The Hindu Business Line : Will Kinetic set the roads aBlaze?

The Kinetic Blaze is nothing like any scooter seen till now in India — it is clearly the biggest, tallest and longest to roll out of an Indian factory. And to say that the Blaze is a looker is an understatement.

The scooter segment of the two-wheeler market is shrinking every year and could eventually become just a niche product category, even as the motorcycle continues to dominate.

Gearless scooterettes and step-thrus had gained in popularity during the last 4-5 years. But even their run could be affected in the next few years going by the current slowdown in demand for such two-wheelers and with the possibility of fuel prices going up further; their relative fuel-inefficiency is not going to augur well for their demand.

So, what should scooter manufacturers be doing to try retain some of the market share in this segment? `Glamourise, Oversize and Categorise' scooters to make them appealing for niche, performance-oriented young buyers.

Simply put, make them macho, sinuous and everything in between in terms of design and peppy performance to attract the emerging class of `metrosexual' two-wheeler buyers.

When Kinetic went and bought out seven scooter designs from the legendary Italian two-wheeler manufacturer, Italjet Moto, this is what must have been in its mind. All the seven scooters, part of the Italiano series, are revolutionary in terms of design compared to anything we have seen from an Indian manufacturer. They have been trendsetters in their own right and their designs are widely considered an enviable combination of radical modernity and vintage retro traditionalism. After purchasing these designs and conducting customer clinics around India, Kinetic Motor decided to roll out the Blaze first. The Kinetic Blaze, originally called the Italjet Millennium, has been introduced in a phased manner nationwide.

Stunning design

Built on a super-size, 1,495mm wheelbase that beats even most bikes hollow, the Blaze is clearly the biggest, tallest and longest scooter that has ever rolled out of an Indian factory.

To say that the Blaze is a looker is an understatement. Looking cool in, what Kinetic calls, the Roaring Red colour, the big-made Blaze looks like the two-wheeler equivalent of WWF's `The Rock'.

Stand it next to any current scooter or even commuter and executive bike and it will not only put them in the shade in the looks department, but also lord over them in the size department.

The Blaze is said to have been personally designed by Leopoldo Tartarini, founder and head of Italjet. It is in the same size class as the Piaggio Hexagon and the Honda Reflex, scooters that sell even today in Europe and the US.

The Blaze oozes manly style when looked at from any angle. The front sports headlamps integrated into the body-panel (instead of the handlebar), somewhat similar to the Honda Dio. Twin 35W main lamps and a pilot lamp form part of the headlamp cluster. Just above the V-shaped headlamp are a series of slatted openings, together forming a ribcage style grille to allow air into the front panel.

In the Blaze, the inlets don't perform any specific function other than to enhance the scooter's looks. But in the Italjet Millennium, which sported a liquid-cooled engine, the slatted panel must have been put there to also allow air intake to cool a radiator. As a result, the area behind the front panel is empty in the Blaze.

Eye-catching features

The handlebar of the Blaze is well weighted and, in the absence of a headlamp, is adorned by a tall, tinted fairing. The curved visor is set at an aerodynamic angle and bolted on to the body in such a way as to make it look like a floating collarbone. The new Kinetic logo in silver shines in the middle of this visor.

The oval instrument cluster on the handlebar has a neat layout and features a rev-counter (engine rpm), a first in this segment. In addition, the regulars — the speedo, fuel gauge, indicators for the headlamp, high-beam and turn signals — are all there.

In keeping with the bike's image, the front body panels are designed to look top heavy, narrowing to a slim mid-section and a compact, flat floor area. At both sides of the front panel, a boomerang-shaped black plastic rub strip protects the painted ABS body panels from scratches and nicks. A nice touch, especially for those who worry every time they parallel-park this large scooter.

At the rear, chunky body side panels that wrap over the engine give the Blaze a tall, but sturdy and well-planted look. A wedge shaped integrated tail-lamp features brake light and turn indicators. Just above the rear lights, a neatly finished, large die-cast grab rail is the only aid for not-so-well-built riders grappling to control this heavy scooter, while parking and disembarking.

