Another Exciting 500ri with starting problem..(SOLVED)

[Tom Moy]

I have owned a Kymko 500RI for 11 years (2008 purchased in summer of 09) I had a new battery put in when I purchased and did not have to replace the Battery until the spring of 2019. Never had a starting problem as I keep it in my garage and plug it into a Deltran trickle charger whenever I am not riding. I generally do not ride between November and April as the temperatures and snow do not make for pleasant riding without wearing bulky cold weather attire,

Two years after purchasing my Kymko I decided to add a "Cosy" sidecar as my wife did not like riding seated behind me. The side car purchase and installation came in at about $1,000 less than the scooter however the wife finds it great as it has a popup cover in the event of rain and she can listen to music on her phone if she finds the ride boring.

I have not had any major repairs or maintenance issues. I do get both the oil & filter changed every spring. I use fuel stabilizer in the gas when storing for the winter and have it plugged into the battery charger all winter.  So I would say that I would most definitely buy another Kymko scooter in the future should I feel the need to replace my current ride.  As they say, don't fix what aint broke.

Love my ride.  I would post pictures but I believe the files are too large for posting more than 1.

Tom Moy
Ontario, Canada

[CROSSBOLT]

Stand by for the news team to arrive at your location to interview you, her and to take pictures! The team has been looking for evidence that at least ONE OT THOSE was produced correctly! You were fortunate to get THE ONLY ONE in existence!

Ps: the team will eat anything, sleep anywhere. Do NOT be alarmed by their appearance. They are even house broken but don't look like it. Don't turn your back to the sound man 'cause he still a little squirrelly....

[IvaKymco]

Hi all, this is my first post. Cheers to all and especially those who have put forward idea’s to try and solve the “poor starting” saga of the Not so Exciting 500i starting troubles. I think I’ve read most posts on the starting issues and after 6 years of troubles myself I think Kymco have been poor in not finding their customers a solution.

I live in the land of OZ (Sydney) so cold weather starts is not the main issue for me, but early on with this problem I did try a 500 watt lamp under the sump for ½ hour which helped.
My bike labors to turn over even with a new battery and doesn’t sound like it’s going to fire up. Even putting a car battery in parallel has mixed success. Only by connecting jumper leads from my car while it is running and supplying 14.4 volts will the bike fire up first time.

I now have a separate mains 240ac to 14.4v dc 50amp supply I built which clips onto the bike battery to give it a boast on starting rather than using the car. This works without fail!

I was interested in the post from xsel777 about a German forum where a bloke fitted a voltage boast to the ecu. The fact that my bike only wants to start with 14.4v applied makes me think he might be on to something. If anyone knows how I can contact this German I’d very much appreciate it.
However, that probably a long shot so does anyone have a copy of the electrical circuit for the 500i so I can work out something along this line myself? A small on board voltage boaster to just the ecu would be a better solution than what I have now. If it works!

So if someone has the circuit it will greatly help me.


2008-9 Exciting 500i

Chris Brace
Sydney OZ

[darkshvein]

Good day, Basri.
Please, clarify, did you solved problem with replacing starter to new?
I think, I have the same issue. My fuse from starter are melted. Also bike have  electric problem twice, it was solving with battery contacts reattaching. I have no idea for cause of error.

[wymple]

I put the physically largest and most powerful 14 amp battery in my 500 that I could shove in there. It did not help. I will say, however, that no matter what battery you use it had better be fully charged. My bike is an absolute bear to start in colder temps. It's not a problem for ME because I'm a fair weather rider in my old age. I still find it very annoying. It seems as tho it fires & takes off immediately when it starts. If it doesn't start on the 1st turn or two I stop & start again or I'm just cranking for no reason. In the cold it will fire exactly one time & then no more. Eventually it will fire twice, then after more tries it will fire three licks. Around there it takes off. Seems to me like as soon as it wants to fire the starter bails out so it takes off as it's ready or it just dies. It's not the old kicking out bendix feeling I am used to my whole life, the starter just leaves the game, I can't really explain. It's like the starter needs a one second delay before cutting out and it would start just fine. In warm weather it starts instantly, even after sitting long periods of a week or more.