Genuine Blur 150 / 220I

Summary
The Blur is a sports scooter at heart with its outstanding brakes and handling, but it also does well on the open road with a long wheelbase, reasonable storage and decent engine size (220cc)
Pros
Disc brakes front and rear
Excellent Handling & Brakes
Engine technology (Fuel Injection and 4 valves on the 220)
Cons
Could be faster still (e.g. 300cc)
4.3

GENUINE BLUR 150 / 220I

The Blur was the largest and fastest scooter sold to date by Genuine – making it much more at home on the open road than their smaller models. The Blur was first introduced as a 2006 model under the Blur 150 name. The Blur 150 remained on sale for 2007 before taking a multi year hiatus.

The Blur returned to the USA for 2010 (but not until 2012 in California) sporting a 50% bigger 220cc motor. This larger motor makes a lot more sense in the Blur than the 150cc engine ever did, because the Blur was designed from the ground up as a higher speed scooter. The Blur uses larger diameter 13” wheels, has disc stoppers front and rear and sports a wheelbase significantly longer than Genuine’s other scooters. In its original form the rest of the scooter was capable of speeds higher than the 150cc engine could generate.

With the bump to 220cc, the Blur 220 also received a fuel injection system rather than a traditional carb. The 220i model also boasts an updated dash with a large tachometer on the left and a digital speedo on the right that also displays fuel, odometer and time. The earlier gauges were nice, but the 220i gauges are at another level. Other differences include bar ends on the 220i, a smaller integrated windscreen and external front blinkers below the handlebars replace the integrated ones that are now ornamental (although easily activated). JustGottaScoot provides a nice break down of the changes.

The Blur 220 was offered for seven years (2010 – 2016) before being discontinued.

Model Background

The Blur is built in collaboration with PGO Scooters of Taiwan. The Blur is based upon PGO’s M2-150 / M2-220 design. PGO also sells this design under the own name in quite a few countries world wide where it normally receives the name G-Max 150 or G-Max 220. The G-Max design was new from PGO for 2006.

Overseas the G-Max is sold in 50, 125, 150, 200 and 220cc varieties.

Engines

The Blur was the first Genuine scooter to enjoy fuel injection when it was included with the Blur 220 in Genuine’s 2010 lineup. This fuel injection makes for easy cold weather starts and improves fuel economy. The Blur 220 gets excellent milage for its size – often in the 80’s (MPG) under normal mixed use. The smaller Blur 150 tends to post about the same fuel economy numbers or a little lower. While it uses a smaller engine, the lack of fuel injection and the reality that the smaller engine gets worked a little harder winds up evening things out.

The Blur 150 could obtain a maximum speed of 60mph, while the Blur 220i adds 10mph for a total velocity around 70mph. The actual speeds displayed on the gauges shows a larger spread, as the Blur 150 has a fairly accurate speedo (reported to be about 5% off) while the Blur 220i speedometer is more of the ‘glass half full’ breed with its 15% err.

In addition to F.I., the 220cc engine also added 4-valves and an oil cooler to the Blur model. The former makes a contribution of the Blur 220i’s excellent milage while the latter benefits oil life and engine wear.

Design and Amenities

The Blur is reputed to offer some of the finest handling and brakes in the scooter scene. The front brake is a generously sized 220mm disc with dual calipers, while the rear end enjoys a smaller disc instead of a lower cost drum brake. The suspension and handling is designed around a centrally mounted single rock shock that is activated via a 6 bar linkage. It’s a unique and complex arrangement that is has more in common with a sport bike than a scooter. Owners and reviews alike find that this design works extremely well.

The Blur stores its fuel midship between a riders knees. This central location is lower than the typical placement under the seat, meaning center of gravity is improved and more underseat space is available for storage.

The Blur enjoys a nice amount of storage, while still remaining a mid-sized scooter and not competing with the mid – large sized maxi scooters for outright cargo ability. The underseat area easily has enough room a fuel face helmet. This underseat area open via a twist of the ignition key. This same ignition can also be used to open the fuel cap, which is a nice touch.

On the downside, bulky loads are challenging with the Bur as the lack of a flat floorboard prevents large boxes etc. from resting between the riders feet. This sort of transporting might not be such a good idea anyways, but some riders like to have the option. The other downside is the lack of a glovebox which can be quite a handy feature.

The Blur has dual helmet hooks in case your underseat area is already full. There’s also both a center stand and a side/kick stand to make life easy.

Comparison

Lumping the Blur into a category is difficult – perhaps it fits best in the ‘mid-sized sports scooter’ or ‘sports maxi-scooter lite’ niches. Conceptually it’s almost a little brother to Yamaha’s 500cc TMAX, which has largely invented the sports-maxi idea. The Blur is a sports scooter at heart with its outstanding brakes and handling, but it also does well on the open road with a long wheelbase, reasonable storage and decent engine size (220cc).

Perhaps the closet competitor to the Blur is Kymco’s Downtown 200 scooter (which also comes in a 300 size). The Downtown isn’t quite as sporty as the Blur, but it’s still got that slant which makes it a fun scooter that’s just big enough for the open road. Other competitors – which are also less sports inclined – include Aprilia’s SportCity Cube 250/300, Honda’s 250cc Reflex (sold 2001 – 2007) and Yamaha’s Morphous 250 (2006 – 2008). The posthumous inclusion of the latter two competitors tells you how thin the competition really is. There’s lots of nice sporty scooters up to 150cc, but they don’t have the same power, brakes and handling that make the Blur more capable outside of the city. Once you get above 150cc, there’s not much besides a few retro rides and some large wheeled scooters until you get to the maxi’s starting around 300cc.

The Blur 150 was a bit of a juxtaposition with its very capable handling and braking, but relatively low power output which held back the rest of the scooter. The Blur 220 largely remedies this by offering a 70mph top speed that is more in line with the rest of the ride. Still, it would be great to see this scooter go to about 300cc and offer a top speed of 80mph. That would make the Blur into a scooter that shines in every circumstance.

Pros:

  • Disc brakes front and rear
  • Excellent Handling & Brakes
  • Engine technology (Fuel Injection and 4 valves on the 220)

Cons:

  • Could be faster still (e.g. 300cc).

Links:

Service Manual – Valuable info for wrenching on your Blur 150
MotorscooterGuide Forums – Visit the forums on this site to chat about this scoot.
JustGotta Scoot Reviews the Blur 150 and Blur 220i
Nice G-Max 220 Review from ScooterSales.com.au
ScooterFile.com Blur 220i Review

Key Specs:

  • Engine: 150cc or 220cc air cooled 4-stroke
  • Power: 14.9 HP @7250 RPM, 12.3 lbs-ft torque @5500 RPM (220cc)
  • Transmission: CVT
  • Compression: 10.1:1
  • Bore & Stroke: 67.5mm x 61.5mm
  • Fuel Delivery: Carb (150) or Fuel Injection (22)
  • Wheelbase: 53”
  • Weight: 284 lbs (150), 316 lbs (220i)
  • Starter: Electric and Kick (150cc only)
  • Seat height: 31.5”
  • Fuel Tank: 1.9 gallon
  • Front Brake: 220mm Disc
  • Rear Brake: Disc
  • Front Suspension: Telescoping fork
  • Rear Suspension: 6 bar linkage, Adjustable Preload, Single shock
  • Tires: 120/60-13 (Front), 130/60-13 (Rear)
  • USA MSRP: $3999 (Blur 220i)

Colors:

  • Blur 150: Graphite/Black, Graphite/Orange
  • Blur 220: White, Gun Metal