The X10 may have to go

[roadster]

Its an indulgence but I generally change scooters every three years so I have been contemplating whether to stick with Piaggio or go for an alternative such as the Kymco 300i. A big factor in this is the quality and convenience of dealerships when it comes to supplying a new machine. I have been able to talk to two different Kymco dealers here on the South coast and both said supply within a few weeks is no problem whereas there are no decent Piaggio dealers nearby that know anything about scooters over 125cc.

In short although I love the performance and all round practicality of the X10 the attitude of the importers, particularly in respect of recalls and relationships with dealers, is something I'm keen to get away from. So I don't think I can justify the price premium for another X10 even though mine has been pretty good albeit with early attention to the exposed fuse box issue and the fuel pipe recall.

If anyone has views on the Kymco Downtown 300i ABS model please tell me what you think of it.

[Dave Milnes]

Same as the Kawasaki and BMW scoots.
My initial thoughts is why change just because of dealers. Don't use dealers for anything. Keep what you have, maintain it yourself save your money.
Kymco more so than Sym seem to still retain some of that 'cheap Korean' mindset where if you went into a Honda/Suzuki dealer for example to trade in you'd get a poor price. Sort of Skoda/Lada of the past.
Doesn't seem to be anything really wrong with their products though, and being the supplier to BMW and Kawasaki is possibly their way of getting more established by sticking a more 'legitimate' badge on their product.
The biggest drawback to such brands is that only their dealers stock parts. Finding spares from Suttons or Fowlers or Easyparts is very limited plus you will never find plastics or accessories on Ebay for it.