What made you get a Kymco?

[LilScootie]

Just curious why most people chose a Kymco....I myself traded in my Honda Metropolitan for a Reflex, then went with a Kymco People S200 cuz the Reflex was too heavy for me.  After doing a lot of research on another great scooter brand, i started finding out that a lot of people liked Kymco (especially with its two year warranty).  So, after finding a dealer near me, I bought one!!  Of the three scooters I have owned, this is by far my favorite 

[Blackbeard]

Lilscootie!

Well, after learning the hard way, I first bought a TN'G Verona 150 in Oct '06.  This was my intro to Scooters.  I had never had a Motorcycle, so I was basically going from Bicycles straight to Scooters.  I did ride Mopeds in Bermuda for six months when I lived there, but motorized 2-Wheel transportation certainly has come a long way since then!

At the time I was in the market, all of the info I could find was minimal, as I wasn't sure what I was looking for.  A Forum or two that I did find, mentioned "NOT TO BUY A SCOOTER ON THE INTERNET", with reference to having them shipped to your home, where you, the consumer, had to build it yourself.  They recommended buying from a Brick & Mortar Dealer (Real Store) that actually had these on their Showroom Floor, ready to ride.  I found what I thought was a "GOOD" Scooter at a Yamaha Dealer in Austin.  Turns out it was actually Chinese made, and was next to the bottom of the list on what "NOT TO BUY"!  Hmmm!  I sold it back to a TN'G Dealer a month later, and having learned a bit more about Scooters within the month I had the TN'G, the name "KYMCO" kept coming up with more and more positive information.  I went to look at a People S200 in San Antonio, Test Rode it, loved it, and bought it.

However, after a couple of months, I realized I needed "MORE POWER", for what I wanted to do, and I felt more than comfortable and confident that I was ready to Upgrade to something larger.  Having owned my PS200 for 2 months, I opted to Trade-N-Upgrade to the People S250.  Here it is a year later, and I still have it!  It's a wonderful scooter, and I haven't had a single problem with it.  Just a lot of fun!

I did get bitten by the "Burgman Bug" in July, and decided that my PS250 was great for running around town and for short trips, but wasn't comfortable enough for me on long distance rides (Bad Back!).  So, I added a Burgman 400 to my collection in early July.  Now I've got the PS250 with Saddle Bags, Tail Bag, and Givi Top Case, that is my "Shopper-N-Errand Scooter" around town, and I've got my Burgy 400 for those long distance rides whenever I'm ready for a "Road Trip".

Kymco is a wonderful machine, and after having compared it side-by-side to Honda's Reflex 250, I found my PS250's Fit and Finish to be much more superior.  I found many advantages with my Kymco, over the Honda, and even my Honda Dealer (my wife has a Honda Metro 50) was impressed with my PS250.  He didn't realize that Kymco used to build engines for Honda, until Kymco went out on their own in 1963.  Now, Kymco is a serious competitor for Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha!  YEA KYMCO!!!

Cheers!

BB

[skadamo]

Kymco is a wonderful machine, and after having compared it side-by-side to Honda's Reflex 250, I found my PS250's Fit and Finish to be much more superior.  I found many advantages with my Kymco, over the Honda, and even my Honda Dealer (my wife has a Honda Metro 50) was impressed with my PS250.  He didn't realize that Kymco used to build engines for Honda, until Kymco went out on their own in 1963.  Now, Kymco is a serious competitor for Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha!  YEA KYMCO!!!

Cheers!

BB

Interesting comment about the fit and finish.  I have never see the two side by side.  Cool to know.

Do you know what engines Kymco built for Honda?  Which models they were for?

Thanks for the background.  Very interesting!

[obxbiker]

Do you know what engines Kymco built for Honda?  Which models they were for?

For A LOT of different models as they were ''involved'' with Honda making small bore engines and other parts from 1963 to 2001.
Kymco is now doing at least one engine for BMW.

[bond007]

 After owning several motorcycles, Honda 250 motorcross, Honda 450, Honda 750, and a Yamaha 1100. I stayed of bikes for a while, because of an injury in a farming accident. So later I started investigating scoots because I had trouble after the accident operating the right foot actuated rear brake on a motorcycle. I had a couple of junk china scoots and then learned of kymco's good quality. I tried out sitting on several, Suzuki, Honda, and a Kymco Xciting 500. The price of the Kymco Xciting 500 was $2000 less than a 580cc Honda twin cylinder. I personally did not like the ergonomics of the Honda. When I sat on the Kymco Xciting 500 I knew it was the one. And the fact that the Kymco is a single cylinder, Thumper. I knew it would have a lot of torque.   I rode it summer of 07 and put on 4700 trouble free miles! Now I'm a big Kymco kid at 54 yrs. Old.!

