Kymco Like 200i Postscript

[Vintage MX]

After a very happy year of ownership, I sold my 2011 Like 200i yesterday.  I found a 2007 Vespa GTS 250 way out in the middle of Nowhere, Texas (actually, Saragosa) with 400 original miles and I had to buy it.  Which set in motion the sale of the Like because I don't have the money or space to keep both.

I appreciate the higher cruising speed of the Vespa, its comfort and 110 other little things but that in no way means that I'm downplaying the overall goodness of the Like.

I bought mine used with 800 miles on it and sold it with just over 2,900 miles on the clock a year later.  Except for those muffler heat shield bolts that like to extract themselves, it has been completely reliable and runs better now at the end our year together than at the beginning.  The brakes are its strongest point (maybe a little better than the Vespa's) followed closely by its styling (also a little better than the Vespa's - my opinion anyway). Loved the top box, loved the fuel economy (70 mpg) and loved the freedom I felt cruising the back roads.  Wasn't so thrilled about the seat (though my butt seemed to tolerate it better than many others on the forum), the top speed (215 pounds, 58 GPS miles per hour) or the headlight (ugh!).  My favorite ride was 75 miles in the Big Bend Country on a perfect fall day with mountain curves, abundant wildlife and no automobiles in sight. 

In the end, I needed a little more top speed for my back road adventures and I have never been able to avoid buying a motorcycle (or scooter!) that is being sold at 60% of book value.  Usually, it is just better if I don't go and look!  That's what my wife says anyway.

I sold it yesterday to a first time scooterist who had a ball on a 50cc rental scooter in the Caribbean and wanted more.  He was thrilled to get it and I felt good about selling it to him.  Like most of us, he had done a lot of internet research on Kymcos and fell in love with the classic styling of the Like.  I know he will enjoy it as much as I did.

Think I'll keep hanging around the forum because my gear-head tendencies will keep me curious about what's going well with your Likes and what is breaking.

Ride safely friends.  If you are ever on FM307 east of Midland and see a silver Vespa whisper by, that's me headed out into ranch country for another back road adventure.

[TLRam1]

The Vespa is a good looking scooter.

Ran across this as you may already know while searching for photos.

The GTS 250 is not without a couple of problems. The most significant problem lies in the design of the exhaust system, which is in two parts. The header pipe (sometimes called "down tube") is joined to the rest of the exhaust via a clamp, with a cylindrical gasket between the two pieces. This gasket is prone to wear, and will eventually fail. Upon failure, hot exhaust gas will leak from the joint between the two. On early GTS units (2006 and part of 2007 year models) the hot exhaust gas hits the rear brake line, and if left unchecked will melt the rear brake line, causing the rear brake to fail.

Piaggio addressed this problem in 2007 with a recall campaign. The recall procedure involved fitting an uprated clamp and a new down tube designed to deflect hot exhaust gas away from the brake line instead of toward it. The gasket itself is still prone to failure, but the result is less catastrophic than prior to the recall.

The exhaust issue was somewhat exacerbated by the fact that replacing the rear tire on the GTS requires removal of the exhaust. Some dealers (and shade-tree mechanics as well) opted to separate the exhaust from the down tube to remove the exhaust, rather than the proper procedure of removing the down tube at the header. Failure to replace the exhaust gasket during this operation (the gasket is considered a one-time-use item) would further increase the likelihood of exhaust failure down the road.

[Vintage MX]

Thanks Terry, I'll look into it.

[atxscooterguy]

After a very happy year of ownership, I sold my 2011 Like 200i yesterday.  I found a 2007 Vespa GTS 250 way out in the middle of Nowhere, Texas (actually, Saragosa) with 400 original miles and I had to buy it.  Which set in motion the sale of the Like because I don't have the money or space to keep both.

I appreciate the higher cruising speed of the Vespa, its comfort and 110 other little things but that in no way means that I'm downplaying the overall goodness of the Like.

I bought mine used with 800 miles on it and sold it with just over 2,900 miles on the clock a year later.  Except for those muffler heat shield bolts that like to extract themselves, it has been completely reliable and runs better now at the end our year together than at the beginning.  The brakes are its strongest point (maybe a little better than the Vespa's) followed closely by its styling (also a little better than the Vespa's - my opinion anyway). Loved the top box, loved the fuel economy (70 mpg) and loved the freedom I felt cruising the back roads.  Wasn't so thrilled about the seat (though my butt seemed to tolerate it better than many others on the forum), the top speed (215 pounds, 58 GPS miles per hour) or the headlight (ugh!).  My favorite ride was 75 miles in the Big Bend Country on a perfect fall day with mountain curves, abundant wildlife and no automobiles in sight. 

In the end, I needed a little more top speed for my back road adventures and I have never been able to avoid buying a motorcycle (or scooter!) that is being sold at 60% of book value.  Usually, it is just better if I don't go and look!  That's what my wife says anyway.

I sold it yesterday to a first time scooterist who had a ball on a 50cc rental scooter in the Caribbean and wanted more.  He was thrilled to get it and I felt good about selling it to him.  Like most of us, he had done a lot of internet research on Kymcos and fell in love with the classic styling of the Like.  I know he will enjoy it as much as I did.

Think I'll keep hanging around the forum because my gear-head tendencies will keep me curious about what's going well with your Likes and what is breaking.

Ride safely friends.  If you are ever on FM307 east of Midland and see a silver Vespa whisper by, that's me headed out into ranch country for another back road adventure.

Doesn't matter which scoot you ride in my opinion, (unlike some of these yuppie Vespa clubs here in Austin, TX who will give you the cold shoulder if you try to ride with them), once a scooterist, always a scooterist!

[Stig / Major Tom]

Pictures please!
Most folks who like a LIKE, like it because it looks like a Vespa!
Stig