Space Oddity

The new Kymco AK550 takes scootering into the space age.

- Jonathan Schofield

The new Kymco AK550 has the curves of a super touring scooter and wouldn’t look out of place on the set of a new Batman movie. It fills the senses with more than just a nice side-on, or a tantalising tail-end view. From all angles this Taiwanese machine pours gorgeousness into your life.

The futuristic front end reminds me of an alien spacecraft from an episode of Star Trek, while for some reason the cockpit takes me back to the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. Suddenly I’m back to being a small child wanting desperately to be Starbuck, launching in his Colonial Viper to fight the might of the Cylon Empire. Without even turning on the keyless ignition system I was dreaming of blasting through the skies, let alone along B-roads and  dual carriageways; as looks go, this is one mighty fine scooter.

The underseat storage space (which has a weight capacity of 10kg) takes a standard open face helmet, or a small-shell full face, plus a few extras (say a set of waterproofs). What is a nice touch is the LED light that comes on when the seat is lifted. Additional storage space is provided by two small front compartments, one of which houses a standard 12v power output to charge your phone or sat nav.

ON THE MOVE It’s a little bit of a ‘rabbit in the headlights’ scenario, looking at all the switches and buttons when first placing yourself in the captain’s chair of the AK. But what’s seemingly a baffling collection of controls soon makes complete sense. All the basics are just where they should be, and they seem reassuringly sturdy.