New Xciting 500 owner what should I know?

[winginman]

Hi folks, I just put the money down on a new 09 500 yesterday.  Will pick it up next week.  They are adding a Givi tall windshield and a 37 liter top box.  Been looking at these for awhile now and seem to be the best buy in a maxi scoot around.  I am in Louisville Ky and my dealer is Station Park Honda who also picked up Kymco last fall.  Got a good deal on the scoot and accessories, can't wait to get it out on the road.

I have found the best way to get up to speed is to ask the folks who already own them.  So what things do I need to be aware of on this scooter?  What are it's problems, idiosyncrasies and so forth?  Since I don't have it...  Does it need premium fuel?  How long do tires last?   What kind of oil does it use?  I do most of my own maintenance on my other bikes.  First mod will most likely be Dr Pulley sliders.  That's what I put in my wife's Scarabeo and they made a big difference in round the town performance and smoothness.

I've read many of your posts and thanks for the information.  Nice forum...

[fmath1937]

Congratulations on the purchase.  Most of your questions are answered in the manual regarding oil and fuel.  I had a 500 and now own a Grandvista.  The 500 was really to big for me as I couldnot get my feet flat on the ground when stopped and seemed like the center of gravity was high and once it started to tip look out as it sure goes down fast.  Dumped it twice and the 500 lbs went down fast.  Thank heaven I was stopped and didnot get hurt.  Im 72 and it was great to ride but just not for me.  The GV is 250cc and a little lower and much easier for me to handle.  She will jump up to 65-75 really easy and very comfortable to ride.  You can feel the difference in a wind and she dances around a little not like the 500.  My 500 would hit a 100mph with no sweat.  Only did it once and that was enough.  Good luck and Kymco is a great choice.  Fred

[hgw75]

Its a great ride,have 5000+miles on mine. Change the gear oil ASAP'the orig. is like water. My rear tire wore out at 4500 miles, keep a close eye on that. I don't think I'll buy another M.C. again. Good Luck....

[Alex]

read the manual re oil type , does not use premium fuel, longer windscreen good idea. speedo will read fast do  not believe what it tells you (unless they have changed in the 09 model,) check the readout against a GPS or another bike /car running at steady speed, can be fixed with a bit of mechanical dexterity, maybe the dealer will do it if you gripe enough, my tyres still look like new after 7500m, Dr Pulley sliders...I fitted 28gm ones acceleration improved , MPG went backwards by 5mpg.! currently in process of adding weight to them to bring them up to stock weight which for me was 32gm , I found the side stand too upright and adjusted it to lean further out to avoid possibility of running forward   over it and dropping. Mirrors too short can be fixed by extending them, also   fitted radiator guard(mechanical dexterity again) . K&N oil filters easier to replace than stock, soon to fit new muffler, stock muffler very quiet and HEAVY, quality of construction way above requirement and outlet pipe looks like it restricts flow hence very quiet. Airhawk cushion a must in my opinion, seat big and wide and too firm. take care removing strainer ( this may not be the correct name for this gizmo cant remember Kymco name )under  engine, very light weight alloy suspect magnesium and easily damaged , dont see the need for this item filter  should catch anything in the oil, shouldnt be anything big enough to need straining in the engine

[Alex]

I forgot to say I had to grind a bit off the feet of the centre stand so it lifted up/over onto the stand, I am too light to do it otherwise an  uneasy about lifting /heaving to get it up...if it overbalances away from me its Gone...I know there is an east technique to doing this , but I aint mastered it 

[winginman]

Thanks for the advice.  Looks like I will pick it up Thursday, weather permitting.   Alex you are correct with the Dr Pulley.  If you only drop one or two grams you get a smoother take off and a little bit more zip without adversely affecting the gas mileage.  Guess I will see if I can find something about 30 grams.  If anyone else has anything they would like to give me a heads up over, feel free to chime in.  This is my first Kymco and I did a lot of reading before I purchased it.  My dealer is excellent on Honda's and has a mechanic that came over from a good scooter shop as well.  If you are in the Louisville area I can't say enough good things about Station Park.

