My Kymco finally died, but not before this

[charliehalsell]

Nothing could have prepared me for such a life changing trip. It all started with “Dad, can we go on a long trip like Grandpa does?” (he was referring to my father in law who had just returned from a 4 state tour on his Harley) I had only had my Kymco People 250 for a few months and hadn’t considered a long trip yet. I wasn’t even sure if it was made to handle more than short commutes at that point. After reading up on a few Kymco Forums, we decided to hit the road! I let my 10 year old son Charles pick “North or South?” and he choose north. After getting the green light from my wife, (we have four other younger children) Charles and I hit the road only 2 days later. (I’m not one for extensive planning.)

Now if you haven’t noticed yet, my scooter has a surfboard attached to it. Even when I run errands without the surfboard, I’ve come to expect a few “thumbs up” from car and truck drivers. With the board though, even as I buckle my helmet, I can’t help but feel giddy at the thought of the reactions I’ll get from people of all ages. read more here: http://www.ccbusinessphotography.com/father-son-surf-trip-kymco-people-250/

[BettinANDlosing]

What happened to your bike? How many kms? The people 250 are known to go over 50,000 without issues on a regular basis.

[Chris0381]

"I have since fried the motor on my Kymco. It was totally my fault and at 20,094 miles (32,339kms) it was not even halfway to it’s normal life span. Kymcos are known to be bullet proof, so long as you keep oil in them, ahem…"


You ran it without oil or while it was low on oil. I'd expect the same.

[charliehalsell]

It was a combo of my mistakes/ignorance. I'm on the coast with salt air so the muffler was rusted out. This caused it to not run at the right air/fuel mix and it burned oil. (here's where I'll start to show my lack of mechanic knowledge) Instead of getting a new muffler like I should have, I did a normal tune up. When I changed out the air filter, the plastic case around it had oil building up inside it. I was burning oil pretty fast and had to top it off often a kept a quart with me always. The couple of weeks I did not keep up on checking it is what finally did it in. I overheated on the freeway - pulled over and there was not any oil on the dipstick at all. I since have replaced the water pump and mechanical seal (not easy) and can get it to run like a dream for only a few miles before it overheats and water boils out. At over 20,000 miles and the kind of abuse I put it through (full throttle loaded down for hours at a time - plus see blog post for more info - http://www.ccbusinessphotography.com/father-son-surf-trip-kymco-people-250/ )  I  think it's time to invest in another one with my new lesson..... Maintenance is MUCH cheaper than part replacement. (not to mention the $1000's of extra fuel I've used by using my F150 truck  instead of the scooter)
From the research I did before buying the scooter, Kymcos are the best buy by far. Unless you have double the cash to spend on a Burgman for kicks and giggles. The problem where I am at is getting the parts. It can be up to 90 days vs overnight for Honda parts. I just want to get back on the road with 2 wheels again asap. My kids miss it as much as I do. Time to do some creative budgeting....
All the best on your next ride...
Charlie

[BettinANDlosing]

Bummer!!! I also replaced the mechanical seal and water pump on my 250, not easy to do. Sounds like you warped the cylinder head from the first overheat. I say rebuild it!!!! A bike with that many memories, gotta keep it alive.

[CROSSBOLT]

Really good write-up of a wonderful trip! Keep on keepin' on!

Karl

[Calothrix]

Memories to last a lifetime!