Scooter Doc
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Post by rob63 on May 15, 2012 9:45:40 GMT -6
Hi Rob, good to see a fellow countryman here  Couple of things if I may, CBT lasts 2 years, not 3. Yearly MOT only applies after the vehicle is 3 years old. Bashan, we pay national insurance directly out of our pay packs to fund the 'universal health care' system, as we know it the NHS (national health service) Duty/tax from fuel does not fund the NHS. The government take about 60% in tax/duty of the price of a litre of gas here. We also pay something like £125-£300 or so each year for a 'road fund licence' depending on the size of ya cages engine. All of these procedes are supposed to go into the road networks, but do they? bo!!ocks they do. The pollitricksters of this country are running it into the ground. But still, I love riding my scoot and scooterdoc is always here to help take of the pain of real life away  Hiya bud, thanks for the correction on the CBT, it`s not something I`m overly familiar with. Too true about the road tax we pay, our roads should be some of the best in europe with the money the government get. I`ve been to France/Germany a few times and their roads are fantastic, always in a good state of repair. |
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Post by rob63 on May 15, 2012 9:36:57 GMT -6
Are you getting any movement on the starter ? Is the solenoid clicking ?
It`s possible that you have a dead cell in the battery. Although it`ll show enough voltage, the starter will take a fair bit of amps, a dead cell will knock the crap out of the amps available for cranking.
Does your scoot have a kickstart, if so will it start on that ? If not then you`ll have to try a battery which you know is good, once it`s running put a multimeter across the terminals and check to see if you are getting the correct charging rate around 13-14.5 volts, if not then your charging system may have a problem.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by rob63 on May 13, 2012 9:40:18 GMT -6
Got a barn find Adly Activator 125, originally looked like this but a lot more beaten up and tatty....  I`m chopping this one as the plastics are too far gone. Sprayed a few parts up so far but only one pic, of the frame mods   |
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Scooter Doc
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Post by rob63 on May 8, 2012 13:15:54 GMT -6
Quickest option is take the carb off, pop the float bowl off, whip the jets out and check they`re clear. My money is on the primary being blocked. |
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Post by rob63 on May 8, 2012 13:01:03 GMT -6
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Scooter Doc
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Post by rob63 on May 7, 2012 2:28:35 GMT -6
Thanks for the replies, interesting that the different states set their own rates, given that the UK is so small in comparison to the US everything here is regulated centrally.
Good point Bashan about the NHS, it`s something we take for granted here, I just wish it was run more efficiently. It`s become such a behemoth that it`s seemingly unmanageable.
Tend to agree about the compulsory training, in my day it was a case of wait until your 16th birthday and then straight out on the road, a recipe for disaster in a lot of cases. We did manage to get some 'bike handling' experience in a few fields nearby which helped a lot though.
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Post by rob63 on May 6, 2012 15:32:24 GMT -6
Cheers for the reply bud. The scoot will only be a plaything for Sunday afternoons so kicker won`t get a lot of use. I can`t run without a battery as I need indicators to be legal so need a power source even if it`s a capacitor unfortunately. I wish more electrical systems were like the old Vespas, no battery, simple loom, but everything still worked. From experience the ballast resistors feed off a lot of unused voltage to stop bulbs burning out, I think I`m going to have to trial and error where I plumb it into the wiring. |
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Post by rob63 on May 6, 2012 13:52:37 GMT -6
The imperial sizes are 100% aspect ratio, therefore 3.50 wide and 3.50 in profile. Most imperial sizes go up in increments of 0.25 inches although the tyre size doesn`t necessarily convert over to metric accurately. A manufacturer may call his tyre a 3.50 but the design could really be 3.40, he simply rounds it up to the next 0.25 as per industry standard. The metric system allows for a bit more accuracy especially when lower profile tyres started to be manufactured, so your 90/90 will be (first figure) 90mm wide approx, but with an aspect ratio (second figure) of 90% of 90mm (81mm approx). Hope that makes sense ? |
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Post by rob63 on May 6, 2012 9:43:18 GMT -6
The Top Gear lads did a Vietnam special travelling from Saigon to Hanoi on scoots/bikes. Was one of the best 'special' episodes they`ve ever done A few excerpts.... |
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Post by rob63 on May 6, 2012 9:05:17 GMT -6
A couple of questions for those more in the know.... I`m chopping an Adly Activator, finished the main work on the frame and now thinking about the electrics, mainly trying to thin them out. I`ve seen a few adverts for battery eliminators, essentially just capacitors, and wondered if anyone on here has used one on their scoot. I`m presuming that my scoot has an AC system as the main lights only work with the engine running. Also does anyone manufacture a blanking plug/plate for the starter motor on a 125 GY6 engine, if I use an eliminator the starter motor will become redundant so I might as well ditch it. One more question....ballast resistors, I have two on the scoot, one for the auto choke which will be ditched along with the choke unit. Another for the main lights, I`m thinking of putting in a simple on/off switch from the lighting coil wire, the question is should I plumb the ballast resistor in the wire before or after the switch ? Any help would be appreciated |
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Post by rob63 on May 6, 2012 2:59:49 GMT -6
As this is a US forum I thought it might be interesting to compare motoring costs from across the pond. A lot of people over here in the UK moan that it`s very expensive here, so it would be nice to get some comparison to the US. Some of the stuff below doesn`t apply to me as I`m getting on in years but thought I`d include some things that new riders have to pay out as well -Provisional driving licence $80 -Compulsory basic training $161 (lasts for 3 years after which they have to re do the training or take a bike test. -Bike test including training $646 -Yearly Insurance.... 16 year old $400 48 year old $110 -MOT (yearly bike safety check) $40 plus cost of repairs if applicable -Yearly Road tax....up to 150cc $26 151-400cc $58 -Litre of fuel $2.30 -litre of oil (2 or 4 stroke cost about the same) $11 -Garage hourly rate for repairs approx...$48 -Average weekly wage (40 hours) for scoot mechanic after tax....$310 - $400 Any comparison ladies and gents ? |
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Post by rob63 on May 5, 2012 15:01:59 GMT -6
Cheers buddy for the welcome. I drifted into being a scoot mechanic just over a year ago when I was unemployed, so still getting used to the vagaries of scoots after building chops and lowriders in the past. I originally trained as a truck mechanic so it`s still a learning curve for me even after all these years. |
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Post by rob63 on May 5, 2012 14:25:12 GMT -6
Just a hello from me as I`ve just registered here. Live in Cornwall in the UK (the land of ridiculous fuel prices), and work as a scoot mechanic most of the time. Currently own an Adly 125 which I`m in the process of chopping. |
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