Hi, Newby with Brand New People S 250

[soberpath]

Hey,

So i just purchased a Brand New People s 250. Got a fairly good deal on it as it was a 2009 but still in the crate. I test drove their floor model(same model different bike) and a honda 150 and decided on the Kymco because it was bigger and felt alot "safer" going 50mph and also hitting any kind of rough patches in the road.  That and im about 375 pounds of man lol. I needed something that could carry my big self to school and back. I have a few questions about it. First, should i worry about bottoming out on speed bumps? Second, Does anyone know the actual carrying capacity of this bike? I have looked and looked and looked and cannot find anything at all. Also, ive read that thier is a way to adjust the spring load? For heavier load. Should i have the dealer do this during my first tune up? I mean when they built the bike they knew who it was for and i would imagine they already did this to begin with, but i would like to be able to check. Im new to the riding scene but it does seem to do alright with bumps/pothole and whatnot, it is a bit jarring but i assume that is the norm. Basically any helpfull comments about this bike would be much appreciated and if you could help me out with these questions i would be ecstatic.

[skatin]

They should adjust it for you, ask them specifically at the initial maintenance.  I'm heavy too, I had them adjust mine when I first bought it.

[P250Fanatic]

There should be an included tool that you can use to adjust the shocks yourself. At least that's the case with the non-S People 250.

[axy]

Hey,

So i just purchased a Brand New People s 250. Got a fairly good deal on it as it was a 2009 but still in the crate. I test drove their floor model(same model different bike) and a honda 150 and decided on the Kymco because it was bigger and felt alot "safer" going 50mph and also hitting any kind of rough patches in the road.  That and im about 375 pounds of man lol. I needed something that could carry my big self to school and back. I have a few questions about it. First, should i worry about bottoming out on speed bumps?

The worst scoot for heavy load I ever drove. Much worse than little 50 cc scoots with single rear shock.
It bottoms out easily with anything heavier than 110 kgs and bounces around for a few revolutions.
However, if somebody is driving on highways and good roads without pot holes and bumps, they might never notice that.

It is declared for 108 kgs of total passenger weight.

You can tighten both shocks yourself, it's 20 seconds of work per shock.
Anything else than fully tightened shocks is completely useless.

[soberpath]

I have gone over potholes just fine without it "bouncing" or bottoming out. According to you i am 150lbs over carrying capacity. If that was the case it would bottom out with me sitting on it, let alone going over a pothole. Also i find it somewhat hard to believe that the scooter is rated for only 238 pounds. Its a 2 up 250cc scooter. Do you have any documented numbers, because i have literally searched everywhere and can find nothing.

[JustWantToRide]

According to KymcoUSA all of their scooters are rated at 150kg or 330lbs max capacity.  I was concerned because the Xciting 500Ri was listed at 330lbs and that's over 100lbs too low for me to carry my girlfriend (just call me sasquatch).  It handles the weight fine though - well fine for a scooter with cheapo shocks.   Adjust the preload on your rear shocks and check your sag.  If you have less than 2 inches of sag you should be fine (1.75 or less is ideal).

check sag:
Have someone hold the bike upright - put a level on the floorboard if you have one.  Measure up to any point on the body of the bike that is in a perpindicular line with the rear axle (a piece of tape can mark a good spot if there isn't a bot or something).  Sit on the bike and measure it again.  Adjust the preload on the shocks to aim for 1.75 inch of sag.  Be careful not to adjust the shocks past the last ramp.  Aftemarket shocks are available relatively cheap.  Your forks don't have any adjustment for preload - but you may be able to put a washer or 2 into them or add some air caps.  Never add more than 7lbs to air caps on forks that didn't come with them (the seals aren't made for it).

[axy]

I have gone over potholes just fine without it "bouncing" or bottoming out. According to you i am 150lbs over carrying capacity. If that was the case it would bottom out with me sitting on it, let alone going over a pothole. Also i find it somewhat hard to believe that the scooter is rated for only 238 pounds. Its a 2 up 250cc scooter. Do you have any documented numbers, because i have literally searched everywhere and can find nothing.

Well, my P250S is on the verge of bottoming out only with me on it. I avoid driving a passenger as much as possible because it can even bounce for two or three "revolutions" which is downright dangerous in my book.

Potholes are less of a problem. Bigger problem are long "dents" in the road, triangular in cross section. It is completely unable to soak them up upon exiting out of them/entering into them and continues to bounce away.

I find it strange that you ask if it bottoms out or not and then claim that it does not.

Numbers I told you are taken from Kymco P250S Service Manual, 1st edition, from 2006. Chapter 1 Maintenance (preface), page 1-2.
One person: 55 kg. Two persons: 110 kg.

