A test ride event for XCITING (exciting Japanese but not E for English Exciting) S400 was held in KYMCO's local Taiwan. The participants were 21 journalists from Asia and Oceania. It was participation from most countries of this district.
The photo shows a commemorative shot before riding on the circuit, and KYMCO's vice president, Leon Uo, forms a shoulder with me.
It might be surprising to say that it is Thailand which is the setting of the last column while doing overseas test ride for over a quarter century, and it may seem surprising, but it is my first visit for me. What does this mean. The circumstances differ depending on the country, but one of the reasons is that it is now time to take a bike as a foot of life and to look for hobbies.
And KYMCO and the goodness of Taiwan were impressive. The flow of vehicles in Taiwan was like Japan more than 30 years ago, like before. It feels like the time when everything was rising to the right and people were active aggressively. KYMCO was also true, as I remembered a Japanese manufacturer when it was a bike boom 30 years ago.
KYMCO's high quality production and quality
The test ride is run on the circuit in Taichung City on the first day, and the second day is touring on the public road. In Taiwan, there is Yushan at an altitude of 3,952m, which is higher than Mt. Fuji, and the road passes up to an altitude of 3,275m.
KYMCO XCITING S400 Wakayama Toshihiro Test Drive Movie
Unfortunately, as the video shows, the weather is as if Taiwan had already entered the rainy season. Although the rain stopped when the circuit was run, the road surface was dry, and the mountainous area was the worst condition of rain and thick fog.
Nevertheless, the exciting S400 had high basic performance of "run, bend, stop" just to enjoy circuit driving, and I was able to do touring with that confidence. It has already been put on the market in Europe last year 2018, and you can be convinced that sales volume is third in this class after Honda and BMW. I was particularly impressed by the rigidity balance of the car body, which contributes to turning performance and stability, reminiscent of a built-in Japanese vehicle.
When I think so, I miss the history of KYMCO. KYMCO's predecessor "Koyo Kogyo" partnered with Honda in 1964 and started producing Honda cars, so the connection to the motorcycle industry began, and we learned about Honda's manufacturing and quality control maybe. The high technology is reminiscent of the contract manufacturing of Kawasaki scooters and BMW scooter engines.
Is 400 the best balance type of scooter?
I had one more thought.
In the case of the 500cc Big Scooter, the body configuration is close to that of the motorcycle to take advantage of its power performance. However, it reduces storage space and hinders open leg. But this exciting S400 has enough power performance, but its body configuration is a scooter-like unit swing type, and it doesn't make you feel its bad effects either.
In order to balance scooter-like convenience and sport performance, it seemed that this 400cc class was in an exquisite balance area.
See KYMCO Moto Index Page
See Accessories for KYMCO XCITING400i ABS
