Purchased a new Kymco GT300i Yesterday

[old geezer]

I disagree. The plastic body is soild & the seams fit perfectly! I owned a People S200 (made in Taiwan as well) Fit & Finish is the standard "Kymco" we all have come to love.

One thing as I already mentioned, is the instrument panel could have been given a little more polish. It's very plain looking too me. Other then that, GT300i is all Kymco!

Don't pay him any attention. Its sour grapes with him and Kymco (his loss) The little scooter shop he liked so well could not get along with Kymco USA and they pulled the franchise. He has had a hard on for Kymco ever since. The scooter shop sold other brands but went out of business  a while after that.

Other Kymco dealers in the area like Kymco and do well. They have no problem getting reimbursed for warranty work.

[MassScoot]

Don't pay him any attention. Its sour grapes with him and Kymco (his loss) The little scooter shop he liked so well could not get along with Kymco USA and they pulled the franchise. He has had a hard on for Kymco ever since. The scooter shop sold other brands but went out of business  a while after that.

Other Kymco dealers in the area like Kymco and do well. They have no problem getting reimbursed for warranty work.

Old Geezer: If I was you, I would hang onto the People S250 if you like her & has been somewhat trouble free. I think the S250 has 19.5HP vs. the GT300i @ 28.7HP. Carb. vs. FI. FI is nice, but I never had an issue with my People S200 carb. The styling of the S250 is my all-time favorite @ least to me. Although they are similar looking, I think the GT300i looks a tad "Japanese" too me. The S250 looked more European.

http://www.motorscooterguide.net/Kymco/People-S/People-S-Series.html

I always loved my dash on my People S200.

So...He is crying that his favorite scooter dealer doesn't have the Kymco line anymore? Oh...Boo Hoo for him! I suspect you're correct, it's either they weren't selling enough units & or they carried too many lines. So why is it Kymco's fault? As you mentioned, I never had an issue with Kymco warranty work or parts for that matter. I did have a Kymco speedometer cable fail after warranty & it did take a tad over 2 weeks to get the part, but other then that they have been rock-soild.

 

[old geezer]

My S250 runs really well. The only problem I have had is the battery went bad and was replaced under warranty.

Acording to my factory Kymco service manual the horse power of the S 250 is 20.1. The HP of the regular People 250 was 18.3.

Kymco still makes the S 250 and the S 300i. We just don't get them in the US.

I ran across a country in Europe selling the S 250 a while back but can't remember who it was.

http://www.amsler-feuerthalen.ch/195

http://www.kymco.nl/modellen/motorscooters/people-s

[MassScoot]

My S250 runs really well. The only problem I have had is the battery went bad and was replaced under warranty.

The horse power of the S 250 is 20.1. The HP of the regular People 250 was 18.5 or 19, I can't remember.

Kymco still makes the S 250 and the S 300i. We just don't get them in the US.

I ran across some one in Europe selling the S 250 a while back but can't remember who it was.

http://www.amsler-feuerthalen.ch/195

http://www.kymco.nl/modellen/motorscooters/people-s

Good Luck with your People S250! Do you use a battery tender? I highly sugguest you do. It's a small investment @ $25.00. I have had one for @ least 12 years now. Worth every penny!

Just install the pigtail to you battery & run it thru.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346103953&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+tender+jr

[old geezer]

The reason I was asking about the handling on the GT 300i is when I was at the dealer Saturday the owner was telling me how much better the GT 300i handled than my S 250. Of course he wanted to sell it to me.

[MassScoot]

The reason I was asking about the handling on the GT 300i is when I was at the dealer Saturday the owner was telling me how much better the GT 300i handled than my S 250. Of course he wanted to sell it to me.

I wished that I cruised on a People S250 as of late. I must admit, the suspension on the GT300i is very nice. But I thought that as well of the S250 (as I recall) A buddy of mine owned an S250 for a few years, then purchased an Xciting 500. Keep your S250 for a couple of years & trade her-in for another Kymco. 

[jprestonian]

Don't pay him any attention. Its sour grapes with him and Kymco (his loss) The little scooter shop he liked so well could not get along with Kymco USA and they pulled the franchise. He has had a hard on for Kymco ever since. The scooter shop sold other brands but went out of business  a while after that.

Other Kymco dealers in the area like Kymco and do well. They have no problem getting reimbursed for warranty work.

Come look at this new Honda PCX and compare it to any of the new Kymcos. If you can't tell the difference in fit & finish, you'll want to schedule an eye exam, as you can't see well enough to be riding.  :)
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[old geezer]

I believe his Honda PCX is a 125.

[jprestonian]

I believe his Honda PCX is a 125.

It is.  :)
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[jprestonian]

Other Kymco dealers in the area like Kymco and do well. They have no problem getting reimbursed for warranty work.

You have rock-solid knowledge of this, then?  Dealers are telling you this as a confidant, and not as a dealer-to-customer small-talk situation?  I've told you what happened on the other side of one counter; I don't know why it would be different, elsewhere, even if it is.

I mean, I look around the streets of Nashville... ain't seein' too many Kymcos. That's not to say they aren't being stored in garages in the dead of summer, but...

I could count on one hand the number of Kymcos that showed up for Blue vs. Grey 2012 (and sure, there were FAR more Vespas -- P200Es, even -- than anything else... that's the crowd that rallies draw), and my Bad Penny was one of those. There were about 150 riders that showed up for that, with about half being locals.

On the usual scootnashville meetups and rides, we occasionally see an Agility 125 rider and one People 150 rider. Everyone else is on Genuines (Stellas or Buddys), Vespas (modern and not), Hondas, Yamahas and the very occasional China scoot. A SYM, here and there.
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[old geezer]

The owner of Castle Powersports told me personally how much he likes Kymco and what a good relationship he has with them. I've had conversations with him on this subject on several ocassions.

The sales people and the maint dept say the same thing. They have sold several Kymcos over the summer.  

You need to get the bad taste out of your mouth and move on. Kymco is the future for scooters in the US. Honda does build quality machines but its obvious that Honda is not that interested in the US scooter market. Just look at their scooter line up.

Kymco has 600 dealers and are going to add 500 more. Kymco USA is raising the bar.

[jprestonian]

The owner of Castle Powersports told me personally how much he likes Kymco and what a good relationship he has with them. I've had conversations with him on this subject on several ocassions.

The sales people and the maint dept say the same thing. They have sold several Kymcos over the summer.

I have no doubt that what you say here is true, of course -- that the owner told you this -- and maybe what he said is also true. I have no way of knowing if ESS's experience was par-for-the-course, or an anomaly. That owner wouldn't be the first one to tell a customer about how rosy and wonderful everything was, no matter the topic, though, and with a handle like yours, I'm guessing you've been around long enough to understand how that goes.  :)
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[old geezer]

I've been riding two wheels for 54 years.

[jprestonian]

I've been riding two wheels for 54 years. :)

... and I'm guessing the number of dealer/owners who have bad-mouthed a current line for any reason approaches... zero?  ;)
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[wordslinger]

I've been riding two wheels for 54 years.


..hey j, th' man knows..