I Got 365 Days to Go!

The idea of putting this into writing just come up to my mind. This could be some sort of dilemma or maybe not. I'm thinking of buying a scooter for my next ride by the end of next year (2025) or by early 2026, hoping I'm getting a very good deal, worth every penny spent. Right now the criteria that I have in mind are:

1. A scooter that's 250cc and above, 250cc at least. When I need the power the scooter must deliver, I'm not going to ride very fast, if a scooter can reach up to 110-130 km/h easily that's is more than enough for me!

2. Very big under seat storage to put all my things especially my sports equipment and gears. I like to play badminton & in a week I spend 3-4 days just for badminton, so I strongly believe that a big scooter with big under seat storage can fit my badminton racket bag plus my shoes, small towel, spare shirts, jacket, raincoat, small bag & water bottle. So when it's raining I know that my sports equipment is going to be safe & especially dry! I'm not into driving car to play sports because I hate the smell of my body & sweat sticking to the car seat. 

3. Maintenence cost, the cheaper the better! Scooter with no engine oil filter will save me more money! Also scooter that only use 1 liter or less engine oil is the best option to get as I only need to buy 1 bottle each time I want to change the oil. 

4. Reliable engine! (I'm into so much reviews right now especially in youtube from local, Asians & international youtubers) 

5. Parts are easy to get offline & online in all popular e commerce platforms! 

This is the cheapest option so far, Modenas Elegan 250 EX, around RM19K on the road in Kuching. Not only cheap but also very reliable! Easy maintenance, no oil filter needed for the engine oil, engine oil is only 900 ml for a 250 cc (only need to buy a bottle of 1 liter) , superb handling, good under seat storage & enough power too! Oh yeah Modenas Elegan 250 ex is also a rebranding originally from Kymco X Town 250. Kymco is one of the best manufacturer in scooter segment in the world! The only downside of this scooter is the looks, very out-dated design & not attractive to many riders including me. 

This one edited using AI (camo theme) 

Kymco DTX 360 (250cc) also under Modenas. Not sure about the price since it's not being launched yet till now (December 2024). I'm estimating the price will be around RM20-23K on the road in Kuching, Sarawak once launched (maybe next year). If the price is as in my expectations, I think I'm going to get one of this with the budget that I think I will have. A very agile scooter according to most youtubers reviewing it & as long as I can recall it, this scooter also don't need any filter for the engine oil servicing, should save a lot of money just from that part. Right now I'm pretty sure that this is the maxi scooter that I wanna buy in a year time especially when looking at the price & all the specifications that I need. 

updated: The price is RM24-26K including first party insurance in Kuching & I got it for around RM24500 on the road. 

Honda NSS 250 (also known as Forza NSS). The price that I got is around RM26400 on the road in ING motor in Sarikei under Honda Impian Store. In Kuching the price is around RM31K (body only). Honda is a brand that doesn't need any introduction. The suspension of this scooter is just awesome according to some reviews as well as the stock tyres. The speed is linear also the handling is superb! The top speed is around 140-150 km/h which is good enough for me. 

Zontes 350E by Zontes Malaysia, the price in Kuching is around RM27K on the road. This big cc scooter started to get the recognition in Europe & Malaysia's nearest neighbour Thailand nowadays, also Zontes (from China) has opened their assembly factory in Thailand. To be honest, if to compare to other scooters that I have mentioned in term of pricing, Zontes 350E is one of the best option in term of power especially & price, with 27K instead of a 250 I can get 100 cc more! There's this one guy from Germany, a youtuber making deep reviews on this scooter, telling people how he loves the bike so much, how reliable it is & a lot of people are also commenting the same thing on this scooter! This is really a massive turning point for me to consider this brand. Top speed is around 160-170 km/h! 

Zontes 368G is the latest by Zontes which is the most attractive scooter & looking at the engine capacity, I guess the price will around RM29-31K on the road plus insurance & roadtax! Is it worth it? I still think so because of the engine capacity, bigger than a Honda ADV350 that will cost around RM37-41K on the road! You already save RM10K with a Zontes 368G!

This is Voge SR3, a 250 cc scooter which was launched by the end of 2025. This one after a long consideration has become my scooter of choice. The price is around RM17300 on the road with first party insurance. It is distributed by M Force Malaysia & in Kuching it's under M Force Kuching (under Tay Motor). To be honest, this scooter has a very good specification & among the most torque in it's class, a very large under seat storage, has grip heater, adjustable (manually) wind shield, large fuel tank, really comfortable seat for rider & pillion & the most attractive thing about this scooter is the design, very authentic & unique. 

But unfortunately after waiting for more than 3 months I regretfully have to take back the deposit that I already gave to the shop & choose Kymco DTX 250 instead & that's my final decision even though the Kymco is RM7K more expensive than the voge sr3. I even got all the accessories needed for the voge sr3 bit unfortunately I need to sell them to a friend since he's still interested in the scooter. 

A shorter smoked windshield (49 centimeters)

Backrack box ready! 

Performance hi flow air filter! 

Spare oil filter in case of need! 

phone holder to be installed behind the awesome smoked wind shield! Really useful for long distance ride in the future! 

Plastic & stuffs hanger

& last but not least a quick open fuel cap! This definitely speeds up fueling process! 

& since we are talking about scooters I need to show you this. It's the latest (launched also around end of 2025) sub 200 cc scooter by zontes, right now it's only available in China but soon will be distributed to Asian market starting with Thailand. 

This scooter is known for being unusually light because it uses a full aluminium alloy frame. In short: it is a 150 cc liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, fuel-injected scooter with CVT transmission, producing about 15–16 hp. It weighs roughly 108 kg, much lighter than most scooters in its class, and comes with dual-channel ABS, traction control, keyless ignition, TFT digital display, LED lighting, and large storage, making it a very lightweight but tech-heavy scooter designed for both city riding and light touring.

If this is available right now (especially the 175 cc version) I will definitely choose this one over other expensive scooters. It suit my simple need & also the under seat storage is very big & can fit 2 full face helmets. The pricing will be around RM10K according to many trusted sources. I love how simple it is & I bet the maintenence cost will be like any other small cc motorcycles or mopeds. 

Insya Allah I'll be getting my Kymco by April this year (2026) and I can't wait to ride it long distance. My plan Insya Allah I will ride to Sabah again & this time only with my wife by the end of May this year. Our main location will be Semporna Sabah because the main plan is to go to islands in Semporna. I'll keep things posted time to time!