xcitingr 500

[749r]

Hi gents new to this forum,it seems the 500 maybe a bit of a dog,in regards to the trove of faults it has aquired,I bought one ridulous cheap with a shagged variator and 6202kms on the odo,new variator,rollers etc all fitted up and then found this forum about these maxi's,I also own an 09 AN400 Burgman which is so brilliant it should be a crime ,an 04 Ducati 749r superbike and a few other oddities,being an older gent with a bizzare fetish for fossil fuel burning vehicles,I had to buy this 500,Cams wearing flat is a bad thing ,and fuel pump relay fault(which is sorted),at approx how many kms did the cams wear flat?,is there someone who makes cams for the 500i that are not cheese?,and what in hell does Met-in mean,and the main power leads to the starter from the start solenoid and earthing cable is just a limp attempt,I figure I can make new cables to test that theory,but the cams sceniro is worrying,as later on I would like to turbo this basket case and have a little fun ...Cams are available elsewhere by non cheese making Taiwanese..?
.Thanks ..Always keep the shiny side up

[Neil955i]

Welcome to the Forum!

As a Ducati owner you should be familiar with mechanical shortcomings!  Sorry, couldn't resist that.  There are many very knowledgable members on here (excl. me) so I'm sure all your Kymco-related questions will be answered. 

Keep us posted on developments with your Xciting 500.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Welcome 749!
We've a couple 500 owners here. Hopefully they'll be able to help with your cam question.
 Met-in is apparently Tai for "do not put cats under the scooter seat!" Apparently the Italians were doing this...

Again, welcome!
Stig

[749r]

Thanks Gents for the replies..not sure of "mechanical shortcomings" or "cats under seats", but Italians are strange and cant build scooters either,they leave that to the japanese as they have seemed to have "mastered the art"..sorry about mentioning Ducati ..but if you ever had a "Desmo" on song you would appreciate and be addicted..anyhoooo back to it ..Now I have read favorable reviews in regards to Kmyco Scooters ,but clarifying Cam life and instance of failure is a grey area,could be 2000kms or 100000 kms so thats a large window ..so I would rather not ruin this 500,so if any 500ir owners know where I could aquire aftermarket cams would be a help and appreciated,or is it dealer only spare parts hoping a new set of cams are proper QC?..like I said newbie ,enjoy motorcycling and big Maxi's ...

[CROSSBOLT]

749r, welcome to the finest gaggle of scoot nuts extant! You are one of several to take on the historic shortcomings of the 500 engines and electrical systems. The "cheese" cams are probably a heat treat fault so the cam lobes are soft. They DID make some good ones but which? So you find a new cam and have it tested for hardness. That same place either can heat treat it properly or knows who can. Batteries on these machines are woefully not capable of cranking the engine when cold. Ideally, a better battery in the standard space would be the goal. Lithium's don't work well in the cold. Regulator/rectifiers need replacing by the series type. With shunt r/r the stator is 100% loaded.

That should pretty well describe your mission statement! Once completed, you will have a Burgman killer!

[CROSSBOLT]

Roadstercycle.com will explain all we need to know about regulator/rectifiers.

[749r]

Inherant faults of the 07 R first model with injection?apart from?

[CROSSBOLT]

I don't understand the question....

[749r]

What are the known inherant faults ..sorry about that error.

I removed tappet cover today for a lookie and found the cams excessively dry( yes I realize it was not running),the cams seemed dry,the whole valve train seemed dry as if it had been starved but not completely,the cam lobe has an oil gallery which runs the whole length of the cam back to the cam chain side and  ends with a rubber seal pushed into end of cam ,however on closer inspection I found the drilling which I assume to lubricate lobe and cam caps etc ,which makes sense to me
..however oil pressure had seemed to have ruptured the end if the cam seal on timing chain side and the extent of oiling was evident only on timing chain side and inside of case ...none was apparant on the important parts like the cam extermal itself,cam caps were dry and the worried look appeared ...has this been noted by amyone else..?

[CROSSBOLT]

What are the known inherant faults ..sorry about that error.

I removed tappet cover today for a lookie and found the cams excessively dry( yes I realize it was not running),the cams seemed dry,the whole valve train seemed dry as if it had been starved but not completely,the cam lobe has an oil gallery which runs the whole length of the cam back to the cam chain side and  ends with a rubber seal pushed into end of cam ,however on closer inspection I found the drilling which I assume to lubricate lobe and cam caps etc ,which makes sense to me
..however oil pressure had seemed to have ruptured the end if the cam seal on timing chain side and the extent of oiling was evident only on timing chain side and inside of case ...none was apparant on the important parts like the cam extermal itself,cam caps were dry and the worried look appeared ...has this been noted by amyone else..?

NO! You are the FIRST to notice and/or report this!! That would make as much sense as the hardening idea. Never even gave lubrication a thought for this cause! Several have been replaced only to happen again as I recall the MANY posts on this very problem.
OK, Stig! Hoist the hero banner! 749r is the newest CHAMPION fault finder! Parade in his honor tomorrow!
This plug puzzles me since I cannot find it on the parts diagrams. Can you take a picture or make a sketch of exactly where it is? The lube system is so simple on these and so low pressure (for 300 cc and smaller) it seems more likely that "seal" was omitted on assembly rather than blown out.

[749r]

The cogged tooth end of the cam has a rubber seal or similar pushed/pressed into place,the rubber had a small extruded section of rubber as if to denote that oil pressure had spiked and blown the sealing plug and subsequently lost oil pressure to top end and as pressure is a resistance to flow all internal components relying on pressure fed oil would have lost it as well to a varying degree...just dodgy sh** done by a big company...I shall now re-invent this system on mine so it does maintain reliable oil pressure..

[749r]

Wait until the weekend so I get get photographs etc for you lot ,my afternoons are full after I knock off work,should have mentioned I am trade qualified mechanic,diesel mechanic with a decade experiance on Hydraulics and pnuematics and build aircooled vw engines for sh**s and giggles..I like to fault find and as with any mechanical fault ...I like to know why..cheers ..Stig no banner neccesary mate ..

[Stig / Major Tom]

"Banner"!!??
Shoot, I thought he said  bananas....
Too late to cancel now.....
Stig

[CROSSBOLT]

Wait until the weekend so I get get photographs etc for you lot ,my afternoons are full after I knock off work,should have mentioned I am trade qualified mechanic,diesel mechanic with a decade experiance on Hydraulics and pnuematics and build aircooled vw engines for sh**s and giggles..I like to fault find and as with any mechanical fault ...I like to know why..cheers ..Stig no banner neccesary mate ..

You go right ahead and take care of business! You will be the Frank Bacon of this voyage into a SERIOUS marque/ model problem since these machines were built!

[749r]

who may I ask is Frank Bacon?...