..Are you a ride warrior?...

[wordslinger]

..why do you ride a Kymco?...

..sign up and tell why...

peace

[axy]

Importer is a friend of mine.

[zombie]

inexpensive, strong, and parts are everywhere. Besides i like the style.

[axy]

Zombie, I am not sure it's inexpensive. With Chinese competition (let's for the moment skip the quality discussion) Kymco is ranked among more expensive scooters, just below Italian ones.

The spare parts are available but not that readily as spare parts for Italian scooters, at least not in Europe.

Furthermore, the spare parts are much more expensive than spare parts for Italian scooters. Let's say, double, on the average. However, they really do last double or more than Italian - for example, on Piaggio 50 cc scooters you have to replace disk pads every 4000 kms at most under normal conditions while on Kymcos they last 20.000 kms or even more and you replace them not because of wear but because they become rock solid.

Furthermore, to be honest, the quality of build story in regard to Kymco is quite exaggerated. I've had problems with my Cobra 50 2T (called TopBoy in USA). On Agility 125 in the first 18 months I've had faulty engine start switch, the exhaust cap fell off and now there is electricity problem waiting to be resolved. So far, People 250 S has 4000 kms and no problems. Yet, I would not say that overall Kymco quality is much higher than quality of other non-Chinese scooters (eventhough Kymco and Piaggio and a lot of other scooters are actually produced in China, I am referring to no-name Chinese scooters that have flooded the market recently).

Look just what happened to JPrestonian's People recently... not exactly good advertisement for Kymco...

Kymco is OK, but it is not exactly great. Just my 2c.

[olbull]

Kymco parts  are  almost 50% less than Vespa/Piaggio parts here in  the  USA.. You  can  thank  your import tariffs for  making kymco  parts  more expensive..I  owned a BV500 and had to  take  Piaggio  to  court and  WON!!!!! because of  continuous break  down  and lack of  parts..Go  to  Modern  Vespa and  listen  to the ProSac  crowd  complain...
  
  Build  quailty  on  the  the Italian  stuff  is  horrible in  comparision.. Body  fasters,panel  hinges, wiring  harness  and  connections let alone the inferior  Magnetti  Marrelli electrical  and  fuel  components.. Parts  distribution  is  shall  we  say  almost  non existent  in  the  USA  for  any  Piaggio  product..Guzzi, Aprilia included


   Hey  Axy..If  kymco's  arent  so  great,why  do  you  own  two  of  them??


 2007 people 250.... 35000km  and  has been  bullet  proof !!!!!!

[wordslinger]

inexpensive, strong, and parts are everywhere. Besides i like the style.

.i dunno zombie...but the closest place I can locate Kymco parts is 60 miles away...however, there's always the internets...

..i did find a drive belt at a bicycle shop that once sold Kymcos...lol..

[zombie]

Yeah Word, I live in N.W. Florida, where you cannot get a key made w/out driving 3-4 hrs. By available parts I did mean the Net. If I was running Chinese scoots I think I would have to buy them in 6 packs. I looked for 5 months before buying my '01 super fever, $300.00 running. I will post pics, as I have just finished a candy apple burgundy paint job w/ speed racer type stripes.

[wordslinger]

..cool..i sanded and painted my Agility "burnt black"...kinda all blends into th dark...makes me a good target around 5:30 in th morning...lol..

[axy]

Kymco parts  are  almost 50% less than Vespa/Piaggio parts here in  the  USA.. You  can  thank  your import tariffs for  making kymco  parts  more expensive..I  owned a BV500 and had to  take  Piaggio  to  court and  WON!!!!! because of  continuous break  down  and lack of  parts..Go  to  Modern  Vespa and  listen  to the ProSac  crowd  complain...
  
 Build  quailty  on  the  the Italian  stuff  is  horrible in  comparision.. Body  fasters,panel  hinges, wiring  harness  and  connections let alone the inferior  Magnetti  Marrelli electrical  and  fuel  components.. Parts  distribution  is  shall  we  say  almost  non existent  in the  USA  for  any  Piaggio  product..Guzzi, Aprilia included


Hey  Axy..If  kymco's  arent  so  great,why  do  you  own  two  of  them??


 2007 people 250.... 35000km  and  has been  bullet  proof !!!!!!

