to tao tao or not to tao tao By cyborg (Read 3,895 times)

[cyborg]

That is the question,,,what is the best make 50cc scooter out of the chinese brands that i should be looking for?,,or does it even matter ?,,,zhen?,,,you tell me ,,,keep in mind i'm in california ,,,that shoots down 99.9% of the two strokes,,,i prefer 4 strokes myself but i have owned a buzz bomb or two and have no objection to them,,,lay it on me guys,,,and i'll probably be looking as always for a clean CL queen,,,,,

[kz1000st]

Nothing from Sunny Sports, Massimo or SunL. Tao Tao, Bashan (Peace), JM Star. But to be sure anything from Znen is good. I briefly owned a Lance 50cc. The plastics and mechanicals were top notch. As Rich noted on his. When you adjusted the valves the adjuster screw didn't move real easily and made adjustments easier. BMS, Lance, Flyscooter, Puma, Wolf. They're re-badged Taizhou Zhongneng scooters.

Tao Tao is a newer entry in the scooter wars. They make ATVs and learned that Americans are bozos. To learn what would be required for success from an established dealer they purchased GSMotorworks. GS stocked parts for what they sold, stayed away from models with sketchy track records and didn't come from dirt floor factories. As I'm sure you may have noticed many of the problems noted here have been minor with Tao Tao. GS Motorworks played a large part in that.

I have to admit a little prejudice. I like Bashan products. My 150 scooter and 50cc Cub clone come from Bashan. They produce 750,000 bikes and scooters a year. Also produce their engines in house. They are labeled by Peace Industries, parent company of Green Earth scooters. Don't ask Rich about them though. You'll see this in his post. Their enormous name is Chongqing Astronautic Bashan Motorcycle Company and if you use a torque wrench on all the cylinder head bolts, they're pretty good.

[cyborg]

that fly 50 sounds like it may be a serious candidate

[twowheeler]

BMS, ZNEN top quality. Tao's well lets put it this way. I had one, got hit by an suv, Sold it for 750.00 after body repairs. Girl who bought it wrecked it 2 more times and is currently in my driveway awaiting more body work...damn thing runs like a top! So my vote is a true tested Tao Tao!!!

[cyborg]

thats a nice looking scooter also,,,body parts "easy" to get?,,i know plastics can be a bear and pricey for big wheel bikes,,,the vespa i have is a double edge sword,,steel body but major pain in the drain if you crash it,,,

[cyborg]

that's another candidate

[twowheeler]

Eagle ATV carries all the panels for Tao's. Prices are good but shipping is steep. Order a lot at once!

IMO once youve seen a Chinese scooter youve seen them all. The only difference Ive seen is that during the PDI some require a bit more work but generally they are all pretty much the same. If you can turn a wrench buy the least expensive one that you like and save a bunch up front! Once they are together properly its bullet proof. I went with the ZNEN because the paint is better, the carb is better, the belt is better, hardware is better, hoses etc. For the extra 400 bucks I didnt have to chase down all that stuff and got something with better quality control at the factory level.

[randy]

Cyborg no two strokes in California? My Stella had A catastrophic converter on it when I bought it and I thought the reasoning behind it was so it would be 50 state legal.

[Bashan]

My pal KZ can turn a wrench no doubt about that so I respect his opinions. He has a little higher opinion of Peace bikes (Bashan) than I do. My wife surprised me with a couple of Bashan crate scooters and I didn't have a clue as to how they went together. I got my handle from joining Scoot Dawg in an attempt to get the things together and running. Bashan Aeronautical Puff Flower Motorcycle Kinda Thingie Manufacturing was on the owner's manual (manual? oh HAR HAR!) so I entered Bashan as my handle. The seller, Green Earth Scooter's  "tech department" consisted of telling me to join Scoot Dawg. The tech guy's handle was Math Club Guy. I don't know if he's still around or not. He was OK, just stuck in a job trying to advise on bad crate scooters sold by a drop shipper that didn't want to spend a cent on warranty work. I think Bashan's engines are decent but beyond that the electrics and body work were horrible. How much more would it have cost to get those aspects acceptable?

