Kingly journey... Review on Kinetic King 100

Hi all,

I am a new member to this site and I start my interaction with this review.

I bought a black King100 in december 2005. It was my new experience of riding geared bike. I come to the point straight away. The bike is powered by a 100cc 5.1 hp engine of KINETIC reputation(remember... K4100-->105 kmpl and NOVA-->68 kmpl, both on a Kashmir2Kanyakumari shootout?, and also the KINETIC BOSS that delivers a minimum of 75 and max. 87 kmpl), so I had no doubts about it's mileage and performance.

My findings :

The engine is responsive : Kick start, step up to 1st gear and slip the clutch, the bike almost jumps, as like the LML FREEDOM, another gem of a bike.

Gears are easy : Both to find and to operate. But sometimes fell into 2nd directly during pickup.

Suspension is .. : Well, it can't be a smooth suspension provided for a vehicle that is made to carry a luggage of max.210 KG!

Seat : As flat as it should be, ideal for long drives.

Tyres : Well, almost no problems, I filled them with air only twice in these 3 months, against the recommended period of 2 weeks.

Electricals : The circuit is AC, that's there's no battery. Head lamp has a ''OFF, LOW and HIGH'' beam switch. The turn indicators DO NOT have a BEEPER(as standard fittment). The horn switch is not sensitive, you have to push it deep to hear it sing, and it sings loudly!, very loud and MELODIOUS horn indeed.

Performance : It takes almost 8 secs to touch 40 kph. Slow indeed, but cruises along, if revved to touch >40 kph. It jerks and stalls at speed <25 in top gear, as almost economisers do. Top speed is around 75, I did not cross that mark, as it was still UNDER WARRANTY. Handles curves easily.

MILEAGE : Well, this was the CORRIDOR OF UNCERTAINTY, as the bike delivered around 55 kmpl in city before 1st servicing, and dropped to 45. This was because, I had insisted on pickup, and the carburetter was rich-tuned. Understanding the value of rupee, I again requested to lean tune the carb and now, I'm a proud rider of a kingly KING100, that delivers around 82 kmpl of KINGLY mileage in city for single(<60kg) and no less than 68 kmpl for double ride(125 kg). The bike needs to be kept in 3rd gear while traversing upslope, both single and double ride.

Looks : Neat, simple graphics on the black pain on my vehicle, and the bottom side fairing attatched to the cusped fuel tank, adds some more makeup, like that of an elbow-guard for a batsman's leading arm. The fuel tank has a cusp, that adds a better look for a bulky tank that would otherwise look bald.

Fuel tank : 9 litres capacity(8+1 litres)

Brakes : Adequate for city ride and two onboard, considering the top speed and great LET.

Altogether, a nice, neat package for economy-minded and those who want to star their own business with a capital of around 55K to 60 K, can own this bike, costs only around 27k(in Karnataka, don't know in other states).

This bike symbolizes ultimate economy.

Date : 25 January, 2007.

More from my Keypad....

After all the 4 free and 2 paid services have been done, this is my feedback about my bike[or moped or mobike, or whatever it is..]. It is consistent in mileage, which I have asked for ..around 74+ in the light traffic of Mysore. I took it to the Ring road, a nice and long stretch of hi-way, and the average went up to 84+, as it was expected.

Some more surprises were there. The Showroom guy suggested to use IFTEX, from Bharat petroleum, an additive that was supposed to improve performance and average, as it wa on it's label. The result was mixed. Even for the fine tuning[it wud go off when I applied clutch and released the throttle, such fine tuning and idling], the additive was like a tonic, the engine still running, silkened pickup, and topspeed that rose to 80 kmph, from original 75. But the mileage dropped drastically, to 55. But my uncle who owns a PEP, claimed that the mileage went up to 58-60, from 44.

I am not able to understand this anomaly, even the service guys and the dealer hmself, could not explain.

Overall, it is an enjoyable experience on an economy bike, to get both good torque for load and mileage for ride.

More to come...