Keeway Sixties 300i & Vieste 300 Scooter Review: First Ride

Do you really need a 300cc scooter in your garage? Dhruv spends a couple of days with the Sixties 300i & Vieste 300 to find out the answer.

Scooters have been one of the primary modes of transportation for most Indian families since one can remember. No matter how much you love the feel of riding a motorcycle, you just can’t beat the practicality of a scooter. And the fact that it can be easily ridden by every member of a family is an added advantage. The only downside to a scooter is that it’s a little too vanilla. But it seems that things are changing, for now, we have a company called Keeway in India, which is looking to shake things up a little. You see, up until now, scooters barely crossed the 150cc mark in terms of engine displacement, but Keeway has almost doubled that figure with its two 278cc liquid-cooled four-valve single-cylinder petrol engine scooters. What’s more, their design is definitely going to wow you. So, let’s find out if these two new Keeway scooters will work in the Indian setting.

Looking Nice!

The first thing that you notice about these Keeway scooters is their design. Both the Sixties 300i and Vieste 300 look poles apart, but still, their styling should please almost everyone. The Sixties 300i is a full-on retro scooter and has a ‘Lambretta’ vibe going for it. The test unit we rode was finished in white, and with minimal lines on the body and a two-piece seat, I found it hard to take my eyes away from it. The best part about the whole scooter – at least for me – were the exhaust vents located towards the rear, and while they might or might not do a whole lot to increase the cooling of the engine, they look damn good! Overall, the Sixties 300i looks like a proper old-school scooter and a big one at that.

On the other hand, the Vieste 300 could almost pass off for a motorcycle, given its maxi-scooter design. Unlike the Sixties 300i, the Vieste 300 is full of angular design bits and sharp lines, all of which scream for your attention, but in a nice way. While the oldies may not find it attractive at first, the young crowd will definitely be taken by it. The lighting too is LED on the Vieste 300, adding further to that contemporary look. Overall, both scooters have enough oomph to attract eyeballs but of different generations.

Sitting Right?

A good design is definitely an advantage, but what about comfort? Now, the Sixties 300i has a dual seat, and honestly, it looks like a throne compared to other scooters on the market. The cushioning is soft but not so soft as to make you uncomfortable after 10 minutes of riding. Keeway seems to have found the right balance in this regard. In terms of sitting position, the Sixties 300i ensures that your legs and hands make right angles, meaning that you sit in a relaxed position all the time. The great thing about the Sixties 300i is that it has a huge floorboard area, which means that your feet are always comfortably positioned, and you can carry luggage on it as well. In fact, our magazine designer/photographer Parvesh, who is well above six feet, found the Sixties 300i to be quite accommodating.

However, his impression of the Vieste 300 wasn’t as flattering. The maxi-scooter-like design means that most of the floorboard is taken up by a central tunnel, and honestly, even I didn’t find the foot space down there to be adequate enough. With riding shoes on, one-third of my feet were always hanging out of the floorboard area – not a very reassuring feeling, I must say. The handlebar though falls to hand quite easily, and so do the rest of the controls.

Does it Lean?

Both the Sixties 300i and Vieste 300 are good handlers. That’s because they are both set up on the stiffer side and feel tight when flinging from side to side. And while they are both fun, they are not the same in terms of riding. You see, the Sixties 300i is not just a traditional-looking scooter, but it also has bits and pieces of one. Case in point, the tyres. Both the front and rear tyres have the same diameter, same width, and same profile – to put it simply, it uses the same tyre at both ends, which means that it has a limit to the extent you can fling it. 

The Vieste 300, being a maxi-scooter, gets the fun bits of a motorcycle, which means staggered tyre sizes – so fling it as much as you wish (or dare), and it hardly complains. It truly offers that motorcycle-like handling. Nonetheless, I had a ball being silly on both scooters. The braking setup of both scooters deserves a special mention here – both scooters have disc brakes on both ends and a superbly calibrated ABS, which means that braking performance is reassuring and always on point.

Got Grunt?

Grunt is one thing that both scooters pack in abundance. The powertrain is common between the two scooters, and given that the difference between their kerb weights is just 1kg, the performance of both feels similar. As you start tugging at the throttle, 80km/h comes up in a jiffy, and 100km/h also doesn’t take long to show up on the speedo. Post that, things tend to settle down a bit, although even if you are cruising at 100km/h, you have enough juice left in reserve to pull off an overtake.

But, let’s go back to the south of 80km/h because most scooters rarely cross that mark. My oh my, do these two make you act silly! Below the 80km/h mark, you can overtake for fun, dart into those disappearing gaps, and do a whole lot more – in other words, you feel drunk on power. And we are talking about the good (internal combustion engine) kind. The one complaint that I have with both scooters is that the throttle travel is excessively long, and if you are going full blast, you have to reposition your hand to cover the brakes. This, I think, is the only downside of hustling these two scooters.

Money Well Spent?

Well, now we have come to the part where I have to be objective about things, and honestly, a 300cc scooter is never going to be a case of money well spent. It’s excess just for the sake of it, but if you do get one, it will be because the good things in life are never cheap. The bigger problem is justifying the price tag. Honestly, I can live with spending extra for what I like, but ₹2.99 lakh (ex-showroom) for either one of them is a little too much, especially for the Sixties 300i, which hardly offers any features. The Vieste 300, at least, makes up by offering bits like heated grips, a tachometer and switch-operated fuel cap and under-seat storage. The only thing that the Sixties 300i is counting on to save its bacon is its good looks. If you can look beyond the high price tag, then any of these two would be a great pick. But, if it is value for money that you seek, then, look elsewhere.

Read more:

2022 Keeway SR125 launched at Rs 1.19 lakh

Keeway Vieste 300 & Sixties 300i scooters launched at Rs 2.99 lakh