The Youtube Videos, fact or fiction?

[PapaSoldTheHarley]

I am a Youtube junkie. I love to watch the videos (on a variety of subjects).
I am guessing I have watched about two dozens Kymco postings on top speed and acceleration.
Quite a few from the other side of the "Pond".
I watched a couple where the Scooter runs a straightaway and the camera shows the speedometer. One topped out at 120 KPH and another had reached 125 or so (KPH).
A few reviews had talked about 65 mph (some talking about higher than that.
I know this has been mentioned in other threads but I am trying to quantify the potential for this ride.
I bought thinking 62, 63 maybe even 65 was going to be attainable.
I am 5'9" and 180 pounds plus or minus a pound or two.
At 900 miles on my new Like 200i the highest speed I have seen is about 57 mph as indicated on the speedometer.
This is a far cry from the highs I have seen and read about.
Wondering if there is an issue with my particular scooter; or if the videos and reviews are all exaggerated?

[Stig / Major Tom]

I am a Youtube junkie. I love to watch the videos (on a variety of subjects).
I am guessing I have watched about two dozens Kymco postings on top speed and acceleration.
Quite a few from the other side of the "Pond".
I watched a couple where the Scooter runs a straightaway and the camera shows the speedometer. One topped out at 120 KPH and another had reached 125 or so (KPH).
A few reviews had talked about 65 mph (some talking about higher than that.
I know this has been mentioned in other threads but I am trying to quantify the potential for this ride.
I bought thinking 62, 63 maybe even 65 was going to be attainable.
I am 5'9" and 180 pounds plus or minus a pound or two.
At 900 miles on my new Like 200i the highest speed I have seen is about 57 mph as indicated on the speedometer.
This is a far cry from the highs I have seen and read about.
Wondering if there is an issue with my particular scooter; or if the videos and reviews are all exaggerated?

57 is about right for this side of the Pond on a LIKE200i (the Brit's do their runs naked after dousing ea. other in Canola oil) .....downgrade a Gringo might see a bit more - before the explosive charges built into the seat fire you over into the safety of the shrubbery. Sort of like an airbag thing that Kymco uses to preclude such behavior -- and the resulting court action taken by the late rider's estate.

But the videos about broccoli shampoo re-growing hair are true - take it to the bank - and I have actually spoken with the 2 talking squirrels in Indiana over the phone. ($5 a min. seemed reasonable. They take paypal.)
Happy videoing,
Stig

[PapaSoldTheHarley]

57 is about right for this side of the Pond on a LIKE200i (the Brit's do their runs naked after dousing ea. other in Canola oil) .....downgrade a Gringo might see a bit more - before the explosive charges built into the seat fire you over into the safety of the shrubbery. Sort of like an airbag thing that Kymco uses to preclude such behavior -- and the resulting court action taken by the late rider's estate.

But the videos about broccoli shampoo re-growing hair are true - take it to the bank - and I have actually spoken with the 2 talking squirrels in Indiana over the phone. ($5 a min. seemed reasonable. They take paypal.)
Happy videoing,
Stig

One guy must have had a turbo charged Like the video shows a vibrating speedo indicating around 127 or so (KPH)...
I will see how the next 500 or so miles go. If it only produces 57 on the speedometer, someone is going to get a bargain

[AMAC1680]

One guy must have had a turbo charged Like the video shows a vibrating speedo indicating around 127 or so (KPH)...
I will see how the next 500 or so miles go. If it only produces 57 on the speedometer, someone is going to get a bargain

Someone is going to get a bargain then.
At 163 air cooled cc's is not going to do any better. If the extra mph is a must then you'll need more displacemnet.

If not the Like is a damn fine scoot!

As far as can you believe the YouTube vids. I saw the zombie apocalypse on you tube last night so.....

AMAC

[2wheelfun]

Like 200 is more like a 150 in specs than a 200, they should have named it 165cc or close to it. 150s are best doing speed limits of 40/45mph then add a few digits to keep up with the flow. If your on a roadway where 55mph is the speed limit you'll get run over for sure. Plus no room to speed up to pass or drive defensively.

[PapaSoldTheHarley]

Like 200 is more like a 150 in specs than a 200, they should have named it 165cc or close to it. 150s are best doing speed limits of 40/45mph then add a few digits to keep up with the flow. If your on a roadway where 55mph is the speed limit you'll get run over for sure. Plus no room to speed up to pass or drive defensively.

It really isn't a matter of personal preference for me. The three roads that literally start and finish 99% of any ride I take are Highway 52, Highway 54 and US 41. The right lane or left lane isn't the issue. At 55 mph you are an obstruction and become an object of frustration. At 62 or 63 you may be considered "slow moving" but it is acceptable.
I don't have an issue other than the top end. The Scooter performs well. The dealer said she could do 65 mph. Half of the reviews and videos I read and watched touted over sixty as the top speed area. Fifty-seven with a wide open throttle (indicated by a generous speedometer) is a big difference...
No one is bashing the bike; just trying to figure out some options. My error, should have gone a little bit bigger from the gitgo.
The Downtown or the People would have been a better buy (for me). But not being able to test ride any of the new scooters makes the purchase a gamble to some extent. I did ask here about the "break-in period" after reading that others here have experienced a bit of a gain after the engine "seats". I will give her another few hundred miles and see if any gains materialize. Even riding her for another thousand miles while climbing up another five or six miles an hour would be OK. Really too bad, I love the look of the Like. I love the size and weight. But that feeling of being pushed that accompanies trips on the roads I mentioned is significant. If I lived in Pinellas County in the 66th St./Pinellas Park area, or the downtown St. Pete district, cruising on crowded roads at 25 to 35 mph (a majority of the time) this wouldn't be an issue at all...

