Belt woes

[Pimpy1]

$37 sounds fantastic. My Kymco Bando OEM 250-300 cc belt cost me $130 in Canada from the dealer.

Big scoot belts can be really pricy depending on the model. You should not have to pay over $100 unless you have a 500cc + scoot.

[duesouth]

3 weeks and counting. motorsportmonster says it's a Kymco supply problem. They are back ordered. Ug!! Utter rubbish! This is the first time I've seriously doubted my decision to buy Kymco.

[Cortez]

3 weeks and counting. motorsportmonster says it's a Kymco supply problem. They are back ordered. Ug!! Utter rubbish! This is the first time I've seriously doubted my decision to buy Kymco.

Um, no, you know how many miles you had, you should have ordered and replaced the belt a long
time ago. That's the way it should be with all brands. At least ask ahead of time if the order is going
to take time, you didn't do that either.

It's the same with Piaggio scoots in USA.

[duesouth]

Um, no, you know how many miles you had, you should have ordered and replaced the belt a long
time ago. That's the way it should be with all brands. At least ask ahead of time if the order is going
to take time, you didn't do that either.

It's the same with Piaggio scoots in USA.

I respectfully disagree. I did ask and I was told it would take a week which was better than the six other shops, they had no clue how long. I also don't keep on hand a spare set of spark plugs, tires, filters or brake pads. A belt is a common replacement item, just like those. This isn't my fist scooter, and I didn't have any problems getting replacement parts for my Yamaha, including belts. I'll own the problem of going without a belt for a week, but when it takes at least a month, and none of the places I called had them, that is a distribution/factory problem.

[Cortez]

I respectfully disagree. I did ask and I was told it would take a week which was better than the six other shops, they had no clue how long. I also don't keep on hand a spare set of spark plugs, tires, filters or brake pads. A belt is a common replacement item, just like those. This isn't my fist scooter, and I didn't have any problems getting replacement parts for my Yamaha, including belts. I'll own the problem of going without a belt for a week, but when it takes at least a month, and none of the places I called had them, that is a distribution/factory problem.

If it were a factory problem it would be a world wide issue, and it isn't.

I can send you a belt today, got it in stock, but the shipping would likely
cost as much as the belt.

If you had "stocked up" on the parts that you might need (rollers too), you wouldn't have
to respectfully disagree right now.
 

[racewalker]

I respectfully disagree. I did ask and I was told it would take a week which was better than the six other shops, they had no clue how long. I also don't keep on hand a spare set of spark plugs, tires, filters or brake pads. A belt is a common replacement item, just like those. This isn't my fist scooter, and I didn't have any problems getting replacement parts for my Yamaha, including belts. I'll own the problem of going without a belt for a week, but when it takes at least a month, and none of the places I called had them, that is a distribution/factory problem.

How many DT300I's in your area? There is one, mine in my area so no one carries any parts for it. I stock a spare belt and tools under the seat to replace it. I stock a set of tires in my shed as I had the same problem as you with tires. I was down for a month waiting for the tires I like to use. I stock spare brakes as well. Also CAA for trips incase I can't fix it along the road on a trip. I travel with mine.

[duesouth]

I have no idea how wide spread it is, or how many DT's are in my area. What I do know is that in the US, I tried 3 local dealers, all were special order with no time frame. I tried 3 or 4 online places with the same result, except for one, who said they were only 60 miles away from the main distributor and they gave me a week time frame. I went with them. I think that's cool you guys keep all those parts on hand. Obviously I don't and I've never owned something where I had to. I've owned 12 motorcycles over the past 20 years, one of those was a scooter. I never had a problem ordering things (belts included) and having them show up a few days later (Depending on the shipping method I choose). Same with my cars, trucks, and RV's. I suppose that's why I find waiting a month for a common replacement item, such as a belt, a little ridiculous. Yeah, I know you can be left high and dry when something breaks, it's why I carry road side assistance on all my vehicles. I don't want to carry parts and tools with me everywhere I go. I'm hopeful Kymco will be able to shed some light, I emailed them yesterday asking them if it were a dealer, or a factory problem, we'll see if they respond.

