Because it'll be a few grand cheaper most likely

 

..... and because Yamaha can sell them in other markets.

 

Nice looking scoot. I wonder how it would ride with the steep rear shock angle. Are the mirrors built into the fairings?

 

If you watch the second video, you get to hear the exhaust note...awesome! And, in I think it was in the third one, they make the statement the exhaust is "intoxicating", I believe is the word they used. I'm liking it. Storage is limited but, for touring I would likely load luggage onto it just like my 650.

 

I like the concept but some of the details are not that great looking. Still if it has good performance and isn't crazy expensive like the T-Max it might go over OK. Scooters will never sell big in the USA{too many people have been brain washed here that cruisers are the only thing to ride}.

If you watch the second video, you get to hear the exhaust note...awesome!

Assuming it wasn't just folley sound added.


My personal favorite looking sport maxi-scoot is the Gilera Nexus - I wish we got this one!

 

Link to second video please.
Your order is different to mine, mine just had unbearably crappy music

 

The exhaust sound is found at 1:10...

 

http://www.kymco.com/K50/index.html

 

I heard no sound of the scooter on either video. I would be interesting in seeing a much better presentations. There's no information and the pictures are not clear and visible. Statistics and price are very important.
Probably over my limit but it does look to be a good source for a trike. :wink

 

Nice looking scooter!

 

No you'd want this one ...

http://www.aprilia.com.au/srv850.html

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlT8ImY3OXI

If Yamaha can't sell the Tmax , why would Kymco build another one ?

Maybe they'll produce it in something other than some variation of gray, and put ABS on it (for U.S. versions).

 

That Aprilia seems to be an awesome scoot.
I see they offer a nice cover if you have a top box on their accessory page if anyone's interested. Thought I'd mention it.

 

Well, AG -- can't totally agree on that one. The latest "second bike consideration" has turned to an acquisition of middleweight chopper in return for a scooter. Something that i wouldn't consider in sober mind , even if i spend more time servicing the latter.

 

It's hard to deny the marketing angle and that draws from history & culture. Scooters are an urban European invention with an eye on practicality for both men & women. They rarely appear in print, radio, television, movies or the internet. Racing or stunting is limited or nonexistent, depending. Technical performance and looks are fairly sedate for the most part. As a result, they don't symbolize freedom, risk, speed, thrills or machismo. That's an uphill slog for any ad agency in North America, a region with new cities dominated by aggressive freeways, long distances and weather that precludes ANY riding for months at a time. I'm surprised any scooters are offered for sale at all here, much less the more expensive maxis. :serious

 

It's hard to deny the marketing angle and that draws from history & culture. Scooters are an urban European invention with an eye on practicality for both men & women. They rarely appear in print, radio, television, movies or the internet. Racing or stunting is limited or nonexistent, depending. Technical performance and looks are fairly sedate for the most part. As a result, they don't symbolize freedom, risk, speed, thrills or machismo.

Maybe that's why I don't "get it". I don't see a motorcycle as symbolizing "freedom, risk, speed, thrills or machismo". I see it as fairly cheap and practical transportation. Probably why I ended up with a scooter instead of a crotch rocket or whatever.

weather that precludes ANY riding for months at a time....

Large swaths of the U.S. are rideable all year around. ****, even in Pittsburgh, I only miss maybe 2-3 months of riding per year. Further south or out west? you can easily go 12 months of riding.

 

Sure you get it, even if you pretend otherwise. A used honda civic with a set of snow tires is cheap, practical transportation. Safer and more useable year round. Better value dollar for dollar than any bike. That's why they sell so well. Riders in the southern US also avoid the extremes of summertime, even if the roads are physically clear. Yet they still sell. Why are people drawn to things? Symbols and persuasion are real.

Scooter riders just don't need the same push to buy, at least in NA. They still enjoy the thrill and coolness of riding, even if part of that ride is to the supermarket. T-maxes are cool, definitely. A less expensive Kymco version is a welcome addition to the table, if they've upped their game.

 

Sure you get it, even if you pretend otherwise. A used honda civic with a set of snow tires is cheap, practical transportation.

So...let's stop right there.

1). I already have a Jeep. Don't need a car too.

2). It would cost me $15/day to park that car at work. That's...$75/week, or around $300/month. Parking my scooter is FREE. From this perspective, that car, or any other car, is not cheap (even less so considering insurance and maybe gas).

3).Given that the walk from the car lot is longer than the walk from the motorcycle lot, AND it would take me around twice as long to commute in a car than it does on the motorcycle, that car, or any car, is not all that practical either.

A less expensive Kymco version is a welcome addition to the table, if they've upped their game.

I didn't express any issues with the Kymco. The more the merrier

 

What state{s} have a tiered licensing system? I know some states have limits on teens and how big they can ride but I didn't know any state prohibited an adult from starting on anything they liked. Personally i like the idea of starting small and moving up as it teaches the rider better. I know here in NM a person can pass the tests{written and riding}{very easy!} and then are authorized to ride anything above 100cc. This would include a Hyabusa if you so choose. I know of a couple of young people who died or got injured because they started way too big.

