Scootin On The Cheap By kz1000st (Read 1,441 times)

[amac1680]

May 4, 2014 13:06:56 GMT -6 kz1000st said:

That presupposes that Chinese scooters require a lot more wrenching. I don't see it.

www.vespalx150.blogspot.com

Read down and see what the maintenance free Vespa needs.

Hey I never said a word about Vespas being trouble free. I have also found their dealers are butt holes also.
Of course showing that Vespas also need a bunch of wrenching doesn't make a china scoot more reliable.

I have a couple of china scoots along with the Taiwanese scoots and I love those two bikes. But they simply require far more PM than the SYM or Kymco.

So with that we can agree to disagree.

Be Big,
AMAC

[kz1000st]

May 4, 2014 13:40:42 GMT -6 amac1680 said:

So with that we can agree to disagree.

Agreed.

[JR]

May 2, 2014 8:50:33 GMT -6 amac1680 said:

May 1, 2014 8:20:11 GMT -6 davec said:

I quit reading after para 1, where he disses Chinese and goes onto the 'quality' scooters, Kymco, Honda , Yamaha.



".................When it comes to cheapskate maxiscooters, you are going to do better if you can perform some or all of your own mechanical work. It's not that the models suggested need a lot of work, it's just that they often involve a LOT of wrench turning for simple maintenance tasks.
.............."

................DON'T fall for the too-good-to-be-true new scooters, usually from mainland China. In many cases, these machines are being sold at fairs, swap meets, low end used car lots, auto parts stores, mobile phone stores and so on............. .


Scanning the rest of the article is a regurgitation of what we talk about here.
So, to me, it's just another 'personal opinion' from someone who has the $$ to buy the best, and disses the rest.

In all due respect these are true statements.

Most on these forums will agree that if one buys a china scoot, a drop shipped one in particular, they will have a better experience if they have mechanical skills and the desire to work on the bike. With no dealers the PDI is left to the new owner so some wrench turning is required from the get-go.

I also think we all have seen some of the crap that is offered online. A wise buyer knows what to look for. As we know just because two scoots look the same they are not.
A great many don't come to these forums before they buy they come after looking for help.

To say a person who buying a scooter to ride on not work on will be better off with a china scoot over a Kymco, Honda etal is simply ignoring the facts. They require less work and in the long run many will be better off spending more upfront instead of trying to find a shop to work on their china scoot.

As far as high-end bag ads,again one mans ceiling is another mans floor. Cheap is a relative term.

I also think we all have seen some of the crap that is offered online. A wise buyer knows what to look for. As we know just because two scoots look the same they are not.

You've not been paying attention? Here is three of those crap scooters all 50cc:

www.roketa.com/product/2610/0/38641.shtml

www.jclusa.com/SCOOTER---MOPED-50CC.htm

www.jonway-motor.com/1-yy50qt-6-scooter.html#

All 3 different labels, all 3 identical and I own one just like them with another label. You see in the last 4 or 5 years the Chinese are making all the same parts in one or two places all by the same molds and patterns for one reason, so the places that assemble them can use a uniform system of putting them together. Want to know another thing? I have 5 scooters with 4 of them assembled/made at 4 different places and all 5 of them sport or have Jonway parts especially the body parts, easy to see every part somewhere on them has the origin of where it was made. The word Jonway is on every single headlight and tail light lens on all 5 of made in different places scooters.

Wiring harnesses are being done the same way, I can pull the harness off of my 50cc and it'll plug and play on my 150cc. In earlier years with scooters before 2010 this wasn't the case a lot of times.

You are correct in your term of cheap IMO, kind of like the old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" but to say that people only come to these forums for help is a little off base and if you think the Kymco, Honda, etc. scooter owners don't have forums for "help" then I can easily enlighten you with links to them and a wise man knows this too.

One of the reasons there are name brand scooter forums is the term cheap can apply a lot of times when one takes one to the shop and pays $100 for a oil and filter change, people want cheap to apply and it just doesn't work that way with name brand.

It adds to the other old saying "pay me now or pay me later"


JR

[kz1000st]

You are absolutely correct Jack and after waging this argument for six years I've learned this. They're not listening. They see people come here for help and deduce that ALL Chinese scooters break down daily. I responded to Dave Harrington's Cheap Scootering editorial in an e-mail and summed up my feelings this way.

I could regale you with tales of how much fun my three Chinese scooters are but you have your "Brand Name" ear plugs in.

Dave hasn't responded.

[FACE PLANT FOR LIFE]

I have to say that I don't believe that Chinese scooters are junk by any means. Why are they cheap? Well they're not made out of hard metal like expensive bikes! There's a reason that a scooter made out of ABS plastic is a lot cheaper than say a Kawasaki Ninja, but in all honesty I think it's not the plastics that make the scooters. Sure, plastics make them look good, but they're just for looks. What it really comes down to is how much you know about an engine and electrics. If you have just basic knowledge of motors and what the various electrical parts do (regulator, CDI, etc), you can get along just as well if not better than a brand new "Honda".

