Long trip  By  dans (Read 1,404 times)

I think your scoot will make that trip without any problems. I don't think you need to add an oil cooler for a few long hills. Check the weather and have a great trip. Take a few screw drivers, adj crescent wrench and pliers or channel locks. Check your tires and fluid levels before departure. Thats about it.

Dans,

Welcome to the site! Have a bone on the old chopper guy for really RIDING that scoot!

I made several runs of around 100 miles on my old Xingyue 150 with no trouble. That WAS after working out the typical "Chinese bugs"... I finally got that little wheezer to be the most enjoyable and reliable Chinese 150 around.  I like 150's so much, I'd still be riding one if they'd keep up with 70-mph traffic.

I'm having a tire replaced on my current old Kymco 250 and DROOLING over a new Lance 125 in the store, with old-school headlight, gauges and bars...  Lance is now produced by SYM, and I imagine the quality is top-notch.  If ONLY they'd stuff a 300 cc twin-cam fuel-injected mill in THAT Italio/retro/Honda-Jokeresque masterpiece I'd have to figure a way to get one...  Probably good for my budget that they won't do that... LOL!

Just remember, these 150's are NOT made for highway speeds. Best to run 45-50 or 55 tops if the scoot will do 55 if possible for extended running. A 150 should run all day happily at 50-mph except on hills or into strong wind.  You'll just have to slow down some on those long hills...  I don't know what kind of roads you'll be on, or how HOT your weather is. If you keep your riding just under WOT you should be fine.

When I got into scooters, it was 30 years or so after riding nothing but Harley Davidsons... So it never occurred to me that any ride couldn't go 100 miles... Silly me... LOL!

Just don't push the scoot too hard and it should be just fine. If you can't keep up with traffic, possibly try more remote roads with 45-50 speed limits.

Enjoy the trip! Nothing's more fun than a trip with "your knuckles in the wind"...

Please take some pix and post 'em for us to envy...

Ride safe!

Leo in Texas

Hmmm...

Riding 2-up at WOT for over an hour is really pushing the envelope.  A lot depends on the combined rider/passenger weight and the temperature.  I'd be comfortable running 45, maybe 50 IF the outside temp was below 80-degrees.  However with a passenger aboard, and hills, you will be using the scoot pretty hard.

Not knowing the type of roads you'll be using, there are a lot of variables.  Limited-access freeways are virtually out-of-the-question for any 150 even without a passenger.  My water-cooled 250 is "marginal" on the freeway with just me aboard and it has 20hp.

I would honestly try to find a route that allows 45-mph steady running.  At least that leaves you just a teensy bit of power left for hills.

If you must run WOT at least close the throttle for a few seconds regularly to pull some oil up to the top-end, and, take a rest every 20 miles or so and let the scoot cool down.

With care, you should be OK, but remember you're riding in a manner better served by a 300cc or larger, or a cruiser motorcycle.  The 150cc scoots can do a lot, and take some occasional abuse, but with a passenger, you are pushing it some.

If at all possible, try to use a route that allows 45-mph running.  Then, you're not straining the scoot too hard.

On very windy days, and very hilly terrain, I did run my Chinese 150 WOT for a few miles at a time, never 2-up (I weigh 230) but not more than 5 miles without slowing to cool it off.  So I can't say for sure how one would hold up running WOT loaded down two-up for over an hour.  They're just not designed for THAT heavy use.

If you can find a route where you can stay below 50-mph, there should be no problem at all.

Just my opinion...

Ride safe,

Leo

I wouldn't run any scoot at WOT or WFO for more than a minute or so, unless you do not plan to keep it more than a few years. WOT really accelerates engine wear and is best reserved for passing and climbing hills.
-Since you have notified us of your trip, you must post some great pics of your scoot and that Pacific coastline after your voyage.

HEY!

How 'bout putting the scooter in the pickup?  Then, you'll have the best of both worlds, having your scooter at the site!

Just a thought...

Leo in Texas

"I know what wot is but not wfo."
It means the same thing. Just a different choice of words.
I second the idea of hauling your scoot in your pickup to the destination.

Dans,

I can REALLY help you now!  My Xingyue 150 suffered from the EXACT SAME problem.  For reasons unknown to me, SOME of these scoots WILL NOT RUN CORRECTLY WITH THE FACTORY AIR-FILTER SETUP...  Typical top speed of 40-45 with a sputtering, "bbbrrraaaappp" sound.

Mine was one.  I tried everything.  It would run fine with NOTHING attached to the carb mouth.  Even a short tube with no filter ruined the running.

I finally got it right by installing a UNI "sock" filter DIRECTLY on the CARB-MOUTH with NO tube between it and the carb.  My engine WOULD run right ONLY with a sock filter on the carb, or no filter at all (which is not a good idea... LOL!).

The sock filter will suffer a little from flexing against the "cat-back" cross-member, so I replaced it every season.  WELL WORTH IT. Below is are photos of my old 150 showing a little of the sock-filter.






In these old pix, you can see the sock filter showing.  Also, you can see the 2-stroke "chamber" exhaust with 1" header and the cooling-fan scoop (extended into the air-stream).  The sock filter got the engine running right, providing a top-speed of 55.

(With the UNI filter and free-flowing exhaust, I had to go one notch richer in the main jet, and tweak the carb needle to raise the slide a little quicker to prevent bogging.)

The EXTENDED fan scoop lowered oil-temp by 20 degrees. (Just the scoop with no extension helped very little).

The large header (muffler type matters little, though the chamber pipe runs GREAT on a 4-stroke) smoothed out running and simplified tuning.

You can also see the orange Bando coil (hooked to an iridium plug) which smoothed running and unseen is a "red" no-limit CDI.  These cumulative changes smoothed running, eased tuning and vastly improved general riding, but did little to increase performance.

Finally, I experimented with the variator.  I installed a Prodigy performance variator which by itself made little change.  However, I played with ROLLER weights.  11-gram rollers gave strong acceleration, but a top-speed of 0nly 45-mph at a horrific 10K rpm.

12-gram rollers gave me a top-speed of 65 but NO acceleration or hill-climbing power.

Lastly, a MIX of 3-ea. 11 and 3-ea. 12-gram rollers gave me good acceleration, AND a top speed of 62-mph on the level.  "Lil' Bubba" would now cruise 55 on level road, no wind.  With normal hills and a little wind, he'd still run over 50.

That is as good performance as I would expect from a 150, and I loved that little scoot.  That pipe sounded pretty sweet, too... LOL!

All mods were affordable and simple.  The CDI was around $20 off eBay.  Same for the Bando Japanese coil.  The header and chamber pipe were only a few dollars from scrap sources.  The fan scoop was around $10 with another $5 in parts for the extension.

The variator was a tad pricey, but really not necessary.  I'm sure the proper rollers would give similar performance in a stock variator.

Dr. Pulley SLIDERS would be even BETTER!

Somewhere in the dark recesses of the site I have "how-to" posts on all these mods.  They ARE simple stuff anyone can do, and make the best of a 150.

Hope this may be helpful to you... Especially since you seem to have one of those scoots like mine, that will NOT run right with ANYTHING on the carb...

Ride safe, and stuff that scoot SOMEWHERE in the truck for your trip, for sure!

Leo in Texas