KYMCO K-Pipe 125

The Kymco K-Pipe is a good-looking, semi automatic bike designed to bridge the gap between an automatic scooter and a geared bike. The model arrived in the UK in 2013 and comes in two capacities, 50 and 125.

Up close when you see the K-Pipe for the first time the bike looks quite skinny, that’s thanks to the narrow profile tank, integrated indicators, tubular steel frame and mono shock rear suspension, which all help to keep things tucked in nicely. The K-Pipe is designed as a lightweight bike with a styling all of its own but it’s also a bike that can be ridden and enjoyed, it’s actually quite nippy and gets around corners well too.

The 125cc version retails at £1771 on the road (£200 more than the 50cc) and both capacities have digital instruments with various functions including speed, time, a fuel gauge and a tacho, the bike also has stacked dual headlights and an LED tail light. There’s a disc brake up front and drum at the rear (both of which are up to the job of stopping this 104kg bike easily) and it rides on Kenda rubber, maybe not a designer label but they work well enough, and remember this is learner legal biking on a budget. The 800mm seat height might be slightly too tall for some riders but I found it just about right for my 5’10” frame and the narrow saddle helps you to get your feet down when you come to a stop.

The four-stroke engine is quiet, should be reliable and is also fuel efficient (Kymco claim you’ll get 100 miles from the 4.5 litre tank). The K-Pipe has four gears but it uses a semi auto gearbox rather than a manual box. Semi automatic is a strange anomaly these days but if it was good enough for the world beating Honda Cub then it must be good enough for the Kymco K-pipe. It means there’s no clutch lever to mess around with, simply knock the rocker pedal into first and twist the throttle. You can use your heel to go back up the gears, or lift it with your toes as you would with an ordinary geared bike. It works well enough anyway.

The K-Pipe 125 isn’t slow by any means; it’ll do around 65mph and get there quite quickly. It’s nimble as well, so you can enjoy blasting around the countryside, or whip through the traffic in town. Ease of use and manoeuvrability are big selling points for a novice friendly bike, although it still makes me wonder why manufacturers don’t build bikes like this with simple twist and go transmission? Surely it makes more sense, then riders get the best of both worlds, bike like styling with simple and effective auto transmission, plus they don’t have to worry about chain maintenance.