Kymco vs Honda vs Yamaha: I'm trying to decide
Steven Holmes
field to this:
Honda Metropolitan, @ $1699 plus tax, etc.
Kymco Cobra 50 @ $2300
Yamaha Vino @ $1699
With the Honda, I like the quality issue and the 4 stroke eco-politics.
Also, style. I have NOT yet test ridden one, b/c theree are none around
right now to test. More are expected in in Nov.
The Kymco situation is this: I found a great dealer who let me ride a People
around today; the people is too small for me, so I am wondering about the ZX
($1800) or the Cobra ($2300). I LOVED the ride on the people.
The Yamaha Vino is styling, and name.
What would YOU do?
SAH
Charles Pisano
malaguti. I like a 2 stroke especially since they may be rare soon. The
vino is too small and seems cheap. But just my two cents.
Charles
Kurt F
news:B9A92F65.13068%steven...@earthlink.net...
First off, I'd take Yamaha right off the list. I owned a Razz before I
owned my Cobra, and today, I'm glad they stole it. It was flimsy, weak, and
lacked the power of the Cobra by far. The choke lever broke off the
handle-bar once when I hit a bump while my thumb was on it. The engine was
choked by a straw-sized stinger pipe coming out of the muffler.
I test-rode both the People and the Cobra when I bought the Cobra, and Cobra
was well worth the extra cash. It is solid, large, and powerful. It is the
most powerful 50 I've ridden. I have put 27,000km on it, commuting
70miles/day, and making quite a few large grocery trips with a Navy sea bag
full of stuff on the floorboards. It is designed, and capable of carrying
two riders. I have had it tuned with a performance exhaust and over-sized
carb for most of those 27,000km. It ran around 52mph flat, with peak at 62.
It is nowhere close to needing new break pads. It's suspension,
transmission, and frame are all durable. I can put my full-face helmet, and
a few beach towels into the under-seat storage. I think it is on the large
side for a 50, I can barely get both heels on the pavement from the seat
height (I'm 6'0). It weighs 210 pounds stock. It is so durable, that I
decided to put a 74cc bore kit on it last week, and run it at about twice
the power it was built with (The same frame/body/suspension/brakes are used
in Kymco's 100cc model of the Cobra, not sold in the US).
But if I had to buy a 50cc scoot again, I'd go for the Kymco Super 9. It
has about 15% more rated horsepower than the Cobra, from being water-cooled.
The downside of the Cobra is that the rear drum brake is kinda weak, it will
not lock up the rear wheel no matter how hard I try (on asphault, anyway).
But that is ok since over 90% of your breaking force is on the front anyway,
and THAT brake grips!
I can't speak to Honda today, since I haven't ridden one since '85. But
they have an excellent reputation for durability and quality. I'd test
drive the Honda if I were you: I think you'll find a small 4-stroke engine
anti-climatic compared to a similar 2-stroke.
I think the Kymco is quality equivalent to the reputation of Honda, based on
putting my Cobra through endless hard riding and carrying and power mods,
and seeing it hold up so well today, as a 16 month old bike.
--
-Kurt F
King Cobra @ http://www.mopedhospital.com/img/70cc.jpg
Javib Camayd
it. Fastest 50cc on the market. Stock usually goes 55mph +. They retail at
1899 but can usually be bargained down to $1699.
"Steven Holmes" <steven...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B9A92F65.13068%steven...@earthlink.net...
lampell
for a 50cc scoot it rips. I bought the Derbi GP1, just to be different from
my friend:). Make sure you get the "old" Atlantis as the new ones have the
Piaggio engine and are in fact slower. Dealer in SF,CA is selling Atlantis
for 1790dlrs now. Atlantis will due 50mph stock.
"Javib Camayd" <jca...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:Q1Rg9.124240$2L.62...@e3500-atl2.usenetserver.com...
Pelican
Malaguti F12. I owned a Vino, and they are just toy IMHO. The Malaguti F12
is great scooter, and they have a great reputation. The Derbi Atlantis is a
damn fast scooter (if you're really into speed?), but not quite the quality
of the Guti or Kymco.
RickJ
"Steven Holmes" <steven...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B9A92F65.13068%steven...@earthlink.net...
Kurt
4-stoke appealed to me). I thought that would be my scoot.
Unfortunately, my dealer didn't have any in stock. I looked at the
Vino, but somehow it just didn't do it for me. Something about it
seemed a bit "cheap." Then I saw the Yamaha Zuma. Although I really
would have preferred to get a classic-style scoot, I was sold on the
quality of the Zuma. It is SOLID and has plenty of acceleration and
speed. And the wider tires are wonderful. I feel very safe riding
it. If you don't mind the sporty style, a Zuma is worth looking into
($1,699). I have no regrets.
