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Post by Rebel on Oct 12, 2012 0:46:21 GMT -5
So you had a sex change operation then.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2012 13:14:10 GMT -5
your just jealous i got to pet a horse. no i had a "Species Change" I am the horse. Attachments:
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 4, 2012 14:05:20 GMT -5
Now that I have some miles on the scoot, with the new CDI and coil installed, I can REALLY see a major difference in overall performance. Smooth idle, quick throttle-response, better gas mileage, etc. ...
When performance degrades, it's usually a slow process... Sorta like the frog in the pan of hot water: he doesn't even realize he's cooking until it's too late. (Hmmm... On THAT note, I suddenly am reminded of our government...) I noticed some sporadic rough idle, and lagging throttle-response way back last year, but paid little attention. In my case, it was the CDI going bad.
These scoots are great transportation, and fairly reliable... BUT... Not as reliable as a modern car. I learned a lesson here with a LONG walk, pushing "Lil' Bubba" home. If the scoot seems like it's not running quite like it used to, better check it out.
As for things like CDI's, or any computer-like part, a $20 Chinese scooter electro-gizmo is probably not going to run 300,000 miles trouble-free, like a $500 Japanese car electro-gizmo. Of course, a nice, $900 Chinese scoot is not quite in the same league with a bottom-end $18,000 Japanese grocery-getter for price, either.
Some would say "you get what you pay for" but I do believe these scoots still give you more value per-dollar than expensive cars do. And certainly MUCH more value per-dollar than mega-priced Euro-scoots... But as Clint Eastwood so aptly put it: "... a man's gotta know his limitations..." Same goes for things on wheels. A Chinese scooter is not a Harley, or a Honda, or a Toyota or a Lexus. Heck, it's not even a Ford or a Chevy... LOL! But being a Chinese scoot is still a very good thing for those of us who ride 'em!
Just a thought...
Leo in Texas
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Post by terrilee on Dec 4, 2012 14:47:19 GMT -5
Some would say "you get what you pay for" but I do believe these scoots still give you more value per-dollar than expensive cars do. And certainly MUCH more value per-dollar than mega-priced Euro-scoots...
i payed $400 for 'Chrissy" 3 yrs ago in Mar. she had 31 miles on her. i now have over 8,100.
replaced the stator / magneto, a/f lines, front brake pads, tires, of course, o throttle cable , the 1st month, a few brake/kill switches,
thats all i can think of now.
SO DID I GET MY MONEY'S WORTH ??
i think so.......
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Post by Rebel on Dec 4, 2012 22:56:07 GMT -5
Cheap Chinese jems are out there.
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 6, 2012 0:30:15 GMT -5
[/quote]
i payed $400 for 'Chrissy" 3 yrs ago in Mar. she had 31 miles on her. i now have over 8,100.
replaced the stator / magneto, a/f lines, front brake pads, tires, of course, o throttle cable , the 1st month, a few brake/kill switches,
thats all i can think of now.
SO DID I GET MY MONEY'S WORTH ??
i think so.......[/quote]
You DEFINITELY DID get your money's worth! And then some! (That fast, FAST top speed... Whew! Gotta LOVE that!)[/i][/color]
Your story is just what I'm talking about. I think I did well, but you did even better! My scoot, which I call "Lil' Bubba" came from the old ATV Discounters back when they were in their heyday, five years ago. Cost $697 delivered to my door, off the Internet.
It was ordered as their bottom-end, entry-level "price-buster". No real instruments, no extras, no chrome... nuthin' but wheels and a motor.
In the on-line order, you had to choose a 1st and 2nd choice color. I was a wise-guy and chose "black" for both options. As it turned out, the only black ones they had were top-end, loaded metalflake black and silver, with matching trunk, blacked-out muffler, chrome package, tach, remote start and front and rear disk-brakes... even sports a genuine Gates Powerlink belt.
I never knew a simple color choice could be such a good idea!
Now, for the typical "rest of the story". Starter went bad FIRST DAY... I removed it and was able to repair the broken wire inside. First month, the CDI and coil went bad. First season, the fuel lines "melted" and ruined the carb. Got a new Mikuni. And new fuel lines.
Top speed was a "brisk" 38 mph. It took the entire season to figure out this is one of those scoots that will NOT run with the factory "tuba" style air-intake. I had to experiment with every air-cleaner known to the free world and part of China before trying driving with NO air cleaner, which immediately fixed the problem.
