They just don't sell

[Kansas kymco]

When talking with my Kymco dealer he does not carry any of the larger displacement Kymco's.  He carries the 50cc machines and maybe a handful of 125's. His response was ( they just don't sell well around here ). Just curious in your area does the dealer stock larger machines ?

Most of his sells are to younger people that don't want to get a motorcycle license and a few to people who lost their license.  Add in a few older people who want a cheap scooter to run around the campgrounds.

I'm wondering if this led to the decision by Kymco to not bring the 550 to the USA?

[DanH]

I'm wondering if this led to the decision by Kymco to not bring the 550 to the USA?

I'm guessing it was one of many factors working against Kymco and its 550. Some folks can't get past the Taiwan/China scooter stigma - even with reliability records staring them in the face.

I've done no official research, but the hotbed of SoCal scooters seems to be universities, followed by the Vesperati, followed by us grocery-getters, purists, and shade-tree mechanics. For me, 163ccs's in enough, 550 would just take the fun out of it. Yet, I do respect the scooting needs of freeway riders, work commuters, and two-uppers.

Still, there's a reason I'm not a scooter dealer - it's a fickle market. I'd call it a "motor-fickle" market.

[CROSSBOLT]

Pretty much what most dealers have told me when we were speaking. The last dealer in this area said they dumped Kymco because of the scarcity of parts.

[TBR125]

Dealers are easy to avoid when they're 2.5 scooter hours away. I need to take a day off to visit one and look over stock.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Last I looked my dealer (5 miles?) has a couple of 50's (Honda & LIKEs)...the rest are 125 or larger.
Around here you'd get killed trying to get home from the dealership on your new 50.
Usually there's a one of each of the Burgmans. (200, 400, 650) leftovers or new.

I had my Liberty155cc delivered to me - because I didn't want it to begin its life at 55mph for 30 miles to get to my house from the Vespa dealer out in the boonies.
Pretty cool watching it whizz down I-70 at 75mph.... on the trailer!

Stig

[Iahawk]

my Kymco dealer usually stocks a few ATVs and used to keep a few smaller scooters in stock. They are a full line motorcycle dealer and carry a few other scooter lines, too. I think it's hard enough to sell scooters and motorcycles these days that selling a big, expensive scooter that rivals the price of a motorcycle, is just about impossible.

I think we've had the discussion here before that a similar motor sized scooter usually sells for more $ than the equivalent motorcycle.

What would the 550 scooter sell for, $8-$10K US Dollars?

[Kansas kymco]

Pretty much what most dealers have told me when we were speaking. The last dealer in this area said they dumped Kymco because of the scarcity of parts.

I've had good luck getting  parts from a dealer except for a replacement speedometer cable that's been on order for over a month. You know me with my collection of older machines  I could see them not having parts for some of those.

[Kansas kymco]

I'm guessing it was one of many factors working against Kymco and its 550. Some folks can't get past the Taiwan/China scooter stigma - even with reliability records staring them in the face.

I've done no official research, but the hotbed of SoCal scooters seems to be universities, followed by the Vesperati, followed by us grocery-getters, purists, and shade-tree mechanics. For me, 163ccs's in enough, 550 would just take the fun out of it. Yet, I do respect the scooting needs of freeway riders, work commuters, and two-uppers.

Still, there's a reason I'm not a scooter dealer - it's a fickle market. I'd call it a "motor-fickle" market.

Actually that works in my favor when buying used Kymco's  (Taiwan /China stigma). But recently the market has become hot around here and used scooter's are selling well. When I sold my People 150 the first person stopped to look at it before it was even unloaded and told me he wanted it but would have to check with his wife that didn't get off work until 4:30. I left it for sale and had a list of people who wanted it. The guy that originally said he would buy it never even called me back despite the fact I held it for him until 5pm. The next person on the list never answered their phone. Third person came by and dropped off the cash and said we could do the paper work and pick up the bike next week.

[Neil955i]

Guess we're lucky in the UK then as we seem to have pretty much the whole Kymco scooter range, despite motorcycles outselling scooters by quite a margin here.  Be intersting to see if, post-Covid there is a spike in demand for scooters as personal transport with people seemingly so wary now about public transport?...

[Kansas kymco]

Guess we're lucky in the UK then as we seem to have pretty much the whole Kymco scooter range, despite motorcycles outselling scooters by quite a margin here.  Be intersting to see if, post-Covid there is a spike in demand for scooters as personal transport with people seemingly so wary now about public transport?...

Neil around here motorcycles /scooters has become more of a recreational item since the covid . People can go out for a ride and not be around other people. Public transportation is non nonexistent in rural areas around here. People have come out of the woodwork  to get their machine serviced, Dan's has over a hundred machines in for service and has quit accepting any more. He is coming in on Sunday and Monday when they are closed as well as staying late into the evening trying to get caught up. He has several mechanics that work for him and trying to hire more.

[Neil955i]

Hey KK that sounds exciting (no pun intended), let's hope that they all get the bug and stay with us long term!

[mousejunks]

To answer the OP, my dealer only stock low cc Kymcos. Anything 300+ cc needs to be special ordered. However small scooters are selling well due to the demand for food delivery.

[Ernst]

The most active dealer I spoke to when researching buying a new Kymco said that he mostly sells 300is' to folks heading to the Bay Area (California) rapid transit (BART) terminals because they can get easy parking with a scooter. They take the train the rest of the way.

[WEL]

I purchased my Xciting 400! from  dealer over 60 miles from home. Seems to me the 150 and 200 cc scooters are most popular.

It's a shame that not enough riders consider scooters. I think it's mostly ego and people not realizing you don't need 70+ HP to ride and have fun.

[JJJoseph]

In my area, a 50cc scooter is simply too slow and dangerous.  And the training required to upgrade to a larger scooter is expensive and difficult.  To be honest, it's easier to drive a car.  I drive a 100cc scooter simply because I got my licence 60 years ago when it was quick and easy, but I'm definitely a rarity.  Other riders I know tend to drive new 250cc or 350cc machines like Piaggio 350s with older motorcycle licences, or litre-bikes  The 500cc & up Kymcos are simply too big and expensive, and difficult to park (you have to park in a car space).  FWIW, the nearest surviving Kymco dealer is about 50 miles away, and has a showroom full of dust-covered, brand-new 10 year old scooters! When I bought my brand-new 10-year-old Kymco it had less than 30 km on the clock.