Hello all! Newbie here with my first post. I got interested in scooters after I started dating my girlfriend. She has a TN'G 150cc Milano she purchased through the local scooter shop. About six months ago, once my finances were in order, I started looking online and immediately read all the horror stories of bad Chinese scooters so I started lurking around the local shop. By that time, they had given up selling TN'G due to bad relations, and began carrying Kymco as well as Genuine.
I was REALLY interested in getting a new Genuine Rattler 110cc but as I was perusing my local Craigslist one day, I saw the most awesome scooter ever! I called the guy immediately and was lucky enough to be the first caller. That night, we drove up to see it, and I was instantly in love. A 2002 Kymco Bet and Win 250cc (grey and blue) with only 2000 kilometers on the meter. Took it for a spin around the block and was REALLY hooked. Awesome power, good handling and it just felt "right."
But the low price became apparent when he said it had a salvaged title.
Apparently the first owner rear-ended a parked pickup truck at low speed. She wasn't hurt and the scoot wasn't damaged horribly but it was enough that the insurance totalled it. Broken windshield, front fairing, headlight, right side fairing has a scratch (but not cracked), and the muffler cover is scratched. So anyway, the 2nd owner bought it from an auction, replaced all the broken plastics, had it inspected (passed) and then decided to sell it. The only thing he didn't replace is the outside temperature sensor so it just flashes blank at me. I might replace it if it's cheap enough.
So I got it for a STEAL with hardly any miles. I've been riding it almost every day to work (24-miles round trip) and just love it. Change the oil routinely and am going to be replacing the original tires here next month as they're developing cracking next to the rims.
I'm interested in a big-bore kit to bring it up to 300cc's and might purchase a windshield and/or a trunk if I can find them used. One thing I really don't like is how bad the headlight is at night. So what I want to do is add some ultra-bright LEDs to the empty "turn signal" pods next to the front fork/shocks. I figure it would be a pretty easy job to wire them into the upper running lights. I'm also going to purchase a taillight modulator that flashes the brake light when stopping.
New (to me):
I also took it up Mt Lemmon, which is a 50-mile round trip climb up the local mountain. It's about 7,000 feet of twisty, turning road that climbs from the saguaro-cactus desert into the cool pine trees. Here is a picture at the top (9,000 feet) at "ski valley." (Sorry, bad phone camera image.)
Anyway... nice to meet you all!