[soberpath]

Actually I asked if it I should worry about it bottoming out on SPEED BUMPS. I never said anything about potholes or anything else for that matter. I have yet to go over a SPEED BUMP so i do not know. Im not "claiming" anything, it has not bottomed out on anything, thats a fact.  Also those numbers in the Service manual do not say anything about Carrying capacity thier just random numbers, i have yet to figure out what they mean.  Also, a weight for one person being 120lbs? and 2 at 240lbs?..... I dunno about that that sounds like a bit of a stretch.  The scooter seems to handle my weight just fine. I was curious as to the max weight because ive seen smaller scoots (honda sh 150) that hold in excess of 360lbs.

[soberpath]

Well, just took my baby for its longest ride yet, decided to see what would happen so i went over a speed bump and off of a rounded curb. Neither caused me to bottom out so looks like were golden. Thing had OUTSTANDING break as well. I was coming around a corner going about 35mph and the cars in front of me had all stopped right at the exit of the corner. I straightened up and stopped no problem right out of acceleration. Looks like my little darlin is handling this big guy just fine!

[P250Fanatic]

Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

[axy]

Actually I asked if it I should worry about it bottoming out on SPEED BUMPS. I never said anything about potholes or anything else for that matter. I have yet to go over a SPEED BUMP so i do not know. Im not "claiming" anything, it has not bottomed out on anything, thats a fact.  Also those numbers in the Service manual do not say anything about Carrying capacity thier just random numbers, i have yet to figure out what they mean.  Also, a weight for one person being 120lbs? and 2 at 240lbs?..... I dunno about that that sounds like a bit of a stretch.  The scooter seems to handle my weight just fine. I was curious as to the max weight because ive seen smaller scoots (honda sh 150) that hold in excess of 360lbs.

You should define a speed bump. We have at least 5-6 types in my country. If you are talking about thin rubber "vibration type" stripes that are approx 1/2 inch high and few inches wide, you can go flat out over them and scoot will not even feel them even fully (over)loaded. There are also wider oval speed bumps/stripes that are typically painted in black-yellow, approx 10 inches wide and 1.5-2" high. I would advise slowing down significantly because it WILL bottom out. Then, there are variations of the first two, and also speed bumps made of raised asphalt that have incline/2 meters of flat surface, sometimes with pedestrian crossing/decline.

You do not have to figure out anything as carrying capacity is 2x55 kg. I have first mentioned 2x54 kg because Kawasaki declares its bikes at 2x54 kg. I had it in the past, so that's where this number comes from.

Carrying capacity of my gf's 50 cc Piaggio is higher than P250's. A125's declared is the same as P250S's, but it does not bottom out and P250S does. Etc.

Well, just took my baby for its longest ride yet, decided to see what would happen so i went over a speed bump and off of a rounded curb. Neither caused me to bottom out so looks like were golden. Thing had OUTSTANDING break as well. I was coming around a corner going about 35mph and the cars in front of me had all stopped right at the exit of the corner. I straightened up and stopped no problem right out of acceleration. Looks like my little darlin is handling this big guy just fine!

It is difficult to comment riding styles, but it is important that you are satisfied.
Two more things:

1. Locks front wheel VERY EASILY and despite dual front brakes tends to slide the wheel to one side when approaching locked state. VERY VERY dangerous.
2. When cornering heavily it tends to dangerously WIDEN the trajectory, especially two up. To give you more information, I am currently around 250 lbs. It does so the most of all scoots I ever drove. So, I do not recommend to anybody to push heavily P250S through corners when fully loaded.

Then again, I do not consider myself to be average scoot driver because I ride mostly scoots for the past 13 years, 365/24 and my usage pattern might be slightly different than usage pattern of most people...

[soberpath]

The Speed bumps im referring to are usually about 8"-12" in width and about 2-3 inches tall and go all the way across the lane and are usually found in parking lots. Those are the kind i just went over today in a parking lot and it did not bottom out. Also i went of a curb today that was about 3 inches tall and again it did not bottom out. Im not experiencing this horrible suspension you speak of. Im also good at braking a bike, I have yet to lock either wheel and ive had a couple of instances where i had to brake quick. I suppose it would lock if you ripped on the front brake, but i don't see it happening to easily if you brake properly. I respect your view on the bike but its almost as if we are riding two different bikes.

[axy]

The Speed bumps im referring to are usually about 8"-12" in width and about 2-3 inches tall and go all the way across the lane and are usually found in parking lots. Those are the kind i just went over today in a parking lot and it did not bottom out. Also i went of a curb today that was about 3 inches tall and again it did not bottom out. Im not experiencing this horrible suspension you speak of. Im also good at braking a bike, I have yet to lock either wheel and ive had a couple of instances where i had to brake quick. I suppose it would lock if you ripped on the front brake, but i don't see it happening to easily if you brake properly. I respect your view on the bike but its almost as if we are riding two different bikes.

I hope yours will be different in other aspects too, for example, new engine casing around 7000 kms due to crack caused by manufacturing error.