FI or carb?  By  2wheelfun (Read 985 times)

Being a Master Certified Mechanic for more years than I care to comment on, I have quite a bit of experience with both FI and carbs. Believe me when I say that FI can have issues, esp dirty injectors from the cheap gas we now have.

The main advantage of FI over fuel injection, is that FI is constantly changing the air/fuel mixture with riding conditions. Also that FI does not have as many issues over carbs at higher altitudes. The drawbacks to FI is the amount of extra parts that are required in the system and the cost. A basic FI system for a 50cc scooter will set you back $399.00 for just the kit. That does not include labor to install or a computer to set it up. There are also not many companies that sell these yet. Here is one that does and shows all the extras that are required

www.ecotrons.com/products/small_engine_fuel_injection_kit.

There is a link on the old scootdawg where this system was tested.

scootdawg.proboards.com/thread/37715

The carb systems used on scooters work very well if they are set up right and kept clean and the average person with minmum amount of tools can fix/clean them, change jets ect.

To me, the cost factor out weighs the benefits.

As far as winter storage, either drain the tank and fuel bowl or add Seafoam to the fuel and that will take care of most spring start issuses.

I have had many two wheelers since I was 13 and I learned that a carb needed adjusting as the seasons change and the jets need cleaning every so often . After having a TaoTao ATMa 50 which I bought without doing and research , I decided to do my homework before buying another China scoot as I learned they are nothing like a Honda . I have had many Hondas motorcycles and 2 Honda scoots both 2T . I watched the Martin Racing Performance video on You Tube comparing a CFMoto Echarm ( like mine ) against a generic scooter and I was impressed . I liked the idea of being LC instead of AC and EFI . Some Echarms have a carb instead of EFI . I read so many carb woes like too lean , hard to start in winter and clogged jets that I wanted to try EFI . This is my first small engine to have EFI and I must say it is superior in every aspect compared to a carb . Regardless if it was 17 degrees or over 100 it started up instantly with no throttle and always had the same idle speed , where with a choke they idle up when cold and idle down after warming up . Throttle response is much faster with never any hesitation . Everyone of my buddies who had a regular 150 was blown away by how much faster and stronger my stock was 150 was compared to theirs . When I turn the key I can hear the electric fuel pump pressuring up the line . I have not had one single EFI issue with almost 20k miles . I do give it a sip of Sea Foam as preventive maintenance . My dealer has a CFMoto Glory which has the same engine but another body type and he put an injector for a 250 , custom modded variator and a muffler for a 250 that looks like a Cherry Bomb type . He dynnoed at 13 HP at the rear wheel and told me he hit 84MPH . I could hit 75 on the speedo after going with sliders and I got a ticket for going 72 MPH on mine .


When it works it is heaven as its mostly a pump and a nozzle . I read a thread in here where a guy had an Echarm but the ECU fizzled and a new one was over 500 dollars . Yikes ! I do think if one wanted to do the EFI mod that Ecotrons would be the place to buy a kit . My dealer showed me that I have an older Ducatti EFI system but I could not find any Ducatti parts with the same part numbers as mine . I asked both Ducatti dealers if they would bump up the rev limit to 1k more but they did not want to touch it . I got the " I aint working on no China scoot " snootiness from both .

This summer if my outdoor work pays off I plan on getting Ecotrons EFI on my 2T with the optional secondary injector but dread paying 500+ . Their ECU can be programmed where mine only a dealer has a waaaaay over priced module to do so . I have a wire that a computer diagnostic reader can hook up to . I also have a trouble light that I can count the flashes and look up the code(s) in the manual .