New member needs some buying advice

[blue65]

Hi all, I am hoping that I can get some good recommendations here about a couple of scooters I am considering for purchase. I am 57, 6'3", 250# and have ridden or owned every flavor of motorcycles since I was 17. I am currently bikeless and have  never owned a scooter. I am not into blinding acceleration or light speed top speeds anymore, though I would like handling and great brakes. Reliability is near the top of the list and I can work on my own stuff. I would use it for some commuting (50mils one way) and a very occasional small tour/trip. I have looked at and ridden the Xciting 500 and the People S 250 and liked the style of the People more. I have also ridden the Aprilia Scarabeo 500ie and looked at the Sportcity Cube 250. I think a 250 will haul me around, but will it last and which would be better? Or is a 500 the only way to go? Money is a concern and all of these bikes can be had for $5k or less as new 2009 leftovers. Thanks in advance, Bill

[TechGuy]

I have a P250 in the Vintage style that I bought in 2008 with 16,000 km on it.  I paid $2200 and it had one broken panel.I now have 34,000 km on it and the only issue I have had is I needed to replace the muffler. The header cracked.  I have also used belts and tires and brake pads but these are known wear items that need to replaced over time. I am shorter than you and a little bigger.

You have looked at most of the scooters I looked at when I bought mine.  I did not look at the Xciting as they were new then, and I was looking to spend less.

I am very happy with my choice.  I can ride two-up. I can exceed an indicated 80 MPH. I have ridden it over an 8,000 foot mountain pass with no issues. It did it at speeds near 50MPH max, it could not go faster up the steep grades at this altitude. But that being said, the cars and trucks were going this speed also. We passed the RV's.

I am looking to get larger bike but the 250 is a great sized bike for suburban commutes and light touring. I want t have a little more umph for two-up rides and more long freeway rides with a little more speed confidence.  I like to use confidence as a way to describe a bikes ability to attain and hold a given speed over hills and mountains and in traffic. My older P250 is freeway confident to a real 70-75 mph and the traffic flows at about 75-80 mph in the areas i want to ride. I have taken  a couple long rides (400-800 miles in a weekend) for scooter rallies.  You can see the links in my signature below.

[ispud]

If you are going to be driving at high speeds then the 500, for around town the 250 is great.  I ride my PS250 to work - top speed is 50-55, mostly 35-40 and it is excellent for this.  At high speeds it feels a little scary.

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[gregspeople250]

Go for the 500.  I have a People 250 Vintagae and have installed and calibrated an aftermarket speedo.  The true, flat and nearly flat-out  highway speed is ~65 - 70 MPH and small hills slow it down quite a bit.  I'm uncomfortable running the scoot' wide open even though the gauges don't indicate any real issues with doing so.  A 500 should run with some extra power capacity at highway speeds.

[P250Fanatic]

Just to give you a different perspective, I have a vintage P250 that I run wide open every day weather allows for 10 miles to work down the interstate.  I disagree that the top speed is 65-70.  75-80 is more like it.  I've got 25,000 km on it and I'm hoping to double that at least!

[TechGuy]

I have a P250 that has over 34,000 km.  I have taken several long trips on it.  My longest day of riding started at 6:00 am and ended at about 7:00 pm (19:00).  I rode over 350 miles that day (and 375 miles going home on Sunday, short number of hours).  I rode on I-5 for a large portion of this trip at speeds between 65 and 80 MPH (with a broken exhaust header). I had zero issues with my bike's performance.  I basically stopped to fill-up and take comfort, food or social breaks.  it's been a great bike.

[misu]

Hi all, I am hoping that I can get some good recommendations here about a couple of scooters I am considering for purchase. I am 57, 6'3", 250# and have ridden or owned every flavor of motorcycles since I was 17. I am currently bikeless and have  never owned a scooter. I am not into blinding acceleration or light speed top speeds anymore, though I would like handling and great brakes. Reliability is near the top of the list and I can work on my own stuff. I would use it for some commuting (50mils one way) and a very occasional small tour/trip. I have looked at and ridden the Xciting 500 and the People S 250 and liked the style of the People more. I have also ridden the Aprilia Scarabeo 500ie and looked at the Sportcity Cube 250. I think a 250 will haul me around, but will it last and which would be better? Or is a 500 the only way to go? Money is a concern and all of these bikes can be had for $5k or less as new 2009 leftovers. Thanks in advance, Bill

i'm riding a honda elite 110 now -- got it 3 month ago and love it.  6', 175lbs so it fits much better than a smaller scooter.  but am thinking of a 250+ cc scoot for next year to be able to add highway capability.  the 110 max's out at 50mph. 

considering aprilia's sportcity 250/300 or piaggo's bv 250/300.  contacted kymco because i read about their new people gt300 -- gorgeous looking scoot (have to say i don't like the current kymco's styling) and adequate power range.  kymcousa says the new people gt300 will be available in the fall 2011 for a msrp $5399.  can't wait!

[jprestonian]

kymcousa says the new people gt300 will be available in the fall 2011 for a msrp $5399.  can't wait!

Is that right?  Can you reveal a source on that?
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[Syl]

jp, what is the difference between the gt300 and the DT300?

[jprestonian]

People GT300i

Downtown 300i (top photo, of course)
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[TechGuy]

Is that right?  Can you reveal a source on that?
.

I doubt this to be true.  Most motorcycles and scooters sold in the US meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements for emissions and I was just looking at the CARB site and they do not have an Executive Order approving them. Very few 4-stroke, emission-ed bikes are imported without this approval as 17 states are requiring the bike to meet CARB requirements.

[axy]

You can buy it here, list price 6666 US$ (not kidding).

[misu]

Is that right?  Can you reveal a source on that?
.

source = info@kymcousa.com.   i just emailed them and they replied, go figure!

[jprestonian]

source = info@kymcousa.com.   i just emailed them and they replied, go figure!

Interesting. I work for a Kymco dealer in Nashville (very part-time), and see nothing in any of the announcements or promotional info in the dealer's section of the web site, so... color me surprised to hear this good news!
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[jprestonian]

source = info@kymcousa.com.   i just emailed them and they replied, go figure!

I was able to confirm that, today! Yes -- the People GT 200i and 300i are U.S. models for 2012!  So is the Downtown 200i and the Like 50 LX and 200i LX.
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