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Post by scootdude on Jan 14, 2015 18:43:50 GMT -5
Hey people! Howz everyone? This weekend I'm looking into buying either a 2002 Honda Silverwing 600cc with 5900 miles, or a 2006 Kymco Grand Vista 250cc with 3600 miles. They are both nice scooters that have been taken care of really well and they both look nice. I know there's a vast difference between a big 600cc scoot and a 250cc, but I'm torn. The Kymco is only $1500, and the Honda is $2600. The Honda is a twin cylinder powerful bike, almost a full on motorcycle, but it's 13 years old now. The Kymco is 4 years newer, but less powerful. The Kymco has the benefit of being smaller, more nimble, and probably a lot cheaper to maintain and fix. I hear good things about Kymco, but I know it's not a Honda. Someone please let me know what you would do with this choice. Thank you!
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Post by scooter on Jan 14, 2015 18:50:52 GMT -5
Hey people! Howz everyone? This weekend I'm looking into buying either a 2002 Honda Silverwing 600cc with 5900 miles, or a 2006 Kymco Grand Vista 250cc with 3600 miles. They are both nice scooters that have been taken care of really well and they both look nice. I know there's a vast difference between a big 600cc scoot and a 250cc, but I'm torn. The Kymco is only $1500, and the Honda is $2600. The Honda is a twin cylinder powerful bike, almost a full on motorcycle, but it's 13 years old now. The Kymco is 4 years newer, but less powerful. The Kymco has the benefit of being smaller, more nimble, and probably a lot cheaper to maintain and fix. I hear good things about Kymco, but I know it's not a Honda. Someone please let me know what you would do with this choice. Thank you! I'm guessing the Kymco is more stylish than the Silverwing. I know the Honda is quality, at least my Hondas have been, and should need little maintenance. I'd want to drive both to see which one I liked best. All in all, I LOVE Honda motorcycles. I would probably get the Honda and take it on a cruise up to Georgia and back. |
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Post by Paladin on Jan 14, 2015 19:23:12 GMT -5
... Someone please let me know what you would do with this choice.... Ref: www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/new_vehicle_compare.asp?vehicle1=3715&year2=2006&mfg2=442&vehicle2=27431&go=GoTwo totally motorcycles. Where and why will you be riding? If you want to go touring, the Silverwing can take a trailer hitch and you can comfortably go coast to coast, in style. If you want easy riding in city, you want my Vespa LX150. The Grandvista 250 is a hundred pounds more bulk than my Vespa, but will be far better doing 75+ mph the freeways than my barely touching 65, if you will be wanting more speed on the freeways. |
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Post by JerryScript on Jan 14, 2015 19:56:47 GMT -5
It really boils down to a choice between agility and raw power. The Silverwing is going to give you more power than you'll probably ever need, but it is a bull to handle. My old Honda 550 took me half way across the country when I moved to Nevada, but I hated riding it in town. The 250 will be much easier to handle around town, in traffic, parking, etc.
If I wanted to tour, I would get the 600. If I'm just riding around town, the 250.
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Post by kevinharrell on Jan 14, 2015 20:02:30 GMT -5
You could get the Kymco for scootering around town, and still have spend about $1,100.00 less than the Silverwing would cost. You could buy a 30 year old Goldwing motorcycle for touring with the money you saved.
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Post by SylvreKat on Jan 14, 2015 23:17:23 GMT -5
I agree with scooter. Go sit on each one. See how each one feels for you. If they'll let you, drive each one. See if you prefer the handling of one over the other.
The Kymco should be better in traffic, but you might feel better with the Honda.
Don't make up your mind before testing each out.
Oh, and if they won't let you test-drive with cash in hand, or at the very least drive it with you riding behind, then leave. It's the same as buying a car and not getting to drive it/feel it in action.
Do please keep us updated how this goes, and which you decide on!
