[theexperthand]

Prologue

We were looking to add a gear-less scooter which my wife can ride ever since our kid started going to play school. Initially, it was decided among us that we will look for a good used scooter since the usage will me minimal. I wanted to go for a Dio but my wife's choice was Kinetic Honda. I always had a sweet spot to a well maintained and subtly modded Kinetic Honda, but was skeptical about finding a good specimen. One day, which standing in our balcony, we saw a good looking Kinetic Honda passing by and I told her if I could get my hands on that, I will buy it for her. As luck would have it, I saw the same scoot standing in front of a nearby shop when I went to office on the same day. On an impulse, I stopped my bike and went inside the shop and enquired if the owner wants to sell it.

He was reluctant and did not want to sell it, but I somehow wanted the same one. On a spur of the moment decision, I offered him more than market price and brought it after a cursory test ride. The reality of this decision (of not taking proper test rides and involving wife in the process, who will be the main user) dawned on me when my wife rode the scooter for first time (After I paid the amount and brought the scooter home). The scooter had a prominent left side pull and had many small small niggles which I conveniently overlooked when I took the delivery, which made it almost unusable for my wife. Took the bike to my trusted two wheeler mechanic and he confirmed that I overpaid a lot for the bike. With a sinking feeling, I again invested in changing few parts to make the scooter handle and ride better. After sinking about half the amount I paid originally for the bike again for service and changing parts, we used it for few months, only for the scooter to die on me unceremoniously one day.

We were again looking at repair bills of almost half of the amount I originally paid for the scoot, so we decided to call it a day and cut the loses and sell it as it is and buy a new scooter for her.

Having burned my hand once, I decided to take it slow this time and decided to include my wife in each stage of the purchase since this scooter is mainly for her. We first listed down our priorities.

Her priorities where:
- No models from Honda stable. She did not like the design of Honda offerings.
- Immediate delivery.
- Light weight and Easy to maneuver in tight spots.
- Under seat storage space

My Priorities where:
- Telescopic suspension
- Enough power so that I can take the scoot occasionally to office.
- Minimum investment - since the projected use is around 100 - 150 km per month, I did not want to invest more than necessary. So I kept the ceiling at 60K, plus a 5K reserve if we want to extent our budget for any particular model.

Arm chair research and shortlists:

Now that we had a fair idea of what we do not need and what we need, we decided to list out and short list our options. I pulled the details of all available models across different manufactures and started eliminating those which we where not interested in. After the distilling, the obvious choices where

- Scooty Zest
- Mahindra Flyte

I posted about my predicament here

We where more enthusiastic about the Flyte and in our minds, we already decided it will be the one we buy - this was mainly based on the fact that my FIL have a Mahindra Rodeo and we all like it very much. I was very much impressed with the pick up and stability and we have not faced any issues till date ( The scooter is with us for 3+ years and have covered almost 50K kms till date)

[amit_purohit20]

New Scooty Zest sports the same engine as the Wego. But I did suggest to go for Wego(Not Jupiter) which is a better vehicle than Scooty.
The mechanicals, space, body balance everything counts. If you can go for disc brake version it will be better.

Both sport the TVS Victor 110 cc engine which is a tried,tested and proven engine. My friends who own Wego are very satisfied with the product. Good that you are not going for Honda products. Seriously Honda products especially scooters now just have a good engine thats it!

Jupiter has a wide seat is spacious and a good vehicle too but its little bulky and seating position is different for rider so short riders and females might not be comfortable with it. You can give it a try.

[theexperthand]

The omissions from the list:

I have to include two worthy contenders I had to omit because it did not meet the acceptance criteria of primary user and did not meet my criteria on the cost front:

- Dio: This is one scooter I love and have recommend multiple times to my friends and relatives over Activa. But my wife was not happy with the styling and since this purchase is mainly for her, I had to forgo this choice.

- Aviator: Another one from my favorites. Again, wife did not like the looks and the price was also considerably higher than our other shortlists.

Showroom Visits:

Kubera TVS:

Our first stop was Kubera TVS at HSR layout. The sales staff were courteous and offered test rides quickly. We did test rides of Scooty Zest and Wego and sat down with the sales rep for getting the quotation. He was polite and straightforward and gave us detailed breakup of the cost.
Wife was really impressed with Zest and was happy to terminate the search then and there. She found Zest more easy to ride around than Wego, though I felt wego offer better ride comfort with its bigger wheels.

