Modern Vespa

One man said, that Kymco is better than Vespa. I have a Vespa and I strongly disagree! What would you say to this? She herself must be crying over his poverty!

I'm saying absolutely nothing

Blasphemy!

The queen of scooters has been unsurpassed for more than 78 years. So the question doesn't really arise...

That question isn't really deserving of a simple yes/no answer IMO. I am a shameless Vespa fanboy. I think Vespas are the most beautiful of all scooters and well built. I have owned 2 LX150s and 2 GTS. On the other hand, I've owned a Yamaha scooter, a Honda scooter, an Aprilia, and a couple of Buddy scooters built by PGO. All of them have had well built and reliable engines and other mechanicals. All have had tubular frames and plastic panels which meant they were less expensive than comparable Vespas and much easier and cheaper to accomplish body repairs. Those scooters don't call to me quite like the Vespas do, but they are good rides and economical. Owning 1, or 2, or 3 of them is not a bad idea.

This ^^^

A Kymco is a lot like a Honda Accord. It'll get you where you need to go with minimal fuss or fanfare. Years of contract work to Honda taught Kymco how to build a dependable scoot that will get the job done, provided you don't neglect routine maintenance too much. I mean, there are folks out there that could kill a cactus...

As others have suggested, Piaggio did develop the design that is recognised as the classic scooter shape. Of all the scooter manufacturers, it could be argued that the Vespa line has stayed true to its design brief and styling language for over 75 years. Other manufacturers may attempt to capture market share through scooter models that emulate the design of the Vespa. As for the Vespa, like the Coke bottle, it's a design that can't be mistaken for anything else. And those folks that mistake it for a moped are simply ignoramuses...

You buy a Kymco to get from A to B with no fuss. You buy a Vespa to get there in Style.

I'll take a 15 year old Vespa GTS 250 over any brand new Kymco... Any

Kymco makes very good scooters. And they have a pretty large product line. As noted above, they did a lot of contract work in the past for Honda. They also do some work for BMW scooters even today.

They offer great value, but performance is sometimes a bit on the downside from other makers. I've also been told by a trusted Kymco dealer that replacement parts and service items can be pricey.

If you find a Kymco - new or used - that you really like, I'd say buy it.

Define 'better' in this context.

^^^ this

This feels like a trap.

I've owned,ridden and maintained almost ever brand two wheeler available in the USA. Granted in the Scooter world-the Vespa has class and style. It's well made and rides great. The Kymcos I've owned were more utilitarian. Not so classy, but well built. In some cases the Kymco may be more practical- kinda like comparing a Triumph Bonneville to a Yamaha 650 twin. Both look similar, the Yamaha shakes a lot less, easier and cheaper to own, but the Bonneville will pull on your heart strings- just like the Vespa. Fun to experience the differences though. After over 30 MCs and scooters- My last ride a BV 400. Not as pretty as my GTS was, but better long distance/ higher speed mount. However it does extrude some Italian/European style and flare. You just gotta go with what makes you feel better with IMO.

OP is from Finland, not Mon Cala.

Hmm
O.S.

When you park at the cafe / milkbar / gelato bar, which will get the looks from the girls/boys/nb?

The pink one!

So not the 946 dragon? Even if the rider has the matching jacket?

Go with what you can afford, the Lambretta x300 is good too.

As I ponder the OP question, my mind starts to ramble.
Which is better, a #25 Torx or a 10mm socket ????







#25 Torx of course. Why? Because I can't ever find that darn 10mm!!!!!!!

Kawzak nailed it - get what you want. Better? There is no better, just different. I could care less what gets the looks from others, as long as it looks good in my eyes, I'm happy with that.

Interestingly enough, this response strikes a cord with me. As I said before, I love the appearance of the Vespa and find it to be well built and an enjoyable ride. On the other hand, if you cornered me and forced me to admit the "best" scooter I have ever owned in terms of performance and satisfaction on the road - I would admit to leaning toward the BV350.

Really?
Neither.
It's a scooter - not a p-up!

O.S.

Vespa clutch assembly is 2.5 to 3 X more expensive than the full clutch assembly for my 163cc Kymco.
Service is $'d by the hour for a Kymco - not so for a Vespa?

O.S.

somehow they've morphed from thrifty, fun and reliable transportation....to "OMG, it tipped over!!"

Happy Kymco owner since 2013.

O.S.

I can't speek to Kymco, however, I scored a chinese scoot some years ago for my wife as a learner bike on the cheap.... It's fun to ride, easy to maintain, and does what its suppose to do.

That said, I just upgraded her to an LX 150. Style aside, she's more confident on the Vespa. My opinon having ridden both is that the chinese scoot is squirly compaired to the LX. I think its the weight difference between tubluar construction vs a steel body, also, the mechanical operation is just smoother.

I can't knock the chinese scoot, it does what it's suppose to do, it's easy to work on, and parts are cheap.

I prefer the Vespa though, theres a quility there thats luxurious

But what about the "nice moped!" comments? Yeah, a probable +1 OTOH, I'm enamored of both my GTS and BV enough that I'm still in the "why not both?" camp. I'm guessing that at some point when age mellows my riding a bit, I'll have to choose.

Having given it a lot of thought I think that I've said pretty much everything I can about both products.

Walking away.

I was speaking to one of my customers who owns a multiline store that has both Piaggio and Kymco. He says that over the last six months, most dealers he talks to have started to hate Kymco more than they hate Piaggio, mainly because of the parts issue. There was a woman who ran the parts department that knew her sht. She left, and things went downhill fast. He said he called one day to talk to one of the Vice Presidents, and the guy left and didn't come back one day. "Have you ever heard of a Vice President of a company just up and quiting?" he asked me. So they're having issues.

