The 250 B&W, which, in typical comical scooter parlance, stands for Bet and Win, is an upmarket scooter with all mod cons. But how does it rate? CARtoday.com takes a look.
Somewhere upmarket from the small scooters in the Kymco range, lies the 250 B&W which, in typical comical scooter parlance, stands for Bet and Win. Wonder if BMW was upset about that name?
It is, in a nutshell, your standard format scooter, but somewhat larger than most with a much bigger engine than normally found on step throughs. The powerplant is, unfortunately perhaps, not the Vee twin from the Venox cruiser, which would have been a tight squeeze in a step-through frame. Instead, a single cylinder, liquid cooled, four-stroke provides the power, a claimed 14,5 kW.
So what do you get for your increased power output? Well, don’t expect to compare this steed with its smaller brother, the Cobra 100, and expect one and a half times the performance. The Cobra has a high performance two-stroke engine while the B&W 250’s four-stroke engine is more tuned towards fuel economy than outright performance. So much so that, while the Cobra chewed its way through five litres of fuel in a mere 100 km, the B&W 250 refused to move off the full mark after 100 km.
We did not have the opportunity to conduct a tank-to-tank test, but economy should be good and most definitely much better than the smaller two-stroke offerings. The engine needs some blips of the throttle when starting from cold, but after a few seconds, idles easily with some, quite pleasant, low frequency vibes that smooth out completely once the centrifugal clutch has bitten.
Acceleration was similar to the Cobra but the top speed was significantly higher, 130 km/h being reached at 7 000 r/min using a semi crouching position (as much as was possible given that the handlebars are rather close to one’s body, resulting in a sit up and beg riding style). Stability was good at this speed, thanks to the long wheelbase and the 12-inch wheels.
An upmarket approach is adopted as far as styling is concerned and colour schemes bear this out, the two choices being silver or charcoal. Overall quality looks good and all parts appear well finished. The seat is large and particularly comfortable for two-up riding, while for solo stints, the step in the seat prevents one from moving back to achieve a “leaning forward attitude”.
The seat opens via the ignition key to reveal the storage compartment, large enough for a helmet and some extras, handy for carrying extra clothing or a rain suit in case of a sudden weather change. A load area is also provided behind the seat for additional luggage storage. The suspension is quite hard for solo use but improves two-up.
Perhaps the most impressive feature is the instrument panel, which would put most cars to shame. In the centre is an analogue speedometer and odo (no trip meter is provided). The rest is digital and includes a rev counter, fuel gauge, battery voltage, coolant temperature, clock and finally, ambient temperature. The usual warning lights complete the picture and the panel is backlit in green for nighttime vision.
It’s an upmarket scooter with all mod cons, a serious top end and four-stroke economy. Unfortunately, the price is also seriously upmarket at R31 599, so it’s bound to be exclusive.
Keep checking up on prices, since with the rand’s appreciation, it is just possible that prices may come down, or is that just wishful thinking?
Thanks to Viva International and Motech Motorcycles in Bellville for supplying the test bike.
