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Post by phssthpok on Jul 6, 2014 16:53:06 GMT -5
...I commence to commuting on the scoot. 32.5 miles one way with a pretty hefty hill (~500' elevation gain over 2 miles) about 3/4 of the way into the trip.  I've been wanting to do this for a while but didn't trust the scoot as I'd never really given it a proper shake down ride. However, I took a test ride of the route on Friday during mid-day heat (upper 70's/low 80's-ish) and it went off without a hitch. According to Google Maps, the route should take about 1h 5m-ish to travel (vs. my normal 40min-ish on the freeway). The trip out was marred by topping off the tank for mileage, and ( of course it would happen) getting stuck at a RR crossing (  ), but I made the return trip in just under an hour.  I have yet to top off the tank to get a proper mileage computation, but I made the full round trip (minus 2 miles to the gas station), and the gauge was just barely touching the red zone when I got home (about 4/5 tank used going by the gauge sweep). Given that the normal cost for my little (running like crap) truck is ~$15 and climbing (17 MPG on a good day for a 65 mile round trip), less than $3 for a round trip commute is worth adding an additional 20 minutes each way!  The other concern I had was my lunchbox/cooler. I didn't want to remove the rear trunk because the helmet will fit there, (whereas it will not fit the under seat compartment, and I needed the storage for my hard hat while riding too), but I feared strapping it to the seat in the pillion position would crowd me out. Not so. In fact, it was at JUST the right position/height to use as a seat-back for a more casual riding position. The hard edge of the cooler was an issue though, so I scrounged one of the second hand throw pillows from the camper to stuff under the bungee cords and it works perfectly.  |
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Post by jerseyboy on Jul 6, 2014 17:06:11 GMT -5
Cool,,
What kinda scoot is it?
I would trust mine for a 70 mile round trip no problems asked...
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Post by shalomdawg on Jul 6, 2014 17:21:16 GMT -5
howdy, what scoot do you have and where are ya ridin'?
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
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Post by phssthpok on Jul 6, 2014 19:40:02 GMT -5
2008 Roketa MC-04  |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Jul 6, 2014 19:56:56 GMT -5
That's quite a commute. A few years back, I commuted 50 miles round trip on a motorized bicycle. I didn't do it daily. More like once a week. Your Rocketa should be up to the job.
These days, I scoot to work 24 mi round trip, 2 or 3 days a week.
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Post by bvance554 on Jul 6, 2014 23:02:33 GMT -5
I rode my 50cc to work 80 miles round trip for three days last when my car was in the shop. It was fun, but tiring. My bum was pretty sore. I will still do it occasionally when its nice out, but I would not want to do it every day.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 7, 2014 0:59:42 GMT -5
SWEET looking Roketa!
It appears to be identical to the Xingyue 150 I had for six years. Once I worked out the typical "Chinese bugs" it gave me five years of nearly trouble-free transportation. It was running to "perfection" when I traded it in on a larger scoot. I used to ride it 30-50 miles one way on rides regularly. From my individual experience, you MAY want to keep an extra CDI with you "just in case". Those can be changed out in minutes "on the road". My Xinguye was just "hard" on CDI's.
I was quite happy with my Chinese 150. I only went to a 250 so I could ride more confidently on freeways at 65-75mph.
If weather permits, I think you'll enjoy your commuting!
Ride safe,
Leo in Texas
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Post by phssthpok on Jul 7, 2014 21:18:55 GMT -5
So... first day's commute. I'm going to call it a 'qualified' quasi-success. The ride in to work was perfect... even stopping for gas, I made the trip in 1h2m. It was a touch chilly at the faster speeds (45+) but nothing worth stopping for. The trip home on the other hand... I got a little bit past half-way and the speed limit went from 45 to 55, so I upped the throttle to keep the pace. Shortly I noticed a loss of power... nothing *sounded* wrong...it just 'wouldn't go'. I pulled over on to the shoulder thinking it was simply overheating from the added strain of 55mph (temps were around  -ish), and that a short stint at lower speeds would cool things off. No joy. Slowing down just hastened the stall-out. I let it sit for a few minutes (while I stripped off all my gear....it's HOT out!), and then tried starting it up again. it took several kicks (remember.. my battery is toast) but it finally fired up and held an idle, so I started to get gear back on... then it died again. I finished gearing up and went to start it again, but the damned kick-starter shaft snapped off! Yeah...I know.. they really aren't meant as a primary starting method, but I *do* have a battery en route (due Wed. or Thurs.) so I thought it would do fine for a few days. Guess not. Long story short..I pushed the bike for nigh two miles before throwing in the towel and calling someone. And wouldn't you know it, but a state trooper pulls up just as I connect the call. I told him what was up (toasted batt., snapped kicker) and posited that if he had some jumper cables I could probably get it started and be on my way. He offered a 'jump pack'. I said that'll work!" and set about removing the battery (it's so far gone that it would draw down the jump-pack voltage and prevent starting..I had to pull the cables off my battery and jump directly) Jump pack worked, and I set the idle to 2300 just to make sure it didn't idle down on me again while I geared up (again). Scoot ran without a hitch the rest of the way home (45 MPH zone), so I'm fair certain it was simply a matter of overheating when I pushed it up to 50-ish. Sadly, this means that I'll need to run the truck the rest of the week...  Addendum: Morning fill up stats to figure mileage for the test run on Friday: Gallons: 0.765  Miles: 67 (via chinometer odo) Google maps shows one way mileage as 32 exact, there's three miles difference.  MPG: 87.6 (rounded)  (83.66 if I use GE miles instead of the odo.) Cost: $2.80 ($3.65/gallon)  |
