Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 168
Likes: 1
Joined: May 6, 2013 8:28:08 GMT -5
|
Post by keltex78 on Apr 16, 2014 10:41:00 GMT -5
My scooter isn't well: Jonway YY250t/244cc, only 5000 miles. I've always been very prompt with oil changes. During break-in, I changed oil at 0, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 miles, and then every 1000 miles after. I never noticed any issues. Until now. Yesterday evening, I drained the oil for the 5000-mile change. I checked the filter screen and was surprised to see a couple of tiny flakes caught on the mesh. I continued draining the oil, and then checked the condition of the used oil in the drain pan. I was alarmed to find that the oil had a shimmer to it, and had a number of tiny flakes of metal floating in it. Obviously a ferrous material; I moved a strong magnet under the pan and the shimmer shifted and flecks would follow the magnet. I'm assuming it must be from the lower assemby; bearings or crank. The scooter isn't burning any oil, smoking, or performing poorly, so not piston or cylinder walls. So what now? Drive it until it blows up and then replace the scooter? I was hoping to get at least 10,000 miles before failure as that's the pay-off point where the bike would have completely paid for itself in fuel savings. Spend a lot of time and money swapping the motor on a $1600 scooter that's already past the halfway point doesn't really sound economical either. Unfortunately, deep North East Texas isn't the place for finding used bikes on CL; most are around the DFW or Houston areas. I really would like to upgrade from a China-Scoot but can't afford the top-shelf brands new. Unfortunately, for my driving, I'm limited to 250cc or higher as I do a lot of ~60mph driving on the highways. I would like the size and convenience of a smaller 150 GY6 but that's not enough bike. Found a nice low-miles Reflex in Fort Worth: dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/mcy/4416737361.htmlAnother in Dallas in need of a little TLC: dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mpo/4420571533.htmlNothing useful locally though. |
|
|
|
Post by ramblinman on Apr 16, 2014 12:00:00 GMT -5
i had a few tiny pieces of metal stuck to the drain plug on the first couple oil changes of my new 150cc. same thing when i installed BBK on my old atm50 so i assumed it was from the piston rings and figured it was normal.
who knows where the pieces you have found came from after 5000 miles?
parts wear out... so what, ride it until you notice change in performance. i would.
|
|
|
|
Post by DaveC on Apr 16, 2014 19:44:43 GMT -5
When I worked in the Motor Pool, we thought PM was the afternoon.
Don't fix it if it ain't broke (Gov't motto), when it breaks, replace broken part.
No one ever repaired a broken 'widget'.
Keep monitoring, and see what happens
|
|
|
|
Post by spandi on Apr 16, 2014 20:34:51 GMT -5
|
|
Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 168
Likes: 1
Joined: May 6, 2013 8:28:08 GMT -5
|
Post by keltex78 on Apr 16, 2014 21:17:48 GMT -5
That moly stuff looks interesting. Not normally a fan of additives but I might give that a shot. Other than that, I think I'll RTV a magnet in the drain plug to help catch shavings. Maybe up the frequency of oil changes a bit too...
|
|
|
|
Post by spandi on Apr 16, 2014 22:51:25 GMT -5
That moly stuff looks interesting. Not normally a fan of additives but I might give that a shot. Other than that, I think I'll RTV a magnet in the drain plug to help catch shavings. Maybe up the frequency of oil changes a bit too... I frist heard about this on a Rukus site (it seems they have a tendency to burn the main crank) My scoot also seems to have this problem (at least with some riders) No shavings yet, hope to keep it that way. (hope everything works out in your favor)  totalruckus.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73173&start=0 |
|
Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 114
Likes: 5
Joined: Apr 14, 2013 17:00:26 GMT -5
|
Post by skyrider on Apr 16, 2014 23:32:57 GMT -5
I had a similar experience with the YY250T that I had. Never found any flakes in the oil changes. At 10,600 it just sputtered and quit. Doug has the bike now and when he tore down the was a lot of ferrous in the engine and he could find no place that it came from. It was as if something got left in the engine. The debris roughed up the rod bearing and oil pump.
Maybe he will chime in and update us on that project.
|
|
|
|
Post by tvnacman on Apr 17, 2014 4:05:49 GMT -5
I had a similar experience with the YY250T that I had. Never found any flakes in the oil changes. At 10,600 it just sputtered and quit. Doug has the bike now and when he tore down the was a lot of ferrous in the engine and he could find no place that it came from. It was as if something got left in the engine. The debris roughed up the rod bearing and oil pump. Maybe he will chime in and update us on that project. I think JR may have had his eyes on this one shortly after this place got started . John |
|
|
|
Post by rockynv on Apr 17, 2014 12:33:55 GMT -5
You may want to get a gallon of kerosene and overfill and flush the block a few time without starting it. Don't bother putting the screen in so you get a good flow to flush things out as soo as you remover the drain plug. They may not have flushed out the castings as well as they should have when they assembled it and flushing it out may be all it needs.