[Cortez]

Your US importer should also know which dealer recently ordered belts and might have some in stock.
If they say they don't know, it means they don't care enough to check.

[duesouth]

Not a Kymco order problem. I must be having a bad go of it, or more likely a bad dealer. Kymco USA informed me they have it in stock and that only one dealer currently has an order out.

[Cortez]

I don't understand what was stopping you to pick up the phone and start calling dealers one by one,
or the importer first, then the dealers. You probably could have located a belt in 30 minutes.

[duesouth]

I don't understand what was stopping you to pick up the phone and start calling dealers one by one,
or the importer first, then the dealers. You probably could have located a belt in 30 minutes.

As I mentioned before, I did exactly that, I contacted 6 or 7 of them in total. No one had them in stock, or could give me a solid time frame as to when they could get one. I have no idea who the importer is, and I had a dealer who gave me a time frame of a week, so why bother? At three weeks I got super impatient and emailed Kymco questioning the dealers story of being "back ordered", or their factory/distribution channel. They confirmed they were not the problem. The problem was with the vendor, not Kymco, not me. And now that I know that, I don't need to stock a garage full of parts. I have more than one motorcycle, and more than one car. It's not realistic for me to keep on hand all the parts that might need to be replaced. I'm okay waiting a week for an order. The service pdf simply said to inspect, which is what I did not that long ago. However, when I hit another 10,000 miles, I'll take the advice given on this thread and order a belt. I'll put it on regardless of condition.

[Cortez]

As I mentioned before, I did exactly that, I contacted 6 or 7 of them in total. No one had them in stock, or could give me a solid time frame as to when they could get one. I have no idea who the importer is, and I had a dealer who gave me a time frame of a week, so why bother?

Because you haven't found a belt.

I live thousands of miles from you and know who your importer is.
When you bought a bike you got a user's manual and a warranty book, both should
carry this information. I live in a country which sells 3-4 Downtowns per year, has 4 million
people and WE have over 30 dealers here. The importer's site lists the phone numbers of
all of them.

[duesouth]

Okay, I'm not sure if you're trying purposefully to take me out of context and blame me, or it's just a cultural difference, but I'm moving on after this post. People can read through this thread and take from it what they will. Maybe I am an idiot, it wouldn't be the first time. I thought I made reasonable attempt at due diligence and pretty well explained my situation, but maybe I didn't. The point was to inform people that perhaps there was a distribution problem with belts so they could avoid waiting a month for one. This is my first Kymco and had no idea if this was indicative of them, they're kind of unknown here. I live in a state with 4 million people, and we only have 3 dealers. I'm glad to learn through this experience that the issue isn't with Kymco. My fault for only calling a half dozen dealers and actually trusting one, and again mea culpa for not reading through the manual and warranty book before ordering a part. I've never ran into a parts department who told me they could have it to me in a week, and then made up shortage to explain why it wasn't there. Since Kymco informed me they have the part in stock, I'm going to go out on a limb and not call a distributor and just order it from gearhead since wheels had a good experience ordering a belt from them.

[de dee]

  I asked my dealer how much for different things and the sales guy said go on line its a lot cheaper, so I buy from stadium yamaha ,.  sportswarehouse,.  and motorcycle monster,.  with good service,.  and 1/2 the price I was quoted here in canada,.  1/3 the price for tires,.  have to pick up in the states for tires,. they dont ship here,.

[Pimpy1]

http://www.powersportswarehouse.com/KeywordProducts/Search?criteria=23100-LEA7-E00

Guy said in stock USA southeast warehouse. $160 plus shipping.

http://www.racingplanetusa.com/drive-belt-mitsuboshi-kymco-downtown-300i-p-26097-1.html?cPath=2_21322_21348&sessID=113b3e3fa7bced42e566bab8541d319a

Will ship and have at your door in a real 2 weeks. $197 free shipping