Interested in a 250cc to 300cc or larger engine upgrade kit ....

[BettinANDlosing]

Refresh my memory - do you run a scooter repair shop?  Are you located in the US?  Also, can you also get OEM Kymco parts?

Yes, yes, and yes lol

[mrbios]

Ok that was easy enough.  So, in  general, are OEM Kymco parts difficult to get?  Do you have a website link?  How would I order when I need parts?

[BettinANDlosing]

Kymco parts are easy to come by, better than sym. Our website is under my avatar click the globe. We don't have a link for OEM parts, i keep it personal so you get the right parts. If there is anything we don't have in stock Kymco usually takes about 7-10 days to get us the parts. I try and keep us stocked on most maintenance parts for different kymco scoots, and have a lot of random stuff from rebuilds to carbs to plastics. If your ever interested in ordering anything, you can always browse the OEM diagrams on Kymcousa.com, it just pm with what you need.

[mrbios]

That's good to know.  I checked out your web site.  My local dealer is super expensive.  50% market up over list price.  Last thing I bough was a side mirror.  $180 OTD which included $13 for shipping to the dealer!  I used KymcoPartsOnline but that go so unreliable I couldn't get anyone on the phone, email nothing and no communication or status updates on orders.  How is the scooter business in Oregon?

[BettinANDlosing]

That's good to know.  I checked out your web site.  My local dealer is super expensive.  50% market up over list price.  Last thing I bough was a side mirror.  $180 OTD which included $13 for shipping to the dealer!  I used KymcoPartsOnline but that go so unreliable I couldn't get anyone on the phone, email nothing and no communication or status updates on orders.  How is the scooter business in Oregon?

Yeah I hear you, i hate ordering from people with no update / reply to questions and updates, so I try with our shop to be straight up about everything. $180 is crazy, even tho the grand Vista has expensive mirrors that's crazy high.

[BettinANDlosing]

  How is the scooter business in Oregon?

It's slowly picking up since the crash in '09. We were selling a few scooters a day then. If gas goes up this summer we'll be doing really good. Still cheap enough for people to drive subs. Service is good, not too many shops that know what they are doing.

[mrbios]

Good to hear.  Wow a few scoots a day!  Those were good times.  In San Diego I don't know what the problem is.  Hardly ever rains.  I typically ride my scoot 7 days a week.  Gas is $4/gallon but people keep driving cars and trucks.  Just the ability to find parking in downtown and other parts of SD is a huge benefit.  Someone bought a new scoot - looks like a Genuine or something in my neighborhood and it is always parked.  The mega motorcycle dealer called Fun Bike Center -160K square feet had to downsize and rent about half of the building out.  So even motorcycle sales and ridership are low.  Plus in Southern California it hardly ever rains especially this year. I wish the best for your business and I will visit next time I'm up that way or on a road trip.

[BettinANDlosing]

Good to hear.  Wow a few scoots a day!  Those were good times.  In San Diego I don't know what the problem is.  Hardly ever rains.  I typically ride my scoot 7 days a week.  Gas is $4/gallon but people keep driving cars and trucks.  Just the ability to find parking in downtown and other parts of SD is a huge benefit.  Someone bought a new scoot - looks like a Genuine or something in my neighborhood and it is always parked.  The mega motorcycle dealer called Fun Bike Center -160K square feet had to downsize and rent about half of the building out.  So even motorcycle sales and ridership are low.  Plus in Southern California it hardly ever rains especially this year. I wish the best for your business and I will visit next time I'm up that way or on a road trip.

Yeah I haven't quite figured it out, two wheels is where it's at, in almost every respect, especially in a large city. Do you live in San Diego? I do a fair amount of business with scooter west. Hope you guys do OK down there this summer for water, my dad lives near Caramel and i try to get down there a couple times a year.

[mrbios]

Yeah I haven't quite figured it out, two wheels is where it's at, in almost every respect, especially in a large city. Do you live in San Diego? I do a fair amount of business with scooter west. Hope you guys do OK down there this summer for water, my dad lives near Caramel and i try to get down there a couple times a year.

Too bad CA is such a big state!  I was going to say drop by.  However, if you ever have a need to visit San Diego let me know.  scooter west is my local dealer.  scooter west I guess is the online part and Modern Vespa? is the name of the physical dealership.  It is a really nice place but they are hurting for business.  People fall in to paradigms - everyone copies everyone else.  Car has a LOT of momentum.  I had a couple of ideas: Free test rides to learn about scooters - same time / day every week and rent / lease a used scooter (keep the price cheap and after a year you have the option to put all that money towards a new or used scooter.  The idea is to get more people to experience scooters.

[BettinANDlosing]

We rented scoots for a year or two, made decent money but insurance and liability was brutal. Had lots of crashes, always very awkward when you have to tally up $800 of damage and ruin someone's vacation (in their mind). We had too many people going and getting wasted on them also. I'm shocked to hear shops in California struggling like that, such a shame. I have really high hopes people will start to embrace, and have no doubt we will have an uptake if gas spikes over $6 /gal again.

[mrbios]

We rented scoots for a year or two, ...

Two solutions:
1. Modify an existing scoot into a frankin-scoot - basically a scooter with lots of crash protection designed for rental.

2. More advanced - A DUI Breathalyzer connected to the ignition and possibly attach a service to pickup the scoot and give the person a ride home. 

#2 might be avoidable if you design and market a separate program aimed at residents vs tourists.