>'Kat
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jan 15, 2015 2:37:20 GMT -5
Scootdude,
Welcome to the site! I'm an OLD school Harley guy, now into scooters. I started with a Chinese 150 and now ride a 2007 Kymco Grandvista 250. As you said, the Grandvista 250 and the Silverwing 600 are TOTALLY different scooters. I absolutely LOVE my Grandvista, and am very happy with it, even considering I'm used to a Harley bagger.
The Grandvista handles much like a 150, but slightly heavier, MUCH faster, and, is also very good, and stable at highway speeds. A nice combination for all-purpose riding, and that's why I chose it. The scoot has 14,000 miles on the clock, most by the previous owner riding two-up and loaded, on the highway. In his words, the old girl has been from New York to Los Angeles, and from Canada to Mexico, all hard, fast miles. The quality to me, seems fully equal to Honda, and Kymco even makes engines used in some Honda bikes.
The wide-whites, saddlebags and fishtail exhaust are just me... Homage to my old Harley roots... LOL! The monster trunk and saddlebags allow for a LOT of stuff to be carried...
The only negatives I've found is that the top-speed is only around 75 mph, with a comfortable cruise in wind, up-hill, etc. of 65 to 70 tops. In some situations, THAT is NOT fast enough to safely keep up with traffic. But it's fine  % of the time. Actually I don't enjoy riding any bike much faster than 70-75 mph anyway... I'm 68, and Getting old I guess! At least, too old for wild-mousing freeway traffic at 100+...
The only other negative is the short, somewhat "different" seating position. Many riders don't like it, but I got used to it quickly, and now find it very comfortable, AND it's great for my arthritic back. You need to give it a try for a few days before dumping the lumbar support. It definitely grows on you. If you REALLY don't like it, you can remove the lumbar support and scoot back farther on the seat.
Other than those items, the Grandvista seems to be near "bullet-proof" as reliable as the family sedan, and of truly EXCELLENT quality. With all the hard highway miles, the ONLY repairs were tires, one set of brake pads, one belt and one muffler (all done by the dealer before I took delivery). The only times I'm not totally happy is when the freeway traffic is running over 80 mph. 80 to 100 mph is just out of the capabilities of the 250.
The Silverwing, on the other hand, has plenty of power for  + mph running. For me however, it's too long, too heavy and too "highway-dedicated" for my use. I really wanted the much more nimble 250.
I'd say if more than half your riding will be highway, go with the Silverwing. If more than half your riding will be in-town, or 70 mph or less, go with the Grandvista.
Both are GREAT scooters, but totally different. Do test-ride both, they ARE totally DIFFERENT and you're bound to vastly prefer one or the other.
After 7 years of riding, my old 150 proved just TOO slow for safety. So, I decided to go bigger, and budget restraints MANDATED a used scooter... I tried many maxi-scooters like the Silverwing, Burgy, etc. and finally decided on the more nimble, flat-floor Grandvista, sacrificing the mph cruising speed offered by the bigger scoots for easy handling. The Grandvista is an unusual size/configuration. There are FEW comparable scooters and the Kymco 250 has nearly a "cult-following". With a lot of arthritis, I wanted a flat-floor step-through design, but, still capable of stable 70+ mph cruising. But if you want long wheelbase, and lots of power, the maxi-scooter is for you. With EITHER choice, you're getting a VERY good scooter!
Hope this may help,
Leo in Texas
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Post by shalomdawg on Jan 15, 2015 16:52:52 GMT -5
howdy, i second what leo said as i usually do. the grand vista was just to cramped in seating for 300= days ubt as said, percent of my freeway riding was ok at 70 mph and 60 or so up the mountain passes was just a tad too slow for my comfort. lotsa miles and smiles to ya ken |
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Post by scootdude on Jan 16, 2015 2:04:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the input guys and gals. I'll probably wind up buying the Honda Silverwing. I'm starting a new job next month. It's about 20 to 25 miles one way from home, so I will have to use the highways. I'd rather have the extra power to run with the speed of traffic and not worry about topping out at 70mph. When you're competing for space at 75mph with 80,000 lb 18 wheelers and other crazy drivers I think it only makes sense to go with the Honda. The Kymco is neat but I don't think it fits my needs. I already have a Sym 125cc scooter for put-putting around my local area. I have an appointment with the seller of the Honda this Saturday, so if it all checks out then I'll update you guys Saturday evening. Thanks a million for your thoughts!
