If you had told me a decade or so ago that adventure scooters would be a thing, I would have laughed. Yet, here we are. Somehow, in a world where dirt bikes, dual sports, and full-sized ADVs already exist, scooters have muscled their way into the adventure segment.
The one that started it all? Honda’s X-ADV 750, which is a bizarre mash-up of a maxi-scooter and an adventure bike turned out to be a surprise hit. It didn't take long before other manufacturers jumped on the trend, albeit with smaller-displacement offerings. Honda itself now has the ADV350, which is arguably where the real battle is happening. And one of its newest challengers? The Zontes ZT368G.
If you haven’t heard of Zontes, you’re not alone. The brand is relatively young compared to the industry’s big names, but it’s making a lot of noise in the global market. Zontes is a subsidiary of Tayo Motorcycle, a Chinese manufacturer that has been aggressively expanding, particularly in Europe. We’ve talked about this brand quite a bit here on RideApart, and suffice it to say that they have a thing for aggressively styled bikes.
And the ZT368G adventure scooter surely is no different.
At a glance, the ZT368G is a lot. Like, a lot. It looks like an ADV bike on steroids, but with a strange Daschund-like stance. It gets sharp lines, aggressive angles, and enough bodywork to make even sportbike designers take a second look. It’s obviously trying to stand out, but the question is: does it go too far?
Underneath the excessive styling, the ZT368G at least seems like a solid machine. Power comes from a 367.6cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine making 38.8 horsepower and around 30 pound-feet of torque. That puts it right up there with the ADV350 in terms of performance.
Zontes also didn't skimp on features, as this thing is loaded to the brim. It gets keyless ignition, an eight-inch TFT display with smartphone mirroring, six USB ports (who even has that many gadgets that need charging at the same time?) heated grips with five intensity levels, a tire pressure monitoring system, and dual HD cameras with night vision that record every time the scooter is turned on.
So yeah, this thing’s the textbook definition of excessive. And the funniest part of it all is that 99% of riders aren’t even going to use all those features.
But superfluous tech aside, it would appear that the ZT368G has some pretty decent underpinnings, perhaps suggesting it’s actually a proper adventurer. It gets an inverted fork with adjustable compression and rebound damping, a double shock absorber setup at the rear, and a 17-inch front wheel with spoked tubeless rims wrapped in dual-sport rubber.
It even comes with an adjustable windscreen, hand guards, a skid plate, crash bars, and a set of off-road footpegs so you can ride it standing up. For a scooter, that’s an insane amount of kit.
To that end, it’s clear that Zontes’ goal with the ZT368G was to build a scooter that’s comfortable in the city, stable on the highway, and at least somewhat capable off-road. And judging from how much kit is fitted onto this thing, they might actually have achieved it. Nevertheless, all that kit added weight, and quite a lot of it. The scooter tips the scales at 203 kilograms, or around 450 pounds—pretty heavy for a scooter, let alone one of this displacement.
At the end of the day, there’s no denying that Zontes is bringing serious competition to the table. The ZT368G is aggressively priced at €5,592 (around $5,800 USD), significantly undercutting the Honda ADV350. It’s an attractive price for a scooter that’ll surely stand out in a sea of maxi-scooters. But it’s a bike that wants to wear many hats—perhaps a bit too many.
What do you think? Could the Zontes ZT368G actually be what puts adventure scooters right in the thick of the ADV scene? More importantly, would you ride one of these as your all-around two-wheeler?
Source: Zontes Motorcycles