I can agree with you. The thing is that I live 60 kms from Italian border so it is quite easy and inexpensive to get anything for Italian scooters.

I own them because they give more bang for the back compared to Italian scooters at the moment. However, it is still possible if you search enough to find pre-owned Italian scooters with very few kms on it 30-40 % below list price. It pretty much depends on what you want.

One more thing, in lower displacements Italian scooters cannot even compare to Kymco if we speak about performance. My gf has stock Piaggio NRG mc2 bought in summer 2003, 50 cc 2 stroke that does almost 60 mph. You can *almost* compare it with Agility 125 with twice the power. Of course, Agility has more power climbing up the hills and around top speed, but the point remains. This is why Italian scooters, especially 50 cc are more popular around here.

Btw. whoever needs spare parts, I suggest Stadium Yamaha. They are so consumer-friendly it is incredible, I have just exchanged several emails with their director of Internet sales. Big thumbs up!

[axy]

One more thing.
There are very few Kymco spare parts on www.ebay.com

You should look up ebay.de and ebay.co.uk.

[ts1]

..why do you ride a Kymco?...

I'm not a determined Kymco customer.
My first Kymco was just a try, a relative big scooter for little money. After this good experience I upgraded to another Kymco.

But in my family we also have scooters from Yamaha and Suzuki. And to be honest, I think they are superior to Kymcos, but more expensive too.
Same applies to Honda, where I wouldn't refuse an interesting deal.
And of course BMW, but actually they don't produce scooters. Their C1 is extraordinary solid (and expensive).

[axy]

C1 is also heavy, slow and not exactly a "scooter", more like a mini car.
Furthermore, I think it is not in production anymore.

[zombie]

I agree Ebay is NOT a good source for kymco, but if you shop different o.e.m. dealers for price you will find as much as 20% diff. on the part. Also by researching you can use DIO or GY6 parts, and there are loads of performance parts for these. 60 on an Italian scoot? is that kph, or mph? my zx runs 65-68 mph, verified. But I try not to beat it all the time. It's my primary ride

[axy]

I agree Ebay is NOT a good source for kymco, but if you shop different o.e.m. dealers for price you will find as much as 20% diff. on the part. Also by researching you can use DIO or GY6 parts, and there are loads of performance parts for these. 60 on an Italian scoot? is that kph, or mph? my zx runs 65-68 mph, verified. But I try not to beat it all the time. It's my primary ride

60 mph, 50 cc, 2 stroke. NRG mc3 from 2003, old model, stock, 5.5 hp.
http://bikes.88000.org/wallpapers/99/Piaggio_NRG_MC3_DD_Super_Scooter.jpg

In the past I owned NRG extreme 50 LC from 1999 that I had tweaked (new carb, ZX Leo Vince exhaust, 72 cc kit), it did 120 km/h. Of course, subtract at least 10 %, but still respectable - it could measure up with lots of heavier 125-200 cc scooters.

Also the way 50 cc Italian scooters corner is unmatched by anything produced by Kymco - on the contrary, Kymco's People 250 S has way better handling, cornering and braking than Piaggio Beverly 200 or 250!

So, this talk about this scooter or that scooter brand is pretty much a question of personal preference, geographic location and what you really need. For people in USA customer support for European scooters is bad, for people in Europe, spare parts and support for Italian scooters is much better than for Kymco or other products from Far East. Usually you will not get best sports performance from Kymco scooters in economy class. Kymco makes great economy scooters (less than 200 cc) but when they try to make 400, 500 or 700 cc scooters, they become just as expensive and not quite as good as their Japanese or European counterparts.

Personally, I think that Kymco is not on the good track. Chinese competition has started gaining reputation and it is closing in. Take a look at Keeway that has several great models (Outlook 125/150) for example, good dealership and it is 25 % cheaper than Kymco.

I still think that both for Kymco and a lot of European and Japanese premium brands the profit margins are quite high and they are earning on hype, and I am telling that as owner of two Kymcos.

[zombie]

I can't argue against anything you have stated. All in good sense. There is one point I try to make about All Chinese motor vehicles, SHELF LIFE. I never heard of Keway, but there are lots of things  I have not heard of YET! I can't afford too many luxuries, so $100.-200. every few months is fair to me.