You've shown admirable restraint.

A few weeks ago I left a phone message at KymcoUSA to ask them to recommend good sources for parts.
I needed dealers who do mail-orders.
Plus a good source for part numbers for even the most obscure models. This info is not always visible when owners search part #'s for certain models.
In less than an hour I received a call from a friendly fellow. He provided me with answers to both questions. This info was passed on to Kymco forum members.
Also...I recently started a service ticket with cyclepedia.com. The next day I traded emails with their tech. His reply was very helpful.
Cyclepedia wrote the service manuals for KYMCOUSA. I purchased a lifetime subscription 11 yrs ago. Perfect?, no - helpful as heck yes!

Why do Kymco owners enjoy owning them?
Our damn scooters work! Normal consumables are available. I've been all over my Kymco. Quality build and parts. I buy Kymco parts. Belts, rollers, gaskets.
One cluch spring gave up. I popped in my new one before it sat any longer in my spares drawer! I'll rebuild the other.

My Kymco goes back for tire swaps on my rims.
P E R I O D.....
Dealer support? Distributor support?
Never an issue for so many Kymco owners....or for that matter- any of the Taiwanese brands!
Buy them. Keep up the oils, etc. Ride 'em!
O.S.

That's good to know. I have a generally favorable impression of Kymco (and other Taiwanese) scooters - my Buddy 50 is fantastic for what it is - but I've been under the impression that Kymco parts availability has been sketchy. Most of the Kymco dealers in my areas seem to specialize in the ATV side of Kymco's business. I'm sure nearby dealer support is an issue for people who expect turnkey scooters, but for those of us who mostly DIY it's barely an issue.

I had a first generation Kymco People 250. I found a primitive online parts supplier that was also a welding fabrication shop in Arizona if I recall. That was a great scooter and that fab shop always got me my parts for a fair price and pretty quick.
I found a great Hyosung parts supplier in the north east. I forgot exactly who it was but the parts always arrived with little prayer notes. I loved that Hyosung Sense 50cc 2-stroke.
Just buy what you want and enjoy it BUT do your due diligence in parts supply research! And/or have good local support should you need it, unless you don't mind hauling it.

I have a 21 kymco 150s. I've ridden the hell out of with no issues at all, other than finding replacement parts. I have not been working as hard looking for them as others have apparently! I bought the thing from the original owner (of 6 months!) for 2k with 300 miles on it. I was looking for a Vespa but couldn't pass up what looked like a good deal. Having said that I'm going to buy a Vespa as soon as the kymco needs another set of tires. Style and basically looking cool are pretty valuable qualities in a bike imho.

I have a Downtown 300i, a Like 150i, two Vespa GTS and a BV350. The only bad thing I have to say about Kymco is the whole dealer/parts situation.

I do my own work and maintenance, and it us a lot easier to get Piaggio parts than Kymco parts.

Kymco should be ashamed at how the treat their dealers and customers. I have had my bikes for 5 years now, and not a thing has changed. If you purchase Kymco, you must accept the situation. That said, I've had no problems in 10,000 Kymco miles. The Like 150i is vastly superior to a typical Chinese gy6 scooters (I've had one of those, too).

Between Piaggio and Kymco, I give the quality edge to Piaggio. I give the ease of maintenance and engine repairs to Piaggio. Absolute performance per engine cc goes to Kymco. If I were going on a week-long trip, I'd take the BV350 over the Downtown, but I wouldn't fear taking the Downtown.
I talked to a Like rider on last years Cannonball, and he was fairly disgruntled that his belt had broken a couple times. I've seen an AK550 up close, and it's a fine piece of equipment.. Piaggio has nothing comparable. Kymco has a lot of more advanced scooters that we have never seen in the states, so I'm at a loss as to how they've advanced in the last few years, and that's another indication of how they treat the US market. If you are in Europe or Asia, you might have a completely different view of Kymco.

I suspect Kymco has it together far better in Europe.

I have five, formerly six Kymcos ('00 ZX-II, '08 Bet&Win 250, a '10 and a '12 Yager GT200i, '16 K-Pipe 125 and a stolen '18 Spade 150i). I even bought a K-Pipe for a buddy so we could run a Lake Erie Loop together. My K-Pipe's done the Loop twice and the Spade did it once when another buddy's Honda broke at the start!

They've all been excellent machines and just keep going with routine maintenance. The PRC-built K-Pipe wasn't quite as polished as the Taiwanese builds, but the mechanicals take some abuse.

I gave up on getting parts through Kymco USA when the management changed back in 2019. Since then, I order my parts through RacingPlanet. Sure, it's a two week wait for parts to land Stateside from Europe, but I do get my parts!

A buddy has an AK that he's selling due to water pump issues. It spent months in the shop and took two visits to get fixed. Shame, because it's a nice machine. Meanwhile, my '12 Yager is still humming along at 22K, with nothing more that routine maintenance (the Motul diet might have helped).

Aside from the horse face of the Yager, most Kymcos just seem to blend in with generic Asian scoots. If they could nail down their own design language and style, they could build an image too.

Well, depends on your fuel pump.
I can go for parts for you on my 12 yr old Kymco.

O.S.

Hence my "no fuss" comment. The similarly-aged Delphi system in my '12 Yager just keeps plugging along.

And yes, I picked up a Quantum Fuel Systems pump for the GTS. Possibly more reliable and a lot more cost effective. I've put in a half-dozen of them to replace failed stock pumps in various brands and they've run fine for years.

The bigger pain is getting to the GTS pump. Putting the scooter into the downward facing dog, er, service position to do a tank-ectomy is a bit more challenging than the same job on most other scoots