Post by CrankingWithCG on Jan 28, 2021 17:28:46 GMT -5
I bought this gal around a month or so ago. My old 155 was destroyed, and a super nice Zuma popped up for sale near me. After riding it for about 3 months, I decided that with the lack of kickstart, stiff ride, very sensitive throttle, weight, seating/foot position and other things, the Zuma was not for me. It sits rather high, and me being only 5'6 with a 30 inch inseam, it was a tad too big and stout. The Zuma is a great bike, just not for me.
Ill admit, I have a GY6 sickness. A "lust for China rust" if you will. GY6s were my platform of learning, and my old 155 was my baby. Theyre so simple, if you work with them theyre great, and pretty good performance. The torque and pull of the GY6 is something I missed so much. The Zuma is great at high power, but the pickup is more stable and linear. A GY6 will pick right up and grunt to around 50 like no other. But there lies a problem, most of the time, to get a GY6 is to get it in a Chinese bike. Bad wiring, plastics, they just feel weird. My first choice was a beautiful Buddy Blackjack for sale. Same price as the Kymco, the girl probably didnt know it was a Blackjack, but the big brakes and suspension gave it away. My cousin has one though, and I'll admit they feel odd. Narrow bars, small tires, really powerful motor and great quality, but I cant deal with such sharpness on something that takes off like a small missile. Handled too easy almost.
I saw the Kymco about 2 weeks later. 2019, only 1005 miles, stupid low price. The guy was right down the street from me. This was the first bike I've ever looked at and thought about before buying. The seating was still a bit high, but nowhere near as bad as the Zuma. It felt like such great quality, I could tell it obviously wasnt a Honda or Yamaha, but if Im honest, I like my stuff to be a tad bit weaker. Have a little give. So, I went back a week later and bought it.
The first ride home it felt super good. Brakes almost on par with the Zuma, rode great, the seat was just the right amount of cush, and with that little raised back part I settled right in. Handles better than the Zuma, suspension is a bit softer it feels like, and a single adjustable rear shock. The floorboard wasnt as big as a normal China bike, but it was loads better. Other than having one or two cold start issues where it didnt wanna fire or have gas, its been great. I don't know what Kymco does with their variators, but this thing gets it. Probably faster than the 155, but ill have to do a 0-40 to figure it out for sure. It actually will wheelie, on power with a little bit of throwing back. Top speed so far is 56.7, which is a speedo indicated 56, so the speedo is accurate mostly. A run against strong sidewind was gps 56 with a speedo 53, so it seems the speedo is affected by load. More load (up a hill, into wind) it reads low. Less load (tail wind, down a hill) it may read high. But straight road with no wind, it was pretty dead on.
I have tinkered with it. First, took off the mirrors because I cant remember a time when a small scoot looked good with mirrors. Ill install some under bar ones, or bar ends. Checked the valves, exhaust was at 0.007" or something, tightened it to around 0.006 or 0.005, still noisy but eh. Gonna change the oil at 1200 miles, shes at 1086 right now. The carb is largely non adjustable. You can take the bowl off unlike most China carbs. However, no mixture screw, and no adjustable needle. I raised the needle up a bit with a cut off cardboard circle from a gasket, and I replaced the 38 pilot for a 40. The 114 main I figured was good. Mess with the idle speed, and shes better. I was actually out riding it and as I was rolling around a turn, I stabbed the gas and it pulled the front wheel up....while I was leaned over 😂.
Offroad it absolutely trucks. Suspension is great, may stiffen the rear a tad, but its nowhere near the "hit a bump and get thrown 5 feet in the air" like the Zuma. Super quiet, lights are excellent, I just dont have hardly any bad things to say about it so far. Ill update this thread up until about 2000 miles, but hope this sheds light for anyone wanting to buy the Super 8. DO IT
Ill admit, I have a GY6 sickness. A "lust for China rust" if you will. GY6s were my platform of learning, and my old 155 was my baby. Theyre so simple, if you work with them theyre great, and pretty good performance. The torque and pull of the GY6 is something I missed so much. The Zuma is great at high power, but the pickup is more stable and linear. A GY6 will pick right up and grunt to around 50 like no other. But there lies a problem, most of the time, to get a GY6 is to get it in a Chinese bike. Bad wiring, plastics, they just feel weird. My first choice was a beautiful Buddy Blackjack for sale. Same price as the Kymco, the girl probably didnt know it was a Blackjack, but the big brakes and suspension gave it away. My cousin has one though, and I'll admit they feel odd. Narrow bars, small tires, really powerful motor and great quality, but I cant deal with such sharpness on something that takes off like a small missile. Handled too easy almost.
I saw the Kymco about 2 weeks later. 2019, only 1005 miles, stupid low price. The guy was right down the street from me. This was the first bike I've ever looked at and thought about before buying. The seating was still a bit high, but nowhere near as bad as the Zuma. It felt like such great quality, I could tell it obviously wasnt a Honda or Yamaha, but if Im honest, I like my stuff to be a tad bit weaker. Have a little give. So, I went back a week later and bought it.
The first ride home it felt super good. Brakes almost on par with the Zuma, rode great, the seat was just the right amount of cush, and with that little raised back part I settled right in. Handles better than the Zuma, suspension is a bit softer it feels like, and a single adjustable rear shock. The floorboard wasnt as big as a normal China bike, but it was loads better. Other than having one or two cold start issues where it didnt wanna fire or have gas, its been great. I don't know what Kymco does with their variators, but this thing gets it. Probably faster than the 155, but ill have to do a 0-40 to figure it out for sure. It actually will wheelie, on power with a little bit of throwing back. Top speed so far is 56.7, which is a speedo indicated 56, so the speedo is accurate mostly. A run against strong sidewind was gps 56 with a speedo 53, so it seems the speedo is affected by load. More load (up a hill, into wind) it reads low. Less load (tail wind, down a hill) it may read high. But straight road with no wind, it was pretty dead on.
I have tinkered with it. First, took off the mirrors because I cant remember a time when a small scoot looked good with mirrors. Ill install some under bar ones, or bar ends. Checked the valves, exhaust was at 0.007" or something, tightened it to around 0.006 or 0.005, still noisy but eh. Gonna change the oil at 1200 miles, shes at 1086 right now. The carb is largely non adjustable. You can take the bowl off unlike most China carbs. However, no mixture screw, and no adjustable needle. I raised the needle up a bit with a cut off cardboard circle from a gasket, and I replaced the 38 pilot for a 40. The 114 main I figured was good. Mess with the idle speed, and shes better. I was actually out riding it and as I was rolling around a turn, I stabbed the gas and it pulled the front wheel up....while I was leaned over 😂.
Offroad it absolutely trucks. Suspension is great, may stiffen the rear a tad, but its nowhere near the "hit a bump and get thrown 5 feet in the air" like the Zuma. Super quiet, lights are excellent, I just dont have hardly any bad things to say about it so far. Ill update this thread up until about 2000 miles, but hope this sheds light for anyone wanting to buy the Super 8. DO IT
