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BikeSwimLaugh
05-18-2011, 01:33 AM
Hey guys....just thought I'd throw my 2-cents in with regard to the Kymco 90, for those who might be considering the quad for their kids.

First-off, I'm a longtime hardcore Honda fan...I don't even look at Suzuki, Yamaha or Kawasai, let alone these off-brands...but I gotta tell you something, this Kymco is REALLY impressive and as much as I wanted to walk away from the brand, it was hard and now I'm a believer!

It started with getting a great deal on a sport-utility quad, it was an MXU300 and it looked and felt great. It's based on the Honda 250EX and done right. It's got the same driveshaft as the 250EX, but it's water-cooled, full hydraulic brakes with braided lines both front & back, digital display, great suspension and all sorts of extra goodies. I liked that Kymco makes the engines for Honda and the quad came with a solid warranty. The quad has been nothing but excellent and today it's still a workhorse around my home and my wife rides it when camping. Great quad and with the CVT it can be ridden by anyone.

Fast-forward to my daughters situation. Upon giving my wife the MXU300 and proclaiming it 'her quad'...I then bought myself a 400EX and also grabbed a TRX90EX for my 10 year-old daughter. We quickly put on Elka front shocks, steering stabilizer, 400EX rear wheel/tires (using a Diamond J adapter), some hand guards and made the quad look and ride much better. The thing I liked most about the Honda was that it had a foot operated rear brake....other 90-sized quads did not and the hand brake was so hard for my daughter to wrap her fingers around that she almost couldn't produce enough pressure to stop the quad, let alone steer/control the quad...so Honda won by name and features. The downside is that no kid that I've ever let ride that quad can grasp the concept of shifting!!! My dauhger is now 11 and despite a good amount of time riding I'll still catch her riding around in 2nd gear all wound-out. So let me (finally) get to the Kymco

The Kymco is surprisingly awesome!

The Kymco is FULLY automatic and the newer models 2010+ have a reverse gear. This is great: no more screaming at the kids to shift up or worry that they'll bog-down while going up a hill. There is peace of mind and less drama with a full automatic. The Honda is semi-auto, you don't have a clutch, but you do need to shift it. Also, the Honda will only crank in neutral whereas the Kymco will always crank in any tranny configuration. How many times have we found the kids claiming the quad won't start and they just have it in gear and can't grasp how they need to put it in neutral? yeah, it happens...but never with the Kymco!

The reverse gear is nice. Around our campsite I've seen (and rescued) many little kids stranded with their quads faced into a berm or all crossed-up in a weird position. A 50-70 pound kid can't manipulate a 230-pound quad very well. Trust me, the reverse is nice and now having both the Honda & Kymco (I have 3 daughters)...I've watched the kid on the Kymco use reverse and the kid with the Honda get off and start the tug-of-war. Reverse = Good!!! :)

The Kymco has an automatic choke that works great...just turn the key and it fires right up instantly: no choke to remember to turn-off, no wondering if little Johnny or Emily turned-off the choke. One less thing to think or worry about and the kids don't need you to help them get it started.

The Kymco has a nice big headlight with low AND High Beams...with the flip of a switch the night illuminates. The Honda has no headlight and the OEM stator can't support more then 10-watts of power. so you can't just add aftermarket lights that easily. You can pop the $125 to get a Ricky Stator aftermarket stator that'll support up to a total of 50 watts, which still isn't that much.

The Kymco has an integrated air fan that blows air over the engine ensuring that the engine stays cool even if the kids leave it running or are putzing along super slow. The Honda is just air cooled fins...no fan

The Kymco has a kick-start option, the Honda does not

The Kymco also has a rear brake light...which can stop another kid from rear-ending them because the big bright red bulb really sends-out the message. Following the Honda, you best keep a close eye in front of you. Even my 400 EX has a brake light.

The Kymco does NOT have a foot-operated brake and to me this is one set-back that I'd like. Any kid can instinctively use their foot to stop the quad, but hand levers can be a challenge with coordination and remembering/understanding which brake to use. Kymco did do one thing right, they made the rear brake hydraulic and very easy to use....whereas the front brake is cable and relatively functional but not as likely to be locked-up. The adaption process of using only hand brakes was fast and my daughters little hands can easily work the hand brake lever...but do note, some 90-sized quads have regular levers and the reach for a kids hand is just not there!

