Getting ready to buy Kymco 250 need information

[kawzak]

Hello all members, I would like to ask some questions about the People 250. I have narrowed the scooters down to the people 250 or an aprilla Sportcity 250. I have ridden motorcycles for about 40 yrs. I have some back problems now and my dual-sport is too harsh. I ride 6000-8000 miles/year. mostly farm/market roads (paved) to/from work 30 miles round trip, and 80 miles round trip (2) times a month to a larger city. My questions are (1). Is the People 250 more comfortable that the Aprilla sportcity 250. (2) Are  highway speeds of 60-65 OK for 30/40 miles at a time OK and still be able to live a long life ( I will use Amzoil synthetic). (3) how long in miles does the variator belt and rollers last.(4)The Kymco I am told, is easier to get parts for.v/s the Aprilla. Any experience on this issue. and lastly does any one have a high milage machine, and would you please elaborate on the maintenance costs, any break-downs or problems. I do appreciate any feed back.  Thank-you

[olbull]

Ive owned  a  scarabeo  150 which  was  Pre Piaggio ownership  and it  reflected  the fine quality  of  Aprilia..I  did have  many  weeks  of down (waiting for  parts) time  over  an  18 month  period  of  ownership..So  I  then  bought  a Piaggio BV500...Assuming  that  now the  parts  problem  was  corrected... BOY was  I  wrong..It  was  worse  and the  build  quality  was  of  a much  lower  grade...I  sold the  bike 4 months later  after  I  was  down  for  6 weeks  waiting for a fuel  pump that  failed  after  only  1800 miles  and  turns  out to be  a  know  problem and  the  factory  showed  almost  no  interest  or  care  about  my  problem..Iam  and have been a new  car  dealer  for  more than 35 yeqars  and NEVER  have I  seen  the unprofessional  handling  of  distribution and  customer  service like that from  the  Piaggio .. line up  vespa/aprilia/guzzi/benelli... 4 places  to  stay  away  from..

     I cant  tell  you  if  you  will  get  100k  from  a  bike .. but I now  own  a  2007 P250 with  12000km  and its been  flawless..I  damaged  a  panel  doing  service  and  ordered  a  new one....was  here in  5 days..The quality  and performance  meets  all  of  my  expectations ..

  If your looking to  buy  a  P250 you  better  hurry there  arent  many if  any  left!!!..And  you  cant  buy  mine ITS  NOT 4SALE!!!   

   Good Luck

OlBull

[kawzak]

Thank you Olbull, I have heard only good things about the People 250. I think I will buy a red one this saturday.

[OldGuy]

Thank you Olbull, I have heard only good things about the People 250. I think I will buy a red one this saturday.

Happy birthday Kawzak! You're lucky to have a choice. The showroom floor (normally crowded with scooters) at my Kymco dealer is empty!

[kawzak]

Thanks for the Birthday greeting, OldGuy, I am an Old guy too! The Kymco dealer in San Antonio Tx  has (1) silver People 250 Demo 2008, (2) blue People 250 2008 a  red one (I am going to buy tomorrow ,Mid-life crisis ?) This dealer told me he sold a total of 70 scooters last month. Wow.And The dealer in Austin Tx. is suposed to be sold out so I better hurry!I have had 25+ motorcycles and scooters are just so much more fun (I ride my wifes Piaggio Fly 150 to work once in a while, a little small for the distance/roads/speed, but still fun). I have pulled wrenches for over 40 years, and I have never had to take any of my machines to a shop for repairs, I do all my own maintenance work,you know... a gear-head! If it has two wheels I like it! I am looking foward to owning a People 250.

[geezerbob]

I have a P250 which is nearing 20,000 km.  I'm going to replace the CVT belt and rear tire this week just to be on the safe side.  The only real problem I've had is with the exhaust system.  The bottom rear bolt holding the muffler on has a tendency to vibrate loose and fall out, causing the upper front bracket to break and the header pipe and muffler to crack.  Do yourself a favor and put some heat resistant lock tite on the bolt now so you don't have to worry about it later.

Just returned from a 3,360 mile trip, most of which was on interstates at wide open throttle.  I checked the oil after the trip and it was less than 1/16" below the full mark on the dipstick.  Not bad for a little thumper.  The down side is that the gas mileage falls through the floor at those speeds.  The bigger scoots on the ride did better than I did on the interstates, but mine made up for it on the back roads.

My other major complaint with the bike is the hard seat.  I had the foam shaved off the front part of the seat, had it recovered, and added an Air Hawk cushion.   The longest day on the trip was 400 miles and I was able to ride it with a minimum of discomfort.

The small sport Air Hawk fits perfectly.  The lowest price I found was at Derby Cycles - $115 plus about $10 shipping.  If your legs are long enough, you can skip having the seat reworked and just add the cushion.

[kawzak]

Hey Geezerbob, thats a good long trip. Hope you had fun. Thanks for the tip about the exhaust bolt. My P-250 came with Kenda tires, I was skeptical how they would work in the wet, but I found out-they are great road holding tires. What are you going to put back on yours?. Also I believe 12k + miles is good on the belt. I assume you are going to put an OEM back on. Do you plan on replacing the rollers? Please let me know costs if possible.  Thanks for any info.

[geezerbob]

Mechanic examined my CVT in May (1,400 and 3,360 mile trips ago) and said everything, including the belt, looked fine.  I'm replacing the belt to avoid getting stranded on the side of the road.  Could probably get another thousand or two km out of the rear tire but the wear indicators are just starting to show and, from my auto experience, you get more flats when the rubber is thin.  I replaced the front tire before my long trip because it had cupped pretty badly and sounded like an old WWII bomber when I turned.  I didn't get an itemized bill on the tire but know that it's a Kenda and came from Kymco USA.  They're only a hundred miles up the road from me and we get pretty quick delivery, so I'll stick with the Kendas.  I'm satisfied with the performance and wear and blame myself for the front tire cupping because I didn't check the pressure often enough.

[Diamante]

I ride with two artificial hips and one artificial knee (I may be handicapped but I'm not dead, and besides, my doctor doesn't know). My only complaint (because I have back problems also) is the hard ride over potholes and such. You can adjust the rear shocks (which I did), but still rough when going over bumps and potholes. Someone once mentioned a gel cushion. I don't know if anyone on the 250 has one of these. I would be curious to know if it helps... One of the top selling points for the People 250 for me personally, is the large wheels for stability....

Diamante

[TechGuy]

Some prefer gel cushions while others prefer an air cushion (AirHawk is one brand).

Some have taken the seat to an upholsterer and had them remove the padding there and replace it with a gel cushion covered with new foam and use the existing seat cover.  This provided them with the enhanced cushion without changing the appearance of the seat.