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Post by chimeric on Mar 20, 2015 13:59:15 GMT -5
How do you guys normally arrange test drives with a private seller? Since I'm also trying to sell my scooter, I was thinking of I take their car keys and a picture of their license and they can take it for a ride. What do you think? The shop I bought it from, also offered to let me do the sale/test-drive there.
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Post by chimeric on Mar 19, 2015 16:21:43 GMT -5
So I've had my Super 8 150 for about 6 months and I'm realizing that I should've gone bigger. I love riding, but it is kinda frustrating not being able to get on the highway at all. Or struggling to keep up with traffic when the speed limit is 50 and there's a headwind or a hill.
I really don't want to make the same mistake and get something too small, but I'm not sure how big I want to go. Most of my riding is in the city, and I don't want to lose the great maneuverability of my 150 for speed I'm not going to use that often. I would like to take it on the highway with no problems but I don't know if I need something that's going to go over 100mph (I've never even wanted to drive any of my cars that fast). I am concerned that if I get something that tops out around 80, that I'm going to wish I had gone bigger just so I could cruise at that speed and not feel like I am running my scooter into the ground.
I just started looking but I've found a 2006 Piaggio BV250 for $2000 (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/mcy/4906375293.html) with only 700 miles and a 2009 Yamaha Majesty YP400 for $3800 with 2700 miles (http://baltimore.craigslist.org/mcy/4930233427.html). I'm hoping one of you guys could give some insight on if I should even consider moving from a 150 to a 250. Or if I should just look at 300's and above.
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Post by chimeric on Mar 6, 2015 18:39:08 GMT -5
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Post by chimeric on Oct 15, 2014 6:33:30 GMT -5
Welcome to the forums!
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Post by chimeric on Sept 24, 2014 13:37:25 GMT -5
I'll see if I can reproduce it. It seems to happen more often when the gas tank is more full.
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Post by chimeric on Sept 24, 2014 11:52:25 GMT -5
It doesn't have a tachometer, but what happens is that when I try to roll on the throttle instead of engaging the RPM, the engine just disengages and the RPM drops. If I increase the throttle after it disengaged, nothing happens. If I throttle on faster, the same thing happens just faster.
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Post by chimeric on Sept 24, 2014 7:15:51 GMT -5
Thanks Alleyoop, guess I'll see when I can bring it in. Gonna be sad to be without it for awhile =(
Not minutes, 15 - 30 seconds. I turn it on, step across and put on my gloves then maneuver it around without using the throttle.
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Post by chimeric on Sept 23, 2014 13:13:11 GMT -5
I wanted to give a more informative title, but I don't know anything about scooters so...  I'm not sure if it's a big deal or not, but I figured better safe than sorry. The problem is that sometimes after I start up the engine it idles at variable speeds and then when I roll on the throttle the RPM increases, but the wheel's don't turn and then the RPMs fall, but the engine still idles. It doesn't stall or anything, it just won't move. If I wait, and let it idle for awhile then everything is fine. I normally let it idle maybe 15-30s. Is that not enough time? Is this not a big deal? I'm at like 230km and the dealer recommends doing the 1st service at 600m. Should I wait that long, or bring it in early? Thanks |
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Post by chimeric on Aug 31, 2014 12:28:00 GMT -5
Finally picked up my first scooter =). Had a nice route planned to drive home, then I accidentally ended up on the highway  . So much for the gentle break-in... the muffler was smoking when I pulled over, so I waited 15-20m before getting back on the road. I've learned that I am very reliant on GPS to keep me from taking wrong turns lol. Followed my girlfriend the rest of the way, and had a nice relaxed ride. Here's the scoot  |
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Post by chimeric on Aug 28, 2014 10:05:07 GMT -5
Omg, yeah it's terrible. I bought all this riding gear, a top box, and saddles. I'm so ready to roll. 48 hours until I'm officially about that scooter life!
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Post by chimeric on Aug 27, 2014 13:10:35 GMT -5
Picking up my scooter from the dealer on Saturday! Going to ride around a bit, before taking it home. I'm trying to find a route that keeps the speed limit under 40 mph, but I really am having a hard time. Is it really bad if I go 45mph on the first day?
So, I found the route the owner suggested. The speed limit is 40 MPH and it's going to take an hour to get back, I think that's probably the best I can do. It also eliminates a lot of the stop and go traffic.
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Post by chimeric on Aug 14, 2014 9:11:44 GMT -5
I have no experience riding motorcycles, so I'll err on the side of safety. I think it would be a lot safer if I weren't in a city. Cars everywhere and people here love to play chicken with traffic. At least I'll have lots of practice driving defensively =P
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Post by chimeric on Aug 12, 2014 5:36:32 GMT -5
Alright, so last question. What about the lower body? Do you guys and gals recommend motorcycle pants for my daily commute? It is about 5-7 minutes of city driving. I'd be lucky to get up to 30mph. Havng said that, I hear jeans don't offer much (any) protection.
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Post by chimeric on Aug 10, 2014 13:14:20 GMT -5
Thanks for all the responses. Sadly, the other guy took the Grand Vista. So, I'm still looking around.
I guess I could give a little more details into what I'm looking for. I'm planning on using it for most of my transportation to/from work, groceries, etc. I live in the city and all of those things are within 5 miles of my house. Don't really need to take it on the highway, and I have a car for that if need be. MPG and parking are two major practical benefits of the scooter since I have a LeSabre that gets < 20 mpg around town and sucks to parallel park.
I expanded my search to within an hours drive and I found a couple of 400cc scooters, but I think that's going to be overkill. Plus, I don't think that would be optimal for my current situation. Sounds like a smaller engine would stretch my gas mileage.
It's looking like the Super 8 is likely to win out. I visited a few other scooter stores and found a place where the guy seemed honest, and they only charge $70/hr for service. Which I'll probably be using at least until the Spring when I'll feel more comfortable tinkering around.
I have boots, and was planning on getting a helmet and lock right away. Do you think I need a jacket and gloves first day or can that wait a couple weeks?
Thanks a lot for the help so far!
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Post by chimeric on Aug 8, 2014 13:19:13 GMT -5
So, after a decent amount of research I have decided that I need a mid-tier scooter with at least 150cc engine. I'm trying to spend as little as I can, but since I'm not mechanically inclined I think the cheap Chinese scooters aren't a good fit for me. My price range is either finance up to $2k or buy used up to $1k.
There are multiple Kymco dealers in the area and I know they work on scooters. I just wanted to see what you guys thought about these prices.
Dealer is selling a Kymco Super 8 150 for "$1824 Unit price on non-current model" I'm not sure what year it is, I'm going to go look at it tomorrow.
The other option would be a new Kymco Agility 125 $1900 MSRP.
Are these good prices? Think I could get the price down a bit? I still need to buy almost all the accessories so I'm hoping I can get a deal on things.
On the used side:
CL has a 2009 Kymco Grand Vista with 9800 miles for $800. Only way I get this deal is if the guy that's supposed to pick it up tonight doesn't show. Seems like a great deal to me. I planned on taking it to a mechanic to check it out and see if it works fine, any other general advice for buying used?
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