Scooter Repairs......

I've had a scooter down for repairs for about six months now....and took my time in repairing it.

I discovered it had a fuel starvation problem and this Chinese Scooter has an unusual fuel cut out valve which works off a vacuum diaphragm getting vacuum from the engine to get the fuel flowing.

I ordered a replacement cut out valve and installed it ..now the scooter is working fine.
Now I also have two spare vacuum fuel cut out valves as they were not expensive and for now ...available.

I also got a new variator drive belt....five of them and installed one this morning. I also put a spare variator belt in the compartment under the seat and went for a test ride out to Lowes.

At Lowes I made the purchase of three small one quarter inch metric socket sets to be put under the seat compartment of my three scooters....just in case.

I am glad to get this scooter back on line and will check the weather before considering taking it to work this evening...


Will be trouble shooting my other scooter this three day weekend as I have determined that it is getting no spark to the plug.....a Yamaha Zuma...

I like to keep at least two of these scooters ready to go all the time if I can.....as they save me alot of time and monies...versus my truck and cars.
As Long as I don't have to carry any big loads I am good to go.

And yes...I consider these scooters part of my daily survival routine if need be...as they are very handy...as well as provide me with options.


Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

Will update the status on the third scooter ...the Yamaha as I hope to find the problem over this three day weekend.

Will be nice to have them running again.

The Chinese scooter has some 10,500 plu miles on it and the Zuma some 6500 miles.

Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

I have three of these scooters....a Yamaha Zuma, A Honda Ruckus, and this Chinese scooter.

Took the Chinese scooter to work on Thursday and it ran fine. I am going to research the Rejetting of the Carburetor....and see how that goes. Have somewhere a kit of various jets for this task.

Also going through the intake and exhaust system for removing any restrictions.


Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite

 

Scooters are a great way of getting around especially in warmer countries. Go to Italy, Spain and Greece and scooters are very very popular.

 

Yes they are Max...and I remember many many people riding motorized two wheels in the 1950s when we lived in France.

I still have in my garage my fathers olde Lambretta from the PX facilities he bought when stationed at Orly Field, France back then. Now back then they were also ...all metal...versus todays use of many plastics in vehicles.

So too it is in the Orient with two wheeled transport.


And Yes..indeed Lonewolf......

These machines are certainly not toys....even at the slow speeds of many of the 50 CC versions. They can hurt you if you are careless.

One of the dumber things I recall trying to do on a scooter going down the road is eat a chocolate Ice Cream cone in the middle of the summer over 95 degrees F....and the ice cream melting faster than I could eat it. What was I thinking??? Talk about stupid....what a mess I made!! Never tried that again!!! Lessons learned!!

Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

This thread reminds me that this Memorial Day weekend I've already seen three motorcycle crews on interstate and state highways. But they have been very small, under 50 riders each. One crew was just 15- 20 riders (I just had left a gun store and these fellows were leaving a bar, they were there for lunch I reckon).

 

I stopped in Northern Tool Company and purchased four 6 inch long adjustable wrenches.

Three of them will go ...one each...under the seat of my scooters to accompany the 1/4 inch socket set also recently purchased. The fourth will go onto a nail at my work bench next to the 12 inch, 10 inch and 8 inch adjustable wrenches.
Adjustable wrenches are not for everything but they are very handy.


While there I also purchased a specific puller set and will be putting that away as well.

I have the cash for it now and also own several other types...

A puller is not a tool one uses often but when needed ..it is desperately needed and few other tools will make do.

I have fabricated certain kinds of pullers for a specific job but this time I elected to be prepared.

This puller will be put aside until needed and in like manner to my other pullers.

pully puller installer set from Northern Tool

There are times when the right tool can make all the difference in getting a job satisfactorily done and or exploring advanced language skills.


Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

Oh...and I hope to mostly stay close to home this weekend and catch up on long procrastinated labors...but am aware that many motorcycle people begin using their two wheeled vehicles on this weekend...in like manner to how many boats come out for the season and then get put back away around Labor Day.

Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

lol lol lol lonewolf...

Although I am respectful to other riders...two and four wheeled vehicles...

As a rule I do not care what other riders think of me....mind you now ..though also I have learned from many...and also try to give the biker salutation when going by others...

I do not own a big motorcycle but am only riding 50 cc type scooters and mopeds.....

Like some of my radios ....I have learned to go internally into my scooters/mopeds and do some tweaking...

But also I ride year round....but the olde ones did teach me some things....

The gear makes all the difference.

I carry in my daily BOB/GHB....a rain poncho which has in it extra material to cover my backside while also wearing my back pack...a big plus in keeping my powder dry so to speak.

Also I have purchased some very interesting gloves for the winter with some newer materials called Thinsulate and it works very well in keeping my fingers warm in the 20 to 25 minute ride to and fro in the winter..

I layer up in the winter in addition to those gloves...great stuff that Thinsulate.


The Olde Ones were also quite correct about two wheeled transport...in that so many years ago they told me that if you were going to do alot of riding of great distances get a seat with very good support.

If I try to ride great distances on my scooters ....my backside gets quickly numb....and one needs to take a break.

This appears to be the case often with these young guys and these crotch rockets ...very fast and slick looking but not set up for long distance all day riding...in the seat department.

I am glad to have run across some of these Olde Timers and what they taught me even though I only ride small scooters about town.

Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

Thinsulate works fine, is it expensive in the States? To be honest odds are if you buy cheap knitted hats or gloves in the discount stores in the UK its Thinsulate but its great value for money.

Waxed cotton jackets (Belstaff) are still popular with bikers in the UK, do you get that brand in the US?

 

I've got on from my dad and have two Barbour's one is the standard type and the other I picked up used on ebay a Barbour Cowen Commando based on a WW2 design. I like wax jackets so long as your not working hard or you'll sweat but for walks and around camp they make great rain jackets

 

Worth getting the liner for your Barbour or even a cheap Gilet jacket. Combat jackets are fine so long as you have a rain cover for them; its worth you looking at the MTP jackets windproofs/Goretex type; big improvement over the older jackets and cheap enough to buy off ebay...great value for money.

 

You shouldn't be moving around much if your watching wildlife, but you could just buy a Goretex lined jacket.

 

Thinsulate gloves are not expensive here. I have several pairs and want to get more and put them away ...as backups.

I usually wear my field jacket in the winter but have several layers underneath my jacket.

The time to and fro my work location is about 20 to 25 minutes...and usually I do not bother wearing insulated coveralls.

I will, however, wear Insulated coveralls if it gets sufficiently cold. They do make a difference.

Seems to me the Thinsulate gloves were less than 20 bucks at a local store. I was stunned to find this out as I originally bought a pair of motorcycle gloves at a motorcycle store and they were over 50 bucks years ago. Never bought another pair of them but will spend the monies for more Thinsulate varieties.


Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

<$20? They're about 5 bucks a pair in the discount stores here! I use them myself, work well under Goretex mittens in winter.

 

I rode a bike for a loooong time. My last bike was a full dressed highway machine with a windjammer faring and saddle bags. As long as I was moving, I stayed pretty dry and rode it every day to work and about anywhere else that I went alone. Over the years I had a few cases of road rash but never broke anything. LOL my worst slide was when I hit a danm armadillo while I was sort of laid overpowering though a curve. He put me down in a flash. I was approaching a one way wooden bridge and slid about half way across before stopping the slide. The slick wood was a lot better than the gravel that was leading up to it. The bike was fine but I had to have some gravel dug out of my arms. I rode it home and then went to the hospital.

I never wore leathers. It was hot and humid or cold and raining and leather isn't very comfortable in either of those weather patterns. I rode in jeans, a long sleeve shirt over a T-shirt, steel toe engineer boots and a helmet. In the winter which is usually about a week or two long with day time lows in the 40s and the night time lows in the 30s, I wore a blizzard suit.