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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 14, 2014 10:40:31 GMT -5
Covering the carb to 'choke' it (btw, do you still have the electric choke installed in the carb?) restricts it's available air flow. If it runs better like this, it's likely either still not getting enough gas or way too much air. You really should be doing all this with the air box and filter installed to try to have things at its normal baseline when you tinker. Some scoots run poorly just from removing the airbox.
It's safe to assume the A/F screw on the carb has been fooled with, getting this tuned at idle is very important for your 'baseline' as well. Alleyoop has a very detailed procedure to set this right.
Bad piston rings will definitely burn some oil. I would do a compression check to see what you've got before anything else. If it's low, I'd pull the top end off to have a good look at everything. Good news is, replacement engine parts (even good ones) are cheap if you want to go that deep.
Does the smoke seem to be clearing up as you run it?
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 7, 2014 7:19:56 GMT -5
yes, that's what makes it a clone. Not quite the original  PS, that new scooter sure took a few cranks to start...!!!! Sorry, I had to say it  |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 7, 2014 6:55:43 GMT -5
The only thing I have noticed it tends to shudder just a bit taking off from a stop and almost immediately is gone... But overall, Amazing! Doing the K-mod (or swapping in a big Rukus variator and lighter weights of your choice) will improve take-off a lot and get rid of the lull & baby wookie noises it makes around 30-35 when it up-shifts. The silly 2-stage variator almost made me not want to buy mine, until I found out it was easily taken care of. Honda numbed it down (for the old folks I guess) to keep the rmps and noise down at low speed. Who want's that!? It hastens the glazing that comes with any repeated loose/lazy take-offs, but a quick wall-stall clutch/belt glaze burn usually helps for a couple thousand miles. Once you remedy it and de-glaze the pulleys with some metal polishing cloth, they take off quite nice for a factory CVT. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 7, 2014 6:31:09 GMT -5
Yup - that's a last-gen Silverwing clone with a different butt.  |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 6, 2014 19:17:23 GMT -5
I was able to take my 842 off without removing the variator face. It was an NCY face, but I can't imagine it being smaller than a stock one.
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 6, 2014 18:58:38 GMT -5
How do they compare looking at the ramps? Any stamps or cast marks?
I wouldn't use any performance part (or stock part) that didn't have any at all...
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 5, 2014 11:48:15 GMT -5
I wanna see those lights! I'm an LED junkie...
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 3, 2014 17:30:42 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I've got a better idea of what I need now. Hey Idthpp, do you think you could find a link or part number to the intake tube that you have? That looks perfect. That tube came with a funky baffled filter/canister I bought from that scooter chrome website - I never got it to run good with the filter, but the air tube worked great. It definitely ran better with the tube + filter vs. just attaching the pod filter to the carb. I wound up hacking the neck off my stock airbox and attaching that short section to the tube. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 3, 2014 17:20:15 GMT -5
Does anybody use this? It will make your belt engage smoother? What that does is allow the spring to turn the little bit it wants to without resistance against the clutch. It does not rotate against the clutch, it just wants to turn ever slightly as the torque sheave opens up. If the spring can't turn a little bit, it will bind and distort out of shape slightly, leading to harmonic vibrations that you typically only feel at certain speeds. Folks usually feel this after installing a performance torque spring, I did. I used the Malossi version of that part, they call it a 'torsion controller' and its just a polyurethane (or something similar) ring that provides a little more slickeness than metal. It also 'loads up' your spring more, making it a little tighter due to its thickness. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 2, 2014 18:08:17 GMT -5
hhmmm... my 50cc was also a 2008... so maybe my feelings from my main experiences with China scoots are biased.
Well........... I still stand by my point that even compared to a good China scooter that behaves itself, I feel like you can get so much more for just a little more money in a used non-Chinese, if you can find one for sale.
I was actually tossing around the idea of one of those 250cc Roketa clones... then this Reflex popped up outside the dealer like an omen .
I often wonder how I would have done hitting that deer on the Roketa, between braking ability and how it handled the impact...
I did pay for 1 1/4 Roketas in buying the Reflex (it had really low miles) but you bet your arse I'm glad I did.
Also, Holy crap! I just looked at some prices on the first 4 scooter wholesale sites Google gave me.
$1,900 for a 2014 Roketa 250??? There are two Reflexes near me on CL for $1,600...!!
I would be ape- mad if I shelled out $1,900 to get a lemon (IF it was a lemon... better? )
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 2, 2014 11:39:24 GMT -5
I agree Kat! If a China scoot it what fits your needs/budget/expectations and you are a tinkerer, go for it. A good PDI will get many thousand happy miles out of most China scoots, but there is also an equal chance it could be riddled with problems.
