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Post by carpespasm on Apr 11, 2015 22:20:56 GMT -5
I'm not too new to the site, was around mostly lurking on the old forum too, though clearly I don't participate a whole whole lot.
I've got an orange "high perfomace" CDI to replace the internally limited one it has now and an orange go-fast coil since the stock one's working fine, but must be cracked since it bit me when I tried to pull the plug wire when i first got it going. I'm also planning to fabricate a Ruckus style seat frame and weld in a frame spine between the seat and front tube to give the frame a bit more stiffness. I'll keep this updated as I go hopefully. New orange bits should be in on Monday.
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Post by carpespasm on Apr 9, 2015 6:51:14 GMT -5
It's pretty easy to confuse the GY6 (usually 125 and more commonly 150cc) engine with the QMB139 engine (usually 50cc, BBKs ranging up to 88cc or so) The 50cc through 150cc china scoots are all GY6. QMB139 is 50cc, QMI152 is 125cc, and QMJ157 is 150cc, but they are all GY6 engines. Ah, another bit of fine detail worth knowing. |
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Post by carpespasm on Apr 8, 2015 21:20:58 GMT -5
Got a particularly neglected and roughed up scooter a little while ago (see itistheride.boards.net/thread/7580/saved-scapheap-prince-zombies) which i've nursed back to health, but the front brake has the handle broken off and sightglass is dryrotted to nonexistence. Does anyone have experience enough to offer advice whether it's best to just replace the upper portion of the brake, or if it's not worth the savings vs just replacing the front brake caliper-line-handle and all? |
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Post by carpespasm on Apr 8, 2015 21:15:20 GMT -5
 A solid engine, frame, and virtually nothing else brought back to life almost in spite of itself! Fun to see reactions to it. |
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Post by carpespasm on Apr 8, 2015 21:13:29 GMT -5
I like crappy scooters. Real crappy. "why are you fixing that?" crappy. See previous examples: itistheride.boards.net/thread/5505/new-me-scooter-frankplanetminis.com/forums/chinese-import-minis-general-discussion/133744-hooptie-scooter-cycle.htmlPicked up a grimy, dilapidated, and grown-in 50cc scoot a month or two back. It's carb slimed, tank dry and rusty, screws stripped all over, busted body plastics, rotted seat cover, butchered wiring. The whole 9 yards. Offered the guy half his asking price (it wasn't much to start) and he bit since he was trying to get to where he could mow that spot more than to sell a half-rotten scooter.  I started digging into it, and aside from all the parts he'd tried to do anything to it was pristine. Engine looks factory-new inside, under 3k miles on the engine, and started roughly well on a battery charger and cheater fluid. So I ordered a new throttle cable, carb, air box, and set about cludging anything else wrong with it into functionality. This included: *replaced bad hoses *added shutoff valve to fuel line (vacuum-diaphram stuck-open) *shook bolts in tank with some kerosene until they got the majority of the rust out *new fuel filter *zip tied bits of wiring harness into decent places *quick shot of flat black for remaining body plastics, and a shot of engine paint for dull engine bits Right now it's running GREAT, really quite nice, with the following caveats: *a few things that should be held with screws have tape holding them. *a few things that should be held with bolts are held with zip ties. *a few things that should be held with plastic are held with wood/steel/aluminum. *the belt is a bit slippy *the wiring is an absolute shambles. (screwdriver start, and a shutoff button from an old Missle Command video game) *plywood footplate *chinese takeout tray for battery holder *seat recovered with an old pleather jacket *zero lights working at the moment *no front brake  Friend and I zipped around the block for a test-run I'm debating the use of an unrestricted CDI, new belt, and parts to get the front brake working. I love these ridiculous little scooters, doubly so when they get a layer of unkempt grime on them, but are still mechanically solid. I might weld in a frame-brace between seat and front tube and add a coconut shell headlight. |
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 16, 2014 22:20:42 GMT -5
The vast majority, maybe all of the plastics will be coming off, and I will be using some sort of KC style bolt-on lamp for the headlight. It looks like Frankenstein is an apt name for this scooter though, since once I started going through the wiring I've started finding some very sketchy repair work from previous owners. I've got a better spark after fixing a few bad splices, but I'm going to wait til I get a bit more time to work on it and be thorough before going much further. Also, though I've gotten spits and sputters of life and a good 30sec of running about an hour ago, I'm concerned I might still not have good compression as when I pulled the spark plug it's pretty clear that someone's cross-threaded it or overtorqued it before.  |
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 16, 2014 22:17:31 GMT -5
I've seen this bodged into working by way of stripping the end of the spark plug wire and wrapping it around the end of the plug. A nasty bite waiting to happen and likely not to hold up in the rain well, but it's worth a go if you're ever stranded with a bad plug boot.