Esquire Mahindra - HSR - Outer Ring Road junction.

The showroom was deserted and was devoid of any activity. The sales staff had absolutely no idea why they are sitting in a two wheeler showroom. they did not even know

what all models are available (I was looking for Flyte but there was no flyte on display - the staff were totally clueless about if they have a model named Flyte ) They mumbled something about the models they have on display and we hastily exited the showroom.

Orion Yamaha - HSR - Outer Ring Road junction

The guys where polite and courteous and offered all the details and gave the quotation quickly, but sadly no test ride was possible because the road in-front was being dug up. Did some ergonomic checks and decided Ray was a worthy contender, pending test ride.

Did not visit Honda, Hero and Vespa since there was no model to consider.

Decision Time:

After the brief visits, we were left with two choices - Scooty Zest and Yamaha Ray.

[theexperthand]

Decision making:

Wife was sold on Zest and left the decision to me (between Zest and Ray), but it was clear that she found the compact dimensions of Zest appealing. I was in double minds, but the specs of Zest did it for me. Zest is lighter, have higher torque, tubeless tyres, better rear suspension (I may be wrong in this) so we decided the next scoot will be zest.

Buying Experience:

We reached Kubera TVS by 6 PM and was again offered a TD but since we already took the TD, politely declined it. Sat down with the SA to get a detailed break up - with out prompting, he gave a detailed breakup of the accessory pack (which includes Steel guard, seat cover, mat, handle grip covers and Teflon coating).
I did not opt for the pack, but picked the seat cover and floor mat from the list, which SA said he will give complimentary.He did not try to hard sell the entire accessory pack or the Teflon coating. Since I was not opting for a loan, the process was quick - they promised me that they can give the delivery in one day flat.
I paid the amount on Wednesday evening and was promised the delivery by Tuesday evening. I opted to take the delivery on Friday morning. I could not do PDI since the bike was at their yard, but they assured me that they will rectify any issues if I come across any. So, I paid the amount and gave the documents and left the showroom.

Delivery Experience:

The promised delivery time was 10.30 AM, but I wanted to take the delivery before 10.30 because 1) I am taking delivery on the way to office, so 10.30 is too late 2) Rahukaalam starts at 10.30 so to please home ministry, I have to take delivery before 10.30. I informed my SA about this so he asked me to come by 10.00 AM.
Reached by 9.50 today morning and the scoot was waiting for me in front of the showroom. The SA took me inside, made me sit and finished all the paperwork.He gave me the insurance policy document, ownership manual, tool kit and first aid kit, and explained about the service intervals. On reaching there only I realized that they could not get RTO sign on the tax challan yesterday so I have to wait 1 more day to get the number and tax challan. The SA gave me a delivery note and said this will work if any cop stops me today, and put TC number on the plate. I was not really happy about this, but I could not leave with out the scoot so decided to take the delivery.

The bike was cleaned well and the SA explained me about the features and checked all electrical to make sure that everything is working fine. The scoot was filled with 1 L petrol. All this was done in 10 minutes flat - really impressed with the smooth way the delivery was handled. Gave a small gift to the SA and I bid adieu to the showroom.

Initial Impressions:

Things I like:

-Smooth engine. No unwanted vibrations.
-good pickup. I did not rev the scoot hard or went above 60 KMPH, but the way the scoot behaved was impressive.
-Good suspension and handling. The telescopic suspension does a good job over potholes and bad roads
-Tubeless tyres. A good convenience to have.
-Decent storage space around. There is a good size cubby hole in front and the scoot have decent under seat storage capacity.
-Auto choke - no more forgetting to disengage the choke after cold morning starts

Things I did not like:
-Mirrors. They definitely looks cute but that is the only positive thing about them. They are woefully inadequate and leaves huge blind spots.
-Petite size. Though it is fine for my wife, I found the scoot a tad small in size.
-Fuel lid placement. the fuel lid is placed at the conventional location - under the seat. Would have been nice if I can fill the scoot without opening the seat.

Things I wish the scoot had:
-Trip meter. It would have been nice if it had a simple analogue trip meater at least.
-RPM meter. Nice to have.
-Better Horns.

[theexperthand]

The Scooter in detail:

The front view. It is inoffensive and feels like a grown up Scooty.


The front three quarters.


The rear three quarters.


The rear view - I feel the rear is a love it or hate it design.


