450i LE - New Owner - First Impressions - Updated 12-11-17

[Dayooper]

I purchased a 2017 Kymco 450i LE after doing some looking for awhile in September. When purchasing I was able to get the LE for the price of the base model as it was their first Kymco sale and it was the end of the month so they were eager for a sale and the hard to get bit paid a little bit. I added the windshield and roof at time of purchase. I use this to run my trapping line, hunt with and general work around the property.

While not 100% satisfied with the initial weeks of ownership, the dealership can be attributed as a prime suspect for a few of my issues while assembling the unit on site. None as of yet have been unworkable through them, just time spent on the back and forth.

Bad Take-aways:

1 - Stator went bad first week home - dealership took care of w/ some lead time to get the part in stock
2 - Diff fluid was low - thanks to forum for heads up on this about inexperienced dealers @ final assembly.
3 - Still squeaks like a mofo @ back spring but have a scheduled time to take to dealer
4 - The linkage between gears is annoying but w/ help from some topics here on the forum, the gas seems to minimize the annoyance. For what its worth, the other brands I test drove were far from easy to work and seems to be somewhat industry wide.
5 - When parked at an incline, gear selection & rocking is required to spring it back in gear (found this out when loading some trees I cut last fall)
6 - That starting beep for the efi required delay needs to die, like yesterday
7 - Putting the seat back on takes some getting used to. Once you get the right feel for it, all good.
8 - In order to move back suspension to higher setting, sway bar needs to be removed and kept off.

Good Take-aways - I actually really like it
1 - Rides pretty darn smoothly
2 - This things got some power. When hauling wood, etc up hills I haven't had to hit 4wd yet. She chugs darn nicely up them bad boys. I have a spot on the back 40 that 90' of incline over ~80yds
3 - The lack of power steering is not noticeable unless at a crawl or stopped while on pavement. It's a non-issue for me elsewhere.
4 - I flat out love the dump bed release on both sides. I've used others and its a convenience that's immediately noticeable in real world applications.
5 - I like the overall size of it, it fits on the tight trails I need it to whereas other models would not
6 - The storage capacity is not to be overlooked. Huge convenience. I've got the poop paper, good size first aid kit, winch remote, dry clothes and towel stashed under the seat w/ room for more. And my dash & glove compartments are still free to house gloves, misc tools and the pistol.
7 - The cup holders - seems trivial - but they are the perfect depth, height and location. I've been in others where my Large coffee cup won't fit and/or wobbles crazily. Not so here. Love it.
8 - It seems like I'm listing little things but man these add up when you're actually using the thing. The dump bed comes w/ a rubber cover for the metal bottom. Thx boys.
9 - The step-in. Previous brands this would be mud city from my hip waders. It recessed just enough that I'm not constantly scuffing this place up.

Some things I've done:
1 - Added a battery tender. It got old taking the hood off w/ its weird plastic locks to get to the tender terminals so I ran the connectors through the back of the battery housing compartment. It now is both easily accessible and protected from the elements laying just behind the topmost part of wheel well housing. Removing the hood e/ time felt too much like I would break it sooner or later.
2 - Added a speaker. When processing deer or general work, nice to have. Due to the battery placement I didn't want to get a chord powered unit. I settled on an Altec all-weather model for bikes w/ 30hr battery life that has a usb port to charge my phone from as well. The included mount is too small for the cage but attaches nicely to the overhead grab bar. Doing so also takes some vibration pressure off the mounting screw on the speaker itself by resting between the bar and roof while in transit.
3 - Added a Mighty-Tite tie down system to the trailer. This thing rocks. No more straps, etc to be fumbling about w/ in the rain and re-tightening. The amount of time and worry this has saved me is significant. I don't miss loading my atv in the bed of the truck either. My main hunting grounds are 1hr e/way through back roads, this has been a life saver so far.

