Benelli Keeway TX200G Supermoto Review

Most of you in the recent month would had noticed that I've reviewed a motorcycle helmet and has turned to motorbike as an alternative mode of transportation. The decision to obtain a motorised two wheels were very much driven by a few factors - and middle age, as many would believe, is not one of them.
Push Factors
I recently made a career move and is now working about 10km away from home. Traffic along the road during evening peak hour is horrendous as I could possibly run back home faster than one would be driving. But as it is not practical to be running with a back pack laden with a laptop and running on the heavily trafficked road, the next best alternative is actually to get a motorbike. Traffic jam (push factor) is a waste of time and soul-consuming. Time are better spent at home longer with kids and doing other things.
The Bike Selection
I have not owned any motorised two-wheelers before. I do not have a license to ride even. Coming from a protective family, riding a motorbike is a taboo activity. Not helping with statistics of motor bikers being maimed or killed on the road everyday. I am very aware of that fact. The same can be said about driving too. Safety wise, walking, cycling, driving or riding a motorised vehicles has their own sets of risk. I believe the first step of acceptance is to not be in denial about it. With that, I've made the promise to wifey and family that the bike will only be meant for commuting. I will not be involved in long distance touring or night riding.
This meant, the selection of bikes are limited. Mopeds(aka Kapchai) and Scooters (no matter how elegant that Vespa looked) is out of the question. So are the superbikes that go from 0-100kmh at a twist of the wrist. Visibility (to others) is important, hence the need to find a larger bike that also ride higher. Scrambler-type of bike comes into mind. I consulted a few friends that rides to work. Marwan and Kam offered superb advices - Get a Motard-style bike. Motard or a Supermoto as they call it, is a class of bike that is a cross of a Scrambler and a Roadbike. It has the characteristic of both and offers good versatility and a more upright seating position.
The influx of China-origin bikes in Malaysia has introduced no less than three brands that offered such bikes. Demak (DTM 150 and DTM200), MLE (XTM200), Nimota (Ranger and RangerX) and Keeway (TX200G) is just four that covered this Supermoto section. The displacement ranges from 150cc to 200cc. Big enough for decent commuting and small enough to offer good fuel consumptions (will get to this).
Price wise, all the brands named above were between RM6500 to RM8000 on the road (insurance, registration etc). It falls into my budget of RM10,000 which include safety equipments and add-ons. I then did my own research comparing each specifications and also historical usage by current and previous owners. To cut a long story short (as I can actually list down all the specs of the bikes above to conclude the final decision), my decision were based on these few (important) things:
1. Seating position and comfort
2. Ride height
3. Visibility
4. Engine displacement and performance
5. Aftersales Services and Parts

1. Seating Position and Comfort
All the bikes above has upright seating position and it boiled down to the size of the seat. Keeway TX200G offered the biggest (widest) seat which translate to possibly more comfortable landing pad for the tush. The other bikes has seats that are very scrambler like - narrow.

2. Ride Height
The bikes above all ride above traffic. Definitely taller than most mopeds and scooters and this will lend visibility to both the rider and the traffic. All the bikes share about the same ride height with the Keeway TX200G allowing me almost landing with the one feet flat on the road. I have to tip-toe on the other bikes. Not a bad thing as it meant the road clearance on those bikes are slightly higher too (to ride through...flood?)

3. Visibility
With a higher position of riding, the visibility of the rider is very prominent. If one were to add on a bike box behind the bike, it will increase this factor. However, most of the bikes share a thin/narrow profile likely due to Supermoto classification of functioning as a potential offroad machine. The Keeway TX200G comes with fairing (or body kits, in car terms) that are more attractive and aggressive when compared to the other bikes. This alone add to the visibility of the rider on the road. As an added point, the Keeway TX200G comes with a rear LED stop lights, which reacts faster and gives it a luxurious big bike look. Upfront, the Keeway TX200G has the largest headlight. Logic says this will provide the largest amount of surface for the lights to reflect and thus, staying more visible to all traffics.

