Author Topic: commuter scoot  (Read 1737 times)

JoeyP

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commuter scoot
« on: May 16, 2013, 03:32:37 AM »
Hello all couple quick questions if ya have the time...Is the 2012 yager a pretty good commuter bike for a 60 mile per day work commute from the suburbs of philly to philly?..The roads I will be traveling are mostly 55mph roads with some 35mph roads mixed in. How is the KYMCO warranty and customer service?..Is it bumper to bumper( I WILL be putting alot of miles on this machine) ..How service friendly is this machine in reference to oil chages ect?....Any 10000 plus Yager riders out there?

Thank You Much
JP

Yager200i

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Re: commuter scoot
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2013, 12:55:42 AM »
I'll add my 2 cents. The Yager is a great little machine. It's built solidly, is very reliable, has low operating costs, low insurance (I only pay $88 / year with Geico!), and maintenance is a breeze (although, as with all cycles, things are a bit cramped).

I'm just over 5000 miles on my Yager, and the only problems it's given me so far is a stripped bolt hole on the oil filter cover (easily fixed), and it recently burped battery acid all over inside the battery box (not sure why, still monitoring the situation to try to figure it out).

You didn't say how tall you are. I'm 6'1" tall, and the passenger hump on the seat tends to push me forward, so on longer rides, it starts to feel a bit cramped. Not because there's not enough room, because there's still plenty of clearance for my knees, but because there's no way to stretch out your legs completely straight or put your feet up, as I used to be able to do on my old Chinese scoot. My restless legs don't like being in one position for long periods of time.

I only commute about 10 miles per day, round trip. If I were doing 60 miles, I'd go with a bigger scooter, just to get the legroom so I could stretch my legs out once in a while. If you're shorter than 6'1", you might not have this problem.

As for the speed, not a problem. The Yager will handle 55 MPH roads and barely break a sweat. I take mine on the freeway, where speeds are upwards of 75 MPH. It keeps up, but just. I'll be adding Dr. Pulley 19 gram slider weights in the CVT soon, so my fuel consumption should decrease a bit, and my top end speed should go up by about 3 MPH.

As for the Kymco warranty and customer service, I can't speak about those. I've never had a warranty issue, and I do all my own maintenance. Just find a good scooter shop who'll do the job right, and you can't go wrong. But beware, there are a lot of bad scooter shops out there, as I learned on my Chinese scooter (they hooked my blinkers up backwards, so when I wanted to turn left, it indicated right and vice versa!)... which is *why* I do all my own maintenance now.

As for how service friendly the machine is, I'd say very. Changing the oil is extremely simple, as long as you've got the right tools. Heck, even adjusting valve clearance shouldn't take you more than 45 minutes.

When the machine is new and the engine is still breaking in, you'll be changing that oil A LOT. I changed mine at 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1400, 2000, 2600, 3200, 3800, 4400, and 5000 miles. I started using synthetic motor oil at 1400 miles. Basically, after break-in, with the miles you're riding, you'll be changing the oil every two weeks. AFTER you've broken in the engine, I'd invest in an oil sucker to pull the oil out (so you don't have to even take out the drain plug... just stick the oil sucker tube into the oil filler hole, suck out the old oil, pour in new), and change out the oil filter every two months. My oil filter never looked that bad, even after 600 miles, but it's cheap so I change it anyway. You can get away with changing it every couple of months. When the engine is still being broken in, I'd do the full monty on the oil change / filter change each time just to be sure you're getting out all those metal particles. You'll be able to tell when the engine is fully broken in when you don't see very many metal particles in the oil anymore.

Be sure to break the engine in the right way to get good ring seating... you'll have more power, less oil usage, and longer engine life from doing so.

http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=3672.0
Look for the 20 Feb 2011 post.

With as many miles as you're going to be putting on it, you'll be going through a good amount of fuel, so I'd recommend putting a fuel filter on it from the get-go to keep your fuel injector clean:
http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=3672.15
Look for the 22 Jul 2012 post and the 12 Aug 2012 post.

I'll add more if / when I think of it.

