Should I buy a new battery or take it to the shop?

[Tseg]

About 2 months ago I bought a Kymco Super 8 R50 for my son.  For it supposedly being durable this one has been quite temperamental.  For one, if it is below 40F we really need it to warm up for well over 5 minutes or it has stalling issues while driving (within a few hundred yards of driving).  Also, we have experienced when trying to restart the scoot when the engine is warm it has difficulty restarting sometimes.  Most recently my son hit a bit of a bump pulling into a parking lot and the scooter died... there is power to the dash and headlight but there is not a peep to the starter and cannot kick-start it, both at the time of the incident and we just tried it again today with no luck.  This happened while I was traveling a couple days ago, so the bike is still parked in that parking lot.  I'm now home and my wife is telling me I need to walk this bike home a mile since my son has already had to do a similar walk of shame twice before.  She is really mad I bought a Kymco and wonders why I did not buy a Yamaha or Honda.  The dealership is over a half hour away.  I actually just order a motorcycle carrier today for my wife's Grand Cherokee, assuming at some point I'll have to take this thing in.

When I walk it home tonight I'll put it back on the trickle charger to see if that does anything... I checked the battery cables and fuses and they seem in order.  I'm thinking a new battery probably won't do much.  My wife wants me to just "give it back" but I doubt the dealership will comply... the Super 8 now has 28 miles on it.  I did a ton of research and really thought I was making the right choice.  This has been a really unpleasant experience.  Any suggestions before I take it in?  If the darn thing would only ride my son would be loving it.

[tortoise]

hit a bit of a bump pulling into a parking lot and the scooter died... there is power to the dash and headlight but there is not a peep to the starter and cannot kick-start it

Should at least kick-start if there is spark.  Check if right-grip switch is in run position, SIDE stand is retracted, then pull off sparkplug boot and insert a 2nd plug to verify grounded spark.  If no joy, check that ignition coil spade connectors are tight.

Cold fuel does not atomize well, so the engine may run rough until engine heat has warmed up the gas in the carb bowl.  If gas tank water condensation is suspected, add around 3 tablespoons of Iso-Heet when refilling.

[Mr. Paul]

If the scooter has a "dead spot" on the throttle after it is warmed up, the carb needs cleaning. It wouldn't hurt to try the battery charger. I would also drain the fuel tank and put in fresh fuel.  In my experience, Kymcos are a quality scooter on par with Honda. ( I have both) I am sorry you are having this problem and please let us know if you find anything.

[vespbretta]

Your scooter is new and under a 2 year warranty! I would suggest to call the dealer at first and talk to him about all the problems and discuss further actions.
Kymco is a pretty reliable brand and the scooter itself is also good if serviced and set up properly.
Most of the time the dealers are the bigger problem...only few do faithfully the pre-delivery check.

What fuel do you use? What does the user manual say you are allowed to use? Be very carefull with ethanol fuel! I personally would try to avoid it wherever I could.

How old is the scooter? I don´t mean when you bought it, I mean when was the scooter manufactured (see chassis number)? For how long has the scooter been sitting at the dealers showroom or garage...

Some Kymco scooters need a good carburator cleaning procedure and readjusting by the dealer BEFORE delivery to the customer.

After 2 month of ownership even the battery is under warranty I would assume (6 month warranty?).
And if you mess around by yourself with the scooter, you might loose your warranty very quickly. So be careful here.
Doesn´t the warranty for such a short period of ownership cover the tow or pickup by the dealer in case of breakdown?

Interesting story though. Pls keep the community informed. Thanks.

[Tseg]

Update: I walked the scooter home and put it on the battery tender for an hour.   The tender was still red, nonetheless I hit the ignition and it started up.  I'm thinking the battery is not holding a charge, but not sure I can explain why it would not kick start?  The scooter was new-old-stock, 2015 model with zero miles on it.  The scooter was delivered to me mid-December, a little over 2 months ago.  The dealer said it was a new battery installed during prep.