With its long wheelbase and broad build, the Blaze's seats are extremely comfortable. Soft foam cushioning makes short trips on the scooter almost unbelievably comfy, but long trips may be better off with a slightly firmer seat.

Another nice touch in the Blaze is the latch release for accessing the under-seat storage area is done using the same ignition key.

A slight reverse twitch of the ignition key in off position unlocks the seat latch. Rider and pillion seats open out in opposing directions allowing access to the helmet storage area and the fuel tank cap respectively.

Engine and suspension

The Blaze comes with a large 165cc, four-valve, four-stroke engine that will give you about 11.6bhp of peak power at 7,500 rpm. That is about 2bhp less than that of the Bajaj Pulsar 150 and the Hero Honda Achiever. The Blaze's engine is also very torquey with 12Nm of peak torque being delivered at 5,000 rpm.

The engine delivers power readily and the Blaze's `pick-up' and acceleration are good, though throttle play and response could have been better. With loads of power available all the way up to 7,500rpm, the scooter can touch over 90 km per hour easily.

But our issue with the Blaze's engine is its relative lack of refinement. There is considerable amount of vibration transfer and despite the use of handlebar-end weights it can be quite distracting at low speeds. The engine has been tweaked for performance and the exhaust note has been made to sound a bit raspy to give it the feel of a big two-wheeler.

The Blaze's suspension set-up includes telescopic forks in the front and twin telescopic shock absorbers with adjustable damping at the rear.

Overall ride quality is good and well balanced, though road feedback tends to be a bit on the higher side due to the broad rear tyres. With a more-than-adequate 160-mm ground clearance, the Blaze sails over speed-breakers.

Stability at high speeds is good and with its long wheelbase, 12-inch wheels and broad 130/70 rubber at the rear, road grip is not an issue.

While the Blaze's stability is spot on, we felt that the 130mm drum brakes may not always be enough, especially with the additional weight of a pillion rider. Buy the Blaze variant that offers a 220-mm disc brake at the front for more confident braking power under varying speed and weight conditions.

The quality of this scooter's paint job and body panels is good. But some plastic parts and electrical bits, such as the push-cancel turn indicator knob, bag hook and the mould lines of the inner plastic panels, could definitely have been better.

Fuel efficiency will almost certainly not be one of the highlights for this scooter. The company claims 45 kmpl under test conditions. Expect mileage to be 30-35 kmpl in actual city riding conditions.

Masculine appeal

The Blaze very clearly looks every bit like the transporter for male egos that have been dulled by unexciting design and look forward to some assuaging and pampering by a macho alternative to the current crop of performance bikes.

With its heavy 136-kg frame, the Blaze is definitely male. Women will find handling this scooter quite a challenge. Of course, lest we be called `MCPs', let us clarify that we are talking only about the average Indian woman.

The Blaze is also radically different in the pillion riding posture department as well. With its high-stepped seat design and already tall saddle position, the pillion on the Blaze will be riding at a slightly awkward posture, if he or she does not lean forward on to the rider.

Sitting astride is the only reasonably comfortable way of pillion riding on this scooter. Even for that, most of us will actually have to step up and mount, like they would a horse.

All this means that taking your mother for grocery shopping is pretty much ruled out on this bike.

Though sales volumes from potential buyers in the commuter segment are welcome, , the Blaze is not targeted at this category. Priced at Rs 50,000 (ex-showroom), it is pretty clearly targeted at the 20-something buyer segment, where killer looks rules at the top of the must-have features list. And where price and fuel efficiency are secondary factors governing the purchase decision.

This segment is probably small right now, but is set to expand over time, just as the performance bikes segment is opening up with more buyers and more products to choose from.

Kinetic would have, as it has in the past, discovered and pioneered a fledgling category that is sure to see increased competition.

But even as Kinetic basks in the glory of being the first in the industry with a sports, performance scooter, it needs to strengthen and improve product quality and the quality of service provided by its dealers to inspire greater confidence amongst potential buyers.

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