how far By bailey (Read 953 times)

[bailey]

I have a taotao-50 and a md-150T scooters, and was wondering how far would you take a trip on eather one, so far the 50 has made several 50 mile trips and the 150 has done 100 mile trips with no problems. tnx.

[kz1000st]

If the 150 is fully broken in the sky's the limit. If you can map out state highways and stay off the interstate you could cross America with it. The only proviso is that you avoid high temperatures and let it sit for about twenty minutes at each gas stop. The fan cooled engine can really build up some heat, its worst enemy. Also don't exceed 45 mph with it while you ride, heat again.

The 50cc is a lot tougher, believe it or not. Obviously no interstates and stay around 30-35 mph and you could ride around the moon with it. For some reason heat isn't as big an issue. I've heard the engine was originally designed as an 80cc model and the downsizing made it more durable where the 150 was originally a 125cc and suffers from the strain.

[Bashan]

The wife and I routinely take our 150s out and cruise around the countryside sometimes up around a hundred miles. I don't see why you couldn't knock down 200 miles in a day if you did like KZ suggested and let them cool off once in a while. If you did that and changed the oil every 500 miles the sky is the limit. We had a guy try to ride from Maine to Florida a while back and his engine blew. There was a lot of finger pointing mainly at the scooter having the audacity to come from China. However, it was KZ's opinion, and mine, that heat was the cause of the engine failure. He hit the e-way with it and open the throttle. They are just not made to do that. If you take it easy and don't get in a hurry I think a Chinese scooter could make a long trip. I'd also take some spare parts like a coil, CDI, and plug.

Hey KZ, maybe the 50cc's are more durable because they generate less heat. Just a thought.

[automotoguy]

I've ridden my 150 230 miles in a day several times now without any issues. Even in the heat of summer, I stayed around 45 most of the way on state highways unless traffic was shoving me along faster than that. Mine has almost 28,000 miles on it now and is still running good. Don't be afraid to ride it but do be reasonable on speed and certainly carry some spare parts / tools. Check the oil after every gas stop.

[LUKE]

some 50cc riders i know install some 12v high rpm fan directed towards the engine block,this will cool down the engine by at least 40-50%while riding ,prevents engine from overheating,good for long trips.

and some,i for one , mix a little amount of oil based oil injector cleaner in my gas tank,like Marvel mystery oil, the purpose is to clean the carbs etc,as well as giving the top of the engine block+piston extra lubrication as it runs in high rpm.

good luck to your trip!

[kz1000st]

My heat hypothesis is based on this. See this little beauty?



It has been about as reliable as anything from Japan. Now while the mileage is a scant 2,000 it has been used repeatedly as a short haul grocery getter/errand runner on eight mile runs. You'll notice that the engine just hangs in the air as opposed to living in a plastic oven like most scooters. In those 2,000 miles I've adjusted the valves twice. The second time was unnecessary as nothing had moved. The oil doesn't come out black and watery since the motor seems to run cooler.

I'm sure this sounds like an apple/oranges comparison but my theory is that since this engine is also built in China, like the scooters, it should suffer from freaky problems too. It doesn't. So far I've replaced one screw, one bulb and the battery after owning it three years. It also does 45 mph easily and has visited 50 on occasion, indicated speed of course.

[Random Hero]

He didn't try he made it to key west...2 motors and almost 3 months. Still lives there and is happy he did the trip.

Heat was not am issue BTW....it was lack of oil and rider error. Jason would never admit it. He didn't check the oil from Maine to South Carolina. Engine 2 was all his fault...new engine and right back on I95 wide open.

[kz1000st]

that heat was the cause of the engine failure.

A little review. Jaden put the engine back together with half the cooling shroud on it in North Carolina, loaded it in a truck and drove it to Florida where it blew after a couple of days of flat out running. Another engine was put in and we were all treated to the video of him riding it after a few miles Wide Open (remember the sight of 55 mph on the bike computer) scarcely broken in.

Keep in mind this thread is about how far can you ride with a scooter, not "How far can I ride with a truckload of parts being installed and a spare engine at my disposal". Jaden is the worst case scenario of how far can you go.

And yes I'm still peeved at how he treated me on his podcasts along with his "Mechanic" who couldn't ride around the block on a Chinese scooter so he sold them and bought a Yamaha.

Nothing against you Dean, you have a proven track record of success. Jaden doesn't.