The head light. Spread and reach of the beam is decent enough.


The cockpit view.


The Instrument Console. In addition to what is visible, it also houses the tell tale lights and the lights for Eco and Power mode.


The instrument console at night.The droplet shapes in the console lights up when the lights are switched on. Neat touch.


The instrument console with the Eco light visible. Eco light comes when you ride the scoot sedate - hard acceleration brings up a power light. I think I have seen this same in the old Victor also.


The switchgear.




The rear - up close. The tail\break lamp is LED

[theexperthand]

The deep cubby hole (not sure what is it called) - this is a standard fitment and it is deep enough to hold a 1 liter water bottle. Very useful, but taller riders may find that it ouls with their legs. I am 5'10 and my knees dont touch them.


Another view of the same.


Zest branding on the cubby hole.


One o the two hooks to attach your shopping bags. It is rated for 3 kg only.


the another hook - this one is more sturdier and feels like can hold much more weight.


Foot rest or the sari clad pillion


The silencer.


The key hole to open the seat


The front tyre. Do note the interesting crown on the shock absorber. The size is 90/100-10


The rear tyre - size is 90/90-10. Both are TVS branded tyres.


The under seat storage. This can hold a normal full face helmet.


The fuel filler lid


Fuse is conveniently located.


The rear grab rail. You can also see the small graphic sticker between the seat and rear brake light.


The brake lock. I like this. You can also see the ugly handle grip the dealership threw in or free. Not a big fan of this grip.


The center stand. Putting this scoot on center stand is VERY easy.


The dip stick to check oil level and health.

[theexperthand]

The scoot have lot o small but interesting styling clues.

the small yet nice looking design touch on the running board. You can also see the ill fitting floor mat, which is a dealer accessory.


Neat design of rear foot pedals and the alcove to hold them.


The rear lights.


The cute looking (but sadly not useful) mirror. It was not cleaned properly when i took the pic


The front indicator


The rear indicator


The secondary small mudguard under the main mudguard. This will help to keep the engine clean from heavy mud sprays during rains.


The standard tool kit


The owners manual


Visual comparison with the leader

Front - Activa looks wider and bigger.


Side profile - both scoot are of almost equal length.


Rear profile. Zest have got a distinct rear profile and will not be mistaken or any other scoot.




The Key

[theexperthand]

Initial Ride Impressions:

After the delivery, took the scoot directly to a nearby petrol pump for the mandatory first time tank fill - I managed to fill the tank in just 250 INR, so the tank had more than the promised 1L fuel. Sweet.

The kerb weight is 99 kilos, so the scooter does feel light. This, coupled with the fact that the engine churns out almost 8 bhp (at 7500 rpm though) and 8.7 nm torque at 5500 rpm, gives the scoot a peppy feel.
The instrument cluster is easy to read and will not distract you from the road i you want to take a quick glance to know how fast are you going.

The bike feels peppy and can keep up with the traffic with ease. The suspension is good and dismisses the potholes with ease. I found the ride quality to be leagues ahead of old activa (I have not much experience with new Activa to compare) but felt that Vego with its bigger wheels handles better. The breaks feels spongy even after some adjustments and feels just adequate for the speeds the scoot can do. I hope the feel and bite will slightly increase once the pads gets bedded in. The ride height is good for people with low or medium height.
The head light throw and spread is good. The horn is standard run of the mill stuff which you have to strain your ear to hear.

I will keep updating this thread with more ride impressions once the scoot rakes in some miles. Thank you for your patience for keeping up with me till the end of this initial impressions.

Do let me know if you need the pictures or details of anything specific.

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

New Scooty Zest sports the same engine as the Wego. But I did suggest to go for Wego(Not Jupiter) which is a better vehicle than Scooty.

Amit, Thank you for your inputs. We already went for Scooty Zest. This is much improved over the old scooty and scooty pep. I do agree with you that Wego feels better planted and sturdy than Zest, but wife was more comfortable with Zest than Wego. In fact, we did test ride both Zest and Wego.

. Good that you are not going for Honda products. Seriously Honda products especially scooters now just have a good engine thats it!

If this purchase was for me, Wego, Jupiter, Dio and Aviator would have been the final shortlist for sure. I am not a fan of Activa and Activa-i, but I like both Dio and Aviator from Honda stable, but my wife do not like any models from Honda stable.

