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Post by dollartwentyfive on Sept 1, 2015 14:36:51 GMT -5
i found my 250 (honda clone) at $1000 with less than 100 miles on it.
the owner got rid of it because it had the original vacuum fuel valve and it wouldn't stay running at a constant speed, he had to keep closing the throttle and slow down.
once i ironed out all the problems with it, it was a really fine machine.
the very first thing you need to do is to replace the spark plug with an iridium one.
expensive but definitely worth it.
a bit of wisdom about these chinese rides, what i've noticed about mine:
the mechanical parts are fairly decent, the frame likewise.
the electrical parts and the plastic body parts are the next step up from absolute junk.
be advised that all chinese bikes are not the same, your experience will no doubt be different.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 31, 2015 0:54:17 GMT -5
the overall plan is to adjust everything to where the rear wheel almost, but not quit, turns on the center stand, and to have about a quarter inch of play in the throttle grip without the steering affecting engine speed
as far as the throttle adjustment goes:
screw the front adjustment all the way together and the carb adjustment at midpoint.
place scoot on center stand and adjust throttle setting screw to just below where the rear wheel starts to turn,
check throttle grip for play, if there is none then screw the carb adjustment all the way in and reset the throttle setting.
check the throttle grip for play.
if there is none then the cable is too short, get new cable and start over.
adjust the carb adjustment until the motor begins to rev slightly, then back off a few turns,
at this point you need to ride the scoot and make sure that turning the handlebars doesn't affect the speed setting.
if it does then screw in the carb adjustment a little.
now you are ready for the front adjustment.
you adjust the front to where you have roughly a quarter inch of play in the grip.
adjustment, this is the cable adjustment parts.
setting, this is the carb throttle set screw.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 28, 2015 0:49:50 GMT -5
i would assume that the speed claims of 59 and 62 MPH are for level smooth road, WOT, new belt, and no wind.
if you plan on doing most of your riding on state roads then you need to stick with a 250.
keep in mind this is not an expert opinion, i've never rode a 150, but i do have a 250.
my 250 will easily cruise 2 up on state roads.
a 150 would probably do the job, but i would guess it would take some custom tuning to get the speeds you need.
rejetting the carb would probably the first place to start.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 26, 2015 23:10:01 GMT -5
if all you want is to start and run the bike:
if you don't have a kick start then you will need a starter solenoid.
for the other stuff.
the only thing you will need is an on/off switch and a start switch.
the on'off switch is a double pole double throw.
one pole will be to ground the pulse pickup to kill the motor in the off position
the other pole will apply power to the cdi in the on position.
the start switch is a momentary switch that when pressed applies power to the solenoid.
i've rewired my bike, so i know a little about this stuff.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 22, 2015 21:57:35 GMT -5
Ordered a set of front turn signal lights from Scrappy's. The web site said it was for my 2007 Adventure 150. When I got them they were way too big and obviously not the right ones. Four days of e-mails before I got a response. Took pictures and e-mailed them back. Scrappy's e-mailed back and said that I had a "RARE" model and they didn't stock them. Asked if keep or send back. Sent back and waited a week before I could get a response from them. The mailbox had been vandalized and they didn't have a key so I waited another week. Finally after another week I got on the phone and talked to the manager who finally said they had them. NOW THE HOOK. Scrappy's would refund the original price minus the shipping charges PLUS they would charge me 20% Restocking fee. Also they refused to pay the shipping back to them. I ended up out $18 and they had the parts. I would have been cheaper just to have kept them. They do know how to play the game and I'm not doing business with them again. hmmm . . . i ordered an airbox for my 244cc, and it had 2 or 3 pieces to it. i got the parts , but as luck would have it, they wouldn't fit on my bike. none of the mounting holes would line up with any of the bolts on the bike. the airbox wouldn't even fit on the bike due to the placement of radiator hoses, wiring, and other stuff such as tabs welded to the bike frame. so i put the airbox together outside the bike, looked at it, looked at the bike, and concluded the airbox would fit if i did a little