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Post by shalomdawg on Jul 7, 2014 23:42:16 GMT -5
howdy, I wish ya the best. but-----think if that had happened on the way TO work. you would have been late------ that is why most folks don't ride this type machine to work every day. i'm sure i'll hear the disgust from someone when I say that for the most part these are just not reliable enough to bet your job on. again, all the best
and
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
ken
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Post by rockynv on Jul 8, 2014 4:13:47 GMT -5
I had similar experience with my Lance and it turned out to be the ignition pickup coil that would be overheating not the engine.itself. Made me late or miss a day of work one time too many so on a lark I stopped by the local Aprilia Dealership and they offered me a reasonable trade-in on the Lance and a sweet deal on a new Aprilia 250. Have not missed a day of work due to the bike or had a breakdown in the past 23,000+ miles. Can be done on a GY6 with some work and the savings can really add up. I went from $70 or so a week to $7/$8 every ten days which makes for about a $300 monthly savings or around $4,000 a year counting side trips on the way home that cost ten time more driving my van..
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Post by spunn on Jul 8, 2014 12:40:37 GMT -5
Welcome to the club of commuting, I am 120 miles a day on the majesty, and love every minute of the ride. I am freeway most of the way, but in california we have car pool lanes. I can tell you my first week was very nerve racking, but after all the bugs are out, you should be good to go. Plus come on the savings in gas are worth it.
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Post by phssthpok on Jul 16, 2014 20:58:42 GMT -5
So, the battery arrived and I got it installed. A friend swapped cages with me for Monday and Tuesday as he needed a pickup to retrieve an engine from a junkyard, and since his car was a gas sipping little Honda ( I know for a fact that it'll do 42MPG if you keep it under 60), and I had a few errands to run myself, my first day back on the scoot was today. One of those errands was a stop at Home Depot for a 4" sewer-pipe elbow with which to make a cold air scoop for the cooling shroud. A few minutes with a drill and some re-purposed PC slot-blockers used for mounting tabs, and I now had $7 scoop installed. (I didn't even bother cutting it back or anything... I don't really care how it looks...so long as it WORKS). I just need to be careful when dropping it off the center stand now, to make sure I don't drop the scoop down on my heel. It also occurs to me that I need to go out and see how that scoop sticking out affect my lean angle capacities.  So today's commute was much the same...went without a hitch in the morning, but on the way home there were a few times where I could tell it was 'not right'. At one point, it started to 'run down' like before, but this time I tried to keep it going, rather than backing off completely, and it started to regain power. I'm still thinking it's heat related (we broke 100 here today, and the ride home was at the height of it) as each one of the three instances of power loss came after being stopped at a light following a lengthy run 'at speed'. Once I got moving again and engine speed/forward motion forced some cooler air over the engine it seemed to wake up again. In the end it never fully died on me, so I'm at least making progress. |
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Post by spunn on Jul 16, 2014 23:54:21 GMT -5
Progress is always good
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Post by phssthpok on Jul 19, 2014 11:29:52 GMT -5
More data. I'm fairly convinced the issue was completely heat related. Thursday was low-mid 90s, Friday was solid mid 80's, and the scooter rode without even the slightest hitch on the way home both days. I even pushed it up to a solid 55mph (nigh 60 on the chino-meter @~7000 RPM) as I got within walking distance of home. That scoop really does the trick for getting cool air past the bodywork to the engine. Now I'm debating a larger variator, and a set of gears for the back to drop the RPM and get just 'that' much more MPG from a given cruising speed. I'm open to suggestions if anyone feels like voicing an opinion as to manufacturer/brand! |
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Post by JerryScript on Jul 25, 2014 0:00:31 GMT -5
As mentioned by rockynv, it could be the pickup coil. If it is positioned near the front of the engine (many if not most are), there is very little air movement in most scooters near the front of the engine. The higher the temperatures, the less efficient the pickup coil will be. Try moving it up and back under your seat, air spills in there and is moved around by the rear wheel, which will help to keep it cooler.
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-ish), and that a short stint at lower speeds would cool things off. No joy. Slowing down just hastened the stall-out.