The rear suspension on the Kymco is comprable to the TRX's, but the Kymco's front suspension is a bit better...it has some real 'cush' and dampening whereas the TRX is more pogo-stick stiff.

The Kymco comes with Maxxis tires on all four corners...and the rear tires are sporty & wide with an impressive foot-print. The TRX comes with these rounded donut utility-like tires that just don't look right.

The downside of Kymco is that the width is a bit more narrow and so the TRX appears a bit more beefier. I spent $12 on some 1.5" wheel adapters for the rear and this did wonders for a wider stance and better look. I do not want to change the steering geometry on the front so I'm leaving it stock, but it still looks good with just the back widened.

Lastly....while at Chapparel Motorsports we looked at all the 90's and I noticed the Kawasaki 90 is absolutely IDENTICAL to the Kymco!! The only difference is that the Kawasaki has green plastic, does not have a reverse gear and cost about $300 more then the Kymco.

Another thing is, there really is no aftermarket parts for the Kymco...you can't trick and tweak it like a Honda. The Honda also cost more then the Kymco, but it'll hold it's value and it's a Honda.

Like I say, I ride a Honda and I'm a diehard Honda fan...but for the money, value and features...this Kymco is EXTREMELY impressive. I have 3 daughters and we have 2 Honda TRX's and 1 Kymco and they all perform about equal...but I never need to yell at the Kymco rider to upshift or downshift, I never need to help the Kymco get started or worry about the choke being left on and the Kymco has the headlight and tail/brake light. When the kids find a small track, the Kymco is faster because it always has the right gear...at least for my young medium-experienced riders.

quadnana7
05-18-2011, 08:44 AM
Hi BikeSwimLaugh,
Great write up about the Kymco!
Just wanted to add a few things about the upgrades that are being done to the Kymco 90.
This one has a Bud Fischer bolt on dual a-arm setup with 16" shocks. Roundhouse carrier with titanium axle. Rear foot break.
Engine is punched to 125cc with poweroll cam and pvl ignition.
Clutch has been modified.
They are very upgradeable.
You can call me if you have any questions.
Gary (931) 260-0361

BikeSwimLaugh
05-18-2011, 12:52 PM
Gary,

WOW, that's quite the quad you got there!!!!

We're just recreational riders, not looking to do anything that elaborate to the kids quads. That quad you have is clearly a race quad for the 90 division, very cool.

What I more accurately meant by upgrades is OPTIONS. With the 400EX there are tons of nerf bars, bumpers, underbelly protection, tires/wheels, shocks, fenders, engine mods, etc, etc, etc. You can dress it up with all sorts of upgrades, lots of options!

Even with the TRX 90 there isn't much out there. Right now I'm waiting on Rath Racing to send me a front bumper...aside from Rath, I can't even find any other aftermarket front bumper for the TRX.

If you do an aftermarket search for TRX90, not much comes up, with the Kymco, pretty much nothing!

I'd love to know how you added a foot brake to the Kymco...that does seem like a solid upgrade!

quadnana7
05-18-2011, 03:22 PM
Thanks,
This was one of the Skvarek Kymco's.
I'll take a pic of brake tomorrow.
This quad was done before we got it.
You can also dual out Honda and many other mods can be done.
You can call me if you have any questions.

quadnana7
05-19-2011, 04:59 PM
BikeSwimLaugh
Sent you a pm

tri5ron
05-31-2011, 12:33 AM
hey all,
Bikeswimlaugh is a good buddy of mine, and I just got off the phone with him after his first long weekend out with the new kymco mongoose 90.

He was telling me tha his daughter was always lagging towards the rear of the pack, while on group rides, and she was saying that she has it at full throttle.

I told him to check the throttle limiter, and verify she is getting full stroke on the throttle lever.
I also mentioned that there is a green wire on the cdi that can be cut to eliminate
the rev limiter, AND about the shoulder bushing in the clutch/CVT.

I told him that I wasn't sure if his new 2011 Mongoose 90 could accept these mods, but you guys would most probably know about it, and would help shed some light on this.

so,
Does the 2011 Mongoose 90 have the green wire that can be cut?
and,
Does it have the shoulder bushing that can be swapped to the sleeve type ?

