Preparing for a Chinese scooter By nards (Read 4,741 times)

[w650]

Chinese scooters aren't being pursued as being "Unsafe" for two reasons. One, what two wheeled vehicle is safe? Two, because over 90% of the problems are owner inflicted. I heard all the warnings in 2008. "Change all your hoses, change your tire valves, retighten every bolts and nut on the machine, change the tires, change the spark plug, blah, blah, blah. You know what I did do? Re-tighten the bolts when I saw them coming loose. Almost seven years now and I'm still on the original hoses, tire valves (Armor All once a year people) and front tire. Heck even the original brake fluid.

Good owners, good results. Bad owners,.......you figure it out. My instructions from GS Motorworks read like this. "Failure to have this vehicle inspected and assembled by a professional service facility will void any warranties written or implied" I did my own work understanding that stipulation. They still warrantied the scooter when a problem arose but they didn't have to. All online sellers include the same proviso. The Government can read. 

[w650]

You have big shoes to fill Rich. Lance just posted a picture of a 2009 Cali Classic in California on Facebook that has 30,000 miles. I hope yours gets there too.

[nards]

Mar 24, 2015 11:06:56 GMT -6 w650 said:

Chinese scooters aren't being pursued as being "Unsafe" for two reasons. One, what two wheeled vehicle is safe? Two, because over 90% of the problems are owner inflicted. I heard all the warnings in 2008. "Change all your hoses, change your tire valves, retighten every bolts and nut on the machine, change the tires, change the spark plug, blah, blah, blah. You know what I did do? Re-tighten the bolts when I saw them coming loose. Almost seven years now and I'm still on the original hoses, tire valves (Armor All once a year people) and front tire. Heck even the original brake fluid.

Good owners, good results. Bad owners,.......you figure it out. My instructions from GS Motorworks read like this. "Failure to have this vehicle inspected and assembled by a professional service facility will void any warranties written or implied" I did my own work understanding that stipulation. They still warrantied the scooter when a problem arose but they didn't have to. All online sellers include the same proviso. The Government can read. 

Well I mean unsafe in this way- there are horror stories all over the Internet about Chinese scooters. Some even calling them a "scourge". They are being called unsafe for being blatant safety hazards and rip offs even by two wheeled vehicle standards. Things like valve stems blowing out while at speed, wheels bending due to poor metallurgy, and frames breaking due to poor weld jobs, etc.

Despite all of that, I still might pull the trigger on one. But id do it knowing that I might have to strip it to the bare frame, rebuild it (even though it's new), and replace many of the common failure parts (hoses, wiring harness, etc) along the way.

[w650]

Mar 24, 2015 11:06:56 GMT -6 w650 said:

I heard all the warnings in 2008. "Change all your hoses, change your tire valves, retighten every bolts and nut on the machine, change the tires, change the spark plug, blah, blah, blah. You know what I did do? Re-tighten the bolts when I saw them coming loose. Almost seven years now and I'm still on the original hoses, tire valves (Armor All once a year people) and front tire. Heck even the original brake fluid.

I'm not making my experience up. The horror stories, which I think are ridiculous, are dated from 2006 if you check out the publication dates. PLUS!!!!!! I still say 90% of the problems with China scooters are the owners. Most of the people who wrote those "Horror Stories" never owned a two wheeled vehicle in their life, didn't bother to check anything out of the crate and put them together with Channellocks and a hammer. Then took them out on the Freeway and ran the crap out of them.

I went out yesterday to start the 150 after sitting for a month in sub 30* temps in the garage. It fired right up and settled into a steady idle. Not bad for a six and a half year old POS with 8700 miles.

[cyborg]

You got wonderful service out of the fleet,,,,and also i think that alot of the BS thats cruising around the internet about chinese scoots is just that BS

[nards]

Well it's official, I'm finally getting that Chinese scooter.

I'd really like an SSR X6- the Zuma clone. What's the most reputable website to get this from? There are quite a few, all about the same price, and I don't know who to pick. I'm not too concerned about the absolute lowest price, I just want a hassle free transaction...

