KYMCO GTi 300

70 mpg at 75mph.

Did a GPS check of top speed yesterday, 83MPH for a two way average, just about what I expeced. Forgot to look at the speedo to see what it was reading but as mentioned earlier, speedo is very accurate, at least up to 60. Also strapped on a gallon or so of gas and ran the bike out of gas. Only 150 miles. Don't know what was up with that because I'ld been getting 70 MPG so should have gone about 175 miles. Either the tank doesn't hold as much as advertised, or my milage dropped off for that fillup. Could be the latter, I did some WO throttle on a long uphill to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Will still be checking milage. Also, low fuel warning started flashing between 115 and 120 miles, meaning 30-35 miles of "reserve".

70 mpg for a 300? Not bad. My Vino 125 gets 70 mpg, and has a 1 gallon tank. Carrying extra gas is a necessity.

What a great trip. 3,975 mostly Interstate miles. I rode 70 to 75 almost the entire time. There were many times I saw 80. I changed oil 1200 miles in without changing filter. Zero oil consumption. My average fuel economy for the trip was 68 mpg. The stability in dirty air and crosswinds is unbelievable. The seat is too soft for my taste but that will be easily remedied. The Ermax windshield was not adequete. When I get the seat and upper aero sorted out this may be the best Interstate bike ever. Of course, this from a guy who rode a W650 from Daytona to LA and back three years in a row. LOL

What a fine motorcycle.

This compares pretty well with my Sport City 250. At highway speeds I get around 70 MPG but run about 5 MPH slower than you did; 65-70 occasionally up to 80. I also have no stability issues. Zero oil consumption but I think the Sport City is probably working harder at highway speeds.

Just curious, how are your tires wearing? My Sport City eats rear tires pretty quickly.

I've got a friend with Carnaby 200 (99% same scoot as sport city, or derbi
rambla, all in piaggio group) and 20k miles on original tires. The 200 is making
the same power as the 250 (I believe there's 0.5hp difference).

Those bigger tires should last rather long..

Thanks Kentucky for your updates. I'm right at 500 miles on mine. Really having fun riding it and love the fast take off with it. In fact, I had a little side by side test with my old Majesty. From a standing start I pulled ahead a couple bike lengths, then stayed that way up to about 45. I'm sure he would have started to reel me in if we could have ran a longer distance. We'll do a real test at the local drag strip when time and weather allow. I like to think of my GTi300 as the 600 gixxer of the scooter world.

One of my closest friends has a 2013 Piaggio BV350. The GTi300 will pull it by 2 or 3 bike lengths up to about 50 then the BV will pull away by a bike length or two. It feels like the BV's clutch locks in almost immediately and that brings the rpms down. It then has to build back up. The GTi doesn't lock up completely until about 40 or so. That's what it feels like. Off the line the GTi is a rocket for a 300.
Barry

Ridden both, agree with above.

My mpg is dropping off a bit, now 62-66. Seems the rear brake is dragging a little. Anyone else have this going on?

Every bike, every brakes drag a little.
Hard to tell if it's too much or not over a forum.

There is considerable scraping noises on my DT300 when pushing it
around but the rotors don't get hot while riding so I guess it's fine.

I actually rode about 10 miles without using the rear brake at all. When I checked, the rear rotor was hot enough that you couldn't touch it without getting burned.

That might be a bit too hot, yeah.. even if rear scooter tires tend to get
very hot under normal use.

Try a top speed run, then you'll know for sure.

I had a front brake dragging on my R1100GS. Although I could ride it, the front brake got real hot. I put it on the centerstand and could not turn the front wheel by hand. This happened in the middle of nowhere and I couldn't get the brake to release. I ended up removing one front disc just to be able to ride it home(I still had one disc working up front) . The dealer fixed it by rebuilding the caliper.


Try putting your scooter on the centerstand and see how hard it is to spin the rear tire. Also, after it is hot, try seeing if there is pressure built up in the line by releasing one of the bleed nipples.

I did not know that stuck calipers were as common as they are until it happened on my car. It seems that a little rust and deposits will build up over time on the outside of the piston and lock it in the bore. I had to take a brass brush to the piston to remove the deposits to make it slide into the bore smoothly again.

Good tip to check if the wheel spins freely. You should hear some slight scrapes from the pads but it should be easy to turn.

A wheel with a disc brake should turn freely if the brake is not applied. Yes you will hear a scraping sound from the brakes, but that's it. No real drag, not enough to cause heat. I can easily spin the front wheels on all my scooters. The rear wheels are a bit harder to turn because of the CVT drive parts, and all my scooters have drum rear brakes. If the disc gets to hot to touch, there is something wrong. There are 2 common possibilities. one is a stuck caliper, probably caused by corrosion or gunk buildup. The other is a plugged fluid return passage in the master cylinder, preventing the release of fluid pressure. Could also be both.

+1

Some people don't wash their scoots and never change the brake fluid
until a problem appears.. so it could be either of those two or both.

Has anyone ridden their GTi300 up a fairly steep grade, and how did it do?

It did like any other 28-30hp scooter out there.

If you need better climbing ability, you can always use lighter Dr Pulley
sliders.

It'll outrun a Beverly (BV300) up a 10% hill here 2up, and BV300 was 1up.

I haven't really taken a good look at that rear brake, but will when time permits. My MPG is staying in the mid 60's, not as good as Kentucky gets and he's running faster speeds than I normally ride. Thanks for all the input guys, like the fact that it will hammer the BV300. Wonder how the BV350 would stand up to the GTi?