Kymco Pulsar is a little star

It may be a no-frills bike, but Kymcos Pulsar S 125 is well put together and an effective performer

There’s an abundance of budget commuter bikes on the market. Some of them are quite ordinary and feel as cheap as they look, but others like this actually do a fantastic job. Ok, it’s still a no-frills bike at just £1,699 before registration fees and road tax, but you’re getting a nippy and well put-together Taiwanese bike for your money.

Obviously you’re getting all the essential bits and pieces you expect from a modern commuter bike, such as electric start, a side stand and a centre stand, a rear luggage rack and well executed, if conservative styling. You’re also getting it from a name you can trust, and it’s got a bit of pace on tap too.

Prod the starter and it leaps into life as though it can’t wait to get going. Snicking it into the first of the five  ratios, the first thing you’ll notice is just how feather-light the clutch is and a split-second later how precise and smooth the gearbox is. Holding onto the clutch for a second and running a final “systems check”, you register the comfortable riding position that makes you feel right at home in the saddle, exactly as it should do on a bike you’re intending to spend a significant amount of your time on whilst scratching through grey, noisy cityscapes.

Some four-stroke 125s are pretty gutless. They’ll see you struggling to keep up with brisk traffic and having to plan your admittedly infrequent overtakes with military precision, but there are no such problems with the Pulsar. The engine is nice and lively, picking up revs with relish and spinning around to its 60mph top speed without much effort. It’s also got a rev counter – not a given in this class – and its needle will easily spin into the red if you choose to make it so, peaking at around 9,500rpm.

It’s really quite a rev-hungry bike and certainly doesn’t struggle for performance relative to its rivals. The bike has a gear position indicator on the basic but functional clock which is a welcome addition to any geared bike, although it’s sometimes hard to read in bright sunlight. If you’re an experienced rider you soon feel like the bike is quick enough to overtake at will, and you’ll probably be equally surprised at just how well the bike goes around corners, thanks to the stability afforded by twin rear shocks.

It’s not shy about getting stuck in to the twisties, that’s for sure, so there are no complaints about the handling or suspension. Because it’s still such a  compact machine it’ll also turn around in the narrowest of roads, which is a great confidence-booster if you’re taking your test on one of these.

Brakes are obviously important, with the front disc and rear drum combination giving plenty of stopping power, the drum not betraying any of the inadequacies sometimes associated with the technology.

The Pulsar S actually looks quite substantial up close; it’s a chunky machine rather than a weedy-looking lightweight bike and that extra bit of bulk certainly helps it to feel stable and well planted out on the road.

It’s finished nicely, looks well put-together and it rides well too. Consider the price tag and its powerful engine, which makes just a fraction less than the permissible power limit, and you’ve got the makings of a very useful and likeable little commuter bike.

Kymco really seems to have its corporate finger on the pulse of what commuters really want and need. It’s the kind of bike that would be ideal for training schools and Wheels 2 Work schemes, as well as for the ordinary cash-savvy working biker. New stock has recently arrived at dealers so snap one up while you can and you won’t be disappointed.

VITAL STATS

BIKE Kymco Pulsar S

PRICE £1,771 on the road

ENGINE 124cc, 4-stroke, air-cooled

POWER 10.7bhp

SUSPENSION Front telescopic forks, twin rear shocks

SEAT HEIGHT 770mm

WEIGHT 115kg

TANK CAPACITY 11 litres