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Post by scootdude on Jan 17, 2015 20:48:29 GMT -5
Hi everyone. Well I went and looked at the Honda Silverwing, and boy oh boy that thing was junk. The owner abused it, neglected it, and clearly never cared for it. It would barely start and run, it looked like crap, and it sounded sick. It only had 5900 miles on it, but it might as well have been 59,000,000 miles, because it was beaten like a junk yard dog. I told him thanks but no thanks. So, then I went to look at the 2006 Kymco Grand Vista (or DINK as they call it on the other side of the pond), and it was clean, sharp, well cared for, garaged and was clearly appreciated. The old lady who owned it bought it new in 2006 and only road it on seldom occasions. It had been sitting in her garage for a long while and the pilot jet got gummed up in the carburetor. It ran but wouldn't idle very well. I went ahead and bought it from her because it was in pristine condition. I rode it home and quickly removed the fuel bowl cover and cleaned out the jets. It now runs like it was brand new. I was amazed at how fast it is. I took it out on the highway and it quickly got up to almost 80mph and was still accelerating! The only thing that kept me from going faster was traffic. The back rest thing on the seat was very annoying. The first thing I did when I got home was to take it off. It's much more comfortable to ride without that thing. Anyway, the only thing I was just a bit leery of was that she had it custom painted. It has a bird beak on the nose and purple feathers on the front fender and down the sides. Here are a few pics of it. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being John Wayne manly and 10 being Ru Paul fabulous, please rate your opinion of the paint job. I'm a dude and I'm worried about looking out of place riding it. Would you ride it? LOL [img src=" ![]() thumbnails109.imagebam.com/38248/39903c382475953.jpg" src=" " alt=" "] |
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Post by scootdude on Jan 17, 2015 20:49:06 GMT -5
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Post by JerryScript on Jan 17, 2015 21:05:58 GMT -5
Congratulations, looks like you got a great deal! I'm not surprised to hear it was well taken care of, it seems like most Kymco owners are fanatical about taking proper care of them. I would add some sea-foam to the tank, since it sat for so long.
I'm not gonna give a rating on the paint job, but my opinion of it is that regardless of the macho factor, it doesn't look finished. I would either finish it proper, or re-do it how I like (most likely I would re-do it).
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Post by scootdude on Jan 17, 2015 21:21:00 GMT -5
Congratulations, looks like you got a great deal! I'm not surprised to hear it was well taken care of, it seems like most Kymco owners are fanatical about taking proper care of them. I would add some sea-foam to the tank, since it sat for so long. I'm not gonna give a rating on the paint job, but my opinion of it is that regardless of the macho factor, it doesn't look finished. I would either finish it proper, or re-do it how I like (most likely I would re-do it). I'd like to re-do the paint. I guess until I do, I'm going to be known as the birdman. |
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Post by JerryScript on Jan 17, 2015 21:21:51 GMT -5
Until then, your avatar is perfect!  |
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Post by SylvreKat on Jan 18, 2015 1:57:57 GMT -5
Congrats on finding a nice scoot!
Re: the paint job. Granted, I'm a girlie-girl, but I really like the purple. However, the eyes are kinda creepy. And I can't decide about the green beak. I'd keep the purple, paint over the eyes, and see what it looks like with the green sort of blended into the red, further along the sides.
But purple yes!
>'Kat
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% of the time. Actually I don't enjoy riding any bike much faster than 70-75 mph anyway... I'm 68, and Getting old I guess! At least, too old for wild-mousing freeway traffic at 100+...
+ mph running. For me however, it's too long, too heavy and too "highway-dedicated" for my use. I really wanted the much more nimble 250.
