FREE Bargain bad boy - Cycle Torque

cYclE ToRquE TEST - cougaR 125
TEST BY dENNiS PENzo PHoToS BY cHRiS PicKETT
When a bike distributor
doubles the warranty
on a vehicle then you
know that something’s
working out right.
RIDING GEAR: RXT helmet, Laro jacket,
Thomas Cook ‘Calibre’ boots, gloves by
Five Gloves, WileyX eyewear.
LittLe Cougar
on the paCe
Kick start backup. A bit of bling on the footboards. Clean lines for the clocks.
The Laro Cougar is a Taiwanesebuilt
scooter (by Adly Moto)
which has been available in
Western Australia for a couple
of years, where it’s proven to be
reliable, economic and popular.
So good, in fact, that Laro has just
increased the warranty on the
bike to an industry-leading two
years.
The four-stroke 125cc single
cylinder air-cooled engine runs
smoothly and does all the work
through the CVT transmission
so it’s a simple twist-and-go
operation.
Nice light alloy wheels helps
keep the weight down and there’s
plenty of stopping power for a
bike this size with disc brakes
front and back.
The 12-inch wheels instead of
the 10-inchers usually found on
many scooters this size is a plus
when it comes to road holding and
stability. You need them for some
of the potholes in our district.
Suspension duties are handled
by hydraulic forks up front and
hydraulic/spring shocks at the
rear.
I loved the sound the blinkers
make. A lot of scooters we’ve
ridden have a solid “click-click”
sound to them, but Laro’s Cougar
has this high pitched pinging
sound like those sonar pings
you hear in those old wartime
submarine movies, loved it.
The Cougar has a sidestand and
centrestand and also comes with
a kick start to back up the CDI
ignition.
A net weight of only 90kg
makes the Cougar an easy bike to
manoeuvre through city traffic.
This scooter has pretty slim
dimensions at 675mm wide and
1780mm long, very much at home
in the city.
We liked the checkerplate style
floor that offers a really grippy
surface to keep your feet securely
placed.
Seat height is 770mm so it’s not
too tall if you’re a little bit height
challenged. The seat is quite thick
and comfy for the rider and got a
thumbs up from our pillion guinea
pig.
Instrumentation is very clean
and easily read with speedo,
tacho, fuel gauge and assorted
warning lights.
The six-litre fuel tank is accessed
under the seat and this little bike
will run for ages between fuel
stops.
The little Cougar has a catalytic
converter fitted so you know
you’re also doing your bit for the
environment too.
Top speed is about 90km/h
making this an ideal city
commuter, and also capable of
getting around the ‘burbs. We’ve
got a couple of big hills in our
vicinity which we always use
for testing some of the smaller
scooters and the little Cougar
handled our test incline as well as
any other similar capacity vehicle.
Headlights work well and
provide plenty of illumination,
with a reasonable high beam too,
even outside of the big city.
And it has all the other standards
like a large lockable compartment
under the seat which fits a full face
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