Anything better than stock drive belt?

[bongoman]

I was just told to replace the drive belt on my X500. I've read a little about kevlar and was wondering if any of you have had experience in that area, and would you mind sharing.

Thanks,

[Areomyst]

The Stock Kymco drive belt is just fine, but if you want to "go the extra mile" then you could get a Kevlar belt.  Kevlar belts are not indestructible though.  Personally, even with a Kevlar belt, I would still replace the belt at the manufacturer's recommended intervals.  It's better to do it that way than to end up stranded, pushing the bike or waiting for a ride in the cold.

Having said that, if you're replacing the belt when it gets to be high millage, you may as well just stick with the stock belt anyway, because you'll just be spending more money.  I don't think Kevlar is that much more reliable than stock.  Perhaps check prices of stock vs Kevlar, you might find an after market one cheaper for all I know.

~Josh

[bongoman]

Thanks Aeromyst,

I found one after market - Malossi kevlar - on scootertrap.com. It was twice as much as my motorcycle shop where I purchased it.

And I found a wide range of difference in prices between dealers in Austin and San Antonio, Texas.

I have not been able to determine from the owner's manual exactly what mileage they expect it to go.

[Areomyst]

Well, some people might think it's pre-mature to change them around 6 or 7000 miles... I don't. If you want to wait longer than that, you can buy a spare and keep a few tools handy in case it breaks on you.  I definitely wouldn't trust it past 8000.  I've seen them go longer than that, but between 8000 and 10,000 is where I've seen more broken belts.

Despite the above advice, I have only changed a handful of belts on Kymco scooters larger than 50cc and I've seen some pretty high milage People 250s and a few Xcitings.  Seems that plenty of people are comfortable riding 'em till they pop.  

Cheers!

~Josh

[Areomyst]

I did some checking on the Malossi belt for your bike.  You should be able to find 'em from $99 to around $115 or so... $189 at scooter trap is just out of line.   You could give Scooterworks in Chicago a call, they could probably get you squared away.

~Josh

[Alex]

I have just bought a Dayco Kevlar belt for my Xciting 500 and it was half the price of the Kymco dealer price , Dayco number 8206K..havnt fitted it yet as my OEM looks ok at 7000klm thats 4350m for all you good ol boys in the US

[bongoman]

Alex, where did you find that belt, the Dayco?