Planned Additions
1 - Them mesh doors got to go. Probably buy the half doors from the gentleman on this forum once the wife believes I'll stop spending on it The mud flaps will be required.
2 - Building a pvc fishing pole holder for the bed
3 - Jerry-rig a flashlight holder and pole-saw holder to one of the frame bars


Speaker



Mighty-Tite



Hauling Some Wood



The Mrs. and the In-Laws enjoying a ride around






2nd Update 12-11-17

I do some trapping for a hunting club with about 1,800 acres. I got to stretch her legs a bit more than usual this past weekend there. There were a couple patches of ground that I could safely get her up to 45mph. That said - 25mph on trails is plenty enough for me & comfy, I was just seeing what was possible, the rest is just icing.

The radio came in handy when I was catfishing on the river at night. Nice little background music. It was usable during the day but I started to have some troubles with the bluetooth and wound up just using an aux chord. I'm yet to rig up some holders for my 8-10' rods and pole saw. Plus side - the bed was a perfect depth to work as a temporary cat holder when I forgot my cooler at the lodge

She handled superbly. The club had gotten 2-3/4" of rain and I still didn't have to use 4wd once. They have crushed stone where needed on most iffy crossings but there were a few field edges & low points that got sporty. I used low where appropriate and all was well. At one point I had 2 deer in the bed and one 240lb passenger. There was a noticeable strain when getting up to speed, definitely handled differently w/ the load at 15mph but I would expect that from this sized machine and it's not a normal situation i'm in. I also noticed I was canting the steering wheel quite a bit to go straight at speed at all times. I'll have a look-see at alignment.

In terms of ride - everything still hunky dory. Very smooth. I put 8hrs on the machine just this weekend and it was working miles.

Linkage - staying in neutral w/ the parking/e brake was copesetic and took some headache out. Getting it to fully seat in L & H is a little bit of an art form. It can be learned quickly.

Additional Planned Update - I need to find a way to keep dust from the rear w/ some short of back windshield. It's low country there and the sandy soil dries out fast. It was whirling into my eyes towards the end of the day sunday perrrty good.

Uncharacteristic snow on Friday made for an interesting drive (southern drivers are horrendous, add 1-3inches of snow and its Armageddon on the highways. just slow down aint in their vocabulary)



Hauling some club members and deer:



Showing club members how to process a beaver on the tailgate:



Temporary Cat Cooler

[airshot]

   Pretty much sums up the impressions most of us have!!  The initial beep to start is only needed if the machine has sat for awhile, or it is cold, if it is already warm or on warm summer days I don't wait...I just go right to start.  As far as the hood goes...yes I broke those metal clips and ended up tossing them, I added a tension cord to hold the front of the hood down. My cord comes from my Kayak, the same tension cord used for holding items on the kayak and paddle cords etc.  Black tension cord about 1/4" in diameter, one hook in the center of the hood in front...looks good and makes hood removal simple and the hood had never opened on its own even on the trailer at 65mph.
 I find myself using the parking brake more and more so I don't have to fiddle with the shifter, on mine getting out of park can be the most difficult.  Putting the seat back on...buy an extra set of the rubber grommets that hold the seat down and glue them in place with some "goop", once they are glued in position it makes the seat much easier to install and remove, I found on mine those grommets kept pulling out, thus making the seat hard to install.  The front mud flaps are really needed, they keep tons of crap from getting inside the body cavities.  I found a spray wax designed for plastic materials that keeps the body shinney and helps keep mud from sticking, coat the underside frequently with a spray silicone, helps the rubber parts and makes cleaning off mud much easier.  Keep us posted on any other mods you decide to make and we will do the same

[randyo]

I never use park, always neutral and the parking brake

[Dayooper]

updated

[poorboy1964]

updated

Now that's how to use any side by side,,,, wish out here in Utah we had cats that big.

[airshot]

Wish I had 1800 acres to play in!!  Looks like a real nice place to play....I am jealous.

