I've had it! By mxmatt (Read 1,214 times)

[mxmatt]

I've gone to the end and back twice already for this scoot. I can't take it anymore. After completely rebuilding this bike, only days later, it sounds like I'm losing another starter clutch and I'm discovering that it is still leaking oil. I can honestly say it is the biggest piece o sheet I have ever owned. I am used to the quality of my Honda CRF 450 and I'm not sure I can stomach this chinese stuff anymore. At first I was all good with a few repairs and adjustments here and there, but two rebuilds and never ending electrical/charging issues are driving me crazy. I really want to own a scoot, but I'm afraid to buy another one. Is it just that mine is a 2008 and the quality was poor back then, or can I expect that a new bike will be far more reliable? 

vimeo.com/mattheussner/another-noise

vimeo.com/mattheussner/another-noise

[Deleted]

oh Matt im sorry to hear that! there aint much more dissapointing than that. it very well could be that its a 2008. the chinese were really cranking em out because demand was very high because of gas prices. im not sure you would want to buy a new 150 and get it drop shipped? you can certainly do a pdi since youve done all that you already have to this one.

please dont give up on scoots. this might leave a bad taste in your mouth but a new one might be better and you can use this one for parts. this one mightve been a monday or friday scoot or the castings arent the best.

[Bashan]

They were bad back then. If it says 2008 it's probably older than that. For all the Mao talk from the Chinese they are capitalists. They have responded big time to the quality complaints. My first scoots were 2008 and they are awful! The handlebars aren't straight, the rotors wobble, the brakes are terrible, I could go on. If you buy another Chinese get Znen or Puma or Motorino. They are decent bikes at a bargain price. If you go to the brand names like Honda you will pay a fortune. Me? I like the Taiwan products. Rich

[Deleted]

May 4, 2014 20:34:40 GMT -6 Bashan said:

They were bad back then. If it says 2008 it's probably older than that. For all the Mao talk from the Chinese they are capitalists. They have responded big time to the quality complaints. My first scoots were 2008 and they are awful! The handlebars aren't straight, the rotors wobble, the brakes are terrible, I could go on. If you buy another Chinese get Znen or Puma or Motorino. They are decent bikes at a bargain price. If you go to the brand names like Honda you will pay a fortune. Me? I like the Taiwan products. Rich

i know. that 08 jonway i got had the cheapest $h!ttiest plastic ive ever seen. the wiring is flimsy and it has a general cheap feel.

Matt- if you go with what Bashan said, you wont be dissappointed. i live near a znen dealer. theyre good scoots. well built like hondas.

[Bashan]

That plastic was so brittle you could not take the body off without breaking tabs. I didn't know anything back then and thought I was doing something wrong. One way to judge a decent scoot is if the plastic has a rubbery feel. It'll bend but won't break. If the plastic is like that, you're probably OK on the rest of the bike. Rich

[JR]

Hmmmmmmm?


07 JCL 250A 4100 miles, replaced horn, installed LED's, modified cooling, same OEM CDI, R/R, stator, engine, etc.
08 Roketa 250B 12k miles, installed LED's, modified cooling, same OEM CDI, R/R, stator, engine, etc.
08 Bali 150 3900 miles, installed LED's installed oil cooler, same OEM CDI, R/R, stator, engine, etc.



I must have got the cream of the crop?

JR

[jvino]

I am sorry to hear you are having more problems matt. Now I am period my scoot will be next due to it is a 2007.

[DrRocco]

Damn Matt. I bet you just want to throw that thing off a bridge. I don't have anything to compare my scoot to, but it sure seems like much better quality than what the other guys have described is found in a 2008 scoot. Typical issues I would expect to see associated with poor quality, such as excess "flash" on the plastics and rubber from the seams on the mold, brittle plastics, poor fit and finish, etc... are all absent on mine. Other than my paranoia-created start up issues, mine is running like a top. It's still early, I know. I just turned over 500 Km today. It is too early for me to chime in regarding long term durability or quality, but the way things are going, I certainly don't expect major issues for quite a while. If I were you, I'd swing by that place you told me had TaoTaos, and ask if you could take one out for a spin. Take it up the street and park it, then give it a quick once over. I think you could pretty quickly determine how the quality of that scoot stacks up against your recently thrown off a bridge scooter.

[Deleted]

yup time for new. id be sick of that one by now. get a new one and then drive that one til something goes to hell. use it like a beater car and keep the new scoot nice as long as you can.

[Bashan]

I won't lump 250's in with that Jack, I don't know enough about that to comment. The early low end GY6's were terrible, like my Bashans. Having said that, the engines were OK, it was the plastic and electrics that were horrible. Compare that to the Motorino I owned and the plastic was nice, the electrical connectors finished off nice, and the gauges actually worked. I can only speak from the bikes I've owned and worked on around here. The wife's Puma is head and shoulders above the 2008 Bashans. I don't know about Balis, never worked on one. But it wouldn't take a great deal to best the 2008 crate scooters...JMO. Rich

[rgmarsing3]

Hey!! My 2008 Chuanl 150 Protégé Has been GREAT!!!! I bought it new in 2010 and have over 3500 miles on it with everything still original except the spark plug, windshield, and trunk. The tires are still fine (saw some cracks in the valve stems today), original belt still looks good and brakes are still good to. Yes I broke some tabs on some of the plastics and have had some problems with batteries and charging (mostly my fault leaving it out in the cold and forgetting to plug in maintenance charger). I even take it on camping trips to the High Uinta Mt's.(been as high as 10,000ft) with all my camping gear strapped on. I am a fanatic about changing the fluids and keeping it clean. It was bought on the internet and crate dropped to my home and I did my own pdi. Maybe I was lucky, but I like to think I have had something to do with it. So lets not use a broad brush and paint all 2008's the same. However since I am thinking about buying a larger scoot I do hope that as many have said the quality has come up since then. Either way (if I was lucky or quality has risen) I should be better off when I pull the trigger.

[mxmatt]

So here is the culprit! I had to put the scoot away for a while before I did as DrRocco said and throw it off a cliff. I was certain that I had not tightened the Starter Clutch retaining nut tight enough or had forgotten to use Blue Loctite on it and so this AM I tore into the bad boy and got the right side case off. I reached down to see how far the nut had worked loose and low and behold, it was snug as a bug in a rug and hadn't gone anywhere. That's when I noticed my oil pump chain sitting in the bottom of the case. I'll be ordering a new one today.

Untitled by mxmattaz, on Flickr

[Deleted]

I would pull the valve cover and check thru the cam bearings. they weren't getting oil along with everything else up there. if you didn't ride it much after the noise started its probably fine but best to check as long as you got it all torn apart.
glad it was something cheap though so you don't throw the scoot off a cliff.

[mxmatt]

May 13, 2014 14:40:37 GMT -6 @lanternscooter said:

I would pull the valve cover and check thru the cam bearings. they weren't getting oil along with everything else up there. if you didn't ride it much after the noise started its probably fine but best to check as long as you got it all torn apart.
glad it was something cheap though so you don't throw the scoot off a cliff.

Good idea Lantern.  I had already thought of that, but since I stopped riding it as soon as I began hearing the noise, I think I am safe.  I agree, at least it is inexpensive.  Pain in the A--! But inexpensive.

[Alleyoop]

FANTASTIC!! Good that you finally found the culprit.
Alleyoop