Author Topic: Help a newbie out!  (Read 1130 times)

pepper

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Help a newbie out!
« on: March 05, 2017, 11:30:49 PM »
Hey Everyone. Long time scooterer, first time kymcoer here. Coming from Chicago.

Just picked up an 03 silver people 50cc 2t from a local dealership with only 600km on it. Its a beautiful scoot with only one owner, older guy who barely ever used it. Must have been stored indoors because everything looks brand spankin new.

The mechanic at the shop derestricted it for me, and I'm a short skinny guy, so I'm clocking 50+ and have already been pulled over in less then a week  ;D

Quick question. When dealerships get a used scooter, do they go through and check oil and sparkplug or carburetor?  Or do they just make sure it starts and then send it out the door?

I know I should have asked that stuff while I was there, but I was too giddy that I found such a pristine scoot for so cheap.

She seems to be running well, idle seems pretty low, sometimes cuts out even when warm, so I'm going to adjust that. Can be finicky in the morning starting up (which i expected with a 50cc 2t) but I used the trick of covering the air intake (which I learned from here :) ) and she starts right up. I pretty much always use the kickstart, electric start never seems to do the trick.

Anything else I should be wary about with a scooter this old?

Thanks everyone! Loving my kymco. What a fast, smooth ride. These big tires are amazing!

Mr. Paul

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Re: Help a newbie out!
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2017, 11:53:55 PM »
Hey Pepper and welcome to the forum! You will find this place is full of folks who like to help each other out. I would recommend you post this on the General Discussion forum. You will get a lot more responses there. I have a People 150 and I too love the big tires. As far as your question, I am sure every dealer is different as to what they check before they sell a used bike. It would be worth a phone call to check it out. The MOST IMPORTANT thing you can check is the age of the tires. If they are the original tires, they need to be replaced ASAP. Tires dry out and deteriorate with age and 2003 was a long time ago. Someone on this forum had an excellent post on how to find the age of your tire. I will include the link below. Hope this helps ya.

http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=23563.0
2009 Kymco People 150
1993 Honda Helix

tortoise

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Re: Help a newbie out!
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2017, 12:21:55 AM »
do they go through and check oil

Hope YOU are checking oil tank level!

pepper

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Re: Help a newbie out!
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2017, 12:57:57 AM »
Thanks so much!

This is all really helpful. I will be checking those tires pronto. And yes, I'm keeping up on the oil.

Really appreciate it. I've been browsing this forum since the first day I got my scoot, and It's filled with useful info. Really glad I came across this site! 

ole two wheels

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Re: Help a newbie out!
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2017, 02:49:33 AM »
Hey Pepper and welcome to the best Kymco forum anywhere. Mr. Paul was dead on with the advice on the tires. The max safe life for a tire, wither scooter, auto or any other vehicle driven over the road, is 6 years, no matter if has ever been used.  An old tire that hasn't many miles on  it can look good if you just look at the tread, but that doesn't mean it's safe. You need to get down and look closely at the side wall. If you see small cracks in the rubber, especially where the rubber meets the wheel, then the tire has dry rot and is unsafe, at any speed. Your life very well rides on those tires. If you have a rapid deflation, at speed, on the rear, there's a good chance you'll go down. If it's on the front, you WILL go down, Give both tires a good inspection and there is a thread on here that will tell you how to find and read the date they were made.
Also if you do not know for certain the motor oil and final drive was  recently changed, then change it. Use a good quality synthetic oil. Tires and oil changes are the cheapest insurance you can buy for your new scoot. Happy scootering.

Mac, aka "ole two wheels"
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2012 Kymco DT300
1996 Honda Shadow Spirit 1100

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