Taiwanese manufacturer Kymco has mashed a maxi-scooter together with an adventure bike to create an accessible, trail-ready machine with underseat storage and a seat you don’t need a ladder to climb up to. Built on a crossover platform, the CV-R5 concept further blurs the lines between an adventure bike and a scooter. With an off-road chassis, semi-knobby tires, and a 427cc engine, the CV-R5 is designed to spruce up the adventure scooter category.
The ‘adventure scooter’ category isn’t new – Honda and Yamaha have produced several of these odd mashups over the years – but Kymco plans to take it a step further with a prototype revealed earlier this month.
The design of the CV-R5 is eye-catching. The front end has sharp bodywork and taut lines, a high windscreen, and full fairings. Some motorcycle enthusiasts will find striking similarities to the Husqvarna Norden 901 and dare we say even the Harley-Davidson Pan America – a comparison unlikely to be appreciated in Milwaukee. However, The CV-R5 will predominantly have the riding characteristics of a scooter, as evident in the size of its footrests and the distance between the rider's seat and the handlebars.
The CV-R5 gets a new 427cc motor, making 40.2 Nm (29.6 lb-ft) of torque at 5,000 rpm. However, it's still unknown if this is a fresh, twin-cylinder engine or an upgraded 400cc single from a previous model.
Kymco plans to launch it as a flagship offering, so hardware specifications ought to also match the bill – starting with what Kymco calls a "light off-road chassis" layout, the CV-R5 gets a six-link rear suspension, a PTM independent swingarm, USD forks, and a high-rigidity frame setup. Its upswept exhaust doesn’t look like it’ll do a ton to raise ground clearance, but there’s semi-knobby tires and wide handlebars along with that near-vertical screen to give your commute a touch of Dakar flavor.
As for features, there are reports of ABS, full LED lighting, cruise control, traction control, and a color TFT instrumentation according to Ruetir. The brakes are reported to be a double front disc and a single rear disc.
One key observation in the prototype is the absence of the step-through floorboard that makes maxi scooters so practical. The CV-R5 has a more motorcycle-like design in that regard, which means you’ll have to swing your leg over it to get on it, so miniskirts are sadly out of the question. Whether this leads to even bigger under-seat storage remains to be seen.
The market for super-accessible adventure scooters is expanding, and has huge potential for innovative offerings, from conventional scooters and maxi-scooters to small displacement motorcycles and even mini-motos. Take for instance the CSC Trail 125 that we covered recently – a battle-ready Honda Super Cub variant for less than US$2,000. The CV-R5 is another daring attempt at what a two-wheeler can be. Kymco is expected to unveil the adventure scooter in its entirety at this year’s EICMA this November.
All in all, if you're someone who has always been intimidated by big, powerful motorcycles and loves the practicality of scooters, the CV-R5 might well be worth the wait – especially if your daily commute requires you to take on the occasional off-road trail. But at this stage, it isn't exactly clear when, and more importantly if, Kymco intends to bring the CV-R5 to American and European markets.
Source: Kymco