 

Personally i like the idea of starting small and moving up as it teaches the rider better.

Totally agree.

In my state in Australia its 0-250cc with some exceptions.
(I missed that step here and learned to ride on the streets of Vietnam and Thailand on 125cc scooters, so probably had the steepest learning curve the world can offer)
Then 250 to 650cc with exceptions
Then do a test and onwards and upwards if so inclined.

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/licensing/motorcycles/learner-approved/

 

Utah has one, with the breakpoint being 650cc. Test on a bike over 650cc and you can ride anything; under that and it's based on what you tested on.

More here.

I have my issues with Utah (it's a love-hate thing, I really did enjoy my time there), but this system actually makes a certain amount of sense.

 

Utah has one, with the breakpoint being 650cc. Test on a bike over 650cc and you can ride anything; under that and it's based on what you tested on.

So...test on a Suzuki S40, you can ride a Hayabusa the next day. But test on a GSXR600, and you can't ride an 883 Sportster or a Honda Pacific Coast? That's idiotic.

{or a 650 Burgman!}

I agree!

New Mexico has 3 levels for 2 wheeled rides. Under 50cc does not require a special license{or insurance}. For some strange reason there is a class of under 100cc and if you test here you can't ride bigger. Almost impossible to find anything bigger than 50cc but smaller than 100cc these days. And other than the 90cc Hondas there wasn't much back in yesteryear. I have no idea where that one came from. But in NM you could test on a 125cc scoot and you are licensed for 1000cc sport. Hardly the same thing!

This isn't the same as what Europe and many parts of Asia have. You start with a 50-250cc{varies} and then progress up over time. AG asked if I think cars should belicensed likewise and I say YES! Most supercars have very short lives because idiots with money get them but can't handle the immense horsepower. Youtube is filled with videos of these cars dying sometimes before they even get home.

BTW how did this thread get onto this subject?

 

So...test on a Suzuki S40, you can ride a Hayabusa the next day. But test on a GSXR600, and you can't ride an 883 Sportster or a Honda Pacific Coast? That's idiotic.

 

Personally i like the idea of starting small and moving up as it teaches the rider better.

Do you support such a system for cars?

 

I'm close to that point.

Does the fact that someone can take a half mile "road test" in a Cavalier and drive a 200MPH Porsche 911 or Corvette ZR1-or a 13-ton box truck with full air brakes-the next day scare you?

 

Well Harley has become successful in spite of what you may think and is building the most reliable products in their history. There is no right or wrong on what people may think or ride. At times I find a Harley a much better ride than a Burgman and more cost effective. At times a Burgman gets the nod.

While all motorcycles have poor resale values, I would expect a Harley holds its value by % much better than a Burgman.

But we are on a Burgman site, not a cruiser or HD site.

 

It is a fact that riders in the various parts of this country that I have lived in have seen cruisers as the only option for a bike purchase. In those places, that is 90% of the bikes you see on the road (esp. in AZ & TX). And most all the reasons mentioned by others on here previously were true. The image, peer pressure, machisimo, the concept of being a rebel (although truth be known that is laughable, as a pack of these clowns looks like a fleet of conformist clones. They all look and dress the same riding the same type of bike); patriotic notions that they have to buy something 'Merican (although parts are all from abroad) and just plain ignorance and an unwillingness to try something different all come into play. I really wish scooters would be more accepted here. More like this Kymco would be nice.
As for TV commercials, I do remember seeing motorcycle ads usually during sporting events. Once I recall seeing an ad for Suzuki's 0% interest which flashed the Burgman quickly across the screen after some other bikes were shown. I sure wish I could find it on youtube, but I haven't yet.
By the way, for the record, as for myself, I think cruisers are tremendously ugly. Oftentimes they are considered "timeless classics" as having great style. Bleh! I give back to them the same sneers & snickers they give us for scooters. We are the real non-conformists that buck the trend of the masses of sheeple.:grin

 

Never seen someone drive one the first time, then? I have...buy lunch for some UHaul employees...boy do THEY have stories!

 

First time for everything, no matter what it is.

But hey, maybe we can just have a govt regulation that makes renting a truck to someone illegal. Could use the same law to declare a $50/hr minimum wage, 90% tax rate on incomes over the minimum wage, give everyone a free house, free car and free box truck driving lessons too.

 

AG, you will just raise new criminals.

 

At this point, I no longer oppose a hard limit on power and displacement for all new motorcycles. There are just too many idiots.

 

But honestly - are there are huge number of innocent 3rd parties being injured or killed by people on motorcycles? Is this really a huge problem that requires limitations on EVERYONE to deal with? Relative to all of the other dangers on the road that people face?

Or is it far more likely that the idiots on motorcycles are largely injuring or killing themselves - which - in that case - who cares?

****, you could argue that there is no reason for "sport bikes" or any bike over, say, 600cc or 800c, to exist on public roads at all. Just make them all illegal, for track use only, since they serve no real "legitimate purpose" on public roads, when much "safer" motorcycles are available.

 

That which is not mandatory must be banned!!