[Driemeyer25]

I purchased a 2017 Kymco 450i LE after doing some looking for awhile in September. When purchasing I was able to get the LE for the price of the base model as it was their first Kymco sale and it was the end of the month so they were eager for a sale and the hard to get bit paid a little bit. I added the windshield and roof at time of purchase. I use this to run my trapping line, hunt with and general work around the property.

While not 100% satisfied with the initial weeks of ownership, the dealership can be attributed as a prime suspect for a few of my issues while assembling the unit on site. None as of yet have been unworkable through them, just time spent on the back and forth.

Bad Take-aways:

1 - Stator went bad first week home - dealership took care of w/ some lead time to get the part in stock
2 - Diff fluid was low - thanks to forum for heads up on this about inexperienced dealers @ final assembly.
3 - Still squeaks like a mofo @ back spring but have a scheduled time to take to dealer
4 - The linkage between gears is annoying but w/ help from some topics here on the forum, the gas seems to minimize the annoyance. For what its worth, the other brands I test drove were far from easy to work and seems to be somewhat industry wide.
5 - When parked at an incline, gear selection & rocking is required to spring it back in gear (found this out when loading some trees I cut last fall)
6 - That starting beep for the efi required delay needs to die, like yesterday
7 - Putting the seat back on takes some getting used to. Once you get the right feel for it, all good.
8 - In order to move back suspension to higher setting, sway bar needs to be removed and kept off.

Good Take-aways - I actually really like it
1 - Rides pretty darn smoothly
2 - This things got some power. When hauling wood, etc up hills I haven't had to hit 4wd yet. She chugs darn nicely up them bad boys. I have a spot on the back 40 that 90' of incline over ~80yds
3 - The lack of power steering is not noticeable unless at a crawl or stopped while on pavement. It's a non-issue for me elsewhere.
4 - I flat out love the dump bed release on both sides. I've used others and its a convenience that's immediately noticeable in real world applications.
5 - I like the overall size of it, it fits on the tight trails I need it to whereas other models would not
6 - The storage capacity is not to be overlooked. Huge convenience. I've got the poop paper, good size first aid kit, winch remote, dry clothes and towel stashed under the seat w/ room for more. And my dash & glove compartments are still free to house gloves, misc tools and the pistol.
7 - The cup holders - seems trivial - but they are the perfect depth, height and location. I've been in others where my Large coffee cup won't fit and/or wobbles crazily. Not so here. Love it.
8 - It seems like I'm listing little things but man these add up when you're actually using the thing. The dump bed comes w/ a rubber cover for the metal bottom. Thx boys.
9 - The step-in. Previous brands this would be mud city from my hip waders. It recessed just enough that I'm not constantly scuffing this place up.

Some things I've done:
1 - Added a battery tender. It got old taking the hood off w/ its weird plastic locks to get to the tender terminals so I ran the connectors through the back of the battery housing compartment. It now is both easily accessible and protected from the elements laying just behind the topmost part of wheel well housing. Removing the hood e/ time felt too much like I would break it sooner or later.
2 - Added a speaker. When processing deer or general work, nice to have. Due to the battery placement I didn't want to get a chord powered unit. I settled on an Altec all-weather model for bikes w/ 30hr battery life that has a usb port to charge my phone from as well. The included mount is too small for the cage but attaches nicely to the overhead grab bar. Doing so also takes some vibration pressure off the mounting screw on the speaker itself by resting between the bar and roof while in transit.
3 - Added a Mighty-Tite tie down system to the trailer. This thing rocks. No more straps, etc to be fumbling about w/ in the rain and re-tightening. The amount of time and worry this has saved me is significant. I don't miss loading my atv in the bed of the truck either. My main hunting grounds are 1hr e/way through back roads, this has been a life saver so far.