Jupiter has a wide seat is spacious and a good vehicle too but its little bulky and seating position is different for rider so short riders and females might not be comfortable with it. You can give it a try.

Wife dismissed it after looking at it - I think it is more oriented towards male riders.

Originally Posted by GTO

Congrats on the scooter!

I've temporarily moved your thread to the Assembly Line Section

Thank you GTO for moving this to assembly lane. I was under the impression that I started creating the thread in assembly lane and clicked on post to save what I have written and to my horror, I realized that I was not in assembly lane

I hope now this thread satisfies the rules.

--Anoop

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Motorbike section. Thanks for sharing.

[theexperthand]

We did the mandatory Pooja yesterday. Couple of pics from Pooja.

Also, got the tax recipe and number from the show room.

--Anoop

[NPV]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing your experience ending in selection of the Scooty Zest (great choice!) and very nice comparisons with the others contenders

Wishing you miles of smiles with zest on the white swan!

A close relative bought the Scooty Zest recently and it is was very nice both in the looks department as well as the ride quality. I felt a wave of nostalgia too as I remembered the old Scooty we bought in the late 90s, this one seemed like an upgraded/refined version of that one

[Mr.Boss]

Congrats on the new ride, wish you happy miles ahead.
Looking for some quick comparison against Scooty Pep & Wego
- Does it carry the same suspension from Scooty Pep or a different one? From the snaps the Front looks same as the Pep
- How is the suspension performance when compared with Pep?
- Braking performance against Wego?

Originally Posted by theexperthand

-RPM meter. Nice to have

Man, you ask so much. BTW how does it help on a automatic transmission?

[aswin ajith]

Hi there!!
Excellent thread. Was very informative. Considering a scoot for a friend. She is 5'5". Heavy scooters like Activa, Jupiter and Alpha are out of contention for obvious reasons. Final list includes Zest and new Pleasure. Any thoughts on why you didn't consider the Hero Pleasure?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by NPV

Excellent! Thanks for sharing your experience ending in selection of the Scooty Zest (great choice!) and very nice comparisons with the others contenders

Wishing you miles of smiles with zest on the white swan!

A close relative bought the Scooty Zest recently and it is was very nice both in the looks department as well as the ride quality. I felt a wave of nostalgia too as I remembered the old Scooty we bought in the late 90s, this one seemed like an upgraded/refined version of that one

Thank you! The ride quality is better than Scooty Pep and this does feels like a grown up Scooty.

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Congrats on the new ride, wish you happy miles ahead.
Looking for some quick comparison against Scooty Pep & Wego
- Does it carry the same suspension from Scooty Pep or a different one? From the snaps the Front looks same as the Pep
- How is the suspension performance when compared with Pep?
- Braking performance against Wego?

Man, you ask so much. BTW how does it help on a automatic transmission?

Thank you.

--Not sure if this is same suspension from Scooty, but the rear Suspension of Zest is normal single sided hydraulic shock absorber (double rated as per the website) but Wego have a gas charged rear mono shock absorber.

-- Suspesion performance: I felt that Zest is better composed than Scooty pep under breaking and when encountered with sudden speed breakers or potholes. But I would rate the stability of wego better than Zest (may be it is because of the 12 inch wheels).

--Breaking performance: Wego have bigger drums at front and rear, so it breaks better than Zest. On my bike, I am still waiting for the break pads to bed in so that I can gauge the performance better.As of now, the breaks feels a bit spongy and feels just adequate. Will revisit this point once we put couple of hundred kilometers.

--RPM Meter: He he - it is the Rodeo which have spoiled me. I know it does not add any practical value, but i love to see the RPM meter shooting up and down. Also, it will help during the run in period.

Originally Posted by aswin ajith

Hi there!!
Excellent thread. Was very informative. Considering a scoot for a friend. She is 5'5". Heavy scooters like Activa, Jupiter and Alpha are out of contention for obvious reasons. Final list includes Zest and new Pleasure. Any thoughts on why you didn't consider the Hero Pleasure?

Thank you.
Please do make her take a test ride of Zest - I think she will find it very comfortable.

Pleasure was not considered because it is heavier, costlier, do not have front telescopic shock absorbers, and have less power than Zest. Also Zest have a better (in fact, I think it is best in class) under seat storage and is more gender neutral (this is strictly my observation - may or may not match with others ) and fresh design than Pleasure. The under-seat storage of Zest easily swallows a full face helmet.

--Anoop