Now, you asked what brand of Chinese scooter is a cut above. Znen would be my answer. They have their own brand but supply a lot of other badges like Motorino (great bike) and I think Lance. Flyscooters made a fine machine. Indicative of how things work, they spent some bucks making their product and went belly up because buyer's wanted crate scooter prices. If you can find a Fly out there BUY IT! The guys KZ listed as motely is spot on, avoid them like the plague. Pumas are very nice machines, I have one, it's fast, nice body work, three phase stator. Cookees sells them if you live within driving distance of Pittsburg. CF Motos are really good but they've quit making scooters. Two things on CFs, there will probably be parts around for a long, long time because they made scooters for a long, long time. However, their parts are NOT interchangeable with other Chinese scooters.

But just about all Chinese scooter parts are useable on all Chinese scooters which is one thing that makes them so cheap. I really don't have a problem with cheap Chinese scooters but if you buy one you better be prepared to work on it. Motorcycle shops won't touch them and unless you find a nice guy like Cookees the local scooter shop will either send you packing if you didn't buy it from them, or rip your eyes out. I know an older guy that went to a scooter shop around here. They botched the first attempt to fix the guy's scooter and then charged him $50.00 for a coil! It still was missing like crazy. I replaced his spark plug and it now runs like a top. It was the plug....the.....plug. Wow, I do go on don't I?

[malevelina]

I've never had any problem with my 50cc TaoTao. I bought it from Bobcat's motor sports out of Stockton, CA. They work with you and have been very good with us. My little TaoTao runs like a champ without a hitch.

[kz1000st]

I'm sure you are having great luck with the Tao Tao Malevelina, and for the same reason I had better luck with my Bashan than Rich. As I've said, way too many times, GS Motorworks is the real deal. They sourced mine with heavier strength wiring, a Japanese carb and better quality fuel and vacuum lines. Even now, five and a half years later, I'm running the original hoses and air valves in the rims. My problems with the scooter were self inflicted and yet it still runs like a clock. GS worked with Tao Tao for a year advising them of what works best before Tao Tao introduced their line of scooters. Even Eagle ATV is the name of GS parts department, the name Eagle is leftover from their label before Tao Tao and adorns the front of my scooter. I don't know if he's still with them but their parts dept. head, John Sanchez, was the best. You got your parts, not excuses. Bashan should have bought GS Motorworks first.

[cyborg]

Hey KZ i have a gently used torque wrench i'll let you have super cheap!!!! it's in inch pounds so there'll be no problems,,,,Just goofin on ya,,calm down,,,i have a divot in my forhead from the small ball pein ,,,,,stupid stupid stupid,,,that was my last mantra

[kz1000st]

I now have three torque wrenches in my collection, a half inch drive and a three-eights drive click types, and a half inch drive beam type. I know that having them will prevent me from ever having trouble again. Ever notice how you buy tools, "Just in Case", you never use them? I should show you what precipitated the whole problem.

A one in a million manufacturing screw up. Probably a robot grabbed it wrong and messed up the flange to pipe alignment. I'm guessing the exhaust gasses backed up in the port, over heated the head and ruined the temper in the hardened steel valve springs and then boing, broken springs.

[cyborg]

Wow talk about a freak occurrence ,,, had a inside pipe of a double wall exhaust fold in and choke off a bank of a v8 in a car I built,,engine ran great started up then would miss and stall,,, called my dad in ny he told me what was wrong and I didn't believe him,, he said bet you $1000 the exhaust is restricted sure enough midway between the header and muffler it was collapsed cut it out sent him a section he used as a paperweight on his desk,,,, and the grand ,,

[kz1000st]

And then Mr. Swifty went and overtightened the cam tunnel bolts as you saw in the video. Fortunately my mistake only cost me $50, and a few head gaskets, to repair the damage.