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Your friend is wrong and not a friend for $500,- for such a minor thing!

It can be done without removing the gearcase from the scooter. Of course needs some wits.

Doing:
- plug out
- drain oil
- put/push a long cut of fabric into gearcase (2cm wide and 200cm long)
- go with a thin wire from the drainhole to catch the fabric, pull it out a few cm
- make sure you can fish it out with a hook afterwards (drainhole is possible too)
- drill required hole (grease on the drill)
- use strong vacuum cleaner now
- tap the thread (grease on the tap)
- use strong vacuum cleaner again
- set the helicoil or similar insert
- pull the long fabric out with a thin wire hook (99% of shavings are out now)
- take a liter of diesel, rinse the gear two times
- fill oil
The few small alu shavings remaining there will not harm anything, my word for it.
- put a new or cleaned plug in.
Labor = half an hour
Material = €3,-

Even removing the gearcase would not take more than one hour.
-muffler, wheelcarrier, wheel off, open gearbox, cut thread, fine festa!

This method with teflon or silicon is done only by ignorants and backyard tinkerers.

.. two more I found..

@spikebites welcome here!
Your assumption this being gear oil COULD be right (judging pics). COULD (since the whole gearbox is oilcovered) also be too much oil in there and it blew out through this breather hose.
Check this before further steps.

If there is NO oil oozing out when you remove the drain plug, there is already emergency happening in your gear box.

The transmission oil check and drain bolt on the Kymco Downtown 300i uses a 12 mm socket size with an 8 mm (standart) thread diameter.
Key Specifications:
• Socket / Wrench size: 12 mm
• Thread size (diameter): 8 mm
• Tightening torque: 1.8 – 2.2 kgf-m (19.7 N-m)
• Recommended oil: SAE 90 gear oil
• Transmission oil capacity: 0.23 liters (at disassembly) or 0.21 liters (at change)

So, seen this specs there are three possibilities, depending on your skills:

A) pull the fill plug out and set an stainless steel thread, called HELICOIL or similars.
Inexpensive, professional and secure (see pic).

B) fill up oil and drive to a dealer who does the same.
Depending on where you located at it will cost between €20,- and €100,- without further complications.

C) take a tap and tie set, cut a 10mm thread, put a short 10mm bolt with a gasket in it.
Costs € 2,- and having a tap and tie set.
Driving w/o gear oil costs you a whole engine!
Come back for Qs.

@hawk yes,
this places are just great at this time. Waiters and hosts recovered from tourists already, prices normal again and weather stable.

...see more pics...

Did it again, my fall island hopping on croatian side.
Since I went together with a friend of mine I took the beemer to keep up with that young "whippersnapper" as Neil would say.
Took us  a week to see islands of Krk, Cres and Rab. Ferryspace is always available for motorcycles, so you need no reservation.

Usually I am not that adventureous but at a certain lovely spot I thought to ride down a gravel road, which proved to be pretty steep at situ. I was regretting immedeately my decision to follow this wash but it was already too late to turn around. My beemer 1100 is about 270 kgs loaded and not really an offroader, so I sweated profundely until we reached the base.

 No pics of me emberassed picking up the beemer. Fortunately only hurt pride, side boxes took the brunt.

Good sources for overseas! Txs for sharing!

BANDO and MITSUBOSHI belts are, as mentioned and IF original, KYMCOs OEM fitters in this segment.
Belts which are 1/2 or 1/3 of OEM priced stock are 99% fake, despite goodlooking OEM numbers printed on them, and wear out prematurely.

ATHENA, a spanish rooted producer distributes high quality rollers, brake pads and other stuff for our scoots.

ALIEXPRESS et al are not bad per se, but its always a potluck what you get, does not make a huge difference if you need an O-ring for a faucet, engine parts are more sensitive.

Bearings : japanese and austrian companies like SKF produce items which are way enough for a wheelbearing and accompanying oilseals.
This companies produce standart bearings with a tolerence of P0 - P6 which is nearly overengineered for a scoot.

Oilseals: two lipped products are preferable, which is not always to be seen on internet offers, though inexpensive.

Ha, now I got it.
Stig didn't you say you are wearing HighViz gear all the time🤭