I can tell you right now that my 2003 (Hear me? TWO THOUSAND AND THREE) scooter that I bought for $200, and has at the most $100 in parts in it has more than paid for itself, if not more. And if anything is broken on it, it's my own fault (I was the first one to lay it down, damn potholes). And even after it was laid down, it still looks great, scratches or not (although I was concerned that I may have damaged the engine in the fall, since as soon as I went down the engine cut out (maybe there is a shutoff switch in there I'm not aware of that will shut off the bike when it's laid down?), but it got right back up and was kicking within seconds of me putting it down.

Also another reason Honda's are expensive are because they do the most ridiculous things. Like, why is a 50cc Honda Ruckus WATER COOLED?! EXPLAIN THAT TO ME HONDA.

[cyborg]

"Hey I never said a word about Vespas being trouble free. I have also found their dealers are butt holes also." Truer words were never spoken,,,,with little over 1200 miles my vespa is down,,,bad carb,,,the dreaded WALBRO,,,POS,,,,i've been thru the thing 6 times now,,cleaner than anything,,,it is as new,,,AND can't get a replacement ...vespa doesn't or anyone else for that matter sell it,,it has been discontinued,,so the vaunted vespa brand has a few chinks in it's armor,,,BUT i knew this going in,,,even tho it had very few miles it still is a 12-13 year old bike, and from what i read even before i bought it the carb is the weak link,,,i can get a replacement carb for a chinese scoot all day long,,ebay has dozens of them new in the box,,,i called the dealer,,the joke of the century,,,they know less than my cat,,,nothing but parts changers,,,not a mechanic in the bunch of them with their little smocks,,,looking like betty crocker,,,geez,,,i made a surface carb out of tin foil and got it running,,,told them about the surface carb they looked at me like i had six heads,,,,idiots,,,so a call to a few race teams,,,(read real mechanics),,so it boils down to i either pay them with my right leg or my left nut,,,

[FACE PLANT FOR LIFE]

May 5, 2014 7:40:59 GMT -6 cyborg said:

"Hey I never said a word about Vespas being trouble free. I have also found their dealers are butt holes also." Truer words were never spoken,,,,with little over 1200 miles my vespa is down,,,bad carb,,,the dreaded WALBRO,,,POS,,,,i've been thru the thing 6 times now,,cleaner than anything,,,it is as new,,,AND can't get a replacement ...vespa doesn't or anyone else for that matter sell it,,it has been discontinued,,so the vaunted vespa brand has a few chinks in it's armor,,,BUT i knew this going in,,,even tho it had very few miles it still is a 12-13 year old bike, and from what i read even before i bought it the carb is the weak link,,,i can get a replacement carb for a chinese scoot all day long,,ebay has dozens of them new in the box,,,i called the dealer,,the joke of the century,,,they know less than my cat,,,nothing but parts changers,,,not a mechanic in the bunch of them with their little smocks,,,looking like betty crocker,,,geez,,,i made a surface carb out of tin foil and got it running,,,told them about the surface carb they looked at me like i had six heads,,,,idiots,,,so a call to a few race teams,,,(read real mechanics),,so it boils down to i either pay them with my right leg or my left nut,,,

SPhhhhhhh

Pay with your left nut, at least you'll still have a functioning right one, am I right?

No, but seriously, Vespa is a good brand and all, but I have this odd feeling that we won't be getting our '73 Vespa running anytime soon (41 YEARS!), but who knows. It sputters, so that's better than when we got it..

[kz1000st]

A Walbro carb? Isn't that Chinese? I would have thought a Dellorto at least. Flyscooters used to brag that they had Walbros and I thought, "Big deal. My Bashan came with a Keihin."

[kz1000st]

Here. I don't know if this will help.

www.walbro.com/partsservice

[davec]

I didn't come here initially cause I had a problem with my chinese scooter, I came here to talk with like minded scooter folk. The problem I did have (broken exhaust header) I was able to diagnose and repair. Was just passing on the info

I like riding, and when not riding, i like talking about scooters. (and girls and beer and football)

I ride like an old man, cause i is one.
This is a toy. Not my main transportation. I've learned a lot so far, as I did when I first got my 2002 Honda Shadow Sabre, which I heavily customized to make it my own. And am slowly doing the same with this trike.

So, to each their own, and everyone is happy with what they got (pretty much)

Now, go out and ride, before it starts raining.