Charlie P

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Re: commuter scoot
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2013, 02:22:03 AM »
Here's another 2 cents worth reply.  I don't do a daily commute on my Yager but I have put on 2K miles since late December 2012.  I "commute" about once a week 30 miles one way to a scooter club- then we take a 20-30 mile ride.  Taking non-highway routes to the club meeting - takes me about 40-45 minutes on the mostly 35 mph non-rural roads and the Yager does just fine-I live just on the western edge of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex- .  If I bump it up to a farm to market highway (55 and 60 mph) route then the Yager will keep up as Yager200i says but it's approaching its limits (it doesn't have a lot of acceleration left at those speeds).   I have added an Isotta windshield and that helped me tremendously with comfort - the wind was beating my chest to death and it helps with the cold air.   I'm 5'9" 175 lbs.  and there isn't any leg stretching room like Yager200i said- I even feel a little cramped.   And the seat seems a little firm-I get a little saddle sore after an hour or so riding.

Maintenance is easy as stated and I get consistently 82-84 miles per gallon.

I agree with Yager200i on getting a larger scoot for your 60 mile daily commute (I assume it's 30 each way-if it is 60 each way..no way would I want to ride it on the Yager).  I love my Yager but it is not a long distance or high speed scooter.  Heck, I even want something now like a DT300 just for the extra weight and power-  I'm not a highway rider but would appreciate the extras for when I get on the faster roads even for short distances.

Happy scooter hunting- hope this helps in your decision making- and

Ride Safe.
Charlie P.
2013 Xciting 500Ri ABS
formerly 2010 Yager & 2008 Grand Vista
Near Haslet, TX (NW of Fort Worth)

PassedByAScooter

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Re: commuter scoot
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2013, 09:30:41 PM »
Here's 1 cent, because my reply will be considerably shorter lol

I commuted between 75 and 100 miles, 6-7 days a week for 6 months last year to/from work. This doesn't include any joy riding - which I didn't get to do much of because of work, sadly.
95% of the roads I was travelling were 50-55 MPH.  Here's a small list of pro's and con's. These are the most important to factor in:

PRO'S
-Gas mileage!!!! (averaged around 84mpg)
-I could easily push my scoot to 70 to pass others (my name isn't Passed By A Scooter for nothing! haha)
-Solid low and high end pull, including up moderate hills (I live in Vermont. Full of mountains, and went through Smugglers Notch multiple times last year)
-Fairing keeps you warmer on colder days. As well, it keeps a lot of the wind from buffeting your body. This means less fatigue
-Handling/Braking are SUPERB

CON'S
-Stock tires SUCK! (replace with a high quality tire from Michelin or similar brand and see not only your performance and handling increase, but your fuel mileage, too)
-Seat is horrendous. I don't understand the saddle type seat craze. If I wanted a saddle, I'd buy a horse. The Yager seat just digs into your man parts horribly when only really long rides. This is to the point that you'll be sore at work, too. I went as far as to add some removable padding to increase comfort. I much prefer the comfort of the seat on my wifes Agility 125. It's nice and simple, and really lacks any sort of shape. It's like a generic chair. nice and flat with some padding for your ass. That's all you need!
-Slight vapor locking on hot days will require you to sit there with your gas cap open in order to get your scooter to run. This isn't a huge issue, but it was irritating to me nonetheless.

Warranty? It's great; however, it really depends on the customer service at your dealer to make it seem like it's really all that great.

That's it. Perhaps I wrote more than I expected. However, if you have any other questions feel free to ask or PM me.

The Yager is a fantastic option, imo. If you're too tall it may be an uncomfortable ride, but if you're of average height (I'm 5'9") you'll be fine.

Good luck!

PBAS

PS I'd like to point out that I run on the interstate from my home in Milton, VT to Stowe, VT about once every month and I can keep pace and usually cruise around 75mph. This has been verified by not only GPS, but my wife traveling behind me with the kids. I have pushed her up to 83, but that was on a downhill.


2010 Kymco Yager
2009 Kymco Agility 125

JoeyP

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Re: commuter scoot
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2013, 01:32:58 AM »
Thanks for everyone's responses very helpful...Is $3200 OTD a good price for a 2012 Yager(New Leftover)?..Is the Kymco 2010 XCITING 250's(New Leftover) MPG a lot worse than the Yager?,they want $4300 OTD for it...A lot more comfy at higher speeds?...Now I am between the two ! dangit!..Which is the better deal?

Thanks All!
« Last Edit: May 21, 2013, 01:37:10 AM by JoeyP »

Vivo

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Re: commuter scoot
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2013, 07:44:10 AM »
Thanks for everyone's responses very helpful...Is $3200 OTD a good price for a 2012 Yager(New Leftover)?..Is the Kymco 2010 XCITING 250's(New Leftover) MPG a lot worse than the Yager?,they want $4300 OTD for it...A lot more comfy at higher speeds?...Now I am between the two ! dangit!..Which is the better deal?

Thanks All!

Xciting... period...

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