The Hindu Business Line : Kinetic hopes to ride high with Flyte

Kinetic will be banking on Flyte 125, a product of its technology and manufacturing tie-up with SYM — the $1 billion Taiwanese company — to pull up its sagging sales. And it appears that the Flyte might do just that.

— S. Muralidhar

More power and refinement, not just for the fairer sex.

During the last few months, there seemed to have been a lull at Kinetic. After the Blaze, which came from the portfolio of eight scooters that Kinetic bought over from Italjet, there has been a fairly long break.

But that doesn’t mean that the company and its engineers haven’t been busy. The technology and manufacturing tie-up with SYM — the $1 billion Taiwanese automobile company — which Kinetic signed early last year will enable it to launch a range of scooters.

The first off the block from the SYM stable is the new Kinetic SYM Flyte. One look at the Flyte and you would know why Kinetic has been so busy during the last few months. Kinetic will be banking on the Flyte 125 to pull up its sagging scooter sales which, for the first half of this year, fell by an unenviable 41 per cent.

However, there are strong indicators that the Flyte just could have what it takes to boost Kinetic’s market share. Even a cursory glance at the Flyte and its build and finish quality, shows that quite a lot of development work has been put into this scooter for coming up with what is arguably the best produced Kinetic ever. The scooter is based on the SYM X`Pro, the Taiwanese company’s current best seller in 62 countries.

From a distance, the Flyte looks like the typical modern day scooterette. Prominent snout, handlebar mounted headlamp, multi-purpose die-cast rear grab rail and contoured seats are all features that are very characteristic of the gearless scooter segment. But the Flyte’s story is in the finer details, and these are not just cosmetic but ones that are extremely essential bits, making it one of the most covetable scooters currently available.

The Kinetic SYM Flyte is targeted squarely at the fairer sex. With the number of female scooter buyers nearing the 50 per cent mark on average in both the urban and suburban markets, Kinetic has chosen to position the Flyte as an attractive two-wheeler option.

Kinetic’s choice of the sultry actress-cum-model Bipasha Basu as the brand ambassador for the Flyte seems like a good fit, though male buyers could well be the ones to first fall for her charm.

While Ms Basu could get the janta interested in the Flyte, the main draw for buyers will be its extremely user-friendly and practical features, good build quality and scooter-sized drive feel.

Inside out, the Flyte is bigger than the current crop of gearless scooters. With a longer wheelbase of 1,260mm, bigger under-seat storage of 22 litres, bigger, more powerful 125cc engine, higher top-speed of 80 kmph, bigger 130mm diameter brakes and larger 3.5-inch tyres, the Flyte attempts to give the rider the feel of a full-bodied scooter in an overall package that is still light and nimble enough to handle even for beginners.

Practical features

With its target customer in mind, Kinetic and SYM have loaded the Flyte with a number of practical features. Rear-view mirrors made with impact resistant plastic, large floorboard and under-seat storage, cellphone charging slot, pop-up front fuelling lid, which mocks at the scooters that require the rider to step down and lift up the seat for refuelling and a bigger 9-amp battery that ensures that the engine starts immediately even during cold starts.

Finish quality and panel matching of the Flyte’s plastic body panels are excellent as is the paint job. This new Kinetic scooter gets bike-style, imported telescopic front suspension — a first in the segment. The Flyte’s electricals, knobs and switches are all on a par with the rest in the segment.

Another convenience feature in the Flyte is the 4-in-1 magnetic key that can be used to open the fuel lid and to lock or unlock the handle, in addition to its basic function of being an ignition lock.

A bolt-like magnetic spot on the top of the key also allows users to slide shut a small metallic flap closing out the key slot, a security measure that could keep out intruders from misusing the key slot.

Refined engine

The most refined piece of equipment in the Flyte is, of course, the new 125cc engine from SYM. Combined with a crispy throttle and a CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox, the Flyte’s 125cc engine is an eager performer. Peppy and with low noise and vibration levels, this engine’s refinement shows as the speedo needles past the 60 kmph spot. Our test ride on the Flyte frequently took the speedo close to the top speed of 80 kmph and the vibration level was amongst the lowest in the class. To make the engine extremely reliable, Kinetic is leaving nothing to chance and so is even importing a few of the critical engine parts such as the cylinder heads and crankcase.

Kinetic has also tuned the Flyte’s exhaust note to be a unique mix between those of a scooter and that of a bike. In the handling department too, the Flyte exudes confidence with telescopic front suspension, longer wheelbase and wider rear tyres. The larger engine in the Flyte, compared to the Honda Activa’s 102cc and the Scooty Pep Plus’ 90cc, could mean marginally lower fuel efficiency for the Kinetic scooter. All of them are gearless and the differential in terms of mileage range from about 2 kmpl to about 6 kmpl.

But users are likely to appreciate the higher peak power of 8bhp of the Flyte’s engine compared to the Activa’s 7bhp and the Scooty’s 5 bhp. This could be a key factor in the scooter being able to offer a larger reserve of power while climbing steep inclines like a flyover, particularly when there is a pillion.

Kinetic is working hard to make the Flyte a success. With innovative in-showroom promos, multimedia presentations, a three-year warranty and a svelte brand ambassador, the Flyte, which is as it is a good package, has quite a bit going for it. And at Rs.37,000, it is priced on par with the rest of the pack.

Kinetic’s brochure for the Flyte reads, “You have grown up. Bubbly, sweet, delicate. That’s not you. Then why should your scooter be so.” The Flyte shows that the statement could well apply to Kinetic too.

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