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Post by scooter on Dec 8, 2014 17:48:30 GMT -5
What kills me about that rain spinner, they are charging a hundred bucks for $2-3 worth of plastic and a 50cent strap, and a 10cent bolt. Some margins are just insane, especially for niche devices that don't have enough demand for competition to bring the price down. Imagine how much we would be spending on scooters if the Chinese hadn't brought such intense competition to the market. Vespas and all the other "high-end" scooters would be 1-2 thousand dollars more each if not for the competition of cheap Chinese scooters! I can tell you from experience that getting a plastic part made costs a fortune unless you are buying HUGE quantities of it. In this case the plastic also has to have excellent optical quality and clarity, and I'm sure that made it twice as expensive as it would have been otherwise. This is why I never got my parts made. The price to get the plastic part was more than I was planning on selling the whole finished product for retail. Same for the finish. My costs would have been at least three times what I initially intended to sell the finished units for. Trying to go small time with plastics is a tough deal and something tells me that company doesn't have a hundred thousand people begging for whirly-gig visors. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 7, 2014 18:48:05 GMT -5
I guess they should put motors on them.
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Post by scooter on Dec 7, 2014 11:10:54 GMT -5
I like this design. The "breastplate" looks weird but could be broken up with a bit of paint or decals. It should cool well with all of that air space around the engine. I'd need to add a trunk. It looks like it was designed in several different decades.
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Post by scooter on Dec 7, 2014 10:59:56 GMT -5
Titanium
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Post by scooter on Dec 6, 2014 22:20:55 GMT -5
Even my inner nerd says that looks ridiculous! Great idea but surely it can be done a little more discreetly. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 6, 2014 13:18:32 GMT -5
Hello all, I am a long time rider but this will be my first scooter. I am going for a super cheap Chinese bike due to budget and needs. I was wondering if any of you guys have any experience with this or a similar model? Is this a fare price? That seems fair for a 150cc new. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 6, 2014 3:15:17 GMT -5
Hello all, I am so glad I found this forum. I have learned a lot from just scrolling around here for a few hours. I am going to be buying my first scooter here in a few days and was looking for some feed back on one I am looking at. I have decided to go for the cheap Chinese models due to budget and needs. I am mechanically inclined so I have no problem putting in the time and effort keeping it on the road. I have been riding motorcycles since I was 17, everything from dirt bikes to street bikes. This being my first scooter, I figured I would grab a super cheap on from a small shop here in town. I hope to gain all the info I can to have a happy and safe scooter experience. Let me know where a good place is to post the link to the bike I'm looking at to get some feedback. Thanks in advance. A lot of us use photobucket.com to upload photos to. You can put a link and/or picture in your post here or in another thread. Perhaps this would be a good location to put a new thread: itistheride.boards.net/board/46/show-scoot |
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Post by scooter on Dec 5, 2014 15:59:11 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I cut away the entire face of the belt-cover, exposing the clutch-bell on my old 150. I also removed the filter at the front of the cover, so fresh air (as well as water, dust, etc. had a free-flow IN and OUT of the cover). I rode it that way for 5 years, and never, EVER had any adverse effects from crud damaging the variator, belt or clutch pulley. Before that mod, the cover would get too hot to touch. Afterward, you could even touch the clutch-bell after riding!
