Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Case of the Reluctant Scooter

My new scooter came from Kansas. How did that come about? One day I was out bike shopping and saw a really nice used 2009 People 250S. I was ready to buy it, but decided to call Mike, my tech wizard, and see what he thought of the deal. At one time he worked for Scooter World in Overland KS, which is a Kymco dealer. I figured he'd have an opinion, and I trust him. He told me he thought it was a good deal but not a great deal. I decided to hold off.

Later, Mike called Scooter World and found they had a brand new 2010 People 250S. They offered to sell it to me for what the other dealer wanted for the used People. I gobbled that deal up. And, Mike made me a sweet offer to trailer it from Kansas to St. Louis. Nice. They only catch was I had to wait until he was headed that way. Time passed and I was becoming a kid waiting for Santa. Is it Christmas yet? No, not yet, but soon.

Finally, last Saturday Mike headed for Kansas City. Sunday Heather took me over to his place and I laid eyes on my scooter for the first time.


There was a slight problem. No headlights. Mike assured me it was fine for Heather to leave. He was sure it wasn't anything major, probably a fuse had jiggled loose on the ride across the State. After all, the headlight was working fine when he picked it up. He'd checked.

It wasn't a fuse. It turned out to be a relay. I figured that was a major problem. Nope. Mike will have Scooter World order a new relay. To get me on the road while we wait for a new relay, he rewired some things, bypassed the relay,  and I have headlights. Not a permanent fix, but a good solid temporary fix.

Now, I was going to get to ride my scooter for the first time. My insurance agent assured me I was insured. I had thirty days to register the scooter in Missouri, so while I wasn't technically legal I figured I was close enough. I took it slow through a few alleys. I was pulling out of the last alley unto an actual street when the scoot stalled...and, it wouldn't start.



I called Mike. He said he'd be right there.

When he got there he did a few things and said, "I know what this is," and added, "It's the idle jet." He did some stuff and got it to start. My first experience of riding my new scooter on the street was keeping the idle up and making my way back to Mike's while hoping it wouldn't stall out again. I managed, but I can't say I was enjoying myself very much.

The guys at Scooter World had ridden it the day before. Mike had ridden it the day before. Mike had ridden it that morning and there had been no problem. I ride it through an alley or two and....

We figure it was my slow hand.

Mike proceeded to pull the carburetor. He worked his magic, put the carburetor back in, and three hours plus some minutes after Heather had dropped me off  I was finally on my way.

I didn't go straight home. It would have been the prudent thing to do and those of you who know me know I am generally prudent. Not today. Today I headed for Castlewood State Park and "the hill". Billie does this hill in second gear. The new scooter of course doesn't have gears, but it pulled up that hill without a problem. It even responded to a twist of my wrist and picked up speed mid-hill. I was smiling.

The ride was smooth and what a wonderful experience pulling away from stoplights was. Oh, and the brakes. Billie has drum brakes. The People has dual discs in the front and a nice large disc brake in the rear. I likey.

It was a short ride and I will have more to say as time unwinds and more road passes under the nice 16" tires. I can say this: I am certainly glad this new scooter got over what seemed like reluctance to join my little stable.

By the way, Billie knows she will still be my ride to work bike. And, I think she is relived knowing she will have no need to experience "the hill" ever again.

22 comments:

  1. For a bit it sounded like you've gotten yourself a real lemon, but everything turned out to be minor issues.

    Billie will certainly appreciate that you won't badger her up the hill ever again.

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    1. Sonja,
      I must admit a negative thought or two crossed my mind as this little drama played out. Fortunately, I have great confidence in Mike and I have friends who have had wonderful luck with Kymco.

      I think I've enjoyed riding Billie to work more this week than I have in a long time. I wonder if it has something to do with me appreciating I won't be badgering her anymore.
      ~k

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  2. Keith:

    Kymcos are reliable bikes, you got a good deal and a dealer who knows how to work on them. I've owned Kymcos before and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another on, they have Honda reliability for less cost.