4. Engine Displacement and Performance
I strikes out the 150cc bikes (Demak DTM150 and Nimota Ranger) and concentrated on the 200CC bikes. Reason for it is the price differences and the additional power available for just a few hundred ringgit more. Zero-ing in to the 200cc range allowed me to consider only the Demak DTM200, MLE XTM200 and the Keeway TX200G. All three are 1-Cylinder, 2-valves and 4-stroke engine.
They range from (actual CC) 193cc to 199cc. Performance wise, the MLE XTM200 (199cc) churns out 14.5kW/7500rpm and 18NM/6000rpm with a 9.4:1 compression ratio. The Keeway TX200G churns out 9.5kW/7500rpm and 14.5NM/6500rpm with a 8.3:1 compression ratio. The Demax DTM200 however, has no information on the (malware) official website or on the pages I accessed.
With the higher power and performance of the MLE XTM200, it should had been the choice. However, as I am wary of the power (as I've not handled anything on two wheels more powerful than my own two pedal powered legs), I decided maybe a "lesser" powered machine could be better. Coupled with item 1, 2 and 3 above, Keeway TX200G seems to score more points compared to MLE XTM200 in my opinion.

5. Aftersales and Spareparts
This was the selling point. Keeway TX200G is supported by Benelli Keeway which is based in Bukit Beruntung and has their own Bike Assist (think of it as AAM for Motorbike) which is available within Klang Valley. I was told that the owner can call to the Bike Assist centre and mechanic will be deployed if needed (if verbal troubleshooting fails) to troubleshoot at location. For a new bike owner, that will be comforting.

Outside of Malaysia, the TX200G is known as Keeway Empire. The brand name Benelli itself points to an Italian manufacturer which was aquired by Keeway and has a strong tie up with QianJiang Groups that produced and sold the most motorbikes in China. That simply meant good support for parts both locally and within this region.
Finally, The Bike!

At the Official Showroom at Jalan Ipoh

I went to the bike showroom hoping to place an order and was told that it is just a showroom and service centre. The person in charge directed me to the nearest authorised seller just across the road and I ended up at Ah Hong Motor. A brief chat (not committed yet) with one of the personnel there and I was told the last two bike are still up for grab. I was told the price will be RM7,500 on the road, which is well within my budget. I went back and took the family along two days later and made the booking. It was well thought off and I had a week to sort out "how to tell your mother you bought a motorbike". That was also beside having to get an "L" or Learner's license or I would not be able to ride the bike back and had to trouble a few friends to do so.
I decided to get/obtain the same number for my bike as for my cars, which corelate to my regimental number in RMC. I ended up spending additional RM210 for that number (as I skipped the running number at JPJ). No issues as that has been accounted for within the RM10K budget. The same goes to the protective gears I've bought such as the Nolan N91 Modular Helmet, A riding jacket with crash pads (branded as Alpinestar, I know it's a good copy), a pair of riding boots and gloves from Fieldsheer, a set of raincoat (I did not take the raincoat from the motorshop as I want something brighter, and not dark) and a Givi 45liter box. Now, everything is (almost) complete!
On the day I were to get the bike, It was excitement. I've not ridden a clutch bike before. Yes, it is like driving a manual car (which I does very well) and I just need to remember to stay calm. Needless to say, after a few fumbling with the clutch and throttle, I was very much on my way riding the bike. No drama as my first stop was to the accessory shop to get an aftermarket horn fixed. Being visible is one thing, making sure I am heard is another! So, a loud 125dB horn has to go in!
First impression of the bike pick-up was good. The power was there and the delivery depends on how smooth you can change the gears. Needless to say, after a month of riding, i give myself 8/10 for this.

Day 1! Complete Noob!

