What is a Prima Rally? Well Prima means first in Italian and Rally, I imagine in this context is alluding to some sort of off-road on-road motorsport event. So the Hyosung Prima Rally is the number one rally vehicle on earth. I mean it clearly states it on the side…so it must be. If you were to enter in the WRC (World Rally Championship) obviously you’d win. The 1.5 million dollar, all singing, all dancing, four wheel drive, turbocharged Subaru Impreza would have no chance…zero. Funnily enough I haven’t seen any Prima Rally’s in the WRC so I’m a bit confused. I think, however that I’ve figured it out, it’s a puzzle. What they actually meant was this: Prima is short for Prima Donna and Rally is just poor spelling, they actually meant to write alley. This gives us a Prima Donna in an alley…which ahh is a loose way of saying…a male prostitute. Obviously Hyosung wanted to call the bike ‘The Gigolo'…now that’s a name to sell bikes with. Hell I’d buy one.

The Hyosung Rally has been on the market for quite some years, the first version was introduced back in 1999 and since then improvements and extra features have been added to keep the model current. Hyosung is becoming more of a force every year with there aggressively priced motorcycles and scooters; they are certainly one of the stronger and higher quality Korean manufacturers. They also have strong dealer networks in most countries so buying a Hyosung is normally a safe bet.

One of the first things you notice about the Rally will be the chunky dual purpose tires, they certainly look different to the standard road tires most scooters come with. Strangely enough, they don’t seem to detract from the ride quality in anyway. I imagine they wouldn’t grip quite as well as a dedicated road tire however it’s not something I noticed in regular riding. What they did do was help iron out road undulations, which gives the Rally a very smooth ride, especially smooth compared to most 50cc scooters. The Rally is a rather large scooter for a 50cc model but it’s a good large. Some bigger 50cc scooters simply feel…heavy, not the Rally. The large tires and sturdy body give the Hyosung a quality feel not unlike a Vespa LX 50. The Rally would definitely suit larger riders as it doesn’t have the “I’m on a toy” feeling most 50cc scooters give you.

Ease of use wise the Rally is about average, it’s pretty easy to put on the centre stand and if that fails there’s always the included side stand. The under seat storage area is one of the largest we’ve seen on any normal sized scooter and easily swallows a full face helmet. There’s no glove box up front and no remote release for the seat so you’ll have to remove the key to get to items but that’s about the same as most 50cc bikes. There is a bag hook so worst case you can always chuck the shopping on there if you’re in a hurry. Build quality is surprisingly good considering the entry level price, the Hyosung betters most other bikes at similar money.

The bike we tested here was still restricted and quite slow because of it. Any normal owner will quickly have these idiotic restrictions removed so the scooter becomes a fully functional device. We’ve heard the Rally is a little harder to de-restrict than some scooters as it has more than one method of restriction. The best bet is to have a quiet word with your local retailer on how best to go about this. In my opinion restricted scooters are just downright dangerous; the power restrictions make it difficult to flow with traffic and just plain annoying on hills. Brakes are again about average for a 50cc machine, they give fairly good lever feedback and reasonable power. The front wheel is gripped with a single piston disc and there’s the usual drum brake on the back wheel. As I always say…why not a disc brake in the back too?

Summing up the Rally. I imagine the Prima Rally will suit somebody who wants a larger sized 50cc scooter, something that doesn’t throw you off over a tiny bump in the road and looks a bit different to the average bland 50cc models at this price point. If you’re a bigger lad or lass then put the Hyosung Prima Rally on your list of bikes to test ride…but make sure you have a word about removing the restrictions as it’s definitely on the slow side off the showroom floor. Oh and you could always win the World Rally Championship…that’s gotta be good for a few bob.

Price	$2030 NZ
0-50km/h	15.5 Seconds
Top Speed	56 kph
Fuel Economy	3.2L/100kms - 74MPG
Speedo Accuracy	50kph displayed = 45kph actual
Pros:	Very smooth ride for a 50cc bike, large under seat storage area, good sized scooter for larger people.
Cons:	Very slow when restricted, no glovebox.
Handling
Performance
Fuel Consumption
Value for money
Ease of use
Styling
Build quality
Overall Score	65%

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