Even name brand bikes will show some metal wool in the screen at the first major oil change.
|
|
|
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 19, 2014 2:48:58 GMT -5
Wow, that is the kind of thing that keeps you up at night... LOL!
While it could be something potentially serious, it could be virtually nothing at all... Could be just a few specks of material from rough-casting on the crank, or some other part that finally broke loose after a number of miles. In any case, the magnet is a very good idea.
My guess, and my hope is that it's an isolated bit of "schmootz" that came loose, and the magnet will catch the rest before it can bugger-up any machined surfaces. Hopefully, it will disappear after a few oil-changes, never to return again.
I had an old Chrysler V-6 that did that after 200,000 miles! I did the magnet thing, and sure enough, 2 oil-changes and the metal shavings went away, and never came back. The engine was still fine after 300,000 miles when I donated the car to a friend who had no car. He drove it for years, putting another 100,000 miles on the clock!
Best wishes on your engine!
Leo in Texas
|
|
Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 168
Likes: 1
Joined: May 6, 2013 8:28:08 GMT -5
|
Post by keltex78 on Apr 23, 2014 21:40:47 GMT -5
Well, I think my scoot has kicked the bucket... still cranks and runs but it has rapidly gotten worse. After my 5k mile oil change, I drove the scooter about 120 miles more, then changed the oil again this evening. Many more metal flakes and a sheen to the oil that was obviously metal dust (followed a magnet). I then scooted around a couple of miles, pulled the dipstick, and could see metal in the fresh oil ON THE DIPSTICK. The clatter I initially thought was dry rollers and variator has suddenly gotten much worse, and now the scoot is starting to hesitate, and has less power. The symptoms I'm seeing look a lot like was reported in this thread: scootdawg.proboards.com/thread/51708...only without the total and catastrophic failure leaving me stranded on the side of the road (yet). I think I'll pull the motor and see what happened with the inside, but I imagine it's fairly scrapped. Time to start shopping for a replacement. Anybody wanna buy a parts scooter cheap?  <Edit> 8 months and <5200 miles to failure. A total of $900 fuel savings toward the initial $1600 purchase leaves me $700 in the hole on this investment. I'm ready to just drop the motor from the bike and start tearing it down just to see what happened. If rebuilding is a cheap option, I may give that a shot. Insides can be replaced; top end can be swapped with a BBK(?). |
|
|
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Apr 24, 2014 12:40:23 GMT -5
Whew, SORRY to hear that!
With Taiwan and Italian-made scooters out there, as well as Japanese, SOMETIMES being "affordable" I'd at least consider getting another scooter, even used. Looks like you put a LOT of miles on your ride, so you will have to consider just what is the best alternative.
You really need a vehicle that rivals a modern car in reliability, and longevity.
Whatever you do, BEST WISHES for sure!
Leo in Texas |
|
Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 168
Likes: 1
Joined: May 6, 2013 8:28:08 GMT -5
|
Post by keltex78 on Apr 24, 2014 13:53:57 GMT -5
The China scoot was just an experiment in profitability and utility; since I had never ridden before, I wanted to try a cheap scooter. I've heard of people who just never get used to riding and I didn't want to spend a lot on a bike I might not want to keep. I expected the bike to last longer than it did, but I was definitely saving money on gas and the scooter was working very well for my needs. I definitely want a replacement, and would prefer a decent higher displacement scoot so the motor won't be working quite as hard. 5k miles of highway driving killed mine, but it was working pretty hard during those miles. I want a Yamaha Majesty or similar, but used scooters are very scarce in my area. I need to come up with something soon, I'm missing the best bike weather now. Another month and it's going to be miserably hot again...  |
|
|
|
Post by spandi on Apr 24, 2014 16:57:56 GMT -5
The China scoot was just an experiment in profitability and utility; since I had never ridden before, I wanted to try a cheap scooter. I've heard of people who just never get used to riding and I didn't want to spend a lot on a bike I might not want to keep. I expected the bike to last longer than it did, but I was definitely saving money on gas and the scooter was working very well for my needs. I definitely want a replacement, and would prefer a decent higher displacement scoot so the motor won't be working quite as hard. 5k miles of highway driving killed mine, but it was working pretty hard during those miles. I want a Yamaha Majesty or similar, but used scooters are very scarce in my area. I need to come up with something soon, I'm missing the best bike weather now. Another month and it's going to be miserably hot again... Sorry to hear of this (I'm thinking it's that crank bearing again) If you're going to pull the engine why not just replace the bearing with a OEM Honda Helix unit?  |
|
Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 168
Likes: 1
Joined: May 6, 2013 8:28:08 GMT -5
|
Post by keltex78 on May 3, 2014 11:18:53 GMT -5
Finally started the teardown on this last night and got the motor pulled off the bike. I'm taking lots of photos through the process so I can hopefully put it back together when I'm done. I looked through the spark plug port and can't tell for sure until I tear it down further, but it looks like there's a lot of scoring on the cylinder walls... I'm not where I can post pics at the time but will try to add some as the project progresses.
|
|