[Stig / Major Tom]

Papa, that's a darn shame...
Wish salesmen would stop telling people that the LIKE200i is a highway machine, capable of 65 mph. It is NOT.
I bought mine with visions of scooting 15 miles to my fav coffee village.
But all roads are 55mph country roads....which are travelled at 60+.
I discovered that my new LIKE200i could not do those speeds, and was also less than reassuring when driven with the throttle pegged 100%

I was recently on Gulf blvd for 10 days and saw 2 LIKE200i s cruising happily on those 35mph streets .....and that is where this scoot belongs.
Great little urban scooter....but I had to buy a 278cc Honda Forza before I could ride with comfort & security on local highways. The LIKE200i is for my work commuting on city streets posted 45 or less.
Too bad you aren't local... a dealer has a 2012 People S 250 for $2999. A repo with like 6miles on it! I know he'd take less... this ohio burg not being the scooter capital of the Midwest.
Pretty darn sure you're going to need a bigger scooter to stay safe on your rides.
Not your fault, or the scoots, that it was misrepresented to you..... some salesmen really do think a LIKE200i will do 65, I think.
At 180, you need a different scooter....even the 170 SYM has a lot more top speed.
Good luck and ride safe, Stig

[TroutBum]

there are a few flat straight rides near me. If I WOT I can sometimes get it to an indicated 62/63, but it doesn't do it consistently. It also requires more than a mile to reach max. I don't know the actual speed, but I would guess just below 60 mph.

[PapaSoldTheHarley]

there are a few flat straight rides near me. If I WOT I can sometimes get it to an indicated 62/63, but it doesn't do it consistently. It also requires more than a mile to reach max. I don't know the actual speed, but I would guess just below 60 mph.

That is interesting. I have not left the throttle wide open for any where near a mile run. Maybe ten or fifteen seconds of WOT a few times. That said the scoot is now quickly approaching 1,000 miles on her. I will take a few runs of a bit longer duration at full throttle (that is if it ever stops raining in Land O Lakes)... If I could get 62 or 63 on the speedometer that would be a lot better than 55 or 57. Of course attitude is also a factor here. I know a guy (Chaz) that rides a 125 Vespa, that he rebuilt, two-up! Chaz simply says, "If they are on your ass at 50 or 55 mph, they'll be on your ass at 65 mph!". He just says, fifty is his cruising speed and that is what he rides at... I might be better off trying to adopt a bit of that philosophy

[BettinANDlosing]

The Speedo on those videos could be further off than yours. Check it with a GPS app on your phone. I bet your anything 60 indicated is 55 or less. My b&w is about 7mph of at 65 and almost 10 at 80. Almost every scooter I've owned is at least 5mph fast. Check your tires, if you need more speed bump them up to 35\30. Have you done the fist service valve adjustment? Also you can switch to 10w40 synthetic and get a little more out of the engine. If your commuting is on highways tho, that like will not last very long going those speeds day in day out.

[AMAC1680]

That is interesting. I have not left the throttle wide open for any where near a mile run. Maybe ten or fifteen seconds of WOT a few times. That said the scoot is now quickly approaching 1,000 miles on her. I will take a few runs of a bit longer duration at full throttle (that is if it ever stops raining in Land O Lakes)... If I could get 62 or 63 on the speedometer that would be a lot better than 55 or 57. Of course attitude is also a factor here. I know a guy (Chaz) that rides a 125 Vespa, that he rebuilt, two-up! Chaz simply says, "If they are on your ass at 50 or 55 mph, they'll be on your ass at 65 mph!". He just says, fifty is his cruising speed and that is what he rides at... I might be better off trying to adopt a bit of that philosophy

State of mind is a factor. last weekend my ex and I did well over 200 miles on a 125 Cali Classic. That's up at the jersey shore and local roads fastest posted speed was 55. Never a problem.

Now back at home in NE Florida id get myself killed doing the same type of riding. Everyone just has a heavy foot on the surface roads there.

AMAC

[big blue]

When I first purchased my Like the dealer had not even SEEN the model! He told me that "with 200cc it'll do 70". In his review in Just Gotta Scoot, Dave Harrington wrote: "I was able to get the Like 200i to an indicated 66mph which was actually 63mph". I did more research and found that the engine was actually 163cc so I guessed 60 mph was more like it. I was looking at 125-150s so 12 inch wheels and fuel injection was a good fit for me. The Like has worked out well for my needs and has been bone reliable so no regrets here. It would have been nice however if the dealers had not overstated the performance.