rearranging of various items on the bike. i finally got it to fit in the bike, and i found one big advantage of this airbox, there was one bolt hole that lined up on the airbox, and it just happened to be the one on the carb, and it helped to keep the carb from flopping around and cracking my intake.. i cut some tire tread to lay on top of the variator case and laid the box on top of it and secured it with a piece of springy steel to the shock. this sort of thing is to be expected with these chinese scoots. tip: take pictures and include a ruler as a reference. trust me, scrappy is not in the business of screwing its customers. i've purchased more worthless parts from my local dealer than i have scrappy. i have never had the need to return any parts to scrappy so i wouldn't know about restocking fees. but i do know this, there is no one, here or there, that will accept returns on electrical parts. just a little heads up for you. |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 20:37:02 GMT -5
No, you are right about me not wanting the bike anymore isn't the shops fault. But after they had the trike for six weeks, telling me the problem was an internal one, promising me to order the part to fix it, then saying that they could not find the part. Then putting shims-spacers on the tranny saying that it was a temporary fix. Having the Service Writer calling it a (lost cause) and asking me if I want to trailer it home and charging me $375 IS. Oh, the service writer told me that he was giving me a break in the price of 10 hours labor, by charging me half price. it's times like this that i really thank god for my mechanical aptitude. i knew nothing about a scooter when i first got mine, but i learned a lot in a very short time because i simply couldn't find anyone to work on it, and the ones that did, wanted to charge me an outrageous price for doing so. the only thing i will have a shop do to my scoot is to change the tires, all the other mechanical work i've done myself this chinese rides are really pretty simple to work on, a lot simpler than your car. my best advice is to find a good service manual for your engine and tranny and read it a couple of times. fortunately for me, my ride has the honda 244cc clone and the service manual was readily available for it. i feel for you, but the only thing you can do is suck it up and pay the price. before scootdawg went down the tubes, you probably could have had an answer to your problems shortly after posting it. |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 18:19:12 GMT -5
My kit is not much bigger than the stock kit, but has a lot more tools in it.    a really nice kit. all of my tools seems to be sockets though, there just isn't the room to turn a wrench, not on my scoot anyway. |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 18:15:35 GMT -5
Since i've got a bit more storage (see my discount/shopping thread) that i don't technically need, it came to mind that i should prolly keep a small tool kit on board to deal with problems that inevitably will arise. What makes sense as a field tool kit for a scooter? We're talking universal in case the size or type (2T vs 4T) makes a difference in what you need so you can help others. i've found that a small handful of tools can service my scoot except for a major engine rebuild. all of these tools can fit into a fannypack and weighs about 3 to 5 pounds. the only big item is a 13" breaker bar which i have bungied to one of the side rails on the scoot. a really good item to have is, get this, a paper clip. this little piece of wire will get you home if your spark plug boot somehow screws up. untwist the clip and jam the end up inside the plug wire, and use the rest to secure it to the plug. |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 18:05:52 GMT -5
I live in Las Vegas, 5 days a week I take my father to work in the early morning, For the last 4 days I have seen an abandoned scooter on the commute. This little 50cc china scoot is parked in front of school on a somewhat major intersection and obviously been left for dead in a not so decent part of town... Me and my father joked around the first day we saw it, "Lets drive the wagon tomorrow and pick it up". Now, a few days later, it's still sitting and obviosuly "tampered" with during the night. I am REALLY tempted to go ahead and pick it up....... just for parts or maybe a project. (It's in really rough condition) My Dilema/Question, Should I go ahead and pick it up? My father said if it had the police Orange warning sticker it should be OK. But, I don't want to be a thief or involved with a stolen vehicle situation....... Should I report it to the police ( lost and found sort of thing ) Just leave it be and not worry. Or go ahead and take it? Not real sure what the laws are about this sort of thing....... It's not a big deal but, I would like to give it new life if I could. Or just not worry and move on. your best bet would be to leave it alone. you could legally take possession of it but you must notify the police. after that you must safegaurd it for a certain length of time, probably 30 days, and make every reasonable effort to contact the owner. the real problems would arise if said owner does indeed show up to claim the scoot, you would be liable for all the damage and missing parts, even though you never did anything to it except bring it home. save yourself a lot of headaches, leave it be |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 17:23:25 GMT -5
