Kymco Spade 150 and K-Pipe 125: Small Motorcycles, Big Fun
Kymcos fun and small two single-cylinder motorcycles, the Spade and the K-Pipe, suit a variety of riders’ tastes.
Kymcos fun and small two single-cylinder motorcycles, the Spade and the K-Pipe, suit a variety of riders’ tastes.
When we hear of a motorcycle with a 250cc engine, we think of a small underpowered two-wheeler for inexperienced beginners. Well, the newest motorcycle to roll into Suzuki’s dealerships turns that conventional thinking upside down.
The Honda Rebel is a popular choice among entry-level street riders because it’s a highly manageable 250cc motorcycle with classic cruiser styling that has enduring appeal. The bike is also comfortable, light in weight and easy to maneuver—that’s why it’s the ride of choice for many motorcycle-training facilities across the United States.
To say that my history with motorcycles was minimal would be an understatement. I had never ridden “anything,” and 26 years ago had ridden on a bike as a passenger for about an hour. My husband, Mike, rides bikes and has raced dirt bikes his entire life. When he retired, and a girl friend of mine got her motorcycling license, I decided to take the leap and work towards getting mine.
Kawasakis Ninja 250R has long been a popular choice for beginning riders who prefer the look of a sportbike but like a comfortable sit-up seating position. The smallest Ninja has been replaced for 2013 with a new 300cc platform featuring a slew of updates that promise the novice plenty of rideability and two-wheeled excitement to foster the learning process while ensuring the bike won’t be quickly outgrown.
Sensible riders cut their motorcycle teeth on an easy-to-ride, small-displacement bike, but as skill and confidence grow, so does the hunger for a bigger motorcycle. Many of these little trainer motorcycles that are so accommodating at parking lot speeds lose their composure on the highway, if they can reach highway speeds at all.
Now more than any other time in history, women are taking up motorcycle riding in record numbers. If you’ve found your way to this page because youre a woman thinking of getting into the sport, youre certainly not alone—one in four motorcycle riders on the road today is a woman!
Pure fun—that’s how I describe my time test riding CSC Motorcycles’ 150cc bike. At first glance, you’d think the 240-pound two-wheeler is a scooter, but look again. It has a motorcycle-style frame (versus the step-through frame of a scooter) and a 5-speed manual transmission with a clutch that the rider must actuate to shift gears (versus the automatic transmission of a scooter).
After sitting on the Kawasaki ER-6n and then taking it for a test ride, I knew instantly that this all-new motorcycle, introduced in model year 2009, has that special quality that will (and is) attracting lots of women riders.
Harley-Davidson is unveiling a brand new Sportster today and Women Riders Now has an exclusive review. The Sportster 883L SuperLow redefines the ride of the Sportster as we know it. WRN editor Genevieve Schmitt is the first online journalist to spend an entire day riding the SuperLow in an exclusive test ride.