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KYMCO Quannon

KYMCO Quannon 150 vs. Honda CBR-125R

KYMCO QuannonKYMCO’s Quannon 150cc motorcycle was the answer to those in need of a reliable, lightweight, beginner friendly motorcycle, that was actually sized for adults. While the Honda CBR-125R has been an excellent beginner machine, at anything over 5’9″ it becomes a little tight, not to mention arguably “too light”. That’s where the Quannon comes in.

 

KYMCO Quannon 150

What powers the Quannon?

A simple and reliable oil cooled, single cylinder four stroke engine with four valves and single overhead cams engine with single carburetted powers the Quannon. It features an 11:1 compression ratio and 13 horsepower along with 7.8 ft of torque. My mental dyno agrees with this information as performance feels comporable to the CBR-125R at roughly the same claimed numbers.

Ergonomically the KYMCO Quannon draws big differences. I’ll confess to clocking only a handful of hours on KYMCO Canada‘s demo unit, but it left no uncomfortable points once the body accustomed itself to the upright position with just a touch of aggression. The faint hint of a lean and a long 13.5 litre tank drawn out in front of the rider provide the means to take advantage of a full size windscreen. Getting streamline on the bike is important on small engine bikes such as these as wind resistance can really play a significant factor. the Quannon’s comfortable seating and functional windscreen and fairings were all that and the cat.

KYMCO Quannon 150

At a 31.5″ seat height the Quannon may be a tip-toe for shorter riders. Those fortunate enough to swing a leg over KYMCO’s baby sportbike will appreciate the Quannon’s light weight and nice distribution. It’s a motorcycle someone who’s never sat on a motorcycle before could sit on, and not feel intimidated.

The devil is in the details and the Quannon is a mixed bag. Here’s where I get knit-picky about this machine, with both praise and scorn:

  • When hitting a highway ramp that was unpaved, with no warning sign, in the dark, I appreciated the Quannon’s stability that the long wheelbase and large tire size provided.
  • Those larger-than-CBR tires (110/80-17 front, 140/70-17 rear) make the Quannon feel less nimble than the CBR-125R. Many will call this feeling “stability”, which can be a good feeling, as the 2007-2010 CBR-125Rs were prone to being a little too nimble.
  • Tire PSI played a huge role in highway topspeed. 33 PSI was on the high end of the recommendations, but I found that best on my ride from Toronto to Hamilton and back.
  • Fuel consumption was not as high as the Honda CBR-125R but still noticeably better than my KYMCO Venox 250cc motorcycle.
  • The naked Quannon 125 which is available overseas had its rev limiter upped from 10,000 RPM to 12,000 RPM, if the same could be done domestically to a Quannon 150 the owner would no doubt be happy with the modification as the Quannon feels like it isn’t being allowed to reach its full potential.
  • The bike hiccuped once on the highway at 10,000 RPM but the weakest link was not the carburettor, it was the nut behind the handlebar that let his bike begin to run out of gas. There is a 150cc EFI model out though however…
  • The Quannon’s gas gauge is just as out to lunch as the CBR-125R’s.

KYMCO Quannon 150

Lasting impressions:

The KYMCO Quannon delivered character and comfort versus a Honda CBR-125R that while very smooth, sometimes left you wondering whether or not you turned the bike on. When faced with bad road surfaces and hard riding the Quannon proved up to the task and had enough power to at least get the job done on highway commutes.

As a former Honda CBR-125R rider my girlfriend, Ashley, appreciated the feel from Quannon’s braking, the feeling from her CBR’s braking having been an issue for her. She appreciated the Quannon’s acceleration and gear ratio as well as overall power. GPS testing of the speedometer of both bikes proved the Quannon a little more accurate and both bike putting out similar numbers and topping out at a GPS indicated 126 km/hr. Our conclusion is that while it isn’t worthwhile to upgrade from the CBR-125R to the Quannon 150, if you’re looking for a good alternative to the former, check out the latter. This was one fun machine perfect for learning to ride and for light urban commutes.

Be sure to check out our Honda CBR-125R and Honda Rebel 250KYMCO Venox 250 and KYMCO Downtown 300i reviews.

Have something to say about small displacement bikes? Leave a comment below!

About Adrian from YouMotorcycle

I started riding motorcycles in 2007, founded YouMotorcycle in 2009, and was working in the motorcycle industry by 2011. I've worked for some of the biggest companies in motorcycling, before going full-time self-employed in the motorcycle business in 2019. I love sharing his knowledge and passion of motorcycling with other riders to help you as best I can.

3 comments

  1. Hi, I ride a Kymco 125cc Pulsar s motorbike 2013. I have not yet needed to use 1st gear and with a top speed of 65mph you would suspect that 50mph could be done all day, not so. Rattles,vibs, rev counter knocking 8,000 revs. I can not find the bottle to try 65mph. In short this bike is under geared. Is there anyone out there that can tell me if I can fit a rear wheel from a Kymco Quannon 150cc into my Pulsar.I like my bike and it would be great to lift gearing up. Regards Billy.

    • I changed my front sprocket to a 18 teeth and rear to a 39 teeth. Works fine, I’m 90+kg. Top end and fuel economy increased drastically. I commute every bay and is heavy on the throttle, still averages 45km/l

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