KymcoForum.com
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Paco on October 05, 2019, 07:25:43 PM
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Hello all, and thank you for having me. I thought my first post ought to be an introduction, and so here goes: I have been riding since 1978 or so, with some breaks here and there. I grew up in the South of France and learned to ride on small bikes 50 to 250cc on twisty roads in the Alps. Moved to California in late 1988, traveled the States a few years and settled back in CA.
Bikes owned, mostly 500 to 750 Japanese brands, and a couple of 1000cc Suzukis. A tricked out 1979 GS and an '03 V-strom.
Now as to what brought me here, well, scooters. I live just five miles from Mount Diablo, which in some ways reminds me of some Alpine rides I used to take. I also used to hunt (to eat, not sport), but now photograph wildlife as a hobby. My last motorcycle experience reshaped what I used to think of in terms of "performance envelope". Especially (here we go) with knackered knees and a dubious lower back. My ability to 'correct' a low speed mishap on a heavier bike, especially one which I can only tiptoe at a stop, is getting close to nil.
While I didn't drop either Suzukis, I came close to it on the GS and the Strom was just too big and tall for me.
I also thought about how a bike fits in my current lifestyle.
I test rode a new X-Town 300 two days ago as a result, but that's for another post.
Again, thanks for having me! :D
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Welcome Paco to the forum you will find plenty of good talk and info here. I used to live in the Bay Area and Monterey before moving to Oregon. ;)
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This is the unit I tested in Oakland. I hoped the dealer could source a leftover 2018 in matte white but everyone seems to go with these matte darker shades. ::)
I'm planning on buying next month once the insurance rates stars line up, and close the deal. There's a MyRoad 700 with less than 7K miles priced at $3000 close to me but this thing's too large for my purposes. Besides, as thin as the aftermarket is for the X-town, it's worse for the MyRoad and I worry about parts availability.
The X-town's not perfect but it seemed to me a perfectly useful mount.
Thank you for the welcomes!
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Welcome! This forum is fun and non-fattening! Lotsa fogies on here that have forsaken motor-cycles for motor-scooters plus several others who are by-cyclexual with both. 400 pounds are about my limit and there are several of those, old and new. Pictures soon after your decision, please!
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The X-town's not perfect but it seemed to me a perfectly useful mount.
Thank you for the welcomes!
Welcome Paco, I'm sure you'll enjoy your scoot when you get it and the forum.
As for the XT300, I bought one a month ago and am really enjoying riding it. One hiccup so far which you can read about elsewhere, but overall, no regrets so far in opting for the XT over the £2K more expensive (over here) Honda Forza 300!
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Welcome Paco to the forum. I have driven scooters for years in Rome and now I continue to do so in the US. It is much easier on the hands, back and legs...lol
Dean
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Welcome Paco to the forum. I have driven scooters for years in Rome and now I continue to do so in the US. It is much easier on the hands, back and legs...lol
Dean
That's so true Dean. My back plays me up on occasion such that I found I was riding my scooter far more than my racing crouch Daytona 955i! Forced a reappraisal, after which I reluctantly traded in my 20 year-old Triumph in for a Street Triple and I find the more upright stance on that much more to my back's liking :D
Day long comfort on either mount now which suits me fine.
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It's home. The timing ended up not working for next month, so I made the deal yesterday...
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/sfDKRanY3I6vV6Meg5pQK0iMIreOPe4ssIxwmlffuqVB2La4NXWT7S2CdbWGjHJRic0imAZAAAt-XF41NcabETDrxWEwnHVV_82VXbP0U-xAe2RuUSzRgd9QFeBK4Z6rZqD5RkMgEDonejk85k5qgN0Ki0JGMqrVBpviU0uRJhSy8WA6jbzoMEzciXedW_CHIhvhX6fZtYe46OZ_dcsV7bpM_FNY2rze9Jyjs3bbdVjJkY7oc_gR7IGD7XeszTyndCtpayCH3IVZ8gCGs7jyN6-X-kXKnA1EGXk6Sz80u57nq6kbDzoDTa229MNcISi-5fcgKxbuMkUAStnFmsXDmGXa83PTcoIB4Ye2RcNnxC1OXQCNV1Lq9BCmNcRut9puda4i8tFqTpEVRk8nkoUkdKi-w8QAVcm-uXeDPlTTi87XmjUNfXsavbMbYFOTwP6kxxpw4ORoYmwNV4g6uPcWQPV5aJQYwgEJOA3vZct3ldAY8mvgNHPRGmtimbfhNdQ3RDKycEUcEz6rpU92YC9rPDUCUjSAOSb5cw-cD_4Ppb8xsSuzGnN-b9DQYeycLOju-E1_wuZ6wOiBv8SlA6sLnoOumx-PGNJ1vFeLRvwke7QG8KRLTEHbwptq2AoStt0vw-UXcYRSujasZHzxz2yzZ_N2s1SDuSEsplb0k3hyP0OqfprPChXboEB2=w1149-h861-no)
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Congrats. How you liking it?
