RM35k buys you either of these cool new bikes

By thoriq, 03 September 2020

The local bikes market welcomed two cool new offerings over this past week, the first debuting during the recent Merdeka holiday weekend and the second just last night. They are the refreshed Honda Rebel and new Vespa Sei Giorni II.

Both are very cool in their own right, though the latter Italian’s heritage styling arguably stands much cooler than the latter Japanese ‘basic’ middleweight. Nevertheless, avid fresh Full-B license holders with the means can’t go wrong with either.

We’ll start with the Vespa and, aptly, this is yet another premium retro-styled special that newly appointed custodians Didi Resources Sdn Bhd have chosen to add into its local line up.

Those familiar with Vespas will know that the Sei Giorni II special underpins the GTS 300 Super Sport model, and it packs a reworked iteration of the brand’s liquid-cooled 278cc HPE 300 single-cylinder mill that thumps out 23.8bhp and 26Nm.

Yep, this one’s slightly peppier than the GTS Super 300 Racing Sixties launched recently, and it even packs a much more distinct retro styling complete with a headlight mounted low on the front wheel mudguard ala a 1950s Vespa.

Key equipment present includes all-round disc brakes with dual-channel ABS, full-LED lighting, as well as a USB charging port. Topping things off is the tasty ‘Titanio Grey’ paint and bronze-finished top-fairing that this scooter is dressed exclusively in.

Just a handful of this racy retro scooter will be made available locally, each commanding a base price tag of RM34,500. Yes, pretty steep figure, but both a windscreen and 36-litre luggage box plus mounting rack are included in said price.

Not a fan of scooters? Well, fret not as there’s now a refreshed Honda Rebel cruiser for you to consider instead, and it commands a slightly lower asking price of RM32,899 (base sticker price sans on-road costs) too.

Key changes done to the 2020 model include all-new and full-LED lighting suite, richer new digital instrument dial featuring a gear position indicator, all-new suspension hardware and tuning, as well as the addition of an assist-and-slipper clutch suite to the driveline.

Honda’s even retuned the Rebel’s liquid-cooed 471cc parallel-twin heart. Output readings remain at 45.6hp and 43.3Nm, but the latter now comes from a much lower rev-band and gets delivered over a broader range, making it more adept for cruising.

There’s even a stylish new matte blue colourway option on top of the existing matte silver and graphite black choice to consider now too. All in all, these changes have now made Honda’s starter feet-forward cruiser a little more ‘complete’ than before.

So, which of these cool new two-wheelers would you spend your RM35,000 budget on?