Also, since the ends of the wires are screwed in, if you have extra slack in the plug wire, cutting both ends a little shorter, then reinstalling might help.
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 16, 2014 15:47:44 GMT -5
imgur.com/a/qC2c8That link is to a scooter I'm dubbing Frank. Needed a new piston and a lack of spark issue sorted out. It's got a pile of miles on it and busted body plastics, so I'm going to strip it down and make some sort of radrod out of it.
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 23:24:54 GMT -5
Well, I know a visual inspection isn't everything, but just visually checking everything looks pretty good on the cam and valves. No major scoring or anything to them. I'm replacing the cylinder at the moment, and will give them another clearance adjustment before final reassembly, but I appreciate the advice. Going on Scrappydog's site it's really not a big difference to just buy the head vs just the springs and valves, so if I replace it I'll just do that.
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 23:20:38 GMT -5
It's pretty easy to confuse the GY6 (usually 125 and more commonly 150cc) engine with the QMB139 engine (usually 50cc, BBKs ranging up to 88cc or so) The 50cc through 150cc china scoots are all GY6. QBM139 is 50cc, QMI152 is 125cc, and QMJ157 is 150cc, but they are all GY6 engines. Whoops, I stand corrected then. Thanks! Don't I feel sheepish. *Bahhhhh* |
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 18:38:11 GMT -5
seals are the least of it , if they leak change them . The top ends go long before the lower . If you break a valve and you get pieces in the sump it will kill your crank bearings and oil pump . I would split the case for cleaning out fine pieces from inside the cases and to check the crank bearings . John Do you think it would be more effective to just replace the entire head or just the valves? |
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 17:47:10 GMT -5
It's pretty easy to confuse the GY6 (usually 125 and more commonly 150cc) engine with the QMB139 engine (usually 50cc, BBKs ranging up to 88cc or so)
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 13:56:56 GMT -5
I share much the same concern about the bottom end's long term viability, especially with the added power, but figure if nothing else this will be a good experiment of how long an old motor with a mild bbk, stock intake, and exhaust holds up. if I'm lucky itll be quite some time and if not I might still be able to keep the cylinder and piston to toss in a new motor.
I'm going to switch the motor and rear gears to synthetic oil, so mayhaps that'll help as well. In related concern, whats the most commn failure mode for the crank case area on these scooters? broken crank? bearings? seals?
oh, and if and when the whole think does take a dump I'll likely do an autopsy on it as well and post it.
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 12:31:26 GMT -5
+1 from me on the carb replacement over repair. Having had a string of new-to-me china bikes and scooters, it's far easier to find a correct new carb than to do anything more complex than clean the jet and bowl. Same goes for intake boots and air boxes. The rubber used in them combined with ethanol-laced fuel just does bad things over time, and while it's possible to nurse them back to health, and an annual replacement seems a bit excessive, every couple years paying a C-note to replace the entire intake system and know it's in like-new shape is cheap insurance, and if you're replacing working parts, you always have a spare to troubleshoot with. Never had much of an issue with electrical parts, but they're so cheap I'm probably gonna pick up a spare CDI, coil, and plug some time.
I much prefer wrenching to buying, but it's just so damn cheap to replace parts on these things, it's just not worth banging your head against the wall vs slapping on a new part sometimes.
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Post by carpespasm on Mar 15, 2014 12:15:21 GMT -5
Like the title says, I just picked up a scooter with a bunch of miles on the frame and engine. Body plastics are busted up but present, the carb, belt, rollers, rear tire, and spark plug are all new. The main issue with it right now is presumably lack of compression as even after a valve adjustment it's barely able to idle, and with that many miles I'm amazed it can try to run at all.
All that said, I've got a new piston waiting for me at the house, a new battery a couple days out, and a mind to rat-rod it up. Before tossing any more money in it (I've got under $200 in it including the 60cc BBK and battery) I'd like to know what all I might expect to need service given the scooter's got a relatively high number of miles on it. I'm familiar with chinascooters, but never had one with that much on the clock. Anyone know lifespan expectations for things like the various bearings, rear gears, etc... assuming they've had decent maintenance? I'd hate to get a decent fraction of a whole new engine's cost into this one if there's not a reasonable amount of life left in the valves, bearings, etc...
Assuming all major gear drive train and brakes are in okay shape once the BBK is in place I'm planning to weld in a center support bar, Putting on different headlight cluster, removing some of the body panels, maybe making a wood floorboard, and new seat frame and seat more in a Ruckus style.
I'll post photos as I go as well.
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