If you don't have many tools, well you probably don't own a air compressor.. Impact wrenches can either hook up to an air compressor or be totally electric. The cheapest electric impact wrench was around $38 and air impact wrench was $20.. But like you, don't own the greatest amount of tools. Don't wish to take my tire tool off and hook up a impact wrench to air hose. So I would be better off buying an electric impact wrench. i have the helix type 250cc and i found that using a piece of tire tread wedged between the variator and case will work. also, i don't use ANY type of thread locker on ANY of the bolts or screws on my chinese ride. this includes the head bolts, axle bolts, variator nut, caliper bolts, and muffler bolts. i don't use a torque wrench, but i am fairly well mechanically minded. the only real problems i've had with bolts coming loose was i lost a muffler bolt, and i lost a swing arm bolt. i found replacement bolts for both of these and used a lock washer to hold them. |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 17:09:58 GMT -5
my first impression of side play in a tranny shaft would be that the tranny has been disassembled before and someone forgot to put the shims back in, or they weren't installed at all.
as far as you not wanting the bike (or trike) anymore, that isn't the shops problem.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Aug 16, 2015 11:09:34 GMT -5
scrappydog?
who's scrappydog, never heard of them.
just kidding.
ever wonder how many of these posts are from employees of the businesses they tout?
well, i'm an actual nobody from nowhere and i can tell ALL of you that scrappydog is indeed "all that".
fast, prompt delivery of parts and no ripoffs.
when looking for parts online, you just never know who to trust, who might "be here today, and gone tomorrow".
i will never forget ordering an airbox for my scooter on friday, and it being delivered on monday.
they must've strapped a jet engine on that thing and lit it on fire.
kudos?
nope, just business as usual.
the real question is, why does scrappy do this?
competition, that's why.
that's why i gotta put a plug in for parts for scooters.
another great online dealer.
competition between these two gives you, the buyer, fantastic service.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Jul 28, 2015 4:07:01 GMT -5
i haven't had any problems with my cam chain tension during the lifetime i rode my bike and i usually ran it WOT.
the 172mm longcase engine in my bike is almost bullet proof mechanically.
the only mechanic work i did to the engine was to adjust the valves and put in an iridium plug, and of course changed the oil.
according to the odometer, i put almost 10,000 miles on this engine.
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Mar 7, 2015 0:56:16 GMT -5
Yeah I am getting power and pulse from the stator Here is the picture of that plug. If it is too blurry I can go out and take some more.  what is that, black tape around a wire splice???this type of splice must be made with crimp on butt connectors or it will soon fail. waterproofing the splice will go a long way at preventing water corrosion. i had similar problems when i purchased my "moped" about 7 or 8 years ago. i finally gave up on "repairing" the harness and ripped the whole darned thing out of the scoot and started from scratch. never had an electrical problem since. my poor scoot finally bit the dust about 2 years ago and it has sat out back since then. will it ever run again? i doubt it, not without an engine rebuild. anyway, yeah, electrical problems are a real hoot for sure. about the kill switch: on my bike it was essentially "grounding the plug". try not to disable too many "safety" features. good luck. |
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Post by dollartwentyfive on Feb 26, 2015 20:20:21 GMT -5
well, my post was to imply that if you was out in the middle of nowhere, and faced with this situation, a sealant would work at speeds less than 35 MPH.
it wasn't meant to imply it was a fix, only a patch of sorts.
but, you are correct.
the safest course for any anomaly on 2 wheels is to FIX IT.
it would be all to easy to patch and forget.
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what is that, black tape around a wire splice???