Would I buy a Kymco again? Or a Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki?

[fish]

In my opinion.....

I've owned a Kymco LIKE200i from new for 7 years.
Would I buy another?
Yes. Absolutely.

Why?:
My Kymco is reliable, and I have a local Kymco dealer, and 4 others within a 50 mile radius for warranty work - one of which is an actual scooter dealer(!), and parts are available from several on-line dealers in the USA.
Also, my model Kymco is supremely easy to DIY service.
………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

My advice if you are new to scooters and looking to buy a scooter:
1) Do you have a local shop with a good reputation for servicing your brand of scooter?

2) Honda, Yamaha, Piaggio/Vespa and Suzuki dealerships are better at servicing their scooters.

3) Kymcos, Genuine & SYM are side-line brands in every N. American power-sports dealership. And while scooters are not Rocket Science, mechanics there are often not as familiar with servicing these scooters as are the techs in the Big Four dealerships.

4) If you are new to scooters, have no DIY skills, can afford to pay the extra $ and want a better chance at skilled servicing - buying from a Big Four dealership is the way to go.

5) If you are lucky enough to have a well established scooter shop in your community - buying any darn thing they have for sale will probably guarantee you a better experience than the other 98% of us who don't, Big Four or not!

Seriously - riding a scooter is a blast - but buying a scooter in N. America makes no sense.

Fish

* would I buy another Piaggio Liberty150i even though my dealer folded his tent soon after my purchase? Yep. It's easy to DIY and parts are readily avail. in the USA.

[Jge64]

well written… There is so much that goes into making a solid decision that doesn’t have to do with the features or specs of the bike. It’s the environment in which you’re in, i.e. that is, do you have a good dealer with a good tech available?

I would love to go look at a X-town because I think they include comparative features with the big four, but At a lot less cost, with slightly less quality finish. But still certainly acceptable…

But yes, not possible for me, the dealer here sucks and I’m sure is on “parts hold” , meaning he’s not paying his bills, Whereas the big 4 dealer is all in one location now, he’ll be around for a while…

[Old Grinner]

Seriously - riding a scooter is a blast - but buying a scooter in N. America makes no sense.

Not sure what you mean . . ..

I get the "riding a scooter is a blast" part but not sure about the "buying in N. America" part.

Sounds like we need more scooter riders!

[gn2]

I would love to go look at a X-town because I think they include comparative features with the big four, but At a lot less cost, with slightly less quality finish. But still certainly acceptable…

X-town 300 has a much lower spec 2 valve 23hp motor than the previous four valve 29hp Downtown 300.
The X-town was originally announced as the "Agility Maxi".
In Kymco speak, Agility is the bargain basement range.
Best 300 scooter just now is the Yamaha Xmax.

[Mel46]

When I purchased my Burgman 400 it was only because people at work were discussing them. I was used to Honda motorcycles and had planned on buying one. Then we started discussing scooters and the only ones I could ever recall seeing were Vespas. I don't like Vespas. Some people do. It is a preference. I have always ridden motorcycles. My wife said I couldn't have another motorcycle.

Someone at work suggested a scooter. I said that I didn't like the style of a Vespa. One of the riders at work said that he had a Burgman 650. I looked at it and was instantly impressed. I thought it was a bit big for just going back and forth to work each day, which was 7 miles one way. He mentioned that they had a 400 and I was really interested.

Well, I ended up retiring before I got the chance to buy one, but I still wanted to look at it. We found one for sale locally. There weren't any others in Georgia! Others at work had warned me that they are hard to locate.

Well, I bought the local one for sale. It had 2 miles on it but had been sitting in a barn for 6 years. Long story made short, I loved riding it. I was hooked on it, and so was my wife. However, the Burgman was too big for her, so I bought her a Honda PCX 150...then it was my turn to be impressed. That little scooter was a blast. I eventually traded the Burgman in for a PCX 150, and I have enjoyed it ever since. Great little scooter that thinks it is a motorcycle. :-)

[Old Grinner]

Great little scooter that thinks it is a motorcycle. :-)

Honda should adapt that in their advertising!