayments calculator.

KYMCO PULSAR 125
SPECIFICATIONS

Motor: Air-cooled, four-stroke single.
Capacity: 124.1cc.
Bore x stroke: 56.5 x 49.5mm.
Valvegear: Pushrod with two overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 9:1.
Power: 7kW at 8500rpm.
Torque: 9.35Nm at 7000rpm.
Induction: 20mm Kymco slide carburettor.
Ignition: CDI.
Starting: Electric and kick.
Clutch: Cable-operated, multiplate wet clutch.
Transmission: Five-speed constant mesh gearbox with chain final drive.
Suspension: Kymco 31mm conventional cartridge forks at front, twin hydraulic shock-absorbers adjustable for preload at rear.
Brakes: 240mm disc with twin-piston floating calliper front, 150mm single-leading shoe drum brake rear.
Tyres: Front: 2.75-18 tubeless. Rear: 3.25-17 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1260mm.
Seat height: 770mm.
Dry weight: 111kg.
Fuel capacity: 13 litres.
Price: R16 495.

Click here to use Motoring.co.za's repayments calculator.