    You will like the smooth power and it will take you farther afield

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got the license plates on the bike tonight. It is completely road legal. I do like the smoothness of the acceleration. I don't know anyone who has had a Kymco who has bad things to say about them. The local dealer is difficult, but I won't have to deal with them. The dealer who had the used bike is wonderful, but is an hour and a half away. I'm glad to have Mike's connection.
      ~k

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  3. Glad you got all the bugs worked out! Looking forward to many happy reports on the new kymco! I'm so jazzed!

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    1. The computer odometer is still set to Km. I now have 150km. I took it out for a while tonight. I surprised at how agile it is. I've found it likes to go 55mph very much. And, it does it with plenty of throttle left. It should be great on the "blue" roads.
      ~k

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  4. Keith, when I rode the Kymco Frost 200cc in Vancouver I just loved those brakes. Silky smooth and effortless are the two words that describe them for me.

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    1. David,
      I was out this evening and the brakes are amazing. I know the Symba's braking system is from the stone age, but yes, "sildy smooth and effortless" is a very good choice of words.
      ~k

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  5. Gee, Keith. This story illustrates why I wanted to beat my "mechanic" with a baseball bat last time I was there. He told me I could walk to work, remember that one? When I was worried about the vibration after I hit the pot hole at 40mph? "Don't worry".

    This makes me want to pay him a visit.

    Other than that, congratulations on the new scooter and a wonderful mechanic...

    Now I'm in a bad mood....

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    1. Martha,
      I've certainly been there with scooter mechanics. The person who first worked on my Symba created more problems than he solved. I feel very blest to have Mike around.

      I'm glad you were going to take the baseball bat, I know you know where there are sharp knives.
      ~k

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  6. I am glad you got the bugs worked out of the new scooter and hopefully the relay will be in soon.

    I bet it felt anticlimactic to finally have the new scooter and then to have it stall right after you left.

    You went from big smiley face - to sad panda face - to big smiley face all within a few hours.

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    1. It was a real roller coaster ride. The scoot is now street legal and I took it out this evening. I definitely have my big smiley face.
      ~k

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  7. I'm very happy for you! We must get together and have a drag race someday. Think you can handle all that speed?

    Jimbo

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    1. Jim,
      I'm working on getting used to "all that speed." Our bikes are very similar indeed.
      ~k

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  8. Keith

    Glad you got your new baby home! I wish you many happy miles together! Sometimes there are little kinks to work out.

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    1. Dar,
      There always seems to be kinks to be worked out, but not often quite so dramatically :) We're definitely rollin' now!

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  9. It's just gorgeous! Hope you are lovin' it!

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  10. Keith,

    I know I haven't left a comment on your blog in quite some time, but I have been reading along, and wanted to say congrats on the new scooter. To paraphrase Tom Petty, I know the that "the future is wide open" with your new 250. I suspect that your People 250 has a very similar if not the same motor as my xciting 250, so you shall never fear the bridge again. May your People move you to and from you grand-baby without hesitation henceforth. If you man Mike is interested in doing some service on another Kymco, let me know and I will send you my contact info. My scooter is do for some maintenance and working with the local dealer network has not be promising.

    Art

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    1. Art,
      Good to hear from you. I must admit I was very interested in the post about your buy and ride. It contributed to my decision to purchase the People. Having Mike was the biggest consideration. I'm sure he'd be delighted to have another Kymco to work on. You can reach him at four0five-4one4-two3seven6. And, yes that is an Oklahoma number, but it is correct. As for me, even though I'm a bit of an introvert I'd love to be in touch with you. You can find me at 3 one 4.six 4 six.nine zero 9zero. I normally don't answer if I don't recognize the number, but leave a message and I'll get back to you.

      Do give Mike a call and thanks for following along.
      ~Keith

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