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It's home. The timing ended up not working for next month, so I made the deal yesterday...
Is anyone else not seeing anything here?
Stig
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NOPE
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Not seeing anything
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Hmmm. I'll try again after I get back home tomorrow sometime.
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(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JlOVJPNPSDDaUpTBu6tP36SAE1gXlDU-NhskY57fnX02ey4dYN1O0mdg8GZMa2T6kPX__hWJtd0bfd5NGDFvFnM_7aB3k0vl1UmmxsS6eWteB6PL9-hfXsnzbAPcyxgYT3LGrewDu21B2eh89RVKC2_MHF043u6TFU1iWwcE3hfDisc6VWjSgO6t6eUTmtNk7Z7gjb1EwdNvnvitMY8zMRq-LlPQeJNP0bnCbed8CX7UuiRAZY8Gaf_2ZCnefvnNLlniqasz8MfMbkOD9UL_sqYnkP2qL1b4F-H9LsT_Fx-syZ--A0MLAqofUGk8GBKG6Fr7Y1LsVxHl2M7fFNdXt3I5JsyuKKIh6lK5mBWJ4xOEz6K-q_0U04nPsAvhuDN_CBxr4CLoDkMU6r9Tzu5On4jbnqzVfguuDd8MOGhO91qP6tjB0jaZ2JxGIBvEiESk3Mx20yhNk7cQpIrvDOi1pvTwcgp38ajZPIUm8GqN10Ak1h4KzGMdYkyI-Ok20iCRJV81vkwKfukLrwns69Wbb44ZzR9S1QjZchU4wbHzZqzj7VC2IPRAA44EHsAxrKD2vwpbZ7MU2sb5D0j3ZmNVpQuNg3qOzXOKRXke1Y0baxIEUL60UPizwEHu8EI8XGXOEZvUDqOEDAH2gH9zxRereNRs5_XJWkORczZIBbYIWuO9CNPXJ4BRGtJ8=w1149-h861-no)
Hopefully this photo will show. It does on my end but then...
Initial impressions on the X-T: it feels substantial, though very easy to move around and put on the centerstand, tires provide very good grip at least in dry conditions. I only put about 30 miles on it since last Tuesday.
I rode it back from Oakland on back roads with a few straights with a posted limit of 50 mph, some hairpin turns coming down from Tilden park, nothing very challenging.
I only gave it half throttle at the most, which amounts to about 45 mph. There were some moderate crosswinds by Orinda, Lafayette which didn't affect handling in the least but created some noticeable buffeting from the screen.
Under these conditions, I found the brakes rather good in terms of power and feedback but I'll know more when I ride down from mount Diablo hopefully tomorrow.
I was initially disappointed when I did the test ride a couple weeks back by some factors:
the single glove compartment with the USB charger is shallow and I had to place my Motorola G5 sideways to close it up securely. On the right side is the coolant overflow reservoir. When looking at the bike from the rear, you can see the seat appears misaligned with the right side (where the seat strut is located) slightly higher than the left. This is cosmetic however, the seat is securely mounted and this is the only fit issue I could find. With a top case in place, it should not be so apparent.
I'm 5'10" with a 30" inseam and can flatfoot it easily with legs extended straight down, sitting at the front of the saddle. I may be shrinking with age.
I feel like I'm sitting on top of the bike, rather than "in" it like I suspect I would on the previous generation Burgman 400, but take that comment with a grain of salt. The seat is very good in terms of padding and support front and back allowing me to move forward closer to the bars in twisties, and backwards against the backstop to relax on the straights. I'd comment on legroom more after I have more time in the saddle.
I love how absolutely quiet it is at idle. It does sound and vibrate like a good old little thumper but smoothes out as revs go up. We'll see how it does at higher RPMs after the break-in period.
