I’ve been considering buying a PGO Tigra 200 or Tigra 250. I’m wondering if any of you out there have had experience with the PGO brand…
Are they reliable? How long have you had one?
Do they handle well on the road in terms of cornering and acceleration?
Do they do well in the mountains? Do they have enough torque for steep, narrow mountain roads? (I’m a hiker.)
How do they compare to Kymco, Yamaha or SYM?
from what I’ve read, it’s a Taiwanese brand so it’ll probably be a very decent and rather quick scooter at 200-250. Almost certainly enough to get up the mtns, although it might not handle mountain shitroads worth a damn. Need bigger wheels for that lol
For posterity’s sake, I’ll answer my own question…
I’ve been riding around on a PGO Tigra 200 for the past 7 months, and I’d have to say it’s my favorite ride ever–cars included.
I work at 5 different schools in Lukang, and ride 180km during a typical Monday-Friday workweek. On weekends, I head out to the beach or Nantou, and put another 80-200km on my bike. So… I decided to buy the largest displacement white license plate bike I could find.
From a full stop it’s a bit slow, but by the time I hit 70km, it’ll overtake and dust anything else on the road including a Yamaha S-Max or SYM DRGBT or Jet. I had a guy on a tuned-up S-Max flex on me once and before I knew it, I looked down and was half-way through my red-line and doing 120… I’m not about to win any stupid prizes, so I eased up and let him buzz past… he was a good 2 seconds behind. Anyway, having 200cc’s really slays!
In the corners, there’s a bit more play on the handlebars than my previous Kymcos, and you’ve really got to lean into them. It wasn’t until my fourth ride that I got comfortable with this and it became second nature. It holds the road hard and tight like a pair of yoga pants on a phat arse.
The Tigra 200 passed my mountain road test… I was able to make it all the way up to the Dongpu hot spring source minsu with my dog and wife on board, and a full pack, no problem. I was also able to get over Hehuanshan without any noticeable loss of power. Previously, my Kymco G5 could only do these things if I gave it full-throttle while zig-zagging and making like Fred Flintstone.
That’s the good–now for the so-so–or what some might consider the bad…
Hood-rats will hate this bike. It’s longer than your typical scoot, so getting in and out of parking spaces in a busy urban environment is kind of a pain. It does not turn on a dime. It’s also heavier. Getting the kickstand up or down takes some elbow-grease…
An oil change costs $400 since it takes 1.5L of motor oil. Every 7,000km, you have to change the oil filter, bringing the price to $900.
Gas-wise, the Tigra 200 gets ~30km/L; it has an 8L tank. (My G5 got ~40km/L.) You can program it to stop the engine at long lights, which helps significantly.
When some people see I have a big bike, they immediately want to show off their riding skills. One time a guy with black nerd glasses and wearing a jacket that looked like he killed a Muppet pulled up to me on his buzzy bike and looked me up and down. I wasn’t sure if it was a gay thing or not–but I just let him pass. On a big bike, you just gotta remember to stay cool like Marty McFly…