Planned Additions
1 - Them mesh doors got to go. Probably buy the half doors from the gentleman on this forum once the wife believes I'll stop spending on it The mud flaps will be required.
2 - Building a pvc fishing pole holder for the bed
3 - Jerry-rig a flashlight holder and pole-saw holder to one of the frame bars


Speaker



Mighty-Tite



Hauling Some Wood



The Mrs. and the In-Laws enjoying a ride around






2nd Update 12-11-17

I do some trapping for a hunting club with about 1,800 acres. I got to stretch her legs a bit more than usual this past weekend there. There were a couple patches of ground that I could safely get her up to 45mph. That said - 25mph on trails is plenty enough for me & comfy, I was just seeing what was possible, the rest is just icing.

The radio came in handy when I was catfishing on the river at night. Nice little background music. It was usable during the day but I started to have some troubles with the bluetooth and wound up just using an aux chord. I'm yet to rig up some holders for my 8-10' rods and pole saw. Plus side - the bed was a perfect depth to work as a temporary cat holder when I forgot my cooler at the lodge

She handled superbly. The club had gotten 2-3/4" of rain and I still didn't have to use 4wd once. They have crushed stone where needed on most iffy crossings but there were a few field edges & low points that got sporty. I used low where appropriate and all was well. At one point I had 2 deer in the bed and one 240lb passenger. There was a noticeable strain when getting up to speed, definitely handled differently w/ the load at 15mph but I would expect that from this sized machine and it's not a normal situation i'm in. I also noticed I was canting the steering wheel quite a bit to go straight at speed at all times. I'll have a look-see at alignment.

In terms of ride - everything still hunky dory. Very smooth. I put 8hrs on the machine just this weekend and it was working miles.

Linkage - staying in neutral w/ the parking/e brake was copesetic and took some headache out. Getting it to fully seat in L & H is a little bit of an art form. It can be learned quickly.

Additional Planned Update - I need to find a way to keep dust from the rear w/ some short of back windshield. It's low country there and the sandy soil dries out fast. It was whirling into my eyes towards the end of the day sunday perrrty good.

Uncharacteristic snow on Friday made for an interesting drive (southern drivers are horrendous, add 1-3inches of snow and its Armageddon on the highways. just slow down aint in their vocabulary)



Hauling some club members and deer:



Showing club members how to process a beaver on the tailgate:



Temporary Cat Cooler

Dayooper, Welcome to the Kymco Family. Let me know when a set of doors or maybe the bed rails for when your hauling your wood fits your fancy. I just overhauled my website to accomodate the new accessories, so take advantage of my new 10% off promotion for the Kymco customers. Good until the end of January. call me anytime. 314.609.2440.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[dlongo]

Mud flaps ? Where? Thanks I made mine.

[Dayooper]

All continues to be well. Still need to get it in the shop for that rear-end squeak.  I rigged this up for my axe and figured I'd share the information:

• I bought the Original Quick Fist Clamp from amazon for $5 (pack of 2) (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQPANY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
• added a conduit hangar - which on the 450i you need 1-1/4 for the cross tubes in the back and 1-1/2 for the main roll cage
• Make sure you buy the ones with a smaller hangar hole - I tried using the cushioned conduit hangar from Grainger but they only come with a welded 3/8 nut. Not only does it not seem secure due to seating depth and the forces that will be put on it but the 3/8 hole you put in the quick fist clamp takes more material than i'd like from it.
• add #10 bolt, nut & washer
• I glued a piece of scrap ratchet strap inside the eye of the hangar so that it wasnt metal on metal
• all done

I also added these inside the roll cage for my 4 cell mag lite
The Quick Fist Clamp mini's work great for fishing poles and I have them setup on both "door" sides of the cage up high so I can secure my rods. It works better than the pvc tube holders I had in the bed. The rods stuck up too when riding and having them lay at a more horizontal angle in the bed took up too much room.
Anywho - figured I'd share as there was some experimentation w/ different parts and a few back and forth trips to the local hardware store to get it right.

[airshot]

     Thanks for the updates and the home grown hardware ideas.  Unfortunately the pictures did not come thru in the latest posts. Look forward to more of your ideas!!