Newbie & questions

[Cudabum44]

I am the new owner of a slightly used x500.   I wanted a scooter, especially in the winter in AZ, the dually Ram 3500 gets a little pricey  to drive in those wide open spaces and around town Branson in the summer.  Went looking for rig to carry a 6' 6" 270# frame at freeway speeds,  I checked all the scooter dealers in Springfield Mo and surrounding area, finding very little.  I finally found an '09 Kymco Xcite R500 I with 660 miles NIB till mid '14.  I'd never heard of Kymco, what info I could find in quick search seemed to indicate they were OK, so bought it.  I had not ridden a two wheeler since my Honda 300 dream in the '60's.  My right turns, u turns and pylon weave still suck big time, I can do better with my 43' toy hauler behind my Ram.

Question 1.  How long do tire carcass's last, mine are already 8 years old??  How difficult is tire removal??  Are tires chargeable at home, how tuff are the beads??  What is the best tire??  I hope to use the x500 for 120 mile trips to Yuma, 60 mile trips to Parker and 20+ mile trips to Quartzsite plus sight seeing in AZ.  Also 100 mile trips to Fayetteville AR and cruising the back roads here.

Question 2.  Where to get parts online, of the dealers listed on kymcousa within 100 miles 4 are closed and 2 don't list Kymco on their web page.

Question 3.  Where to tapin for 12vdc for a convenience / USB plug/plugs for my phone/GPS on the dash or handlebar??  I'm reluctant to run from the battery.  I got a service manual from kindle, is says contact the publisher for a wiring diagram. I haven't figured out how to contact them, the email link on their page doesn't work for me.

Bill Link
Branson MO / Brenda AZ

[xsel777]

Enjoy your new ride. Sissy mary will tell you your xc500 will handle highway speeds all day.

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[bongoman]

I started with an '07, put almost 40k on the clock in about 3 years. Lots of highway trips, longest in shortest time was 1600 plus miles and one wedding in 5 days. Wedding was my son's. Sold it and bought an 09 which is fuel injected. I like it better.

And the cpu adjusts fuel/air for my slick little Zard muffler. Now she sounds like a thumper. And runs a little smoother, a little quicker, about 3 to 5 more mpg. I also made my own performancer air filter. Description on another thread.

Mine's got some sweet custom touches, like motorcycle bars, different clamp and top of triple tree, custom seat, stuff like that.

I go s'camping a lot. That's scooter camping, where I am self supported in remote places like Seminole Canyon in west Texas where the native rock art is. Great trip. As you can probably tell, I like my Kymco Xciting 500, even though every time I say the name, I feel like I'm in a commercial.

[CiderBoy]

Hi,

Like you, I am new to Kymco as of a year now. Best bike ever owned.

Check the forum, as most of the questions are answered.

In short, tyres are not an issue with plenty available. You will see different riders favour different brands.
For me Michelin CityGrip work well and most motorcycle tyre dealers have no issues in replacement.

Parts online? Try KymcoUSA.

For USB. I purchased one of those USB adapters which plugged into the 12v outlet in the storage area. Then a long (2m) USB extension cable that I threaded through the bike neatly, which ends up the lockable glove box. This should give more than enough spare cable to plug in your SatNav or Iphone.

Enjoy this super bike.

[CROSSBOLT]

Hiya, Cudabum! Welcome to this nut-farm! There are answers here along with opinions. You will be amazed and entertained! You just up the road from Selmer, TN. I have been all over Branson and Eureka Springs on a Yager and a DT300i. I cannot speak for the 500's but judging from this forum and my overall experience with Kymco, you should be happy as a clam!

Read all, repeat ALL, the posts on the bike. Ask lotsa questions. Someone here knows the answer.

Karl

[sissy mary]

I live in Phoenix AZ. If you want to meet or talk, Put up a post that says something like, hey sissy mary contact me. I would change your tires, they are to old. Michelin city grips and or their new dual compound tires will last the longest. There called something like power pure? Or something like that. Order them on-line from motorcycle super store or others, and there is a place on cave creek road that will mount them for $20.00 each, off the bike of course. The tires are very hard to take off your self. The 20 bucks is worth every penny. There is a good kymco dealer on cave creek road, as well as a cycle gear. Best place in town for jackets, helmets, bags etc. Just google kymco parts, and several will pop up. Kymco parts on-line will be one of them. But the dealer here can get most any part in about 3 days or so. There are 3 dealers that I know of in the phoenix area, one in prescott, and one in tucson. All open and doing business. I would just drill a small hole in the bottom of your under seat storage bucket, just below and where cigarette liter plug is, plug in extension cord, run it under bucket and up to where you want to mount, and your done. No tapping into wires. To remove front tire is a no brainer. Rear tire u must remove muffler, no big deal, and drop down break caliper, and un bolt what looks like a swing arm. Not hard at all, but time consuming.   

[Cudabum44]

Sissy Mary, sounds like you are up north (cave Creek & carefree) I could come 60 to carefree hwy missing much of the city, bike or truck & trailer.  If you are serious I'll get tires, pack them along and contact you.  40+ years in business (plbg HVAC & elect) don't allow freebees in my mind.  (Help & training, yes, but no gimmes). I will really appreciate any training/knowledge I get.  I am more than an hour west on us 60 25 miles east of guartzsite, 25 miles west of Salome.

PS I'm an over weight old fart over 70, legs, shoulders, lungs etc don't work like they used to.  Doing what I know I earned with my nose to the grindstone for all those years.

Contact me via pm with contact info.  Hopefully I have it set up properly.

Bill Link

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[Cudabum44]

Sissy Mary, I put 2 city grip tires on my amazon wish list, they come from the super store, same price, I get 3% off with my amazon card.  They have the shipping addy loaded, when we get there in Oct I'll move them to my basket and have them shipped.  Seems as though some folks bitched about the newer tires, but, city grips seemed to have a strong consistent following.  I looked long and hard at "metzeler" sp friendly something, but could not matched radial or bias pair in my sizes.

Bill Link

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[sissy mary]

You can have them shipped directly to the shop. DTR Motorsports, 15240 N Cave Creek Road Phoenix AZ 85032. 602-451-7460. Greenway road and Cave creek Rd. The Kymco dealer is about 1 mile south of there. And is next door to cycle gear. Let me know when you will be in town?