I have researched Kymco very thoroughly. I have concluded that the Kymco brand for small motorcycles and scooters are better than Honda. The reason I say this is that they use exactly the same engines as Honda. Admittedly, they use the old Honda engines which are modernised, but they are basically Honda. The quality both engine wise and build quality is as good as Honda. But, it is better than Honda because they have cheaper parts. Furthermore, backup on these bikes are excellent with parts availability second to none. Again, this is based on research.
A London store said that Peugeot scooters have good looks, but build quality and reliability are no where as good as Kymco. It is important to note that he sells Peugeot and Kymco scooters and bikes.
Many will say I am talking rubbish, but I was as sceptical as any one about Kymco. There are poor imitations of Honda?s out there, but the Kymco brand is not so. I have talked to owners with high mileage Kymco?s (20,000 miles on a 125cc scooter) and they have had no problems except of course wear and tear on pads etc.
The disadvantage is that because of their unknown quality, they have a poor brand image and so resale values suffer. But, I want to keep it until it is suited for the scrap yard, so this does not worry me.
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A colleague in Sweden has a son who wanted a scooter as soon as legally allowed to ride one. He, like loads of his mates, now rides a Kymco, which have a large local market share based on a reputation of being cheap to buy, cheap to run, and not breaking down. Sure enough, he's had not a single problem, bar an obstructive Dad who refuses to let him remove the speed restrictor! ;-)
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I have now been able to reduce the price of the miler down to £1880 inc OTR charges. I have checked reliability and being honda derived it should prove quite reliable.
This is a very well equipped bike which inc. a mobile phone charger, vents to keep one warm, storage light and wonderful seat.
Does £1880 seem a good price for a brand new Kymco with warranty?
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I am not an authority on scooter prices but you may find this review helpful:
www.dooyoo.co.uk/motors/motorcycles/kymco_spacer_1.../
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I bought this scooter and yes, it is great! Having posted 2 years ago, I have done 12,000 miles, never broke down, starts first time and still on the first battery. 80mpg.
So if theory works, one needs to expect 10,000 miles per £1000 depreciation. Just need to do 6000 miles and it is paid back...plus free parking at work and everywhere I go, cheap to run (just annual service and oil change each 2000 miles or so).
Very good so far.
Post back any further developments.
Greg
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Pleased to hear it!
The Kymco I wrote of above two years ago - yikes! - has now passed from being thrashed by #1 son (who has now progressed to Dad's V70 2.5T!) to being thrashed by #2 son and living outside during Swedish winters; it also continues to give perfect service (and still has the speed limiter fitted despite so many pleas to the sons' father that he's lost count!)
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"SjB"
Hi SjB.
Out of interest, what mileage is your scooter up to now? And what model kymco is it?
Greg
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It's not my scooter; it belongs to a friend in Sweden who purchased it for #1 son and whose #2 son now rides it. No idea of mileage, sorry, or model other than it'l' be a fifty cc jobber as it is learner legal. It's a Kymco, it's red, it gets hammered, it's unloved, it sits outside in all weathers including the Swedish winter, and it never goes wrong is all I know!
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it's unloved = it's used as a tool for a purpose, and that's it. No molly coddling, rarely a wash, and never a polish; not that they don't like it. They do.
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Motor Cycle Sport rate them. Nuff said.
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I'd never heard of Kymco scooters before but many thanks for reporting back after 2 years use. Very interesting information as SWMBO and I are contemplating cutting down from 2 cars and a motorbike to one car and a scooter.
I don't imagine that, at 125cc, it would be any good for long runs with a passenger but have you tried carrying a passenger on shortish trips?
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I don't imagine that, at 125cc, it would be any good for long runs with a passenger but have you tried carrying a passenger on shortish trips?
Yes and don't.
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Went from 2 cars and a Suzuki 600cc 18months ago to one car and a new Honda XR125L as of May this year. Honda were doing (maybe still are) very low rate finance deals on 125s with £99 deposit. 125 is used every day for commuting plus a few longer runs. No good two up and gets a bit tiring after an hour on the m-way behind lorries. Tried scooters, but after riding bikes for 10 years couldn't get used to the small wheels and lack of gears.
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In reply to the earlier thread, it depends why you might want to change a motorbike to a scooter.
If it is a money issue, the saving isn't going to be spectacular, but is still quite nice.
I actually have two Kymco scooters. One is the Miler and the other a CK125. The miler is big, pretty fast, economical at average 80mpg. Only thing changed: rear tyre, new air filter and lots of new oil. Oh, and the speedo cable was replaced. Nothing major go wrong.
Not brilliant on the motorway, but ok on A roads. Revs too high for seriously long trips (8,000 rpm) hence high engine ware.
CK125 is a clone of the CG125. Not as good in my opinion. Had trouble with engine, and indicator switch replaced but repaired under warranty (2 year warranty) and since then no other problems. 100 mpg average, a bit slow compared with the miler and very cold in the winter as it is really exposed to the weather. I have only done 7,500 miles on this one over the year I have owned it.
I understand Kymco's are supposed to be very reliable, but as with anything, anything mechanical can go wrong.
Overall, I think the miler scooter is very good. I think the comfort and weather protection makes it very good, fast town acceleration and lots of storage. But with a pillion, it is a little slow but still pretty comfortable despite that.
Would I buy another Kymco? I will let you know once I do more miles on both. Keep posted of anything else go wrong.
I would have only one machine, but my sister bought a Honda 600cc motorbike. It is a Honda CBF600. This sure is an amazing machine compared to the CK125. But the CK does have many benefits like it is better on fuel, good for filtering and can be used off road.
I now have two machines outside my house. I don't want to part with any of them, but then I get variety e.g. each day I ride a different bike to work.
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Nice one mate i own one my self they a so good and very nippy, yeh you got
a very good deal coz i got mine from new and payed the full price!
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