[Alex]

I believe the pulley sliders come in 30gm, I ordered 30gm but 28 turned up then when I weighed the stock ones they were 32.
new subject ..I will be on a trip to US later this month mainly in Las Vegas...any good bike/scooter places worth a visit we dont have much in the way of accessory outlets here in my part of Australia, they sell helmets, jackets and the usual but little in the way of add ons , bling, go faster stuff. it mostly has to be mail order

[bongoman]

Hi and congrats on the new scooter, I know you'll love it. I like my '07 way more than I expected. I used to ride motorcycles, but like the comfort and carrying ability of scooters in general.

My XC500 has more than 16k miles in about a year of riding, including winter months. We have become very well acquainted. Mine is carburatored, so not quite aas much zip as the newer f.i.

I have added Dr. Pulley sliders and like them. It took about 500 miles to become accustomed to working them. At first my mileage suffered, but then I learned to ease the throttle back and let Puff - that's her name, puff and gone like smoke - do the work. Acceleration is quicker and once hiway speed is reached, the engine sounds like it's idling. On the hiway is where you really notice, it's like having an extra gear. Once hiway speed is reached, the rpm  will drop some.

I like the Kymco dealer better than any I have ever dealt with; always ready to check things out, and they do not charge for every little thing.

My longest one day trip was New Orleans to San Antonio, about 570 miles, and carrying a top case and saddlebags. Nice ride. I regularly commute from Austin to San Antonio, Texas and the scooter handles great.

It is heavy. I was just reminded of that when backing down the driveway this morning, I turned the bars too much and it went down. The beast has a low center of gravity but when it's reached, she's going down. I like the weight for cruising, winds not a problem, nor is passing 187 wheelers. Although usually it's me doing the passing.

Last winter I had a gig in Austin and had to ride as a howling north wind screamed acreoss the plains. I was leaning over just to go straight, all traffic was having a problem. The XC500 handled as well as any cruiser I thought.

Anyway, congratulations on the new scooter, and thanks for giving me an opportunity to write about my joy.

[Kymco500]

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[Alex]

yes that's the way to do it...but if you take a bit off the feet then all you have to do is bring the centre stand down, rock the bike over until you feel the second foot on the ground then while hangin onto the left hand side of the handle bar , stand on the centre stand  foot lever and UP she comes , no pulling or heaving 

[winginman]

You are right about the center stand.  Grab the passenger handrail with your right hand and with the right foot put pressure down on the lever of the center stand.  Keep the arm locked and straighten your right leg.  The downward pressure will pop the bike onto the center stand.  It works with the Kymco 500 as well as heavier bikes like the GL1800.  BTW the owners manual with my new Kymco tells you to rock it backward and pull it up onto the center stand.  Not the best instructions. You can hurt yourself trying to pull it up onto the center stand.  Using the correct technique you need little or no pulling to get it up there.

Anyhow, I now have a whole 130 miles on the scooter.  It seems to get smoother with every mile.  I think this is gonna be a good one.  And I am amazed how well it handles the crosswinds.  Very stable.

[bongoman]

I use mostly leg power to raise on center stand.

Re: Dr. Pulley sliders, for the X500, they only come in 28 gram. If you want more weight,my mechanic suggested taking two opposite each other, drill a small hole and add a metal stud that weighs a gram.

I have adjusted throttle usage and get great performance with same mileage. And now on hiway, now that I've learned to quit running WOT, I get better mileage on the road.

[Alex]

I have used a short piece of copper water pipe to add weight. Cut off short piece, cut across the off cut section , then squeeze the  cut ends together so it becomes smaller in diameter , then push into the slider. Needs a bit of trial and error to find the correct length of the cut off piece and sometimes a bit of filing of the  cut ends as the of of the original pipe is not 100% uniform, I still need to fine tune this , my scales tell me the make up weights weigh 4 gm each but the aggregate weight of the sliders and add weight pieces comes to 198 gm which is 33 gms each per modified slider so a bit of fine tuning is needed , I wont be swapping them over until I get some miles done with my new muffler to see what milage I get with that

[winginman]

Thanks Alex, I will be watching for your post on the results.  I think I will leave mine as they are until I see some results from someone else.  Right now it takes off as well as my wifes Scarabeo 500 does after the Dr Pulley upgrade. 

[FierZer]

Its a abundant ride,have 5000+miles on mine. Change the accessory oil ASAP'the orig. is like water. My rear annoy wore out at 4500 miles, accumulate a abutting eye on that.


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