Preparing for a Chinese scooter By nards (Read 4,743 times)

[mike932]

Also consider used Yamahas or Hondas on Craigs List. I bought my 1988 Yamaha 125cc on Craigs List for $400 and I love it.  I would not recommend scooters under 125cc because it would be hard to keep up with local traffic.

[cyborg]

Honda small bore motorcycles and scooters are Sym made,,, the metropolitan is being made in china now,,, yamaha scooters are made by kymco,,,bmw's small bore motorcycle engines and all their scooter engines are kymco,,,, I sense a trend here,,,

[mike932]

My 1988 Yamaha was made in Japan. It's like a fine wine.

[cyborg]

Not sure when they did the switch,,, my dr is a 94 so made in 92 or 93 for that year run and I agree the dr runs stupendous ,I can't get over how well it runs,,, it's a keeper

[Bashan]

I wish I could lay Pete's (Cyborg) resume out for all of you but it is vastly more extensive than this modest man would attest to. Same as JR, Alley, and the other bozos on this forum. But Pete and I have had many conversations lately and he has done his homework. This guy knows from whence he speaks and he has the stats. The Taiwanese are bringing it and they are bringing it to everybody else. The Taiwanese have it figured out and everybody is playing catch up. Fine.

[jct842]

Except the Taiwanese are 95% mainstream chinese people!

[nards]

I know about the whole Taiwanese are really ethnic Chinese thing... But in the scooter world they sound like an entirely different species altogether. With the Chinese scooters being cavemen and Tawanese scoots being some advanced alien race.

Ok, enough metaphors.

Before I totally close the door on getting a Chinese scooter altogether, i really wish I could hear/find some success stories with Chinese scoots. There apparently are people who've had them be reasonably reliable vehicles and all. What did they do to get to that point? Was it just dumb luck that they had a well built one? Was it a stellar PDI? Black magic perhaps?

I appreciate all the responses I've gotten here, and to everyone who has said , "get a Chinese scooter if you like to walk and push". I know that you've been down a rough road with yours and that you are trying to save someone else the same headache. I'm not being stubborn and ignoring valuable experienced advice... But surely there is some hope and some positive accounts out there.

Aside from outright rebuilding the scooter from the frame up right out of the crate, is it even remotely possible to make a Chinese scooter so that I have the confidence to ride it?

[rks]

I've already voiced my opinion on this thread, but felt like jumping in again. I read all the horror stories before I bought my scoot, and decided to get one anyway. The wife thought I was nuts, when I started tearing it apart the day after it arrived. I tried to explain why, but she just shook her head in disbelief. It's a guy thing I guess, I enjoy wrenching, and wanted to check things out.

At first I had little confidence in it (all of the horror stories stuck in my head), but as the miles added up, the confidence started to build too. Now, after 3 years, and no break downs, I have complete trust in it. Scooter is pretty much stock, all electrics are original, (except battery, replaced after 2 years & 3 months...and spark plug boot, replaced 2 days ago due to deteriorating rubber).

Drive train, same story, all OEM except the weights in the variator, and the Goodyear Belt. Up jetted carb when air box was replaced with a free flow filter...Lots of rubber hose and all associated canisters removed before scooter was started for the first time. My PDI didn't cost anywhere near what you said....a tube of silicon caulk, some dielectric grease, and a tube of blue loctite, some zip ties, and a roll of electrical tape.

No racing parts installed on my 8 hp super bike (CDI, coil, clutch). At 220 pounds, and 67 years old....don't think I'll be doing any scooter racing....so I put the money I saved on that stuff, into a couple of gauges to better monitor electrics, and fluid temperature.

I don't flog the scoot, nor do I go out in bad weather.....I ride it like a scooter...cheap, basic transportation....it is what it is. If 40 or 45 isn't fast enough to get me where I want or need to go, I won't take the scooter....I opt for one of my German made 1200cc bikes.

So, 5,800 miles, zero breakdowns, replacement parts so far, variator weights, air filter, and drive belt. All because I desired to, not because I needed to. Oh, and that battery...I did need to replace that.
I have complete confidence in it, and would drive anywhere as long as I don't have to maintain highway speeds, to stay alive.

[cyborg]

That's really great!! I'm glad to hear it and there are other owners all over the net on forums that are getting astounding numbers of miles out of theirs as well,,,

[Bashan]

There is the roulette factor in which every once in a while you get a lucky spin and you get a Chinese bike that is a workhorse. This is generally luck dependent and cannot be counted on.

I don't care how careful you are with the PDI, you're still dealing with sketchy components. You can help your chances of survival but it's still a crap shoot.

You can do everything humanly possible to assure a reasonably reliable Chinese ride but the fact of the matter is there will always be that element of uncertainty. Of course that is true of any machine but the odds are better with a Taiwanese bike.

[mike932]

Look at it this way. If you buy scooter insurance that offers unlimited towing, and you enjoy wrenching, then a Chinese scooter is for you.  Every time my car or scooter develops a new problem, I figure out how to fix it which makes me a better mechanic.  A couple weeks ago, I was intimidated to change the rear tire.  Now I look forward to doing it again.

[nards]

I'm glad for all the responses but the only problem is I'm more confused about this decision now than when I started. Maybe I should just buy all my own parts and assemble my own scooter lol.

[Bashan]

There is nothing to be confused about. It's all about probability. If you go with Chinese the probability of having problems is greater than Taiwanese.....or Japanese. I personally think you get as good, or better, value from Taiwanese than Japanese. But if you go with Chinese you don't spend as much. It just depends on your wants and your wallet.

[nards]

Mar 18, 2015 14:38:48 GMT -6 Bashan said:

There is nothing to be confused about. It's all about probability. If you go with Chinese the probability of having problems is greater than Taiwanese.....or Japanese. I personally think you get as good, or better, value from Taiwanese than Japanese. But if you go with Chinese you don't spend as much. It just depends on your wants and your wallet.

I'm really thinking going the Taiwanese scooter route. While I am intrigued by getting and then wrenching on a Chinese scooter, there are probably better mechanical projects I Can get into.

If any one cares, once the money comes in that I'm waiting on, I'll ressurrect this post and let everyone know what I got. If it ends up being that Chinese scooter, I'll keep a log about it as I do the PDI, ride it, etc.

Thanks for all the great responses from both sides of the fence! No matter what direction I go I look forward to being a (hopefully useful) member of this community!

[richardv]

Best wishes and hurry back.