Kymco Culture

Like those massive billboards that hawk everything from tacky underwear to Australian Immigration services, "underbone" bikes and scooters that zip and, well, scoot around traffic are now — love or loathe them — part of the city’s clutter, serving as the Metroscape’s brightly-lit and polished urban graffiti. As pop culture items, there’s just no escaping them at the moment.

Unlike billboards though, bike love is apparently more pervasive than billboard adoration. To a lot of guys who own and ride these underbones and scooters, these things are the coolest things this side of a Superbike. And as gaily colored as their steeds are, they do take their machineries seriously, if not their choice of trousers, which are oftentimes as gaily colored. Tuned, modified and tweaked, the bikes are highly individualized pieces of mobile sculpture that’s quite distinct from their "lesser", bone-stock brethren. A deliberate move on the bike lovers’ part, an underbone and scooter Hot Rod culture is actually spawned in the process.

True to tradition, at the 4th Kymco Cup, prime examples of these underbones and scooters of assorted brands (but dominated by Kymco models) gathered for the time-honored Hot Rodding rite of street racing, which was recently held at the Filinvest grounds in Alabang. As such, lined along the curbside and practically everywhere else were rows upon rows of those gleaming machines — single-cylinder, clutch lever-less, 50cc to 150cc beauties rendered in paintjobs that could challenge an art director’s color harmony guidebook. While the degree of modification on each may vary, the level of workmanship, however, was generally excellent.

As the Kymco Cup, organized by SC Kymco Pilipinas, was a race event and not merely plain boulevard cruising (another Hot Rodding tradition), a large number of the bikes, both underbones and scooters alike, were in full race form. Which meant stripped-down, fairing-less, highly-tuned contraptions. True to form, most of the bikes were also trucked to the track, while the competitors themselves were garbed in full leather racing gear. And these weren’t for show either, both the riders’ and bikes’ wardrobes: The leather racing attires, for one, mostly appeared to wear the scars of racetrack battles past.

Which shouldn’t be a surprise, really. The entry list, especially in the advanced classes, included Jolet Jao. Yes, the motocross and Superbike ace Jolet Jao races scooters as well.

Of course, mere mortal enthusiats and weekend racers were welcome to join in the fun as well, these guys coming in full force in less modified but no less impressive rides. Large 150cc Kymco Dink scooters, for instance, provided their own brand of racetrack action. Meanwhile for variety, a 100 cc Kymco Top Boy model was made available by the bike company for a time trial event which was participated in by invited members of the media — this writer and fellow Star colleague Lester Dizon included. Needless to say, the media race was quite an exciting attraction, especially — or more precisely, exclusively — among the members of the media who participated.

Kymco vice president for products Gilbert Limjoco was visibly pleased at the event’s turnout, which was considered as proof positive of the popularity of the "scootering" and unberbone bike lifestyle, of which Kymco plays an integral role in. The company, after all, sells some of the most attractive and popular bikes in the market.

But more important, Limjoco stressed that organized street racing like the Kymco Cup was definitely an excellent way for bikemakers to provide underbone and scooter enthusiasts a venue wherein these guys can race in a controlled — and therefore, safe — environment. Because by doing so, a Hot Rodding culture is cultivated where safety also plays a major role in. And to which most riders, this writer included, wholeheartedly agree on.

(Especially so after the Kymco Cup experience — see sidebar.)