I'll call the dealer tomorrow and see what they say.  I filled the tank up 2 months ago with 93 octane and right away put in some Stabil... there is about 3/4 of a tank now and 28 miles on the odometer.  Unfortunately I'm not aware of any gas stations around that sell non-ethanol.  Maybe there is something carb related, but there is something battery/electrical related to.  Could a new battery solve all problems?  One other key point, where we live, my son rarely goes on a trip longer than 2-3 miles before stopping.  As a result he typically starts it up, lets it idle for about 5 minutes, then takes a 5-10 minute trip.  I know this is not ideal for an engine.  Maybe I need to tell him to take a few laps every other time he take it out to put 5-10 miles on it?

Next time we start it up should we put some carb cleaner in it?

[vespbretta]

Can you test the battery with a multimeter? What´s the Voltage you read? Especially when you try to start the scooter by hitting the starter button? Does the Voltage then break down? Then the battery is bad.
Kymco puts in their scooters cheap chinese noname batteries with sometimes reduced durability, so I would recommend to buy a better quality battery anyways. Good investment into a careless future. Talk to the dealer and negociate with him a nice discount for a new quality replacement battery.  Yuasa MF or maybe a Shido or Shorai LiFePo Battery. Those are great, strong and lightweight batteries and totally maintainance free. You don´t even need a tender in winter and very little selfdischarging over month.

If you know what to do, you could of course clean the carb yourself with carbcleaner. But why? Your under warranty. And if the scooter stalls and breaks down in the middle of the road, the dealer has to tow you or pick you up. Its as easy as that. Or not?

But maybe a new battery might solve all of your problems. Give it a try if you want.

[tortoise]

you could of course clean the carb yourself

Anticipate tamper-resistant fuel bowl fasteners.

[Forbes1964]

If it's under warranty, simply let the dealer handle EVERYTHING! Don't touch ANYTHING other than charging the battery. Don't give them ANY excuse to void the warranty. I would take it to them , tell them what it's doing, and let them fix it. Even if you CAN fix it yourself, don't.

That's my advice. Always give the dealer a CHANCE to do the right thing.

[vespbretta]

Anticipate tamper-resistant fuel bowl fasteners.

Thanks for that input. Wasn´t aware of that issue  - to be honest. So it´s even more critical for a DIY experiment under warranty. 
So another good reason to let the dealer fix the scooter. 

[Tseg]

Kymco puts in their scooters cheap chinese noname batteries with sometimes reduced durability, so I would recommend to buy a better quality battery anyways. Good investment into a careless future.

Unfortunately my Kymco dealer is about an 80 mile round trip on a highway so any "deal" he may give me on a replacement battery probably does not overcome the cost of the round-trip.  Yes, the OEM battery from the dealership has Chinese writing all over it.  I think I'll just buy a good new battery locally... if issues persist I'll load it up and take it to the dealership for warranty work.

BTW, is there any harm in keeping the Battery Tender Jr. attached for long periods of time?  Is it "the more the merrier" or "use only as necessary"?  I'm assuming if the scooter runs only 2-4 miles each day it may make sense to plug into a tender nightly?

[Tseg]

If it's under warranty, simply let the dealer handle EVERYTHING! Don't touch ANYTHING other than charging the battery. Don't give them ANY excuse to void the warranty. I would take it to them , tell them what it's doing, and let them fix it. Even if you CAN fix it yourself, don't.

That's my advice. Always give the dealer a CHANCE to do the right thing.

This is good advice... while I plan to try a new battery I'll make sure to keep the original... if problems persist with the new one I'l just slide back in the old one when I take it to the dealership.  If the dealer was just closer I would not hesitate to run this scooter up to them.

[blue]

If you are dealing with hard starting in colder weather. you need to adjust the gas intake screw. that's if you have a unsealed carb were you can get to it. turn all the way in then back out 2.5 turns don't go any more then 3 full turns that will be way to much. if need to you can always back in .5 turn at a time. You also may need a bigger jet like a 82 or 84 .

[blue]

A new battery is always a good thing......

[Tseg]

If you are dealing with hard starting in colder weather. you need to adjust the gas intake screw. that's if you have a unsealed carb were you can get to it. turn all the way in then back out 2.5 turns don't go any more then 3 full turns that will be way to much. if need to you can always back in .5 turn at a time. You also may need a bigger jet like a 82 or 84 .

It starts in cold weather, but if not warmed up properly it will stall when accelerating.

[blue]

You are all good .thats just the kymco warm up.its just like warming up a car or truck sometimes they need it.