[cyborg]

Just checked it out,,, very nice,,,

[novaraptor]

Good to hear from you, Nards. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences. I think you will be happy. I wasn't in the original conversations. My 2008 produced roketa mc-79-250, (actually a Sampo Steed produced by Sampo motors) bought at a brick and mortar in 2011 has served me well. I'm just over 11,000 miles on it. My only quality problems have been cheap plastics, ie instrument needles melting and warping in the sun. I did bend a rim two years ago, by hitting a hole that a construction crew had made and left unmarked in the dark. My engine is the Yamaha/Linhai clone, and I have no complaints there. Enjoy the ride..

[jct842]

Since most all are the same scooters the biggest and most important thing I would look for is being able to get the paperwork either with the scooter or very soon after. There have been many sellers go belly up and not send those papers. Until you have the papers the scooter is a worthless yard ornament unless you intend to ride it off road. With the Internet today it takes very little to own a fancy web site selling scooters, have next to zero invested in stock and all outward appearances would lead most people to believe they are dealing with a large trustworthy dealer. The certificate of origin is part of the deal and should be with the machine in my opinion. I have nothing against a chinese scooter, they are great, its just some of the sellers are bad news.

A 50cc isn't quite so bad as you usually do not have to license it, but the legal proof of ownership is that certificate.

[jerryscript]

When I was looking for my 150, I first searched for websites selling it. I then checked the BBB for both the site's company name, and the registered domain owner (take BBB complaints with a grain of salt, only be concerned with verified claims of fraud, or multiple complaints of the same nature). I then searched the website and company names together with the words "review" and "forum", paying close attention to forum posts. I narrowed it down to two companies based on my search results. One was in California, the other in Carolina IIRC, I live in Nevada so I went with the California dealer. I've been very happy with both my purchase and the buying process I went through.

[kwtrader]

I bought the X6 model (registers as '2014 Meiduo MD150') in red from CountyImports.com. It took about 2 weeks to get it, and my muffler cover (it was plastic) was cracked during shipping. I wound up replacing it with another exhaust muffler system anyway so it wasn't a big deal. I also received the MCO well before the actual scooter, so that was good.

A few things you should know...

#1. If you do order online, LOCTITE those 8mm and 10mm bolts ASAP!! The reason I had to replace my exhaust system was because the bolts rattled loose (didn't bother since I was so happy to ride it) while I was flying home from class and it literally fell apart. This had less to do with Chinese quality and more to do with my negligence. Definitely LOCTITE the exhaust studs and let it cure properly.

#2. Empty out the factory motor/gear oil that comes with it and replace with a good quality 10w-40 oil (80w-90 for gear oil).  I use Valvoline brand. If you'd like, you can drain the brake fluid and add some good quality stuff to it as well. Make sure you bleed your brake lines properly if you do so. Use 90-octane(premium) fuel as well.

#3. Make sure your carb is okay and your valves have the proper clearance. This may sound like a bit much but this will prevent your engine from dropping dead like mines did after 1200 miles recently lol. This was due to a premature break-in, running at WOT 70% of the time (big no-no without the proper upgrades) and overheating the engine so much that the valve seats burned out and dropped a valve. I'm in the process of ordering an oil-cooled GY6-200 for it and do it the right way. Sometimes the factory adjustments are off and made according to certain elevations. YouTube is filled with simple instruction videos on how to do this.

#4. If you want a little more top-end with get up and go, order a performance final drive gear kit and a racing clutch. Both can be had for about $100 if you look in the right place. ScrappydogScooters should have what you need. Variator weights are cool but I don't have any aftermarket that are installed.


Other than that, it's a great scooter. When broken in properly you can hit 50-55mph at the max rev limit. I was able to hit 60mph after about 800 miles but it came at a cost lol. To alleviate this you should get the final drive gear kit that will let you cruise at 50-55mph while keeping your rpm lower (saving your motor in the process). Also take a look at an oil cooler kit if you will be going WOT a bunch.

When I get a chance, I'll upload some pics of my scoot soon. Hope I was able to help!

