[Mr.Boss]

Black Streak at home

[Mr.Boss]

Background

We had a 2007 Model TVS Scooty Pep+ at home (earlier used by dad and then by my wife) with over 76k on odo and recently we sold it for 2 reasons,
1) Started showing age with occasional malfunctions (minor though)
2) Almost a brand new Scooty left unused at hometown



More details Here

Requirements and Usage Pattern
- Light weight scooter
- Self start is must
- Low seating position with decent rear seat comfort
- Least bothered about the FE and maintenance cost as the usage will be very limited
- Usage pattern : Hardly 100 km monthly, for Temple and market run (5 km max in a day)

[Mr.Boss]

About this scooter

Make : TVS
Model : Scooty Streak
Year : 2012

This was purchased for SIL (after exchanging 2005 Scooty ES with 11k on odo) and hardly covered 4k km in last 4 years (no typo) and left unused for over 6 months. To save the dying heart, dad used to take it for short runs and I will be using it whenever I visit the home town. Lower usage frequency left with almost dead battery and I don't want my old aged father kicking the scooter every now and then (We have a Yamaha Ray in pristine condition for his use) So bought this to Chennai to replace wife's Scooty

About Shipping
Read many positive feedback about KPN Parcel service and gone with them. We were charged 1300 INR for shipping from Tirupur to Chennai (including packing charges) and the scooter was delivered on time and most importantly INTACT (except for a scratch in decal, which I don't mind) KPN is far better than my previous experience with other transporters. Got SMS updates right from booking, reaching the destination and delivery.
Overall Experience : Good and Satisfied

Filled the tank and taken home. Decal scratch


What I found under seat is an unused First Aid kit, Hardly used Owners manual (Still few service leaf lets left out) and copies of vehicle documents


With 4.6k km it was shipped to Chennai 4 months back and now she is at 5k milestone.

[Mr.Boss]

Engine and Transmission
Since there is no change from Scooty pep, I'm not writing anything special here.
90cc Single Cylinder 4 stroke engine delivering 5bhp power to wheels by belt driven CVT transmission.

Exterior
Every generation and model of Scooty is still holding the cuteness right from the initial launch. Sleek structure, light weight and low maintenance keep boosting the sales figure.

Changes from Scooty Pep
On the front it has a couple of position lamps. Though I don't find any function requirements of them, aesthetically it ads some characteristics to the front end.


Rear has a large (read HUGE) tail lamp with 5 individual LEDs + 1 regular brake lamp.


Curvy profile replaced with more sharp corners. I somehow liked the sharp corners right from the Scooty ES. They look sleek than the curvy profiles.


Fuel lid moved out of under seat area. A big thanks to TVS. No more drama of holding the seat in one hand and fuel cap in another hand for every refill.

[Mr.Boss]

Instrument Cluster and Switch Controls



Simple and easy to read instrument cluster, typical scooterish, with no trip meter (but who cares). Lost the Eco~Power indicator from Scooty Pep.


Scooty pep image for reference


All switch controls were lifted from Pep. There is nothing to complain about the build quality, they does the job well for which they are designed.


I wish I could swap the beam selector switch with 'Pass' function from Jupiter

[Mr.Boss]

Storage

Small, lockable storage are in the front along with Mobile charging port. Spacious to hold a smart phone along with a Coke tin.


Caution label for charging port.


Pull-hook for hand bags / briefcase


Under seat storage area, can take a half helmet (never tried with anything bigger)


Basket removed. Engine, battery and wiring can be accessed easily. Stock battery replaced with another spare battery (removed from one of my bike)


Seat has rubber beading at bottom to prevent water seepage during monsoon (???) or water wash


Place for tool kit. Scrapped the kit as it started rusting.


Performance and Driveability

Engine Response
- Engine refinement is not upto the market standard / competition (comparing against other products from TVS and other Japanese in market)
- Initial pull is decent enough for City driving (with 2 on-board)
- CVT rubber band effect can be easily felt at Stop-Go traffic (around 20kmph) but the transition is smooth
- Effortless cruising till 50 kmph
- Once it crosses 50 kmph engine begs for rest and loses breath
- In simple words, not a good highway cruiser (below average)

Driving Dynamics
- Suspension is on soft tune and best suitable for solo riding only. For heavy build rider (or with a pillion) ride becomes bouncy and unsettled.
- Telescopic front suspension and mono shock absorber in rear takes every road patch and small pot holes with ease, but not to forget the vehicle scraps the bottom due to less ground clearance and soft suspension
- Ground clearance (135mm) is adequate for Solo riding only
- 90/90-10 Tires does the good job (better than 3.00x10 in Pep) in terms of grip and NVH (Never got a chance to check the wet grip level yet)
- No comments about cornering as the vehicle is neither designed for it nor I get guts to check it.
- On the handling part it's neutral.

