New Kymco Maxis

[Stephen]

£12k which is in the range of what big maxi scoots are going for now,Tmax,Forza 750,the Piaggio MP3 is roughly the same price,which if i were looking for a 3 wheeler i would opt for,simply because of the Piaggio network,both the Kymco & MP3 530 Exclusive are all siinging all dancing,i have ridden the MP3 a few times when Wheels in Peterborough serviced my big burger as they had one as a loan bike,i enjoyed it,only downside with both the Kymco & MP3 is the 280kg weight,i know the Piaggio stands up on its own when you lock the suspension,does the Kymco? Trying to put a 280kg bike on the centre stand isn’t an easy task,Yamaha had plans to make a 3 tmax,unsure if thats been put on the back burner,ithe tricity 300 is £8k it’ll need to be a 500cc+ if i were to get one,with the weight of the bike and me on it,i am not exactly a lightweight anything under that capacity would make it slow.

Steve

[MrGrumpy]

Piaggio now thinking about a four wheel scooter it seems!
https://www.visordown.com/news/industry ... ter-emerge
Apparently technically very different to the MP3 - much lighter.

As for putting bikes on stands - one of the many nightmares of my brief Honda Pan European ownership was that I just couldn't get the damn thing on the centre stand. I even had a training session with a Pan owner who lived a couple of streets away, but it was still very difficult. I traded it in for a Burger 650 which is also humungously heavy (275kg?) but that felt like a moped, and went on its stand like a dream!

[roadster]

One obvious flaw with the design shown in the patent drawing is that the entire weight of engine and transmission is unsprung. This is going to be very lively on bumpy roads. Conventional scooters suffer from unsprung inertial mass as the engine pivots put at least some of the load is carried at the swing arm pivot point. The component shown as a cylindrical link rearward of the single shock will take a massive amount of stress. On the other hand if this were the basis of an electric scooter with hub motor(s) ...

[MrGrumpy]

One obvious flaw with the design shown in the patent drawing is that the entire weight of engine and transmission is unsprung. This is going to be very lively on bumpy roads.

Maybe its designed to be a lighter solution better for smaller scoots in urban areas - even the MP3 125 is a heavy beast! And the thing it's based on is a 125. Or as you suggest, electric, though of course it depends on how the batteries are carried.

[maxsymiser]

See the price for the Kymco AK550 premium, if you can ever find a dealer to sell one when it comes to the UK, is just short of 11k, the DT X360 is advertised having, Dynamic double swing suspension, any ideas?

[StephenC]

See the price for the Kymco AK550 premium, if you can ever find a dealer to sell one when it comes to the UK, is just short of 11k, the DT X360 is advertised having, Dynamic double swing suspension, any ideas?

I'm not a techie so have no clue what dynamic double swing suspension is but I can tell you that my DT X360 has a way better rear suspension than my Xmax 300 did. Just as good or better than my Forza, I'd say.

[MrGrumpy]

If people are interested in the Kymco CV3, the latest edition of More Bikes has a road test of it. They quite like it, though it seems clear that the extra weight blunts performance.

[Bingo]

I wonder why Kymco just haven't taken off in the UK as their bikes look great. I really love the look of the AK550 but the lack of dealers or presumably anyone familiar with them in the UK put me off. There are never any used ones up for sale on Ebay, Auto trader etc. Its not like they are not an established brand also. dont they make engines for Kawasaki?

[StephenC]

I wonder why Kymco just haven't taken off in the UK as their bikes look great. I really love the look of the AK550 but the lack of dealers or presumably anyone familiar with them in the UK put me off. There are never any used ones up for sale on Ebay, Auto trader etc. Its not like they are not an established brand also. dont they make engines for Kawasaki?

I 've had 2 Kymcos, the DT X360 being my current ride and despite the lack of tech I really like it. Both this one and my previous one are also easily the best looking scoots I've had, perhaps no coincidence?

Well, I say I have had 2 Kymcos but the first was a 2014 Kawasaki J300SE. It was based on the Downtown 300 but with a lot of changes, most small but all worthwhile to be fair. My friend had a Downtown 300 so we could compare side-by-side and see what Kawasaki had done - notable were cut-outs so shorter legs were less stretched, and access to the battery made much easier. My only complaint with it was the fuel consumption was only in the mid-70s and the service interval set by Kawasaki was really short - the Downtown service interval was much, much longer.

Kymco also make engines for BMW, fitted to all their petrol scooters (I don't know about other uses).

I do wonder if Kymco is tarred with the Chinese brush, but being Taiwan and not People's Republic means the quality is in a different league from mainland Chinese brands. I would also put Kymco above Sym (sorry Sym fans!) as I think Sym are a bit behind on build quality and longevity.

[MrGrumpy]

I wonder why Kymco just haven't taken off in the UK as their bikes look great. I really love the look of the AK550 but the lack of dealers or presumably anyone familiar with them in the UK put me off. There are never any used ones up for sale on Ebay, Auto trader etc. Its not like they are not an established brand also. dont they make engines for Kawasaki?

Great scoots, but dodgy importers, vanishingly scant dealer network, uncertain spares supply. My nearest Kymco dealer is at least 100 miles away, but Kymco's website insists on listing various dealers as Kymco dealers, even though they don't, and never have, sold Kymcos. So it gives you no faith...

Kymco made engines and transmissions for the BMW C600/650 range of scoots, and the Kawasaki J125/J300 were Kymco Downtowns in disguise.