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Messages - geezerbob

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1
People 250 / Re: Regular or Premium and or ethanol or not
« on: August 11, 2009, 12:58:01 AM »
I've put 34,000 km on mine running regular, with or without up to 10% ethanol, haven't had any problems, and can't tell any difference in performance or gas mileage.  I haven't tried E-85 and don't intend to.

2
People 250 / Re: Drive belt replacement
« on: August 05, 2009, 11:15:57 AM »
Replaced the original belt at 21,000 km and it was still within specs.  The Kymco replacement belt broke at 34,000 km, with only 13,000 km of use.  Figure that one out.  I sure can't. 

3
People 250 / Re: would a P-250 do a round the world tour?
« on: August 02, 2009, 10:57:35 AM »
Made two round trips from SC to MN on mine, with the only problem being a broken drive belt.  On the last one, I drove at a steady 65 mph (GPS), mostly on interstates, with nary a problem other than the belt.  Total load was about 210 lbs. of me and about 80 lbs. of luggage.  Rear shocks were set in the middle position.

4
People 250 / Re: My new ride 2006 People 250
« on: August 02, 2009, 10:49:22 AM »
I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine in 34,000 km.

5
Grandvista 250 / Re: When is it time to get something bigger...
« on: July 26, 2009, 07:15:08 PM »
Zodiac, I live in SC but travel when and where the notion hits me.  I've spent the night in WV only three times, once each in Bluefield, Princeton, and Charleston.

6
Grandvista 250 / Re: When is it time to get something bigger...
« on: July 26, 2009, 01:39:47 PM »
I've put quite a few miles of interstate driving on my P250 and will offer these observations:

Handling and performance at 65 mph (GPS) is comfortable and the bike handles that speed fairly easily and will maintain it on most hills, but not in the mountains.  The most I could get out of it going up Saluda Mountain on I-26 was 61.  I-77 in WV, between Princeton and Beckley, was much worse, with a maximum speed of 50 in a couple of areas.

Gas mileage is a trade off and is more affected by wind speed and direction than with a larger bike.  On a recent long trip (approx. 1,300 miles each way), I got 6 - 8 mpg more on the return leg driving the same roads at the same speeds.  Winds were generally from the northwest coming and going and my route was generally northwest going up and southeast coming back.  Terrain also makes a bigger difference with the smaller bike.  My mileage was unbelievably higher traveling I-40/I-26 coming out of the mountains than it was going up.

A larger bike will deliver about the same gas mileage at 65 as my P250.  At 70 or higher, the X500 will probably do better.  The trade-off is that at speeds of 60 or below, the smaller engine will walk away from them.

Since I can afford only one bike, I've decided to wear out the one I have and enjoy the gas savings.  I usually take only one long interstate trip a year and a couple of shorter ones.  The usual suburban errands and back road rides with my buddies are delivering 58-68 mpg, way above what my riding pals are getting on their SW's and B650's.  Learning a little patience on the slab can pay off.

7
People 250 / Re: Noisy front brakes (Solved, Thanks)
« on: July 21, 2009, 06:16:16 PM »
34,000 km on the pads on my P250 and they still look (and stop) good.

8
General Discussion / Re: scooters vs. motorcycles
« on: July 20, 2009, 10:06:07 AM »
A lot of riders of both scooters and motorcycles hang out at a biker leather shop at a local flea market.  The scooter riders were catching it from the Harley dudes, as might be expected.  A few months ago, a big retired cop accepted an invitation to ride to a town to tour the local gardens and meet some more riders from Charleston.

When we pulled out of the parking lot, my P250 left him grinding his gears trying to get started on his 1800 cc Harley.  The same thing happened at every light, although it was no contest once he got it going.  Then, he was amazed that my little scooter was doing 70 mph once we hit the open road.  The final straw was when he met a couple of Burgman riders who had pimped out their bikes with just about every accessory known to man.

He's still riding his Harley, which I suspect will be his last one, but he's now quick to defend the scooter riders and the performance of their bikes.  Since he's so big, the "sissy" chatter has just about disappeared around the leather shop.  One small step....

9
General Discussion / Re: 125cc vs 250cc
« on: July 10, 2009, 10:58:08 AM »
You don't say where you live, but if you're in the US and planning on any highway or freeway riding at all, go with the 250.  It will have a GPS top speed of around 75, will cruise comfortably at 65, and should meet all your needs.

The one complaint I keep hearing about everything made by Piaggio is parts, and the problem doesn't appear to be going away.  If the scooter will be your primary transportation, you don't want to be without it for weeks or months at a time while waiting on parts to arrive.  A buddy in Charleston was without his Vespa for six weeks waiting for a part to arrive.  In contrast, I recently had the drive belt fail prematurely, was able to get it shipped overnight, and was rolling again exactly 24 hours after the breakdown.  Kudos to Kymco USA, Progressive Insurance who arranged the tow, and Speed City Cycles in Indianapolis for keeping me from being stranded from Wednesday until Tuesday over the long July 4 weekend.

10
People s200 / Re: Extreme Winds
« on: July 09, 2009, 09:45:31 AM »
It's not just wind.  If you had seen my windshield and helmet visor after riding from Virginia to International Falls and back, you would realize that eye protection should be worn ALL the time.

11
Xciting 250 / Re: New 250 owner
« on: June 05, 2009, 11:18:01 AM »
We should be able to run together okay, but that Big Ruckus simply can't keep up on the highway, something about the way it's geared, I think.  I believe he'll be there again this year. 

I left you a message on the other board about possibly riding together part of the way back.  It's a little west for you, but I'll leave on Sunday and take US 169 through Grand Rapids and Aitken and down to Onamia (actually the casino at Mille Lacs Lake) for a two day visit with daughter and grandbrats before heading back south.  There will probably be some folks from the cities in attendance and you may be able to hook up with them since my route is out of your way.  We can talk about it in person at the rally after you've had a chance to meet some of the people.

12
Xciting 250 / Re: What are you getting for gas mileage?
« on: May 27, 2009, 11:16:38 PM »
I generally get 68-69 running around suburbia, 58-65 on 55 mph roads, and 48-55 on the interstates.  It varies a lot by speed and by how hard I roll back on the throttle when accelerating.  If yours if fuel injected, it should do a little better.  Best ever was 78 on the Skyline Drive in Virginia (35 speed limit), followed by several tanks in the 72 mpg range on the Blue Ridge Parkway where the speed limit is 45.  I didn't count three tanks where I discovered that the pump was off and giving away a little free gas.  I was about 10 mpg above normal on them.

13
General Discussion / Re: Kymco free tee shirts
« on: May 24, 2009, 11:33:58 AM »
It's a heavy white tee with a small red logo and KYMCO on the left breast, with "choose your own path" in smaller letters under.

The back has a large X500 with larger versions of the print on the front.

From another board, it appears that different sizes have different pictures on the back.  Mine is a Large.

14
General Discussion / Re: Kymco free tee shirts
« on: May 22, 2009, 09:26:37 PM »
Mine was in the mail box today.  Shipped out of Apex, NC.

15
Technical | How To / Re: B&W 250 Drive Belt Replacement
« on: May 19, 2009, 10:29:18 AM »
You can either remove the pulleys with an impact wrench or order a special tool through your Kymco dealer.

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