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Post by neonblueskys on Jun 16, 2016 3:50:29 GMT -5
I have noticed that my scooter has slowed down a little bit. I took it out for a ride a couple weeks ago and was getting speeds of 35mph sometimes 37mph on the flat. Now for some reason it wont go past 29mph. All speeds were gps verified. When I first bought my scooter there was a lot of blue smoke coming out of the exhaust so I replaced the oil and now there is not any smoke at all coming out. Ill list the symptoms I have had last night while riding.
1. When the engine was hot it had a little bit of trouble starting.
2. When I get to top speed of 29 it feels like the front end is really bouncy but that might be caused by the tires not being properly balanced.
I read that taotao ships these scooters running lean. I tried unscrewing the carburetor cap at the top but the screws didnt want to come out so I have no idea if the needle is set to lean or rich. Any help would be appreciated
p.s bought the scooter new 3 weeks ago.
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Post by JerryScript on Jun 16, 2016 22:39:12 GMT -5
Check your valve lash, they tighten up over time, and tight valves equals hard starting.
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Post by lain on Jun 16, 2016 23:13:42 GMT -5
Check your tire pressure before riding, it should be 36-40psi cold depending on your tires (they should say what to pump to on the side).
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New Rider
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Post by neonblueskys on Jun 17, 2016 4:41:51 GMT -5
As soon as I get off of work im going to check on the tire pressure to see if that is the cause of the front end feeling like it is bouncing. I remember when I first started driving it when I got it three weeks ago the back end felt like it was fish tailing when I was turning its hard to explain the feeling really. But now that had stopped and the front end started bouncing at top speed so most likely it could be the tire pressure being so low. Looking in the manual that came with the scooter it says
Front tire: 170kpa
back tire: 190kpa
But when i downloaded the manual off of taotao's website it says 32psi for both front and back which is crazy that the information they give is all over the place. Ill try looking on the side of the tires and see what they say.
As for the valves. I would have no clue on where to begin that lol. Hoping it isn't the case because its brand new from the scoot shop about three weeks ago. But the place i bought it from didn't bother doing anything with it. I had to change the oil out because it was blowing blue smoke out of the exhaust and when i drained the oil the filter was dirty and hardly any oil drained. So I suppose its safe to assume that was factory oil. Sad part is they are a full service scooter shop....Yeah I would never let them work on it because of that. I should probably check to see if the spark plug is a better one or the one shipped from the factory.
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Post by lain on Jun 17, 2016 5:47:23 GMT -5
Valves are super easy to check and adjust, finding the tool may be the hardest part and that's not too hard either lol You will need a socket wrench, 8mm and 9mm and 10mm sockets and a feeler gauge (http://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Feeler-Gauge/999957773). Takes about 15-30 minutes to do depending on how much body plastics need to be removed to give you comfortable space to put your hands up in there.
Honestly the manual may be wrong, it's best to just check the side of the tire because the tires on the scooter may be different than the ones used when they made the manual. It should say in medium sized print the recommended PSI. Just don't ride it before checking the pressure so you can get a cold reading.
You can go a little higher or lower than the recommended pressure too, my tires count for 36PSI, but since I ride with 2 people half the time and like a stiffer back end I pump my back to 40 and front to 38.
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Post by neonblueskys on Jun 18, 2016 10:03:55 GMT -5
Ok. finally was able to run down to the garage and look at the tires and check the pressure. Front tire was reading at 16psi and the back was reading 21psi. both were read cold. The tires say 40psi cold. What I dont understand is why do the tires feel so hard? maybe im just used to tubed tires and them feeling actually flat when they are low in tire pressure. When I go down to the gas station in the morning to fill the tires with air what would I be filling it up to? because if it says 40psi cold then when I am filling it up while the tires are warm what should I be looking at pressure wise? sorry again for sounding like a noob I should really know this stuff by now lol.  |
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