 |
| NK100
T-8 and T-5 sport next-generation Japanese looks. Equipment
level high but fit and finish poor. |
NK100T-5 & NK100T-8
(scooters)
There’s no denying it, these scooters look good. But that’s
expected, when you blatantly copy the best of Italian and Japanese
designs. The smooth, flowing lines of both scooters impart a next-generation
look which is new to the Indian market. The headlights look classy,
and the crystal-look tail-lights impart a fresh look to the rear.
Sideways is the best way to look at them, the ample side panels
conveying a sense of aerodynamic grace. Quite a departure after
the unimaginative styling of the motorcycles.
The vehicles are powered by identical 102.1cc four-stroke, air-cooled
single-cylinder units. Drive is via a variomatic transmission, quite
similar to the Honda Activa, but nowhere as smooth as the Honda.
While the bigger 100T-8 is decidedly sluggish off the mark, the
marginally lighter 100T-5 feels much quicker. Starting either scooter
is a joy, since the electric starter is very effective, and did
not fail even once. The 100T-5 has an interesting safety feature
that doesn’t allow the engine to start as long as the side-stand
is down. And if the side-stand is applied when the engine is on,
the engine shuts off immediately.
 |
| Good
looks continue at the rear. T-5, T-8 have rear double
coil over shocks; lockable glovebox flimsy. |
|
On
the performance front, both scooters achieved an impressive top
speed of 80 kph (indicative). Now comes the interesting part - these
scooters are the first in India to have discs at the front. While
the disc on the 100T-5 performed well, the 100T-8’s disc was
as good as not present. Possibly due to bad assembly - but then,
why provide such half-ready vehicles for test in the first place?
Fuel efficiency was a shocker - while we did not expect to cross
the 45kpl mark with either scooter, we were shocked to find that
neither returned better than 30kpl. And this is the compensated
figure!
 |
| Red
light indicates cellphones ring. |
 |
| Disc
on alloys standard on T-5, T-8. ABS claim unsubstantiated. |
 |
| functional
dash lacks quality. |
|
Ride
on both scooters is good. The telescopic front fork on the 100T-8
provides adequate comfort on Indian roads. Both the 100T-8 and the
T-5 claim to have ABS (Anti-lock Braking System). But when it came
to the test, leave alone ABS, simple braking on the T-8 was a task.
The T-5 was the only vehicle among the four that displayed adequate
braking. Interestingly, company officials had never even heard of
anti-dive technology. On being queried about technical back-up,
a top-ranking official replied: “What is the need for a technical
department when all we have to do is import and sell?If need be,
we will send our boys to China for training, and they will come
back and train the dealer mechanics here.”
Straight-line stability on the 100T-5 is good, and cornering at
moderate speeds is not much of an adventure. The 100T-8 seems equally
planted on the road at high speeds, but is not at all confidence
inspiring while banking or panic-braking. Fit and finish is a mixed
bag again. Firstly, the paint and plastic finish of both the scooters
is downright pathetic. What looks pretty from a distance appears
cheap when seen at close quarters.
In terms of equipment level, there is a lot on offer for the money,
but quality is a big issue. For around Rs 26,000 for the T-5 and
Rs 28,000 for the T-8, you get electric start, front disc brakes,
helmet-capacity boot (lit up in the T-5), mirror indicators (only
on the T-5) and a mobile phone alerter on the dash on both. But
the switches are again of poor-quality plastic, and the nacelle
feels it has been glued onto the chassis. Like the motorcycles,
all electricals are connected to the battery, ensuring a flicker-free
headlight at night.
Summing it up
Apart from a promised low cost price, and on-paper value-for-money,
there isn’t much going for these Chinese imports. The NK125
should come at a price that would rival the current Indian 100cc
crop of motorcycles, and claims to offer a lot more. But then quality
is well below par, even on critical components like brakes. The
NK100 would seem extremely attractive if it is offered at the promised
price, but then at what cost? The T-5 has its merits, but its shortcomings
outweigh it. The T-8 is a bad scooter to put it simply, and not
worth taking a serious look. If one had to choose a bike and a scooter
from these four, the obvious choices would be the NK125 and the
T-5 (just love the indicators on the mirrors! Very chic).
On the critical question of after-sales service, Nagakawa does not
have a proper technical team, leave alone service facilities. Moreover,
there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm and professionalism in the
company. In fact, we would stick our collective necks out to say
that we got much more cooperation from the Delhi distributor than
we did from the company itself.
In our opinion, there’s no cause for worry among Indian two-wheeler
giants from such short-sighted companies. The target consumer, we
feel, would still prefer to go in for Indian bikes, even if there
is a 10-15 percent price differential between them and these Chinese
bikes. What you get from Indian bikes is reliability, durability
and peace of mind in ownership. And these are three things that
this particular dragon cannot offer as of now. Like it or not, this
Chinese dragon turned out to be a paper dragon.
| Factfile |
| |
NK100 |
NK125 |
NK100T-5 |
NK100T-8 |
| HOW
MUCH? |
| Price
(on-road Delhi) estimated |
Rs
33,000 |
Rs
42,000 |
Rs
26,000 |
Rs
28,000 |
| HOW
BIG? |
| Length |
1945mm |
1945mm |
- |
- |
| Width |
740mm |
780mm |
- |
- |
| Height |
1110mm |
1125
mm |
- |
- |
| Ground
clearance |
- |
154
mm |
- |
- |
| Wheelbase |
1270mm |
1265mm |
- |
- |
| Kerb
weight (kg) |
110kg |
128kg |
105kg |
108kg |
| Tank
capacity |
12
litres |
11
litres |
6.5
litres |
7.4
litres |
| ENGINE |
| Layout |
4-stroke,
single-cylinder, 97.3cc |
4-stroke,
single-cylinder, 124.6cc |
4-stroke,
single-cylinder, 102.1cc |
4-stroke,
single-cylinder, 102.1cc |
| Max
power |
8bhp
at 8000rpm |
10.7
at 8500 rpm |
- |
- |
| Max
torque |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Bore/stroke |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Valve
train |
SOHC |
SOHC |
SOHC |
SOHC |
| Valves
per cylinder |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Top
speed |
85kph |
90kph |
80kph |
80kph |
| GEARBOX |
| Type |
4-speed
cyclical |
5-speed
cyclical |
Variomatic |
Variomatic |
| BRAKES |
| Front |
Disc
240mm |
Disc
240mm |
Disc
220mm |
Disc
220mm |
| Rear |
Drum
110mm |
Drum
110mm |
Drum
110mm |
Drum
110mm |
| Tyres |
|
|
|
|
| Front |
2.75
x 18 |
80/100-18-4PR |
3.5
x 10 |
100/90-10 |
| Rear |
3.00
x 18 |
90/90-18-6PR |
3.5
x 10 |
100/90-10 |
|
| Story Ritujoy Chakraborty Photos Ashley
Baxter |
Source January 2002 |
|
|