I also really appreciate the angled tire valve stems for ease of access.
It looks much better in the flesh (plastic?) than in photos, and from 3/4 front view, it reminded me of the Yamaha Tmax 530, which I happen to like. Now that I've had it a week, and maybe because I've been too busy to do anything about it, every time I look at it in my driveway, the bike makes me want to ride. When I got home with it from the dealership, the word that came to mind was "calm".
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vwX-U_lz_indQ1jOnTHNhd16ckyU-Ojs68jmXjQBwAnYsxaTuSWBXDvEhcmFT2DEJgHzLhjj3-QUMRvFye_WmKveBavp064zW1uWbTeq9ObKoEGqQ5gd0joq5t5Y_WTBhtP0k7Qjb4q495D9-ge68Ae63LmDKiwX9xzYBVRnfNXeoljazPGxn2GPUK0fTdgCQ76WL5H_BQfy4JLCO4K_42vXxarOckxogDXMSkibpQNLhsEMToj35B61ZYO-TTxI5opMTASHHsf2cHNk6pHkFffRwB2DakYKlZNnNwXBfOFlK7Ha6d0zno3OpXOorXJBVZ6hEh0TeWqKhfdR5k9H-acJ3Tw2eiyOQNbIrsDCw6RKE0rOYphzDGY9q7JuzXP7FDxLBBZyTK_kjE4jOiGrx7OJ5jeM7dgGgdlbez0GiPlIicGhWOVZ_8iPiCkkNEExTSLPA4etmhnJvheuq8HYAjObrCak0TwoYOQY81kWmrk0f0KVlszq3YHP_tgRDE9_eZEWYn1FSSZZ0H8M5_wfptbv0hg0UN-xBzbp_n6-Vs3yoVNHFGuB9JKYxfe885nbARDyOO7OZWGN5fY5P8KTwqzEpR3kvxXgiAAP8ePrrPupzv3JYh3J--FerROsu0FynF2vvyCSEoU6IPMUSUdu6-t24eSS_Rw6H_eSvJ9x9wZ2gBi3qOUKoYcw=w717-h861-no)
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Thanks for the photos!
Seems like a good scooter - $1500 less than the last Honda 300 in this country.
My late brother drove a Porsche Boxster …..with few cup holders - kinda like your 300 scooter with a difficult cell phone box.
Americans.... :)
Stig
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Paco said "My ability to 'correct' a low speed mishap on a heavier bike, especially one which I can only tiptoe at a stop, is getting close to nil."
I traded my Kawasaki KLR 650 for a Kymco Like 150i for the same reasons.
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First impressions? Photos? Spill the beans!
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First impressions? Photos? Spill the beans!
For some reason only related to the rider, I found myself wandering a bit within my lane on the way up the mountain, not so much at all on the way down. I chalk it up to the two year lapse in riding since the V-strom, and the lightness on the X-T's steering. Mind you, the steering is light but not nervous, it's actually quite a wonderful balance of very responsive steering with minimal input coupled with traction from the sizeable tires, 120 front and 150 rear (the V-strom had a 110 up front and a 150 out back).
The suspension is on the firm side side but I would say well damped at the price point. I haven't made any adjustment to the shocks yet. The saddle works very well I think at cushioning sharp impacts. The bike feels well planted under those conditions (two lane mountain road) with uneven crowns (lots of road slippage alternating between heavy rainy season and long dry conditions).
I am getting accustomed to lightening my steering inputs.
I'm not a fan of the mirrors, I find them to mostly show elbows...
For added storage, I am getting a Givi Point e33 with bracket from a co-worker this weekend. He got it along with a bunch of other stuff when he bought a KLR 650, but has no use of it.
I also got a canvas shoulder bag to stash camera and yearly state park pass. Going to Cyclegear tomorrow to get a bluetooth helmet for my wife, so we're getting things sorted...
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Thanks for the photos!
Seems like a good scooter - $1500 less than the last Honda 300 in this country.
My late brother drove a Porsche Boxster …..with few cup holders - kinda like your 300 scooter with a difficult cell phone box.
Americans.... :)
Stig
Photos? I still can’t see ‘em!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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For added storage, I am getting a Givi Point e33 with bracket from a co-worker this weekend. He got it along with a bunch of other stuff when he bought a KLR 650, but has no use of it.
I bought a Givi Blade top box for mine which looks like it grew there and makes the XT so much more versatile as day to day transport. Enjoy!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk