Scooter Choice  By  scootdude (Read 2,461 times)

Woo HOO!

You got the Grandvista! You won't be sorry... These are about bulletproof!

And, you got a RED one. Not a common color, and very sharp. As for the graphics, Cheesh, they are very well done, and I'm a sucker for purple. The claw on the belt cover is incredible!

The bird beak on the nose looks great to me (and I'm an artist...). I don't think the purple makes it TOO "girlie" (the mega-macho chopper and bagger boys often cover their hogs with lavender/purple dragons, eagles and such...) and the only thing I don't go for are the eyes. I'd prefer it with just the green beak, or, eyes closer to the beak... The eyes could likely be wet-sanded off and the red restored by polishing. I dunno, it's all personal preference... But that's a lot of quality custom paint to remove. Someone paid quite a bit to have it done.

If you like the graphics, but don't like the purple, an artist with only mediocre skills COULD spray over the purple feathers using transparent blue to make the feathers more blue, or even a transparent dark brown to make the colors more "eagle-like". It would completely change the look, so long as the artist was careful not to use colors that would make the old purple "muddy". The transparent paint could also be faded further into the red areas, to "tie the colors together better" making the graphics more complete without repainting the whole scoot.

You can definitely alter the feather colors without removing them. I'd go so far as to contact the former owner and see if she could hook you up with the painter and discuss having him alter the design to better suit you.

Regardless of the final "look" you got a good scooter there. I've ridden mine now for over a year, and I like it more every ride... One thing to note, the speedometers on these are usually about 4-5 mph "optimistic". At an indicated 80 mph, you are probably doing an actual 75-76 mph. Mine has a 1 or 2-tooth up-gearing and will do an actual 78-80 at an indicated on LEVEL road with NO headwind... But I'm also 235 pounds... If you're a lightweight yours may be a bit faster! The service manual lists the top-speed at 70 mph (about 75 indicated on the Darth Vader cluster speedo).

I'm not really enamored with the cluster "everything" gauges...  I'd prefer analog rather than digital bar-graphs for the temp, tach, fuel etc. but the thing IS exotic...  12 and 24 hour clock, miles or kilometer speedo, etc.  But, it's clean and simple, yet has a LOT of functions built in...  And it WORKS!  Year after year after year...

I think you'll find it's fast enough for % or more of your needs, is steady and smooth even wide-open, AND is far ahead of the maxi-scooters for in-town riding.  One other note:  I highly recommend P-rated tires if you don't already have them.  Grandvistas often have J-rated tires and they're just NOT good above 60 mph.  When I upgraded to P-rated (92 mph) tires, even low-speed handling was noticeably improved.

After a full year, and a couple thousand miles, I'm still glad I went with the Kymco. And I've managed to curb my desire to paint a black nose on the front, paint the mouse-ear mirrors black, and add whiskers... LOL! The bird-face IS cooler than the mouse-face its original appearance hints at... I'll just call her "Minnie Mouse" and leave it at that... LOL!

Enjoy that Taiwan torquer!

Leo in Texas

PS: Don't you love those electric folding mirrors! VERY classy!  And the GIVI windshield is the best I've EVER encountered...  Even keeps my hands warm riding at 50 degrees.

Jan 19, 2015 3:38:39 GMT -5 scootdude said:

Hey thanks Leo! On my way over to look at the Grand Dink I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I figured just looking couldn't hurt. When I got there to look at it in person I was VERY impressed. It was so clean and sharp looking. That big black trunk on the back, and the eye popping colors really got my attention. It was popping and backfiring because the lady I got it from had let it sit in her garage for a long time without riding it. So the first thing I did when I got it home was to clean out the jets. It runs like a finely tuned Swiss watch now!

The thing I like about it the most is how fast it is and how much power it has. It's very impressive for a scooter. It's faster than some full size motorcycles I've owned. It's pretty darned nimble too. It turns on a dime and it's very responsive and sure footed for such small wheels.

The negative things about it in terms of usability are a seat that in my opinion isn't very comfortable. I don't like the backrest piece. I removed it and rode it around and then discovered that the spot where the backrest was had no padding under it. So that was uncomfortable too. So I put the backrest back on and moved it up as far as I could get it. It's slotted underneath and there was a bit of room for slight adjustment. Tomorrow I'll take it out again and see if that helped.

It also bottoms out on the stand when turning steeply or riding up into a driveway. I'm not sure how I'm going to solve that issue. I was thinking of maybe putting on a slightly larger tire in order to compensate. The stand is tight against the frame and it doesn't look bent or out of place. From what I can tell it's simply a design flaw.

The next thing that caught my attention was the complicated process to change a headlight bulb. It looks like the entire front nose piece will have to come off just to get to the headlight for changing. I'd also like to adjust the headlight down just a bit. I looked it up in the manual and there's a slot just below the headlight that supposedly has an adjustment screw for the headlight. I've looked, poked and prodded and I can't find an adjustment screw or bolt to save my life.

The negatives so far are pretty minor really. It runs very strong and hauls my 215lb rear end everywhere I want to go. I'm thinking it's the best scooter I could have gotten for the money. It only has 3750 miles on it which for a 2006 I thought was pretty good. I'm glad someone else here on the forum has the Grandvista as well!

And yes the folding mirror trick is pretty cool! I thought I wouldn't like the lower down mirrors, but after riding it around, I really think the mirrors work really well with that placement. I was surprised. I still don't know what they were thinking with the folding mirrors. I've never seen anything like that. It's almost like an airplane on an aircraft carrier with fold up wings! LOL

I'm still up, but not for long...

I haven't had to change a headlight bulb, or adjust the beam.  I'll see if I can find the screw in the nose to adjust the beam...

They DO have good power for a carbureted 250.  No complaints there!  Better than my old Harley baggers...  You ought to ride one of the twin-cam fuel-injected 300's!  Faster than many old big bikes and still a flat-floor scooter...  But no great GIVI windshield!  That windshield is a must for me!

I messaged you back on the dragging of the center stand.  Mine does that too, but only if I really push it in turns.  Over speed bumps, I'm just "careful" and if possible, I go over steep bumps at an angle, climbing up and then down, rather than hitting them at a right angle.  It really helps.

The rear tire should be a 140/70/12.  That is a tall tire.  Sometimes, someone will put on a 130/70/12 to lower the seat a little.  Check for that...  The front tire is a 120/70/12, a much smaller diameter tire.  The tight fender-clearance won't really allow a bigger one.  But if you run without the front fender, you might easily use a 130, or maybe even a 140 like on the rear.  That might fix the problem.  You'd have to measure and see if the bigger tire would fit between the forks, and not hit anything when suspension is compressed.

It's also possible the lady lowered the scoot a little for short legs.  The GV sits pretty tall.  Check the shocks, forks, etc. and be sure it's not lowered.  If so, it shouldn't be hard to restore to stock height.

The seat...  Well, it's what it is... LOL!  At first, I didn't like it.  After a few days, I got love it!  The previous owner tweaked the lumbar support to move it back about 3/4" and that made a difference.  Now, I'm used to it, and sort of slouch back against it, and it feels natural as can be.  A bumpy road gives you a good back massage... LOL!

The folding mirrors (according to the manual) are for LANE-SPLITTING...  Cheesh!  I do NOT want cars and trucks SO CLOSE that I have to fold the mirrors to get by...  But they're sure handy for walking it backwards between my old cars to put it away.

I'll check on mine and see if I can find out anything else to help you out.

Past time for bed for me!

Leo

Jan 19, 2015 12:33:36 GMT -5 scootdude said:

Folding mirrors for lane splitting? LOL I wouldn't do that on a bet. I've seen people do it, but I think they're crazy or have some kind of death wish. I checked the tires and the rear is the stock tire, so is the front. I went ahead and took the 2 bolts off that hold the back of the center stand off and removed it. Took me all of about 3 minutes. When I want to work on it, I'll spend the whole 3 minutes putting it back on. Problem solved. =)

Yeah the windshield is pretty great. I really like it too. I almost wish it was a little taller, but then maybe it would distort my view for riding. Who knows. If it ain't broke don't fix it. That's what my dad always used to say.

Well...

THAT is about the SIMPLEST fix I've heard of!  You don't really NEED the center-stand very often unless working on the bike...  Have a bone on The Old Chopper Guy!

Without the center stand, you might want to watch your tach at fast-idle.  My clutch engages at a fairly low rpm, so on cold days, the rear wheel spins pretty fast until the motor warms up a little.  So when I start it up cold, on the wheels, I tend to take right off moving, so the clutch doesn't drag while sitting still.  These scoots are definitely over-engineered, but I still don't want to sit still with the clutch slipping...  Just too hard on the clutch.

Today I'll see if I can find that elusive headlight-adjuster...  It's SUPPOSED to be accessible through the nose but I've never tried it.

Here's some extra "encouragement"...  My GV is a 2007 and the original owner put over 14,000 miles on her, most all at highway speeds, riding double, with a load of luggage.  He took Kymco LITERALLY when they called the Grandvista a TOURING scooter...  I've put on another 1,800 miles and she doesn't use a drop of oil, or water.  All the original hoses, CDI, fuel-pump, wiring, etc. work perfectly.  The rubber hoses and plastic parts are black, soft and pliable and feel like new.  Kymco used some GOOD materials in these!  They last...

Ride safe, and ENJOY!

Leo

Jan 19, 2015 14:06:36 GMT -5 scootdude said:

That would be great if you could find that adjuster for the headlight beam. When I peer in there with a flashlight there's a small access port which I can't see the back of. Maybe I need a long screwdriver to get in there? I don't know and can't see what head the screw would have. Maybe there's a special tool required? I looked it up in the user manual and it doesn't mention a special tool. Tomorrow when the local Kymco dealer is open I might just take a ride over there and see if he can help me with it.

OK, I just went out and checked mine...

The shop manual shows it as a black hex-bolt.  On mine, there is a piece of semi-transparent plastic, or tape or something hiding it.  NOT shown in the manual...  Without a bright light, it looks like only a white plastic tab is there, but there IS a bolt behind the plastic.  Under a bright light, it looks like it also has a screwdriver slot in it.

I would like to lower my beams a little, so I'm going to see if I can get at the bolt-head.  Either the plastic, or tape, or whatever it is must be removed (I'll try tweezers) or else, the wrench or screwdriver must be "mashed" over with a socket, or pierced through the protector with a screwdriver to access the bolt.

I'll bet it's simply a piece of tape from the factory to keep the bolt-head clean, since it's right "in the wind" and gets hit with everything the scooter penetrates.

I'll get to it...  enquiring minds want to know...  AND want to adjust our headlights... LOL!

It IS handy that the lights may be adjusted from outside...

Leo

PS: For those like me, who snagged a shop-manual for the "Grand Dink"...  I've never found a Grandvista manual, the two scooters are NOT totally alike.  So far, I've found several differences in the bolt-together parts, and the Dink frame and plastics kick WAY up high...  They make the back of the bike look like the nuclear-weapon-shooting butts of the giant beetles in "Starship Troopers"... LOL! The design places the passenger a full head higher than the rear of the Grandvista.  But mostly they are the same.  Close enough to use the manual.