[Mr.Boss]

Likes:

VFM
With a price bracket of 50 grands, Scooty twins remains the cheapest of the segment.

FE
To be frank, we were never bothered to check the FE in this scooter. With very limited and short usage, I hope it should be around 35 kmpl. Going by the past experience with Pep, we always got over 45 kmpl.

Light Weight
Wife felt Hero Pleasure being heavier and thanks to TVS for the light weight construction.

A.S.S
We are TVS customers for over 2 decades (with same dealership) and we never faced any issues with them. I know the personal relationship matters a lot here and I came across many negative review online. But to me, so far so good.

Seating
Seat offers good cushioning and comfort. Also the ride height is friendly for short people as well. The only accessory added to this scooter is side grab handle




Soft Suspension
Telescopic suspension in front and mono shock absorber in rear is on a soft tune, perfect for solo riding and broken roads. With a pillion on board, it's a different story all together.


90/90 10 tires (both front and rear) does a good job than 3.00 x 10 in Scooty pep.


Head Lamp
Beam throw is far better than many other scooters and motorcycles on road. Stock 12V 35/35W bulb does the job pretty well.


Lockable Storage area
With a lockable lit in front storage area, no more worry of missing the cleaning rags (especially when left at parking lots)

Fuel Lid Position
Fuel filler lid moved out of under seat area. No more worry of petrol spill on valuable items in storage area.

[Mr.Boss]

Dislikes

Build Quality
I know what to expect from the cheapest option available in market, but the plastic quality is deteriorating in recent days. Plastic panels start to vibrate in long run.

Soft Suspension
Though I said good about the soft suspension with solo riding, with a pillion it makes the ride bouncy.

Ground Clearance
Scraps big humps with a pillion. Partly because of soft suspension and the rest is vehicle architecture.

Not Punchy
With only few cc less than the competitors, it feels very much under powered. Definitely not a highway performer.

Moderate Brakes
Brakes are fine till date, but with age they lack performance even after replacing the brake shoes (experience from Pep)
No disc brake as option

[Mr.Boss]

Final Verdict
Personal experience : So far so Good and very much satisfied with Scooty Streak.
Do I recommend for others : Yes (in used market, since the production is stopped) for the one who needs a light vehicle with decent FE for city use.

PS:
I am not covering "Other options considered, TD experience, PDI, etc" portion during initial purchase as it was a different story all together. After periodic service, Scooty ES gave us some trouble in starting and visited the A.S.S couple of times. After 2nd visit (for the same problem) showroom owner denied giving back the ES and sent home the Streak (payment was done after couple of months, having a sweet deal on ES exchange as well)

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the 2-wheeler Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Mr.Boss]

Missed to add the service history.
- Covered 4 services from the dealer in last 4 years
- Since it was left idle for a considerable time, changed the Engine oil and cleaned the carb after shipping to Chennai.

[batterylow]

Nice review .

We still have a decade old one at home, albeit the pep+ edition.

It is like the modern incarnation of the TVS 50, continues to endure and soldier on, with minimal maintenance.

[h14]

Nice elaborate take on the Scooty! Thanks for sharing. We too had one at home long back (the 2 stroke Scooty ES) and you brought back some old memories

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by batterylow

Nice review

Originally Posted by h14

Nice elaborate take on the Scooty!

Thank for the kind words batterylow and h14

Originally Posted by batterylow

It is like the modern incarnation of the TVS 50, continues to endure and soldier on, with minimal maintenance.

Well said buddy

Originally Posted by h14

We too had one at home long back (the 2 stroke Scooty ES) and you brought back some old memories

I still have a soft corner for ES. It is more peppier and cute than current gen entry level scooters.

PS: I tried something out of ES, but the project was on hold for a long time (too many commitments in between)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...scooty-es.html

[DWind]

Great Honest Review. We had bought one in 2009 when it was released new. At that time we had a choice of only 3 colors Red, Black and Blue.

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

[u][b]The only accessory added to this scooter is side grab handle

Pardon for nitpicking! I believe the grill on front panel is also a dealer accessory.

Will have to agree is that it is a silent workhorse. So far we had the following issues

1. The OE Battery tends to loose juice quickly if not used frequently. We had to change to up-rated / better branded battery. We even had an issue with one of the fuses which caused the bike to not start even when kick-starting it as the circuit was not closed.
2. The Mirror adjustments were either too tight (left) or too loose (right ones). I never got a perfect setting while riding. My wife does not complain about this Either the right mirror when it falls is perfect for her height or she does not use mirror altogether.
3. Not flood friendly. Over here in Chennai, as soon as the water level on the road reaches above 4-5 inches but well below the silencer, the clutch starts to slip causing the rider to raise the throttle to get decent traction.