Kymco bikes what are peoples thoughts

[skyebiker]

so today i went and had a look around a few motorbike shops and they had some nice hondas , but he said we have a few kymco second hand 125 bikes outside.

i know there chinese and i have heard most if not all chinese bikes are built like soggy wall paper so what are peoples advice about them just so i don't buy one if they are no good

[JoeDougieDoug...]

Aren't Kymco Korean? or from Taiwan?

I thought they were one of the better 'alternative' motorcycle companies...
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CBT Passed - 22 / 10 / 11 >> Theory Passed - 16 / 02 / 2012 >> Mod 1 Passed - 07 / 03 / 2012 >> Mod 2 Passed - 18 / 05 / 2012.

[growler]

Mate of mine had a Kymco 125 which I borrowed and used daily for about a year
Cruiser style felt quite big and pulled well never had a single problem with it even 2up and me being over 6 foot and fat it would do 60mph
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DILLIGAF

[skyebiker]

oh yea your right just took this from google after a slight search

"KYMCO or Kwang Yang Motor Co, Ltd (Chinese: is a Taiwanese company that manufactures motor scooters, motorcycles, and ATVs for worldwide distribution. Founded in 1963 after splitting from Honda, KYMCO originally made parts for Honda."

so would they be reliable like the old Hondas

[BravoCharlie]

Kymco do alright, their Kymco Zing seems to be a popular 125 around this way, unless I just see the same person over and over again!

I remember the riding school, also a bike dealer, had a few for sale. seemed to be of decent quality, but i'd suggest viewing a second hand one to see how they look after usage
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Current: Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator
Past: Suzuki GZ125, Kawasaki GT550, Kawasaki GPX600R, Honda vrx400,Kawasaki Zephyr 750, Suzuki SV650 K5
Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

[Hokum]

I had a Kymco 50cc 2 smoke, was pretty nippy and solidly built.
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Sane: To know when you are doing something crazy.

[Rogerborg]

I've seen a fair number of 5+ year old Kymcos around, which is a good sign.

Any new 125 that you buy is going to be built down to a budget. You've already mentioned CGs and Lexmoto, and you can go ahead and start threads on Sinnis, WK, KSR and anything else that's up for sale in your local dealers or Gumtree/eBay. The answer will be the same in every case though: some good experiences, some bad, cheaply made, need looking after.

They're all gambles, you just need to decide how much you're going to wager and the odds that you can tolerate. If you don't spin the wheel, you're not playing the game.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[WD Forte]

Yep
Not Chinese, they're made in Taiwan which is like near Turkey or somewhere foriegn I fink
No long term experience other than the 2009 Pulsar we picked up for
£50.
Like many bikes it had suffered more from owners and 'mechanics'
than from any innate failings
It runs well now, still in good nick, was easy to work on and fix and specialised parts took about a week to arrive.
David Silvers do spares for them now btw

How do they compare to jap bikes? phuctyfino
you'd need objective tests and comparisons not snobbery and rumour to truly compare them.
I've seen too many people cursing bikes of all makes when the problem was caused by the owners poor maintenance to make automatic assumptions.
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bikers smell of wee

[Rogerborg]

[andys675]

used to sell them new

change the drive chain for a quality brand and they are no worse than any old tech jap 125, had customers with tens of 1000's of miles on them and the parts are cheap
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Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

[wr6133]

[Rogerborg]

Much obliged, I did seem to recall correctly.

It's a curious state of affairs when even the Republic has to outsource to the People's Republic. <splitters.jpg>
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[c-m]

[WD Forte]

Bloody well is too !
I got a map an all
OK Its foreign but not bad foreign

https://oi62.tinypic.com/15s8tg9.jpg
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bikers smell of wee

[mailee]

Now where did you get that map from, a Chinese knock off was it? As for stating Taiwan is part of China that would get you hung drawn and quartered in Taiwan. A friend of mine had a Kymco Downtown 300cc scooter and it was great. he didn't have any problems with it and it used to go like hell.

[Rogerborg]

[recman]

Kymco reminds me of my CBT when the other bloke doing it on his scooter wanted to ride it at 20mph everywhere.
EVERYWHERE!

[The Disapproving Brit]

My first bike was a 10 year old Kymco Zing 125. Rode it for a year, took my A2 on it, rode it for another two years until my restricted period was up, still rode it for another year or so after that.

Never gave me any problems. I'd have another without hesitating.
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Current Bikes: 1983 Honda VF400FD / 2003 Honda VT750 Shadow
Bike Test Passed 18/03/09, Car Test Passed 14/05/13