The Matrix: Rebuilding By runningslow (Read 26,552 times)

[runningslow]

Woot! I supposedly have a box of scooter parts at the house waiting for me! I know what I'm doing tomorrow! ;D

I've also put in an order for a Sigma BC509 Bicycle computer that I'm going to use as a speedometer. That should be here sometime next week. I'll try to document the installation for the benefit of others.

[runningslow]

I must be dreaming.... my scoot its running!!

That's all for now... I've got some riding to catch up on!
(Actually, I need to start reassembling the body and figuring out the brakes. :

[jake aka:ventoscoot]

Sweet Josh!!! Good to hear!!!

[ccprof]

Way to go Josh! Have fun putting the plastic back together.

[jhbietz]

Now that your getting to the end of your project I just want to thank you for documenting everything. Its been fun and interesting to follow along.

[runningslow]

Oct 3, 2010 6:43:16 GMT -6 jhbietz said:

Now that your getting to the end of your project I just want to thank you for documenting everything. Its been fun and interesting to follow along.

Oh, project isn't near completion... its just beginning!
Now its time for upgrades! ;D

[runningslow]

UPDATE: Some of the plastic is back on. When I went to put some of the pieces back on, I notice a few more broken tabs. So, I tried to repair those with some plastic epoxy. I'll probably try fitting those pieces tonight, now that it will have cured.

Regardless, I rode to work this morning.... this is a great feeling! ;D

No apparent running issues. I'm pretty sure she's running rich, but I'll have to pull the plug when I get home, because I wasn't smart enough to pack any tools.

Concern: I'm only running on my front brake. Even when fully engaged, the rear brake shoes have no bite. The wheel spins freely. After looking around online, can someone confirm that there are different brake shoes for different wheel sizes? I have 13" rims.

I'm wondering if the shoes I have are just too small and I could get larger ones, or if my wheel won't work with drums at all. I could probably go back to my disc brake, but I'll have to replace the lines... since I cut them in my haste.

[ccprof]

Be careful with those brakes Josh! If epoxy doesn't work on your tabs try welding with a soldering gun and plastic zip ties. JR is a wizard with those!

[runningslow]

Thanks Larry. I know it probably wasn't the wisest thing to go out with only front brakes, but my logic was that front does 70% of braking anyway, so I figured what the heck....

I'm hoping its just a matter of getting different brake shoes and I'll be good to go. If I can get replacement hoses, I may consider going back to the disc brake. I could probably just take the remnants down to Autozone and see if they have anything that'll match up.

As for the body, plastic welding is definitely the next step. I'm hoping the plastic epoxy will hold up, since it says it works on ABS. Thankfully, everything I've attempted to fix so far was just cracked, I wasn't trying to replace any missing plastic.

As I've said before, I've got a lot of repair to do on things like the front fender which is actually missing plastic. Those are going to come later and will definitely require different techniques.

[runningslow]

Do you think I could splice the brake hose back together, like I did my with oil hoses?

The pressure is surely going to be higher, but I don't think enough to worry about. Heck, if the brake lines fails, it'll be no worse that how the bike is right now...

[ccprof]

The epoxy might work on the cracked stuff. It did with mine. You meet to fashion some kind of brace until it sets. I don't know if splicing brake lines is a good idea.

[runningslow]

Oct 4, 2010 14:12:51 GMT -6 Bashan said:

I would think if your wheel has a well that drums should work, could the supplier have sent you the wrong size?

I asked Rick at Scrappy Dog about it. He told me that there two sizes of shoes for a GY6: one that fits the 50 and one that fits 125/150.

My rim has the "well" as you call it, but it appears that it may be too large of an opening. When I get the chance, I'll pull the wheel off again and measure it. I looked at few parts places, and it looks like the inner diameter of the "well" should be 130mm.

One thought, since I've never had another scoot apart to look, is there some sort of lining that would be inside that well, i.e. the actual brake drum?

[Bashan]

The inside of the well is just smooth looking metal, no special lining. We have a post in the tech section about taking sandpaper or rough steel wool and getting some of the shine off of it to make the shoes grab better. If there's a well there's a WAY! ....sorry. Nothing high tech about it, I've had both of my 13" rear wheels apart. The shoes expand out against the inside of the drum, they should be barely touching or not very far away. Rich

[runningslow]

Ok, then my well must be a little bit bigger, but I'll have to measure. They don't make ANY contact at all.

[runningslow]

Random thought of the day.... does anyone know of an oil filter kit I could use to place in my oil cooler line? Something that would use a common oil filter canister?