[jose3wheeler]

So hey guys I wanna buy a stock ruckus clone filter but I haven't had any luck finding any online help me please....

[jct842]

Apr 26, 2016 21:02:06 GMT -6 jose3wheeler said:

So hey guys I wanna buy a stock ruckus clone filter but I haven't had any luck finding any online help me please....

Why not start your own thread about your ruckus clone. Adding on to this one will just confuse the issue/

[kz1000st]

www.partsforscooters.com

[sillylittleboy]

New guy here getting ready to enter into the Chinese scooter debate or debacle, depending on which side of the fence you're on. I do have experience with Chinese manufacturing and their quality concerns. I'm an RC flyer and when I first heard about these GPS-enabled autonomous flyers and began looking into purchasing one myself, the name that came up most often was DJI. They're USA-made and their flagship product is the DJI Phantom (2, 3, or 4) where a very stripped down version will cost you close to $1000. That seemed like a lot to pay for such a thing and then I found this Chinese knock-off/version that had all the same features AND more. Instead of $1000, this baby only cost me $200 (Cheerson CX-20/Quanum Nova).

I also found a forum of very knowledgeable and experienced folks and I start reading and tagging he knowledge base of information. This MUCH less expensive Chinese version had some flaws, but I located and read detailed "fixes" or "mods" that often just involved relocation of some components and my own thorough Quality Inspection.

I was hoping to find a little of that on here and this thread seemed like a good spot to share "What to do when you first get your Chinese scooter" Guitarman shared or hinted that there were some things a new owner could do or should do to preventively perform proper checks. User rks went a bit further and actually gave us a shopping list, "....a tube of silicon caulk, some dielectric grease, and a tube of blue loctite, some zip ties, and a roll of electrical tape." Someone else posted something about the need to "waterproof" your Chinese scooter, so I can kind of infer from that and this list what I need to do with those items on the list.

"nards" - it sounds like you've gotten plenty of answers to your question, but I suspect that you're waiting for someone to give you the answer you want. I've read lots of reviews, watched YouTube video reviews, and read through lots of posts on this forum and I've probably acted contrary to what many have said. I'm probably getting what is considered a pretty low-end, not the "best manufacturer," Chinese scooter. It's a done deal. It's been bought and paid for and being delivered sometime this week.

I work 2.1 miles from home and that is my primary reason for purchasing one AND I've kind of always wanted a scooter. I don't really plan on using it for Sunday drives and I'm already planning a bit of a strip down and weatherproofing venture upon arrival. I'm going to follow all the detailed maintenance instructions to the letter and on schedule. I'm going to be very easy on it for at least the first few hours of operation. Until then I won't be doing more than maybe 30-35 mph to give all the seals and gaskets a chance to seat, rather than just blowing them out.

I didn't know anything about quadcopters or RC control, but doing all the tinkering and maintenance and modifications to my Cheerson CX-20 taught me everything I need to know. It was the best way to learn and I learned lot.

I don't know anything about scooters, but I bet I'm going to start learning a whole lot real soon. I was hoping to find some detailed tutorial on "What to do first, when your Chinese scooter arrives." Details or a video on doing the weather proofing (although I can figure that out) and I've heard tell of making some adjustments to the valve(s) settings and I bet there's a few more things a person could and should do. Maybe I'll start creating the documentation that I was hoping to find so that what was learned the hard way won't need to be learned that way again.

I've spent more on a weekend in Vegas than I have on this scooter, so if it does self-destruct and blow-up or melt-down in a few months or a few weeks, it will have lasted longer than my Las Vegas weekend AND I'll have learned a whole lot more than I did in Vegas.

My "soon to arrive" Chinese Cataclysmic Catastrophe of Chaotic Contortions choice is a TaoTao Power-Max 150cc scooter. Most of you have probably seen them, but here's a picture anyway. Oh and my last weekend in Vegas cost me around $1200, but this scooter was only $860 for EVERYTHING!

Hey Nards, I'm going for it, but what do I know... I'm just a...
SillyLittleBoy