NRMA Two Wheels Review - Manhattan 150L

Manhattan Scooters is wholly-owned by MGM Pacific Pty Ltd, an Australian company formed in 1995.

Manhattan scooters has partnered with Xingyue Group (established in 1985), a Chinese company which sells over 120,000 scooters world wide, including to the USA and Europe. They are the national designated manufacturer for motorcycles and the leader of China motorcycle engine industry.

Value for money

Pricing

The Manhattan 150L costs $2995 plus on road costs of around $600. This cost is somewhat cheaper than the 150L's mainstream competition and may sway those on a tighter budget.

Standard features

An underseat storage compartment, small forward glove compartment, top box, handy shopping hook and remote control alarm are all standard and add to the appeal of this scooter.

Accessories

No accessories are available; the 150L is fully optioned.

Design & function

Comfort

The rider's seat pad is quite firm and gave some soreness after two hours of riding. Handlebar reach was comfortable, as was foot position. My 195cm frame was not compromised at all and fitted with no problems. Pillion comfort was again firm and may cause some soreness after distance riding.

Ergonomics

The instrument cluster is made up of a speedometer in the middle, tachometer on the left and fuel gauge on the right. As is common on scooters these were hard to see and you must dip your head regularly to check what speed you are travelling at.

I found the horn excellent, with a large button and loud noise level. The indicator switch though was hard to use and felt cheap. The fuel gauge bounced around as the fuel moved in the tank and gave a misleading indication of fuel level at times.

The 150L comes with a centre stand which is very easy to use. A side stand is not available.

Luggage & space

An abundance of space is available with the standard underseat storage, forward glove compartment and top box. There is a handy shopping hook between your feet.

Build quality & finish

Build quality is average and in most areas is not up to the standard of Japanese or European built scooters. You would say it is more raw than finesse.

Security

A remote control alarm and lockable steering adds about as much security as you can get on a scooter. The alarm is a nice standard feature and one that is not seen on most other scooters available.

On the road

Fuel

During my test I was not easy on the accelerator but still achieved 3.9L/100km, indicating that more than 200 kilometres would be possible from the 8.0 litre fuel tank.

Performance

The Manhattan 150L has a peak output of 6.0kw at 8000rpm. This was adequate to manoeuvre in heavy traffic and hold its own in light traffic areas. It did struggle on freeway type roads above 90kmh. If you intend to ride on freeways regularly I would suggest moving up to a slightly larger capacity scooter or motorcycle.

Ride

My ride consisted of heavy city traffic, suburban traffic, freeway traffic and light main road traffic on a warm sunny day. These conditions more than cover the areas designed for this scooter. The Manhattan performed well in everything except the freeway riding.

Handling

I found the suspension soft but overall performance was satisfactory. The front suspension struggled on rough roads and skipped around. If the 150L had small wheels like most other scooters I could only say that the handling would be less than average, but the fact that the 150L has 16 inch wheels improves the ride and cornering capabilities.  Combined with the light weight of the 150L it makes it easy to flick from side to side.

Braking

After bedding the brakes in on the 150L I found them to be adequate for the job, although I did have to use high hand strength at times for quick stops. This may be an issue for some riders with weaker hand strength.

Smoothness & quietness

Whilst stopped at idle with the brakes on the 150L felt like it wanted to stall. I put this down to an incorrect carburettor adjustment. At speed the 150L was reasonably quiet with only a hint of roughness from the engine.

Summary

Although the Manhattan 150L is Chinese made and raw in finish, it is cheaper than its Japanese and European counterparts which may make it more appealing to those on a limited budget. The only question is the longevity of the 150L, as Manhattan are a new manufacturer, and whether it will be on par with other scooters in this bracket.

Apart from this, the level of standard features and warranty are attractive which may sway you towards the purchase of this scooter.

Test vehicle supplied by Manhattan Scooters.

By Stuart Woodbury - NRMA Motoring, April 2008.

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