OEM vs After market: testimonial

[bongoman]

My '07 500 has about 36k miles. Mostly stock parts. The few aftermarket such as Dr. Pulley sliders and one aftermarket belt, I am convinced OEM is better overall. Unless, you are racing, or something similar, and are willing to perform extra maintenance.

All the OEM parts have lasted longer. The most recent failure involved the D.P. sliders. The scooter was still running when I pulled into the Austin dealership. One slider was broken in two, another chipped, all worn to the point where the ramps were leveled, and a couple of rivets were rattling around for good measure. The scooter arrived under its own power saving $75 in tow costs.

I have my own theory as to why so much damage was done - more than I was aware of - which is a topic for another thread.

I think the OEM is good, long lasting stuff. The seat's too hard, but the cover will probably last forever. Now I have a custom seat with ortho foam and a good lookkng two toned color scheme. Other than that, OEM is my preference.

What about yours?

[BradleyT]

That is good to know.  One hears so much of these modifications that it seems one is missing out in not doing them!     Thanks for sharing your experience....

[axy]

My '07 500 has about 36k miles. Mostly stock parts. The few aftermarket such as Dr. Pulley sliders and one aftermarket belt, I am convinced OEM is better overall. Unless, you are racing, or something similar, and are willing to perform extra maintenance.

All the OEM parts have lasted longer. The most recent failure involved the D.P. sliders. The scooter was still running when I pulled into the Austin dealership. One slider was broken in two, another chipped, all worn to the point where the ramps were leveled, and a couple of rivets were rattling around for good measure. The scooter arrived under its own power saving $75 in tow costs.

How many kms did you do with those sliders?
It is interesting that in advertisements, D.P. sliders wear out LESS than rollers...

[msgtphil]

Works good, costs a lot of money, don't f... uhh.... mess with it.

[bongoman]

Axy, how many miles before the sliders went out is hard to calculate accurately. At least one was probably bad after 14k miles when I had a new belt installed. The mechanic did not check them, nor did he spray the dry lubricant as I requested. When I took it to my local dealership, here in Austin, Texas, everything was trashed. That was 15,400 from the original Dr. Pulley install. They lasted about at long as one drive belt.

They are made out of some kind of plastic nylon stuff. How about this? they no longer stock them at ScooterTrap.com.

[axy]

Axy, how many miles before the sliders went out is hard to calculate accurately. At least one was probably bad after 14k miles when I had a new belt installed. The mechanic did not check them, nor did he spray the dry lubricant as I requested. When I took it to my local dealership, here in Austin, Texas, everything was trashed. That was 15,400 from the original Dr. Pulley install. They lasted about at long as one drive belt.

They are made out of some kind of plastic nylon stuff. How about this? they no longer stock them at ScooterTrap.com.

I have 8k miles on P250 and still did not change belt or rollers.
OEM belt on A125 was changed on 8k miles and so were rollers. New OEM belt and el cheapo rollers were installed. The scoot has now 14k miles, belt is as new but rollers were bust after 3k miles.

I have already prepared for the next change el cheapo belt, rollers and sliders.

I have a problem with this dry lube stuff I keep hearing about. I do not know what is this product in my language and what part of the sliders should be greased. Is it a graphite based lubricant?

[bongoman]

Yes Axy, it is graphite. Mine was sprinkled on the variator backing plate. Seemed to smooth things out somewhat.

One of the things I really like about Kymco is its reliability. It seems like when mod parts or aftermarket parts or performance parts, are installed, the machine needs to be treated and maintained differently. The sacrifice seems to be with reliability and ease of maintenance. Since my scooter goes fast enough to get a ticket, among other events, I am sticking with reliability over performance.

In other words, it's the same thing my service adviser at TJ's Kymco here in Austin said. I guess I had to spend some money in order to learn the lesson. I hope the next one is cheaper. And I have the good sense to pay attention to the professionals. (chuckle-chuckle)

[axy]

Well, it all depends. For example, oil drain plug for A125 costs almost 20 $. Chinese replacement is 2 $ with shipping. Tank gasoline sensor is 50 $, Chinese replacement is 8 $ with shipping. OEM belt is 50 $, Chinese is 15 $. I think that Kymco is earning a lot on spare parts. So do everybody else, but with Kawasaki or Suzuki you do not have alternatives...usually.

[bongoman]

That's true, Axy. Good point.