Hello,
Welcome fellow LIKE owner.
You have asked a pretty common question regarding the LIKE200i.
"How do I make it go faster so I can commute on the highway?"
Very common question.
I'll give you my short answer:
"You can't. You need to buy a bigger scooter."
...
The LONG answer:
A well tuned LIKE200i, which has been properly run in, can reach speeds of @56 > 63 MPH on a flat surface with no head wind.
A hill or a head wind will slow you down.
Rough surfaces will slow you down.
Passing trucks will blow you about.
It is the opinion of some LIKE200i owners that this is a wonderful urban street scooter. Right at home on city streets.....
and that this scooter is in no way suitable (read "safe") for travelling on limited access highways where traffic is moving at 65 to 80 MPH. You have no reserve throttle when riding at 60MPH....None.....and there is a very real chance that you will not be able to maintain 60MPH.
The LIKE is too light, too short and the wheels are too small for freeway riding. Mainly those first two issues.
Can it be done? Sure - but not safely --- and there is NO magic accessory, of any kind, that will make the Kymco LIKE be able to run at 65 MPH on a daily basis. You might see 65 riding down hill....but the scoot is unstable and unsafe to be ridden at those speeds.
Different oil; different gas; different muffler; different CVT; different spark plug, sliders, coil, fuel pump. tires, wind screen......etc. will not "upgrade" the LIKE to go 70MPH. There are similar sized engines in other brands of scooters which can hit 70MPH - but the LIKE cannot.
The LIKE is not a freeway cruiser. It's a fine urban city/street scooter for one large, or two light, riders.
If you need more speed - you need to shop for a different scooter - or find a route to work that avoids the freeway.
I've been riding and reading about the LIKE200i for 2+ years. I have read how people have nearly destroyed a perfectly fine small scooter by trying to "upgrade" it for "more speed". (see the Honda PCX forums) so I hope you will ask for more feedback from your dealer and from mechanics more experienced than me - before attempting any major upgrades.
A 50cc 2-stroke can be "upgraded" in several ways to make it run significantly faster - but not the 163cc 4-stroke LIKE engine .
Please remember, this is just my opinion on the matter of making the LIKE200i a freeway capable scooter.....
Stig