D

[cyborg]

Walbro it's Japanese for kaka,,,,called sudco today they are setting me up yet another mikuni,,, tm28,,, they prejet it and all for me,,, plug and play as it were,,,so the fueling problem will be gone forever,,,, thank goodness,,, I actually like blasting around on it ,,, I didn't mean to hijack the thread,, my point is , every scooter has problems , even the high priced spread,, I've had an issue or two with every bike or car too for that matter

[Kaveman]

Any scoot you get weither it be a 40year old Vespa or latest sym needs upkeep done. Some more than others. If you can learn about what your scooting on, the better you will be prepared if something does go wrong. Me I chose the Vespa -Stella types because of the history they have and also for the mechanical challenges it has given me. I have had more than my fair share of d@#$ Italian scooter remarks when working on my 2T . What I get in the end is the satisfaction that I got it fixed on my own and learned something while doing so. If you don't learn then your going to end up paying even more than you started out.
willc.

[kz1000st]

What I get in the end is the satisfaction that I got it fixed on my own and learned something while doing so. If you don't learn then your going to end up paying even more than you started out.

This is the Mantra of every Chinese scooter owner.

I had a very reliable Japanese motorcycle 6 years ago. I sold it so I could become a "Rider" again. I had to know every sign and rumble my 1974 Kawasaki 500 two stroke did so I could head off trouble. All the four strokes since were like cars. Put the key in, hit the starter button and go. No connection, no involvement and no rewards. Every successful trip on my Chinese scoots is the result of my work and involvement. Not some guy with a laptop in Japan.

[amac1680]

May 5, 2014 4:33:20 GMT -6 JR said:

May 2, 2014 8:50:33 GMT -6 amac1680 said:

In all due respect these are true statements.

Most on these forums will agree that if one buys a china scoot, a drop shipped one in particular, they will have a better experience if they have mechanical skills and the desire to work on the bike. With no dealers the PDI is left to the new owner so some wrench turning is required from the get-go.

I also think we all have seen some of the crap that is offered online. A wise buyer knows what to look for. As we know just because two scoots look the same they are not.
A great many don't come to these forums before they buy they come after looking for help.

To say a person who buying a scooter to ride on not work on will be better off with a china scoot over a Kymco, Honda etal is simply ignoring the facts. They require less work and in the long run many will be better off spending more upfront instead of trying to find a shop to work on their china scoot.

As far as high-end bag ads,again one mans ceiling is another mans floor. Cheap is a relative term.

I also think we all have seen some of the crap that is offered online. A wise buyer knows what to look for. As we know just because two scoots look the same they are not.

You've not been paying attention? Here is three of those crap scooters all 50cc:

www.roketa.com/product/2610/0/38641.shtml

www.jclusa.com/SCOOTER---MOPED-50CC.htm

www.jonway-motor.com/1-yy50qt-6-scooter.html#

All 3 different labels, all 3 identical and I own one just like them with another label. You see in the last 4 or 5 years the Chinese are making all the same parts in one or two places all by the same molds and patterns for one reason, so the places that assemble them can use a uniform system of putting them together. Want to know another thing? I have 5 scooters with 4 of them assembled/made at 4 different places and all 5 of them sport or have Jonway parts especially the body parts, easy to see every part somewhere on them has the origin of where it was made. The word Jonway is on every single headlight and tail light lens on all 5 of made in different places scooters.

Wiring harnesses are being done the same way, I can pull the harness off of my 50cc and it'll plug and play on my 150cc. In earlier years with scooters before 2010 this wasn't the case a lot of times.

You are correct in your term of cheap IMO, kind of like the old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" but to say that people only come to these forums for help is a little off base and if you think the Kymco, Honda, etc. scooter owners don't have forums for "help" then I can easily enlighten you with links to them and a wise man knows this too.

One of the reasons there are name brand scooter forums is the term cheap can apply a lot of times when one takes one to the shop and pays $100 for a oil and filter change, people want cheap to apply and it just doesn't work that way with name brand.

It adds to the other old saying "pay me now or pay me later"


JR

Hey JR I also agree to disagree on many of your points.
That said I don't like being misquoted, particularly when my original statement is used in a reply.

I said:
"A great many don't come to these forums before they buy they come after looking for help."
I don't know where got ONLY from "great many".

I you disagree with the statement that's fine but please be accurate of what you are disagreeing with.
To insinuate that I need to be "enlightened" about other brands and forums and you would be willing to educate me is well, less than I expected from you. As a rule you chose your words with more care.

Be Big,
AMAC

SIDENOTE
For those who don't visit brand specific forums or who have not been to a Kymco or SYM dealer recently there are issues with both brands supply chain at the moment and some parts may be hard to come by for the short term anyway. Be aware and be prepared.

Not a problem that comes up often in the china scoot world as parts abound !

[richardv]

Personally I'm here to learn before buying and have learned a lot so far. I do this with motorcycles, model rail roading and RC planes so that I don't waste money that I have little of.

Keep the good work everyone. Your doing fine. Now I just need to find a dealer closer to home other than the big brand names.