Kurt
Steven Holmes <steven...@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<B9A92F65.13068%steven...@earthlink.net>...
wil...@webtv.net
owned my Cobra, and today, I'm glad they stole it. It was flimsy, weak,
and lacked the power of the Cobra by far. The choke lever broke off the
handle-bar once when I hit a bump while my thumb was on it. The engine
was choked by a straw-sized stinger pipe coming out of the
a razz as well before and agree it is a piece of excrement.The Vino is
more closely related to the Jog,which is much better in quality than the
razz.Have you ridden a modified Vino? Mine easily exceeds 50mph is very
durable and the drum brakes always stop me fine.I paid $1550 u.s. and
spent an additional $200 on aftermarket parts.Its a 2001 with 5500 miles
on it and has never failed to start right up and never had any
problems.I have a friend with a Zuma which is similar to your cobra he
had to disable a cdi restriction and installed similar parts as I did
(exhaust,variator,rollers,clutch-springs and larger-jet).The Vino
consistently beats him off the line and has higher top-speed.I started
riding mopeds years ago for the same reason you did,loss of license.I've
had the license back for years but continue to ride mopeds and scooters.
I've had many over the years and have three now.A 1965 Sears Allstate
(MS50) 2speed,a 1968 Motobecane mobylette with a vario-metric drive
system.I buy and sell many mopeds and love most of them.I do all my own
work and have had to rebuild more than my share.I ride to work which is
about 8 miles almost everyday all year long.I like the Vino,some people
don't thats ok but don't claim its a piece of shit untill you have
actually ridden one.Willie
Kurt F
news:26408-3D...@bsg-storefull-1112.public.svc.webtv.net...
You are right, I don't know dick about the Vino. I just wrote Yamaha
entirely off my list since the Razz was such a piece of shit. I test drove
all the 50cc Kymcos they had (people, cobra, and one other I don't
remember), and Kymco doesn't even make pieces of shit. I had paid $1600 for
the Razz. They didn't have Cobra here at the time. When they did, I paid
$2100 for it.
wil...@webtv.net
of shit. I test drove all the 50cc Kymcos they had (people, cobra, and
one other I don't remember), and Kymco doesn't even make pieces of shit.
I had paid $1600 for the Razz. They didn't have Cobra here at the time.
When they did, I paid $2100 for
Kurt,while I agree the razz left much to be desired,the one I had I
purchased used,it was a 1987 with many miles.To its credit it always
started and I was able to make a small profit when I sold it,still
running.Honda has the Spree which was even flimsier than the Razz,and
the Elite 50 models are about on par with the Razz.I had a 1965 Honda
C100 which was a 50cc and it was a cool bike,but they also made some
shitty mopeds. Kymco's look nice and I'm thinking about buying a People
50,but the Filly is a 4stroke 50 and probably in my opinion anyway
excrement.The ZX50 meanwhile doesen't impress me much either.I haven't
seen a Yup yet so I can't comment on it.I like the Cobra but I'm leaning
towards a People because with the 16" wheels and semi-retro look it
reminds me of the older mopeds which I still love.Willie
Kurt F
I wonder if Kymco has a different gear ratio for the people to keep the
power balanced for the larger wheels. My Cobra only has 12" wheels with
130/70 fat tires. I know at least one person in here thought that the
People would have more top speed from bigger wheels alone, but they are
connecting the same engine in both bikes. If all else were equal between
Cobra/People, the People would suffer takeoff power and low end torque. I
raced a Cobra Cross once, which is a Cobra racer with 10" wheels and some
dirt-bike look to it, but smoking his ass doesn't count, since I had a pipe
and carb upgrade, and he was stock.
Since I've upgraded my cylinder, and just out of break-in, I feel I have
more gas-guzzling low end than I need, and I'm thinking of getting the
Malossi (or other) secondary gear to sacrifice some of that takeoff power
for topend speed. I expect more fuel economy with this setup too.
What do you think?
Kurt
wil...@webtv.net
more gas-guzzling low end than I need, and I'm thinking of getting the
Malossi (or other) secondary gear to sacrifice some of that takeoff
power for topend speed. I expect more fuel economy with this setup too.
What do you think?
a bit better top-end but I'm not sure you would see much more mpg.Have
you asked Steve about what type of mpg his kitted Kymco's are getting?35
mpg seems awlfully low to me.Willie
Kurt F
--
-Kurt F
King Cobra @ http://www.mopedhospital.com/img/70cc.jpg
<wil...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:10081-3D...@bsg-storefull-1111.public.svc.webtv.net...
Yeah, me too. And I haven't asked him for a figure, but he did tell me that
it may actually get better mileage than the stock.
Anyway, I've found out why my mileage stunk. I thought I had the needle
clip in the leanest position, but I didn't. It was in the richest. Details
in my post: Success Story.