KYMCO scooters, ATVs & Bikes

[montmil]

Note to self... Do not take your wife to the BMW store unless you are prepared to financially deal with her impulses.

I went for the BMW-branded fork oil. That's all. But there was a used, six-month old Vespa that struck her fancy. It was offered for only $5495.00! Yikes. Get in the car, honey, we're leaving! The Beemer shop in northern Dallas checks your financial statement before you can get in the door. Too danged snooty for me so I'm not going back.

The Vespa issue continues to surface...  What to do, what to do.

My cousin-in-law, once removed via divorce, owns a KTM and Gas-Gas dealership in Denton. His shop is the largest volume KTM dealership in their southwest region. Still a very much old school motorcycle shop and a great place to chill out... as I did late this morning.

Surprised to discover that Brian has picked up the KYMCO line of Taiwan-manufactured scooters and ATVs. Doubly surprised to learn that KYMCO produces the Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter. That's what I was planning on buying rather than the pricey Vespa. All we're doing now is discussing color choices...

Here's some more info I was surprised to learn; The Honda 250cc Rebel is a KYMCO product! There must be a million of 'em on the roads. ATVs? ArcticCat and Yamaha source their ATV line from... KYMCO. Ah, our new age global economy.

The things you can learn by hanging out at a motorcycle shop...  I will save a hefty pile of cash while making my wife happy. Her daily commute to work is a self-measured 0.5 miles. ZERO point five mile. She usually drives her fancy Cadillac DeVille DTS which has something near the size of a Gates garden hose for a fuel line.

Dang... I'll bet she's gonna want to shop for a helmet, too.

http://KYMCOusa.com  for the full story.

[MrRiden]

Monte,
Living near a college town, ASU in Tempe. I see a lot of these scooters around. Lately I've noticed a non college rider or three on these bikes. I gotta smile every time I see one. My Pink haired Tochter http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m70/mrridden/052.jpgwants one and were gonna have a look. Color coordinated helmet is mandatory!

[mspeir]

According to legend, Kymco has made engines for Honda for decades. They are also rumored to be building a 250 engine for a BMW dirt bike soon. I was initially put off by the idea of buying a Kymco scooter but in the spring I got a good deal on a People s250. It is a great bike. It has been perfectly reliable and gets about 70 MPG. Lots of fun to ride around town with more power than one might think.

[bjamesw]

Looking up the company's history is a useful object lesson on the global economy actually,  although a mostly asian perspective.  

Honda early enjoyed extraordinary success in exporting it's motorcycles and scooters to the planet.   Taking advantage of local economies and labor costs they pioneered 'local' manufacturing methods on the fly.  I was looking up info on that ct110 mentioned in another thread and discovered that the reason why it was the conventially tube-framed cg125 rather than the stamped frame ct110 that became the main two wheeled workhorse for most of the 'third world' in the last three decades was that as advantageous as the stamped frame was for mass production,  ironically,  installing the enormous presses required to make them locally was a non starter.   You could train any child, anywhere,  to weld tubes together.

Anyway,  companies like Kymco pretty early on started picking up the slack afforded by the astonishing success of japanese products while the japanese literally ran out of room at home for manufacture.   In many respects, as was mentioned, Kymco, and some other foreign brands, are practically subsidiaries of Honda,  Yamaha, Kawasaki, et al.  The newest names are mainland Chinese concerns that have been parts suppliers to spec for the big names a decade or so now and are starting to apply that expertise their own marques.

[msbuck]

Here's some more info I was surprised to learn; The Honda 250cc Rebel is a KYMCO product! There must be a million of 'em on the roads. ATVs? ArcticCat and Yamaha source their ATV line from... KYMCO. Ah, our new age global economy.

They are also rumored to be building a 250 engine for a BMW dirt bike soon.

According to Mr. Pieter de Wal, Head of BMW Motorrad US, Kymco is ALREADY making BMW engines - all under BMW designs, specs, equipment, oversight.  (I think the single 650s).  He also talked about competing head on with the Jap manufacturers and how they were all using the Chinese market for resouces, etc.  That's the way BMW is heading to be able to market the new S1000RR at the low price.

[montmil]

It's amazing the number of scooter sites on the www. I'd been looking for a decent service manual and finally found this 200 page, well written, non-Chinglish job. The Chinese make many identical scooters branded with different names and plastic bodyworx but the mechanicals are very similar. If you have one of the Chinese scooters, as we do, this manual is extremely valuable.

PDF with 20MB+

If interested, PM me with your email addy and I'll send it along.

Monte

   

[azcycle]

I know this is a two-year old thread but, hey... I'm new here.  I am a proud owner of a 2002 Kymco Bet & Win (stupid name) 250cc scooter. I've had it for about two-years and it has been my major form of commute, putting about 7,000 miles on it the last year.  I average 55mpg and it can maintain 70mph (max is about 75 I think) and I've just loved it.

Now that I've got the r65, I've got the B&W up for sale on the local Craigslist. No takers, yet which is too bad.  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

I wish I lived ONLY a half-mile from work.  I'd hoof it every day.  Get my exercise.  Cadillac?

[SCJJR65]

I recently test-rode a Kymco XCiting 500 with optional ABS, and I gotta say, it was surprisingly FAST!  Outstanding brakes, too!  I wouldn't mind having one of these in my stable!  I think it would be great for around town errand hopping!  

[azcycle]

Looks like I've got a buyer for the Kymco... coming "with cash" this weekend to test ride.  Now I won't have any choice but to ride the r65 when the fiance needs the car for the day.

[azcycle]

Kymco 250 is gone to it's new owner.  Now I have no other choice than to ride the r65 and I'm okay with that.