New exec at KymcoUSA

[scooterfan]

I would quite disagree with JJJ about his Kymco assessment. I have lived in Europe(Italy) for 8 years where scooters are extremely abundant and used for daily use by many people. There are a lot of Kymco bikes in Rome and according to my scooter mechanic at the Porta Portese in Rome, they are one of the most problem free scooters.............

Right or wrong - my take on this is that most problems on Kymco scooters (and probably all brands of scooters in the US) are caused by cold weather conditions during winters when the scooters are not used at all. Our local fuel does not get mixed with ethanol - but having read about ethanol’s properties I am quite convinced that ethanol is part and parcel of most scooter problems in the US - including Kymco problems.
It is no secret that even pure gasoline gets stale in fuel systems, and clogs up carburetors, fuel injectors, and fuel systems on any engine If the engine does not get used for a couple of months. A mixture of ethanol and gasoline in such conditions  is a sure recipe for problems.
Adding to this - cold winters also takes it’s toll on batteries, specially when the batteries do not get charged regularly during winters.

Long story - but I think JJJ and his friends would probably have a very different experience if they found themselves in warmer areas during winters, used their scooters 365 days per year, and never used an ethanol / gasoline mixture.

[Kansas kymco]

Right or wrong - my take on this is that most problems on Kymco scooters (and probably all brands of scooters in the US) are caused by cold weather conditions during winters when the scooters are not used at all. Our local fuel does not get mixed with ethanol - but having read about ethanol’s properties I am quite convinced that ethanol is part and parcel of most scooter problems in the US - including Kymco problems.
It is no secret that even pure gasoline gets stale in fuel systems, and clogs up carburetors, fuel injectors, and fuel systems on any engine If the engine does not get used for a couple of months. A mixture of ethanol and gasoline in such conditions  is a sure recipe for problems.
Adding to this - cold winters also takes it’s toll on batteries, specially when the batteries do not get charged regularly during winters.

Long story - but I think JJJ and his friends would probably have a very different experience if they found themselves in warmer areas during winters, used their scooters 365 days per year, and never used an ethanol / gasoline mixture.

I would agree with this assessment.  I have found that using 0-E fuel and mixing in Seafoam as a gasoline stabilizer has alleviated most of my winter storage problems.  I use a battery maintainer as well.  At the end of the season I change the oil and gear oil as well as any other maintenance.  Spring I check the tires and off I go.

If you have followed my post's you will see most of my Scooters were purchased used that sat for long periods of time with low mileage.

[JJJoseph]

I would quite disagree with JJJ about his Kymco assessment. I have lived in Europe(Italy) for 8 years where scooters are extremely abundant and used for daily use by many people.

I don't disagree with you, Leo, but you're talking about Europe where there's lots of Kymco dealers.  I really like Kymco scooters, and still own a Kiwi 100, but it's a challenge in Canada because there's no Kymco dealers.  There's no parts, and there's nobody who can diagnose e-faults.  The biggest problem is no parts (not even on-line).  If I need a gasket, I have to pay $35 shipping for a $3 gasket from an Italian-only Kymco website in Europe. Sometimes when I open the package, it's the wrong gasket.  My buddies who had fuel-injected Kymcos, they really ran into trouble because the fuel-injected engines can't be tuned without a dealer - and there is no more dealers here.  So we don't actually HATE Kymco scooters.  But unfortunately it sounds like we do.  But we actually don't.

[Kansas kymco]

I don't disagree with you, Leo, but you're talking about Europe where there's lots of Kymco dealers.  I really like Kymco scooters, and still own a Kiwi 100, but it's a challenge in Canada because there's no Kymco dealers.  There's no parts, and there's nobody who can diagnose e-faults.  The biggest problem is no parts (not even on-line).  If I need a gasket, I have to pay $35 shipping for a $3 gasket from an Italian-only Kymco website in Europe. Sometimes when I open the package, it's the wrong gasket.  My buddies who had fuel-injected Kymcos, they really ran into trouble because the fuel-injected engines can't be tuned without a dealer - and there is no more dealers here.  So we don't actually HATE Kymco scooters.  But unfortunately it sounds like we do.  But we actually don't.

Just curious why you can't order parts from the US Kymco dealers?  I would understand not having any dealers would make it difficult to own and a feeling of abandonedment from Kymco support. Several Chinese scooters  are that way in the US. They can be bought dirt cheap but zero parts and support and people view them as disposable items.   I'm fortunate that I live 19 miles from a Kymco dealer.  He only carries a few of the small 50cc and 125 model's.  Same with the Kymco dealer in Salina 30 miles away just the smaller models. In fact the Salina dealer has a new 2017 125cc advertised for 20% off, under $1800.  Hutchinson has a dealer about 30 miles away and he only carries the smaller models as well.  The fact the 50cc scooters don't require a motorcycle license is probably why they sell well and they can be bought for about $1800.

[JJJoseph]

Just curious why you can't order parts from the US Kymco dealers?

The USA dealers don't list many Kymco models (my Kymco Kiwi 100 is one)  - They've never even heard of my model.  It doesn't appear in their parts catalogs.  And they have no idea how to order parts for scooters that aren't listed. Most of this Kymco is the same as a regular Kymco 50cc, except for the massive 100cc engine & transmission.

[Kansas kymco]

Thanks for the clarification.   I guess I've never seen a 100cc scooter, 50cc 125cc 150cc 250cc and up yes.