My dealer called me today and told me Kymco had approved the 2nd clutch replacement. Once it arrives I will again have the entire clutch assembly replaced.
From talking with the tech, it's a defective seal that allows the grease to migrate onto the clutch pads / discs. Once that happens the clutch starts to slip. That is manifested in the form of a resonance or groan as best as I can describe it.
The noise has been with the scoot essentialy, since I bought it. Kymco approved the first replacement when I had about 6500 miles on it. Within a week of replaceing it, the noise returned and sure enough, the clutch pads were impregnated with grease. Now I have about 9500 miles on the scoot.
My biggest complaint is the noise. But as was implied earlier in this post, it can't be a good thing (mechanically) to have a dry clutch system with grease soaked into it. I'm sure it's generating some unwanted and unecessary heat.