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QLINK continues to impress me as a company with the products and service they offer. And I admit that I was skeptical about the Achilles 150 at first. After all, it is a Chinese built GY6 based scooter and why should we get excited about that? I found I was pleasantly surprised. Now that I�ve had over a month to ride and abuse it, I�ve a few observations to pass along. It won�t be perfect for everyone but it will be a gem for a segment of the scooter market. Priced at around $1,700 and backed with a two year warranty with support from a brick and mortar dealer, it could be the perfect scooter for those on a budget and not wanting to take a chance on some cheapo Chinese scooter on eBay or other internet dealers.

First, if they had told me the Achilles was built in Taiwan or Korea, I would have believed them based on the quality of fit & finish. What do I know about quality? Well, I spent a major portion of my adult life in manufacturing, starting as a machinist, then supervising quality control and ending up as a Vice President of Production in a high precision manufacturing facility. I�m not trying to toot my own horn, just letting you know that I know what I�m looking at. In a nutshell, QLINK imports better quality from China by sending their teams of Taiwanese technicians and quality control people to the manufacturing plants during production runs. For more information about this you can visit www.ScootDawg.com and read my review of the QLINK Pegasus or pick up a copy of the Feb. �07 issue of Scooter World Magazine.

I want to mention the documentation provided with the Achilles. Those of you who have experience with Chinese built scooters will know that the Owner�s Manuals are more than lacking and don�t even think of such a thing as a Service Manual The Owner�s Manual for the Achilles is top quality and a good Service Manual is available too.

The first thing I noticed about the Achilles when it arrived was the beauty and depth of the blue color. Mostly, I tend to look at practical things but I like it when a scooter looks really nice. It�s like any Real Estate Agent will tell you, first impressions can be important. My first impression was that the Achilles just looked good.

I have owned several Chinese GY6 based scooters and have found that they tend to have several problems in common. Probably the most common are squealing brakes (out of round disc), electrical problems and out of round wheels. The Achilles I�ve been riding has had none of these problems. I have been riding this scooter for over a month and it has performed flawlessly. The GY6 engine is a Honda clone and is known for being a reliable workhorse if properly maintained.

Is the Achilles a speed demon? No. It performs like a typical GY6 150cc scooter. Top end I�ve gotten out of it (GPS tested) is 54 mph. It�s not totally broken in yet so it may get a little faster. That being said, acceleration and speed are plenty for most urban driving situations. It�s not for the Interstate but you won�t be holding traffic back on the city streets and it will out-accelerate most cars.

Now, I will mention something I don�t like about the Achilles. I�m 6 and I find myself just a little cramped on the Achilles. This could be solved simply by eliminating the bump up on the seat to the passenger level. I�ve had a problem with this seat bump on most scooters I�ve ridden. If the designers would just change these seats to gently and evenly slope up or to be level, the driver would have much more freedom to find the comfort zone. This has always been a pet peeve with me. I suggest you sit on (or better yet, test drive) the Achilles to see how well you fit. I�m 6 and I�m guessing that if I were 5�9 it wouldn�t be a problem.

The headlight is awesome! I could be wrong but think that the Achilles is the first Chinese built scooter to be equipped to handle the 55 watt H4 headlight, which you can buy at any auto parts store. For point of reference, most China scoots come with 18 watt bulbs. I�m big on headlights and signal lights for safety reasons. The signal lights are quite visible and the turn signal is loud. Loud turn signals are a good thing. You don�t forget to turn them off.

The matching trunk is better than average quality, although the color doesn�t quite match perfectly. It�s close enough in my book and with a two minute adjustment of the latch, no rattling whatsoever. I would much rather have a trunk where you have to strain your eyes for a mismatch in color than a trunk that rattles your teeth.

Storage is average or a little better. The Achilles has adequate storage under the seat and the trunk is a decent size. You might be able to fit smaller full face helmets in one of them but my large one doesn�t quite fit. It does have two helmet hooks under the seat so you can hang your helmet on the outside with the straps being locked under the seat.

Speaking of locks, the ignition switch is cool. The lock to the under seat storage is controlled at the ignition switch, rather than having to try to find the seat lock in the dark and scratching up your scooter. The gas filler cap is located just to the left of the ignition switch. It has a handy rubber type cup to catch the pesky few drops of fuel that tend to dribble from the pump, as well as a place to hold the gas cap while you fill.

The brakes are good but not superb, better than most GY6 but I�ve been spoiled with more expensive scooters. Achilles brakes require more force than the Pegasus or a Vespa but they are comparable to most scoots, including Kymco. I will say that they are smooth and won�t throw surprises at you. I would suggest that if you buy an Achilles and the rear drum brake doesn�t work well, adjust it. A good dealer doing prep will find it but there are some sloppy mechanics in this world. I prepped the Achilles myself and found from this and feedback from dealers and others that the Achilles tends to be shipped from the factory with a lot of slack in the cable.

Mirrors are decent. I wish they were a little further apart but I can see what I need to see.

The suspension is definitely good. It�s not fancy with adjustable shocks but it�s much smoother than any other Chinese GY6 I�ve ridden. The suspension is comparable with any Taiwanese or Korean scoot. The exhaust system has two heat shields. They do get hot but you are not nearly as likely to get burned when you brush your leg against the exhaust.

I did some checking around and found two websites that are selling this scooter via internet. One, whose name I won�t mention, sells QLINK with no dealer prep. The folks at QLINK will not honor the warranty on scooters sold by this company. Another company, CBXMANmotorcyles.com sells them only to people who don�t have a dealer nearby and they fully prep the scoot and give it a test ride and the factory warranty is honored. I�m not a big fan of internet scooter sales but I�m aware that not everyone lives close to a dealer.

The final test is the test of time, which isn�t generally available to review writers. I did get over 30 days with the Achilles. During this time I kept it parked outside in the weather. With the cheaper eBay type scooters, you will see rust developing in this period of time. I can find no rust on the Achilles, nor is there any condensation inside the instrument cluster.

Overall, the Achilles impresses me as a very good entry level scooter. Fit & finish is top notch. I try to discipline myself about comparing scooter brands, but I can�t help but to compare the Achilles with the Kymco Bet & Win or similar scooters like the UM Matrix. In my opinion, the Achilles rivals the quality of many scooters coming out of Taiwan or Korea. It could be the perfect scooter for those who can�t cough up the $$ for the big boys and who also don�t want to settle for some unknown piece of doo-doo from the little boys.

Be sure to check out the ScootDawg Forum discussion on this scooter. This is where you will find discussion and follow-up from other owners and from me.

Remember, it�s all about the ride….

Full specs found on the QLINK website.