..... Just me, but I was VERY pleased for five years running my CVT totally open and cool. And the original factory belt and clutch were still like new when I traded "Lil' Bubba" on my Kymco 250. Again this is just my opinion, but one formed over 5 years and around 8,000 trouble-free miles.Leo in Texas It's interesting that the CVTs are set up like an air filter on a carb and yet so many people ride with them open. Like your bike, my CVT case gets hot. It seems like a good mod might be to cut away most of the face of the CVT cover and then put a screen/foam/screen sandwich over the opening. That would keep out dirt and probably most water. I realize the air isn't going to flow in the way it was designed to flow, but it sounds like yours was cooling much better than stock anyway. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 5, 2014 15:53:13 GMT -5
...I am thankful that the driver was nice and isn't going to lie about what happened. That makes it very likely that their insurance will have to pay my bills, I hope... First of all, I'm so glad you weren't badly hurt, scooter! Second, takes lots of pictures of your bike, any skid marks, anything else. As in LOTS! Third, not to be the Debbie Downer here, but just because the driver admits fault doesn't mean their insurance is gonna' pony up for much. I got rear-ended in the Taurus. Driver told the cop "It's my fault." Driver wrote on the cop's report, "I hit her, it's my fault." All State did pay to fix my car, I'll give them that. But when it came time to fix me they suddenly thought getting rear-ended full-speed and me bracing against the steering wheel couldn't possibly cause carpal and cubital tunnel oh no not a chance. Then offered me $1000 to shut up and go away (my car cost $2000 to fix--gee, I was worth half my 10-year-old car). Then tried to bully me into accepting. Which is when my friend the paralegal got her lawyer the Rottweiler involved. Had to sue the driver (due to KS's screwed-up rules where you not only can't sue the insurance co but you can't even mention them in the trial or it's thrown out). This was during All State's commercial campaign "If you're ever sued because of an accident you were in, we will represent you."...because we'll jack around so much they'll HAVE to sue you to get a settlement from us. Which is when we learned that lots of photos would've helped proved the severity of the hit. He broke my rear bumper completely in two. He pushed my car a good three car-lengths forward. He didn't even try to brake 'til after he hit me (shown by the skid marks--first came sets of four short skids, like skips, followed by his long skids). None of which I had any photos of, sigh. Hopefully your van driver doesn't have All State the Tightwad Hands people. Or else you get an agent who's at least honest in dealing with you.o And do not sign anything 'til you're satisfied with the deal. Most of all, keep telling yourself scooter-bikes can be fixed or replaced; scooter-person can't. >'Kat Thank you for the support, tips, and information, Kat. I realize these companies are in business for maximum profit. I don't know how it will work out, but my insurance company is going to replace my ride and I am letting them deal with the woman's insurance company in hopes of recovering my medical expenses. Fingers crossed!  |
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Post by scooter on Dec 4, 2014 18:08:11 GMT -5
Owww Damn Scooter, that sucks. I hope you get a full settlement & that you find transportation until scootie & you feel better. Thanks, Surfpick. I have temporary transportation and an adjuster is going to look at the bike tomorrow. More good news is that I think I have located the previous owner of my other scooter. If he will cooperate, I can have the other one titled and tagged soon. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 4, 2014 10:57:10 GMT -5
Before I found this place and learned more about scooter stuff, I bought a cheap belt that got destroyed after 5 miles!! There should be a regulation that dictates all belts should be made out of Kevlar or similar material.  I bought two of those myself. People who sell junk like that should be ashamed of themselves. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 4, 2014 10:50:40 GMT -5
howdy, yeh ex scooter-- that does seem like a sudden suck-your-thumb day. it puts my freezing rain this morning in proper perspective in that since i don't have a scooter to ride this morning, it doesn't matter so much. i'll go later to see how beverly 2 is doing. i hope you will be feeling better soon and ready to take up scooting again. lotsa miles and smiles to ya ken Thank you. I was only being partially sarcastic in my post. I am thankful that the driver was nice and isn't going to lie about what happened. That makes it very likely that their insurance will have to pay my bills, I hope. I am not mad at them. I understand things happen and, yes, I can't wait to get back on the road!  |
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Post by scooter on Dec 4, 2014 10:46:29 GMT -5
That sucks scooter  Was the accident the van driver's fault? he/she should pay the deductibles if it was his/her fault  Yes it was their fault and, fortunately, they admitted it to the police. I just have to see how it goes now. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 4, 2014 10:44:32 GMT -5
Sucks, Scooter, but at least you walked away from it, sounds like. Yes, that's the important part. |
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Post by scooter on Dec 4, 2014 2:58:40 GMT -5
howdy, i have to report that my bv350 quit running and it would seem on that model that the weak link is the spark plug wire which i suspect is the problem. AAA hauled it today the 45 miles or so to the dealer who has already replaced it once. we'll see---someone seems determined to suck all the money out of my wallet and bank reserves. my cell phone went south to the tune of 300+ last week. lotsa miles and smiles(not grimaces as i'm doing now) to ya ken I'm sorry to hear that, Ken. I know how you feel, after having mine towed twice in the first few months I have owned it. Plus I had a bit of bad luck myself in the form of my first, and hopefully last, bike wreck. Their van was fine. "Scootie", not so much. His face was smashed off. It looks bad for him. I have to go view the remains tomorrow and see if he can be rebuilt. Me, I can barely walk, I have no transportation, I'm losing time from work, I'm looking at a $500 deductible on bike insurance which I don't have, plus a $5,000 or more deductible on medical, and the cop said someone else owns the bike, even though it's been registered to me since May, which is hopefully nothing more than a government style paperwork mix up, and all of the parts I've been ordering to put "Scootie" in top shape may as well be scrap if he can't be fixed. The good news is that I'm going to be okay and I'll have a cool scar to show off once this laceration heals. Plus the driver said they were really sorry which made me feel much better.  (got the registration sorted out. someone punched a wrong number. all good.) |
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Was the accident the van driver's fault? he/she should pay the deductibles if it was his/her fault 