[cmcneal]

 Kymco was the easy answer. My xciting 250 is good looking, reliable, comfortable, cheaper than the other brands, and came with an awesome warrenty! Also I was able to get the dealer to take 800$ of msrp, which is difficult in middle-of-nowhere Tennessee.

[walkguru]

i bought a kymco people 150 because of the good things i have heard about it.

[ultra-maniac]

Last year I purchased a Buddy.  I knew as soon as I got home my youngest daughter wanted my scooter.  Quite by accident, I purchase one of those "Trader" publications one week.  There was a (now defunct) dealer selling P150 at a super low price.  So I jumped at it and never looked back. 

People's ride is far superior to the Buddy and it is far faster than the more expensive-pokey Vespa LX-150.

[Belkwinith]

After a coworker and I flunked out of Motorcycle school. (well he quit and I washed out, too wobbly was what they told me) I would not give up the dream. So I started looking for scooters. I saw a Piaggio MP3 (seemed awesome and fit me good but the price, ouch!) Saw some cute Buddy's, (super cute but seemed kinda small to me) and an Aprilia Scarbeo 100.
I wanted the Scarbeo 100 but the price jumped from $3,300.00 to $3,900.00 once I showed up to actually purchase it. Well that seemed steep for just a 100cc scoot. Plus the macho attitude of some of the motorcycle sales people kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
Meanwhile, my "RICH" coworker went out and purchased a Vespa 250cc. He took a photo of some KYMCOs that were also at the dealer and he persuaded me to go down and take a look.
Well all I had to do was sit down on it and the fit was perfect for me. I love the Ivory color and I could handle it easily. The price was right too. So what could I do? It was meant to be! I went to Scooter school and got my M class license and have been having fun ever since.
Unfortunately,  I have now tried an Xciting 250 and I loved it. I am infected with dreams of touring. My poor wallet!
-Belkwinith

[Tumbleweed]

 I looked at a lot of different scooters before buying my '09 Xciting 500. It just made the most sence. Good quailty, good looks, and good price. IT'S A GREAT RIDE.

[michiman]

I bought the GV250 over the Reflex...  Mainly because my local dealer dropped the 2007 model by 800.00...  Really did not make a mistake with the choice.  I will be getting a larger scoot next year...

[FRANKJ3]

I researched the web for more than 2 months before buying.
I read lots of horror stories on all makes and models.........but only 1 on a KYMCO.

Then I started reading up on KYMCO and the products they offered.
I liked the 2 year warranty.  I can make most mechanical things work......I just would rather drive than turn wrenches!
But mostly........I loke the looks of my '07 Vitality 4T.

It fits the bill for me.  I ride 2.8 miles to work; all on 30 mph roads.  The Vitality tops out at ~32 mph.  That's all I need it to go.

Love it.....2500 kilometers and no problems.

Frankj3

[IEEE1394]

Total n00b here.

I got introduced to KYMCO after almost being run over by a few in Taiwan. After I got back to Vancouver, I saw how crazy the gas prices were and bought a Yamaha C3 Scooter. It was fine for most things, and well planned routes. The gas mileage was nuts (197 KM's on a 4.5 L tank) and the storage was awesome, but because I had to tread carefully outside the city, I decided to get something more powerful.

I thought about the BWS 125, but then visited my KYMCO dealer in the city. I remembered seeing tons of KYMCO's in Taiwan and thought that they had to be good. I hyper researched the brand all around the web as well. I finally fell in love with a 2007 Bet&Win 150 which has more than three times the horsepower of my Yamaha C3. Though the storage isn't as great, the shop did work me a great deal on a storage box and a bunch of accessories. I was almost ready to go on the BWS, but the B&W represented a far superior value, at the same out the door price, with way more goodies.

I take delivery on Wednesday. I know the gas mileage won't be as good as my C3, but I am enjoying the ability to travel on highways and around the city without having to pick the best possible routes for a 50cc scoot. On my test ride, I almost bailed on a corner because I wasn't used to the power.

See you guys in the Bet&Win 150 forum. I'm sure I'll have questions as I get this thng broken in and what not.

[driver8]

Hi all,

Another complete newbie (first post) here.  After a couple months perusing the local classified ads, I found scooters were holding their value really well, especially the Elites from the mid-late 80's.  I wanted something with 150-250cc's, but didn't want the hassle of finding parts for a 20 year old scoot.  The internet and my local scooter shop both pointed me towards Kymco and I brought home a 2003 B&W 250 a couple days ago. 

Now I'm looking forward to the MSF course and riding on a regular basis! 

[scootergrisen]

I got a Kymco Super 8 50ccm course of the price and the equitment and the size, its fits a grown man and the stearing handles dossent hit the leegs when you turn as some small scooters does.
And i had a 4 stroke engine wich i was looking for.
Seemed okay quality and okay price.