New to the scooter world By sigtautaotao (Read 590 times)

[sigtautaotao]

Greetings all...Cycle ridder for many years '78 LTD 1000 and '83 HD Wide Glide. I recently purchased 2 Tao Tao Cy50 T3's for my boy's how are presently going to college at SEMO. One in, and joining Sig Tau Gamma fraternity ~ hence username of Sigtautaotao! I'm an infant to the scooter world, but have done allot of research to best select a scooter at a great price. I'm hopping that using a common engine like the 139 QMB long case will make it easier to obtain parts, and get sound advise from all the scooter rats roaming the streets!
Here is my plan to make improvements...please feel free to shoot holes in my plan!
1) put scooters together with the provided liquids, plus premium gas adding sta-bil (ethanol treatment) and run for 10-20 miles, return to garage and replace fluids to Castrol 4T 10w 40, Castrol Hypoy C 80w 90, and replacing the plug w NGK C7HSA.
After break-in 500 miles ish:
2) Check and remove any mfg restrictions, change the variator weights to 6-7g (I'm thinking oem is 8.5), change clutch springs to 1000 or 1500, rejet or replace the carb, replace air filter.

I'm not interested in giving my boy's screamers but provide a performing scooter that can take 2 uphill 15-25mph ish and 35-40mph on the flats. Whatever I do to the scooters, longevity is important to me...whatever they do to them (care and feeding) is solely on them.

So my questions are:
1) anything wrong with my intended setup or recommendations
2) are my mods and performance expectations reasonable
3) can any of you folks provide specific recommendations for cost effective sizes brands and necessary adjustments that will meet my needs...My son's needs v wants will be debated later!!

Respectfully....Scott

[royldoc]

Sounds like a solid plan. But I would do a full P.D.I.. Remove all plastic, check all electrical connections and wires especially where they are zip tied to the frame. pinched and broken wires are a pain to find and diagnose. Check hoses for pinching and tight connection, I recommend changing them and fuel filter. Check all nuts and bolts for tightness. use blue lock tight on main bolts and nuts. Also I would replace engine oil, gear case oil, and brake fluid first, then run 10-15 miles and change engine oil again. But that is just me. Use clear silicon on screws when replacing plastic. This is just a quick reply. check out the how to do a proper p.d.i thread.


Roy

[Bashan]

Hey Scott, proud to have you on Scooter Doc. Your sons sound like real go-getters, I'm sure you're very proud. I have some thoughts on your plans for your scooters based on my personal experiences and a lot of posts on this forum.

• Don't ride them before you get the original fluids changed. If you want to start them long enough to warm the engine before changing that's fine. But unless you're absolutely sure what's in those scooters, change the lubricants. The Chinese use something akin to peanut oil.
  
• The weight choice on your oils is fine
  
• I know your manual probably says premium but your compression ratio on those is about 9.5: 1, not high enough for premium. It seems the Chinese have a different way of calculating octane. Use regular, you'll get more energy per volume unit. There's nothing in premium that's not in regular other than ignition retardants. JMO
  
• Our good buddy Sprocket hates Sta-bil in scooters and is not scared to tell us. I'm sure he has good reasons for this and hopefully will explain once more.....
  
• Huh? Where was I? Oh yeah, I wouldn't (again JMO) start changing the variator weights or start removing restrictions before you see how they run. You might be surprised with how well they perform. If you're not satisfied then you can start changing things.
  
• Good spark plug
  
• Listen to Roy, he knows what he's talking about, except where it deviates from what I say.
  Let me know if you need any help getting around the forum. Rich

[Cruiser]

Welcome to Scooter Doc, Scott. Please check out this video:

If your scoots have the tire stems as shown in the video, then it would be a good ideal to replace them. The original stems have a habit of dry rotting and the brass portion can also separate from the rubber. I like to use the all metal valve stems which will last the life of the scoot.

[royldoc]

Thanks Bashan, I wouldn't know what I was talking about if it wasn't for the help from all of you that really know what you are talking about.

Roy

[sigtautaotao]

Thanks for the feedback! I received the scooters...shipping crates were trashed and both scoots had some damage; I've filed a claim, hopefully the parts will be here soon! I'll warm up the scoots tomorrow and change the fluids...sound advise!! I'll think about pulling all the plastics (thousands of screws)
Thanks again to all...Scott

[silverfox96]

When you start pulling all that plastic, grab yourself a handful of sandwich/ziplock bags and a roll of blue painters tape. As each panel is removed, place any screws/hardware in a baggie, close it and tape it to the panel. Make a note on which panel you removed first second, etc. When you start to reassemble it you'll find it much easier and all the screws will be placed in the correct panel. Don't forget to dip the screw into a dab of clear silicon to prevent it from backing out and the panel from rattling. Not my ideas, (wish they were) just what I've learned from reading on these boards.