Peugeot

Peugeot adventure scooter coming soon

Honda seems to have started a trend with the X-ADV adventure scooter and the smaller ADV350 that followed it, with rival machines springing up from the likes of Kymco and Aprilia. Now Peugeot looks likely to be following the trend.
Just as most 'off-road' cars never use their high suspension for anything more ambitious than parking on a curb, adventure scooters aren't really meant for travelling to the far corners of the earth. Like SUVs, they're at home in the urban jungle, using their rugged design and increased ground clearance to shrug off potholes rather than ford rivers.
Last year, Peugeot test riders were spotted on test rigs for two new adventure-style scooters - one packing a 125 cc engine, the other using the 399 cc unit from the Metropolis 400i. The latter has now appeared in its final form in a set of patent images intended to protect the intellectual property of the bike's visual appearance.

 

As befits this growing class of machines, the bike has wire wheels and raised ground clearance, as well as styling that includes a nose-mounted 'beak' intended to mirror the high-rise front mudguard of a motocross bike. In these CAD images, the exhaust appears to hang far too low, but that appears to be an error - the prototypes spied last year had the pipe tucked neatly around the engine, flush with the lower bodywork.
What those prototypes lacked was the side fairings and seat bodywork that are visible here, so the patent images give a much more complete look at the bike. It's unusually proportioned with a surprisingly long wheelbase and a rear wheel that extends far beyond the rear seat. That matches the spied prototypes, though, so there appears to be a conscious decision on the part of Peugeot's designers.

 

Since the engine appears identical to the Metropolis 400i's 'PowerMotion 400' single, it's safe to assume its performance will be much the same. That means 26.5 kW (35.6 hp) at 7,250 rpm and 38 Nm (28 lb-ft) at 5,750 rpm. However, since the new adventure scooter has only two wheels and loses the Metropolis's complex, tilting trike front suspension system, it will inevitably be much lighter than that bike's 265 kg. Something closer to 200 kg is likely.
The brake calipers have been missed out on the CAD images here, but the spy shots last year confirmed there are dual, four-pot radial calipers at the front. The CAD pictures also lack part of the right-hand side of the rear swingarm and, most notably, the rear shock. On the spied test rig, there was a large, single coilover shock at the back, mounted on the right-hand side and running parallel to the seat with an unusual linkage to actuate it.
Last year's tests and the new design images suggest the bike will be ready for sale in 2023, with a show debut likely towards the end of 2022. The smaller 125 cc version is expected to look much the same, using the long wheelbase of this bike and the same unusual rear suspension but with a single front brake disc and smaller, narrower wheels.