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| Keeway Flash 50 |
Restricted 50cc scooters really are the bain of a reviewer’s life, this is for a very simple reason… They are Horrifically, Horrendously, and Dangerously slow… The pace of a restricted 50cc motor scooter could easily be compared to a quadriplegic South American two-toed Sloth… or perhaps an arthritic, amputee Tortoise in quicksand. You see, what happens when you saddle up a restricted 50… especially after riding any 100cc plus, or even derestricted 50cc machine… is nothing. You cannot help but scream to yourself “Kill me NOW!†this initial reaction makes it very easy to give the scooter in question… as you would probably guess…a bit of a raw deal.
As far as handling is concerned the Flash is reasonable, 12†wheels tend to do away with the twitchiness of a 10" or smaller wheel but the reasonably high centre of gravity and the steering geometry make the Flash much more twitchy than I would have expected. Braking is quite strong from the disc and drum combination with plenty of power to lock both wheels easily. The feedback from the levers was less than ideal but this most likely had a lot to do with the very low kilometres on the bike we tested.
Ok so… I have left it as long as humanly possible… performance, or the lack thereof. The Flash is, as I mentioned earlier a restricted 50cc bike. Unfortunately for us but fortunate for the prospective buyer the Flash tested was a HEAVILY restricted model. It turns out the local importer had to bring in the 45kph restricted model because there were none of the proper ones floating around. The importer removes the restrictions before sale here rendering it by all accounts a MUCH better performing machine. The one tested had the full gamut of restrictions from a top speed restrictor (these tend to be easily removed by cutting a wire) as the top speed was somewhere in the 45kph (28mph) range.
Along with this there is an exhaust restriction of some sort in place as even getting to that top speed took an age. In fact I couldn’t test the 0 – 50kph time as we normally do because I couldn’t get the bike to 50kph in the road available. The good thing about this is that for any people stuck with the restrictions they should be reasonably easy to disable... if you are feloniously inclined. The other positive is that this lack of power results in a fairly good fuel consumption rate of 87 MPG
Overall the Flash is a good-looking machine with reasonable braking and handling. Day to day usefulness is also ok if you learn to live with the minor foibles of the centre stand etc. If you are interested in a modern, Italian designed machine and aren’t concerned with pace this may be for you. It would be interesting to see how much the performance increases with the removal of the restrictors because as it stands its performance is poor compared to most of it’s competitors. We will try and get hold of a derestricted version to test the numbers. NB: All Ratings relate to the tested bike... will be reviewed when/if we can aquire a derestricted version.
Manufacturer Specifications
Comments
(6)
 written by vincel , October 23, 2009
There may be more than one restriction, possibly an electronic restriction... Im not entirely sure but some of these machines need a wire snipped at the CDI to remove the electronic restriction. Some also feature a restrictor in the gearbox... talk to your local distributor.
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 written by Jack Polhill , October 17, 2009
how do i derestrict this thing?
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i've taken the variator washer out, replaced the exhaust with a performance exhaust and it still does about 30 mph!!!!!!! where are all the restrictors and how do i remove them? report abuse
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 written by Dustin_Next 12 Performance / Scooter Boutique , June 17, 2009
I can do ALL the mods...let me know!
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-Dustin Next12Performance / Scooter Boutique Shop: 904.853.6328 report abuse
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Restriction includes a ring in the variator - there are videos on U Tube on how to remove them from yamahas. Removing this gets it up to 55-58kmh indicated. Still noticalby slower off the line than other derestricted scooters and my Hysoung SF50 got to 65 with cut black wire from the CDI.
I am told that these 45kmh ones (including mine) have a restricted barrel - an aftermarket barrel is the only answer, or some serious porting. Looking up the exhaust port should show if it is or not - the port top is flat.
It is reasonably economical - about 30km/l. The Petrol tank by your feet so if yous pill some gas while filling to doesn't fill the underseat compartment and doesn't get in the way of the luggage rack or top box.
Finish is ok, although the chrome rusts. The paint seems to have lasted ok.
The luggage rack is solid, which makes mounting a top box awkward.
In summary, it is not to bad for a Chinese made scooter, and at under $2k on the road for a new one, it is the cheapest "brand name" transport you can get, and at least there is a dealer network so there is some semblance of support. If you can pay more, you certainly get more with other brands, but for under $2k, the Keeway is worth a look - as long as it has been properly restricted. Ride it first.