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Post by seesaw14 on Mar 19, 2014 19:45:21 GMT -5
I recently bought a 2008 Lance Venice with 4,300 miles. The mechanic said the engine runs good (I had a brand new battery installed after I purchased it). So far I've put almost $1,200 into the thing so the thing is I don't know if I should cut my losses and just buy a new scooter without so many problems. The problem seems to be that the generator does not recharge the battery while I'm driving, so the scooter can only handle about 1.5 hours of driving before it dies. At this point I don't know if I should go back to the mechanic and fix the issue (which he wants to do, but it would be at least $ ) or if I should just recharge the battery myself before I ride every single time? If so, how would I go about doing that. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
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Post by spandi on Mar 19, 2014 21:30:53 GMT -5
First off 2008 is a rather infamous year of bad build quality. Trying to sell it "as is" will more than likely result in a substantial loss to you. Running it in the condition it's in now will eventually ruin that battery. Which leaves two options, either have the mechanic fix it or learn how to wrench for yourself, and replace the faulty stator, or part out the bike and hope you get your money back. If you are fairly certain that a stator replacement will do the trick then you have the option of either using the scooter yourself or being able to sell a fully operational machine.
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Post by jjoshua20213 on Mar 19, 2014 21:45:26 GMT -5
You can fix it yourself for under , but if you have the to fork over just do and and get the problem over with. But charging it while you lean to fix the problem your self is smarter. Its easy. What all did you spend 1200 on? You didn't keep paying that dude to fix it did you? If so, sound like he's scamming you.
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Post by seesaw14 on Mar 19, 2014 21:52:41 GMT -5
I am really interested in fixing it myself but I don't know the first thing about fixing scooters or anything... I'm looking online to see if I could teach myself but I dunno if I'm capable.
This was a stupid impulse buy on my end, I paid $700 for it off Craigslist, then $400 on a new battery & brakes and tires that were worn out. Also on towing 2 times.
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Post by alleyoop on Mar 19, 2014 23:09:36 GMT -5
Well not charging is either of two things, the REGULATOR/RECTIFIER or the Stator or both. But The stator can be tested to see if it is putting out VAC volts to the Regulator/Rectifier and if it is then you know its the Regulator/Rectifier that is bad and not charging the battery.
You can test this yourself but you will need a Multi Meter which you can pick up for under $10.00 at Harbor Freight. We can put up Videos on how to do all this and it is not hard at all. So you May want to ask the Mechanic what he is going to replace and how he knows that is the problem and then come back here and tell us what he said and we can tell you if he is full of it or not. Most of the mechanics do not know how to diagnose a problem they are good at just replacing parts and hope they hit the bad part. But all through this they charge you for the parts they replaced that were not needed. It is just money in their pockets. Alleyoop
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Post by JerryScript on Mar 19, 2014 23:12:36 GMT -5
If you aren't a mechanic, even a diy home mechanic, you should probably let the pro take care of this one. A stator change is not the easiest, and does require one specialty tool, a puller. Also, the stator and pickup have to be positioned and gapped properly, which helps having experience to do it right. This means you will not only have to purchase the stator parts, but also a puller, which could make it more economical to let the pro mechanic do it for you, providing he warrants his work.
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Post by urbanmadness on Mar 19, 2014 23:33:18 GMT -5
If the stator is bad, it will probably cost you bucks either way you go, by the time you buy tools for the job. You will need the puller for the stator rotor but it's a good investment. regulator/rectifier (reg/rac) will run around 30 bucks. In any event, you will need to get a meter to trouble shoot it.
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Post by rockinez on Mar 20, 2014 1:53:54 GMT -5
If you are not into the mechanical thing I go with have it fixed and sell it. If you like scooters buy a name brand. No shame in being defeated by a China scoots needs. My 2008 (bad year) has brought me down many a day, and I grew up in a garage. Eventually I do troubleshoot and diagnose the issue, but I have been doing this for 40 years on normal machines (American and English), and China scoots still strain my brain at times. Sometimes it is good to cut and run. Your call.
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Post by rockynv on Mar 20, 2014 4:31:10 GMT -5
My 2008 Lance/Znen was a maintenance nightmare too however the charging system was the only thing that did not cause me a problem. It could be a simple loose connection or a bad voltage regulator. I paid only $400 for mine used with about the same miles on it and even that was way too much. Lets see 2 heads, clutch, variator, 2 belts, muffler, cdi, coil, ignition pickup, lost rear fender to vibration, gear box rebuild, starter, body attachment points on the frame failed and all had to be repaired/replaced to get it to 6,000 miles. I could have bought a new Aprilia for what it cost me in parts and personal time to keep it running. Actually that is what I did before I got it to 7,000 miles. 21,000 miles later I have never had to even take the rear body off the Aprilia while on the Lance I could take the body off and reinstall it in my sleep and had the engine out so many times I could get it done in about 15 minutes.
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Post by spandi on Mar 20, 2014 11:58:32 GMT -5
If I remember correctly 2008 was when the price of gas peaked, demand was huge, and the Chinese manufacturers were slapping them together and shipping them out as fast as possible. (with all too predictable results) Based on what I've read so far, Seesaw14 would be better off going (as you did) with something like Aprilia, Kymco, or SYM
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Post by rockinez on Mar 20, 2014 15:44:55 GMT -5
China scoots are for folks that are not afraid of a wrench, even in China. Watch serpentZA on youtube for how the Chinese handle China scoots. Constant maintenance is the key. It is often daily maintenance.
They run, but only for the folks that can keep them running. For a non-mechanical person, a China scoot may be a bad choice. Go Japanese if you want dependability and quality. Go China scoot if you like tinkering. 'nuf said
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Post by spandi on Mar 21, 2014 10:13:41 GMT -5
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Post by rockynv on Mar 22, 2014 0:58:00 GMT -5
What saved me on towing was a cheap Harbor Freight Trailer that I picked up for less than $200 dollars. If I had to pay for towing the Lance would have dissapeared after the second event. I don't mind wrenching that much for maintenance however having a bike that I knew was a roll of the dice as to getting to my destination or back home and having to push it off the road, chain it to a post or tree and then get out my cane to walk home to get the van and trailer was wearing a bit thin.
On a charging issue that needs to be gone through methodically and you have to follow the path to the power. A volt/ohm meter such as those regularly on sale at Harbor Freight for $2.99 will be a big help.
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Post by jjoshua20213 on Mar 22, 2014 9:34:30 GMT -5
China scoots are for folks that are not afraid of a wrench, even in China. Watch serpentZA on youtube for how the Chinese handle China scoots. Constant maintenance is the key. It is often daily maintenance. They run, but only for the folks that can keep them running. For a non-mechanical person, a China scoot may be a bad choice. Go Japanese if you want dependability and quality. Go China scoot if you like tinkering. 'nuf said Pretty much
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Post by rockinez on Mar 22, 2014 19:54:56 GMT -5
I like the videos taken by serpentZA on youtube inside the local scooter shop. In China you can work on your own scooter in the scooter shop. It is interesting, but they only charge you for parts, if you do the work. He has a clutch changed out in this video. Interesting shop.
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