Thanks,
Ron,
(Proud Dad to Nickolas)

BikeSwimLaugh
05-31-2011, 01:21 PM
Originally posted by tri5ron
hey all,
Bikeswimlaugh is a good buddy of mine, and I just got off the phone with him after his first long weekend out with the new kymco mongoose 90.

He was telling me tha his daughter was always lagging towards the rear of the pack, while on group rides, and she was saying that she has it at full throttle.

I told him to check the throttle limiter, and verify she is getting full stroke on the throttle lever.
I also mentioned that there is a green wire on the cdi that can be cut to eliminate
the rev limiter, AND about the shoulder bushing in the clutch/CVT.

I told him that I wasn't sure if his new 2011 Mongoose 90 could accept these mods, but you guys would most probably know about it, and would help shed some light on this.

so,
Does the 2011 Mongoose 90 have the green wire that can be cut?
and,
Does it have the shoulder bushing that can be swapped to the sleeve type ?

Thanks,
Ron,
(Proud Dad to Nickolas)

Yeah, what he said.... :)

She wasn't always lagging, but she did contend that she had the throttle pinned and the quad was topped-out....BUT, she's a notorious exaggerator. While riding next to her, at good speed, I could see she was only half-way into the throttle....but she repeatedly contends that at several points she had it wide-open and that's why she couldn't keep-up.

So again, she's on a 2011....any wires to cut or things to alter? I'm 98% certain the throttle-body handlebar governor is screwed all the way out, but I'll check it again.

In all, she was VERY happy with the Kymco 90 and the reverse was very handy. Her twin sister was on a TRX90 and both quads faired well and seemed about equal. I did like that the Kymco has the automatic choke so I never had to worry about the quad not starting or the kids not turning-off the choke with the Kymco. The headlight and tail-light came in very handy at night. I mounted lights on the TRX but it has no tail or brake light.

The 100% fully automatic is really nice, the girls on the TRX routinely had the gearing too low (riding around all wound-out) or too high (forgot to downshift after a stop). LOL, the daughter on the Kymco insisted on riding with thongs for footwear...totally do-able because the brakes are on the handlebars and no shifting required....the TRX has the foot brake and shifter on the left side.

I widened the Kymco with some 1.5" spacers on the rear only. Eventually I'd opt for slightly bigger but certainly beefier/more-aggressive tires.

But yeah...if anyone knows how to get a bit more power out of the Kymco that would be nice, thanks

bbcmudtruck
07-12-2011, 01:10 AM
Originally posted by quadnana7
Hi BikeSwimLaugh,
Great write up about the Kymco!
Just wanted to add a few things about the upgrades that are being done to the Kymco 90.
This one has a Bud Fischer bolt on dual a-arm setup with 16" shocks. Roundhouse carrier with titanium axle. Rear foot break.
Engine is punched to 125cc with poweroll cam and pvl ignition.
Clutch has been modified.
They are very upgradeable.
You can call me if you have any questions.
Gary (931) 260-0361

I'd like some more info on this bad boy! I have an immaculant 04 that has hardly been rode and has been well maintained. However my boy also has an 87 LT80 that will straight up stomp the 90. But as you all know, the lt80 just doesn't have the suspension to let him do much. I'd like to build the 90 up to run faster as well upgrade the suspension quite a bit. Where do I start and who do I talk to? i've serched the internet and cant hardly find anything at all.? Thanks!
Ryan

hasbeenttduner
09-07-2011, 08:07 AM
Smaller budget improvements.
Start with a cdi box from an on line or e bay scooter place. This is a step over the wire cut and under 30.00. scrappydog etc. They make a big differance. Also watch the mini classifieds for wider front aarms +2 +2.5 or +3 around 125.00ish and get some of the 25.00 not for jumping rear wheel lug extender style wheel spacers.
Below is my daughters 06 with a cdi box, +2 front aarms, cheapo lug extender style wheel spacers, and maxxis razor cross on the rear. I feel this is a good non racer kids play quad setup.

(NOTE:Make sure the cdi will work on the newer style auto choke reverse model. This example is on a 2006 with manual choke and no reverse.)

Next would be clutch rollers. I put in some 5g I believe off hand but I am not dialed in yet. I need to play more with the front boss that I got from airmobile to get it right. He knows all about these things.