However, the decision to buy Chinese must be an educated one, including exploring all other options such as used non-China, and is what I am preaching.
Personally, I would go for a used China scoot over a new one, with a couple thousand miles on it. Most of the bugs will be worked out, and hopefully any major flaws would have shown themselves by then.
But, from reading posts here and on other scooter forums, it seems 10K (15 if you are lucky) miles is the average life expectancy of a China scoot.
Average life of a Jap/Italian scoot? 50,000 miles. The Helix I bought for parts had 69,000 on it. 69 thousand! You think a China scoot is going to do that? Nope!
Plus, even buying a used Jap/Itl scoot, you are left with something that actually has re-sale value. Craigslist, even in my small town, is FULL of China scoots (most of them broken) that they are pretty much giving away.
A non-running Jap/Itl 50cc sells for about the same price as a NEW China 50cc. What does that tell you??
It is quite safe to say non-China scoots have better brakes, better headlights, better quality everything. They have more options that the clones leave out, like a parking brake and a split-braking system in my case.
Ever seen the front brake on a reflex clone? It's the same generic caliper you see on China 150's and nicer 50's. A Reflex has a 3-piston NISSIN caliper, the same brand that goes on Honda motorcycles.
Do you think the mufflers fall off of non-China scoots? Do you think people find non-lubed steering head bearings in non-China scoots? Do you think tire valve stems pop out of non-China scoots?
Purchasing something you are trusting your life with should not include going through it to 'fix' everything wrong with it before you even ride it. Your life could be at stake - how bad do you want to save that few hundred dollars?
Like I've said, I think it's tragic to knowingly compromise quality and safety to save a few hundred bucks and get something 'new'. But if people do, they should be educated, informed, and prepared for the can of worms they might be opening.
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 2, 2014 6:51:44 GMT -5
Yup... denial 1) just because there are a few 'good' ones, doesn't make the rest any better. 2)yeah, most of the evidence here shows that China scoots are problematic, some to a nightmarish level. 3), no, the same money. I'm talking about USED Jap scoots, for the same/close to same price as its new china clone (plus PDI and China to Japan parts upgrade list.) and still being better off. 4)did I ever say ALL China scoots are clones? nope. 5)you coulda fooled me! maybe by strength in numbers... lol |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 1, 2014 17:49:54 GMT -5
How is it insulting to state that Chinese scooters are vastly inferior to Japanese and even Taiwanese scooters? These are facts, and people insulted by truth are often the ones in denial and it's impossible to debate with people clouding their own judgement, so I don't even try. I'm sorry if me stating my feelings about different scooters offends you, but the OP asked for advice, and that's what I'm giving him, based on my personal experiences with several examples of each. Some people don't even realize that you can get good looking, low mileage used quality ORIGINALS to the inferior clones people are buying for almost the same money. This to me is tragic, so I make a point to let them know. |
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 1, 2014 8:30:36 GMT -5
I keep forgetting to mention Taiwan scoots... If you must have new, and money keeps you from a Jap scoot, A Taiwan Kymco or SYM is the way to go.
My buddy has a Kymco Agility 50 that he drives across town and back to work everyday. Once I replaced the broken torque sheave, it quit eating belts and has given him more than a year of trouble free riding. (at least he hasn't called me to fix it) Breaking belts and going through cheap headlight bulbs like candy have been the only trouble he's had with it, and the thing had been dropped a few times.
Don't be tempted to buy the box of 10 cheap headlight bulbs on eBay, they are junk. I had two break in my hand when I tried to install it. 4 blew immediately when I installed them. The others lasted anywhere from a week to a month. Finally I went to the Honda dealer and matched up a $20 bulb, and it's still burning.
One thing I noticed about Kymco, they stamp their name on most of their parts... that and the fact that you can find an actual Kymco dealer that will work on it says a lot.
China scoot 'dealers' do not exist, at least as far as getting warranty repairs from folks familiar with the scoots.
There are plenty of enterprising individuals who open a scooter shop to sell China scoots, but they don't last long. They might offer to work with you of fixing things under 'warranty', but that's no good next year when the place is out of business.
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Post by ltdhpp on Jun 1, 2014 8:11:06 GMT -5
Yeah, clamping a filter to a rubber hose doesn't sound like it would last too long... I used a rubber pipe coupler from the hardware store with my chrome intake tube - it started to disintegrate and let little fine pieces of rubber loose that got sucked into my carburetor. They also make UNIs with a 45 degree neck made to the filter.  |
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