Among the selling point of this bike, tying back from the 5-points above would be:

• High riding position. My side mirror is at the same level as a full sized MPV like Alphard and Hyundai Starex. If i ride behind a moped, I look above his helmet.
• Comfortable seating position. My longest ride was with Kam from Damansara to Gohtong Jaya (70km one way) to learn the finer point of handling the bike from Kam that has ridden for more than 10 years on his MZ Motard.
• Wifey commented that she can see me almost 100m infront in traffic. Visibility is definitely there.
• The 9.5kW or 13PS or 12.7hp power were sufficient for me. The bike claim to be able to achieve a top speed of 120km/h and I've only managed 110km/h on Karak Highway. That alone was already fast by my standard. I must admit that the bike struggle to pass the 100km/h mark and this could relate back to the compression ratio (low 8.3:1), which in turn, lessen the power output and finally the top speed. If you took note, the XTM200 has a 9.4:1 compression and the KW increase is substantial. Good thing about lower compression is that the engine will be able to take crappier petrol and still work (though we have Ron95 and 97 only). Meaning, it will be a waste of money to put in the Ron97 compared to a 10.1:1 compression ratio bike (typically a smaller CC bike to boost power)
• The bike comes with a 1 year warranty or 10,000km whichever come first. At the rate I am commuting, the 1 year will be up before the 10,000km. Free labor charges is for this period/mileage at all authorised distributor and of course, the service centre at Jalan Ipoh. 

Rode up Gohtong Jaya with Kam

The additional selling point:

• The bike comes with a set of Pirelli Speed Demon as standard. 100/80-17 front and 130/80-17 rear were installed and came with many good reviews. I've not pushed the bike hard enough to benefit from the stickiness of this rubber.
• The bike comes with upside-down front shock. What it meant is the shocks are activated from the bottom instead of the typical shock that works from the top. Looking at the photo above, you will see Kam's MZ has the conventional shock that travels from top to bottom where-else the TX200G works from bottom to top. This is typical for superbike for better road holding (I was told).
• Large disc brakes that gave good stopping power. In a lot of instances, how fast you go must equate to how fast you can stop. Having a fast bike with bad brakes is fatal.

No eye See

The bike does have a few cons. After riding it for about a month (at time of this posting), these are what I've noticed and for sharing for future owners.

• The engine sound is rough. You can hear the tappet even when wearing helmet and going at speed. I was told this will improve after the first service *can't wait.
• The chain get loose pretty fast. I had my first adjustment at a local bike shop (and got it free). This could be attributed to the mono-shock design where the chain will be longer to accommodate extreme movement in the jungle. 
• Sticky gear resulting in hard to find the N. Small adjustment at the clutch cable sorted this out. 
• Check the screws and nuts and ensure that they are tight. Some may come loose after a while due to vibration. I lost a screw holding the heat shield at the exhaust extractor. Replaced it with 6mm Hex nuts and secured it nicely.

Additional Accessories were the retrofitted front windshield. Makes riding easier with it deflecting the wind

Fuel Consumption

Over the course of owning the bike, it has given me good fuel consumption. I've been tracking it and on average it is recorded at about 25km/liter of RON95. Best I had was 27.4km/l and that was when I used it on the Gohtong Jaya trip with Kam. 

BHP gives better FC?

The tank size was declared at 10.5liters and if that is true, I would be able to push close to 260km on one tank. Not too bad and that would translate to me filling up only once every fortnight! Less fuel = less emission = green(er). Riding the motorbike has also helped me to save on fuel on my car. With fuel consumption as good as this, I am not complaining about the bike not having top (end) speed!
Bottomline
The bike has so far been serving me well with no problem. If there is anything of a complain it is really the rough engine sound (tappet tappy-tapping). Otherwise I am happy with the purchase! My only wish is that it has a higher compression value for that power! (yes, it's addictive).

For full specs of the bike, click here : Benelli Keeway TX200G Brochures

Off To Work!

There are very little information available for this bike in Malaysia and there are only one or two more blogs that wrote about this. One being the owner itself, Hazwan Hashim. Read about his take on the bike here.