Then, a UNI "sock" filter on the carb with NO hose between it and the carb did the trick... but only AFTER total re-jetting and even modding the needle to raise it farther than factory adjusting allowed.
Almost EVERY bolt I've wrenched... center stand, all muffler mounts, numerous other fastenings were cross-threadded and ruined, requiring me to drill them out and use nuts on the other sides.
The rear luggage rack cracked, and cracked and CRACKED again and was welded up until it looks like a pile of pudding. I now made braces from square chrome bathroom towel racks. No problems since.
Most of the plastic pieces broke at their little mounting tabs, but epoxy put them back in place and they've held fine for four years.
The rear wheel hub is a full 1/8" OFF-CENTER! Yes, the wheel goes up and down like the Lionel "Toonerville Trolly". But... The Xingyue factory fixed THAT by mounting an OFF-CENTER tire with the high-spot of the tire placed on the low-spot of the wheel.
Yes, the outside tread turns perfectly round. While the wheel goes up and down. AMAZING! No shake, no shimmy. When the tire wears out, I'll have to replace the wheel too. Or find another oval tire... LOL!
All that sounds like the typical Chinese horror story, but now that I'm used to working on them (I'm an old Harley guy, and THESE are a different animal entirely...) All these little gripes would be quick fixes since I now know what to look for.
For the last four years, Lil' Bubba has been reliable and a hoot to ride (except for the CDI going bad again last month...) Next project is to install the Prodigy variator I've now had for two years... (I know, SHAME on me... Old age just slows me down.) And, the muffler is on its way out, so I have an excuse to install a high-perf exhaust I found before I even got the scoot... That will likely require another re-jetting of the carb, but could be after all that, I may come close to matching your fast top speed! I'll GLADLY settle for a top-end of 60, and cruise of 55... LOL!
One last gripe I have is the all-too-common "high-speed-wobble" associated with these "girly-framed" scoots. Even my last Harley bagger did that. Most ANY bike will do that, lacking a road-damper. So long as you keep both hands on the bars, it never happens, and it's no problem at all, and maybe one day I'll adapt a japanese crotch-rocket fork stabilizer to the fork. No big deal...
So... I now have a total of around $900 in Lil' Bubba. As it sits, it tops out at 55 mph and will cruise 50. THAT is EXACTLY the speeds the original ad promised anyway... and at any in-town speed it's as comfortable and enjoyable as a big motorcycle.
Can't ask much more from less than a grand... Except for that doggone 67 mph speed Chrissy has! LOL! You got a frisky one!
Ride her safe, and enjoy a quiet, personal YESSSSS!!! each time you pass a $6,000 Vespa...
Leo, scootin' cheap in Texas
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Post by terrilee on Dec 6, 2012 9:05:37 GMT -5
i am on 5 different forums,and i read all the 'horror' stories , like yours, parts dying within months, etc etc and i try not to brag to much about "Chrissy" w/o knocking the hell out of my wooden head
but i do, just to show people that not all chinese scoots are bad.
Gotta have a shining example for everyone, right?
i truly believe its because she was built at the Shanghai Schenke Motorcycle Company LTD, subsidy of Jonway. it just seems that this company cared about quality the poor manager of this company, probably got fired , for exceeding costs or w/e, but at least i got a great scoot, and im sure there's others out there. probably their owners aren't on line bitching about Chinese junk because their scoots have held up.
and the speed , Leo, that was at only 8.1--8.3 RPM's i had a little more to go, but didnt wanna push to much.
and i love to blow everyone off the line. and blow by the 1 or 2 vespa's around here, there 4 or 5 or 6 older guys {gee im 54 and their older?} that have 250's and i blow them o0ff the road all the time, but i dont think the old guys are giving it even 1/2 throttle, cause there is no way in hell a 150 should outrun a 250
id love to tear into her cvt and replace slider/rollers and the belt they are still stock put taller gears in and see if i can a Police verified {radar gun} 70 MPH,,but being that she's my only transport i dont wanna be w/o maybe when i get out of my state sponsored vacation, and get another car, i will
but for now i'll just keep treating her with love and baby her, and she will take care of me BUT the biggest thing im proud of is
and she's still going strong as hell
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 7, 2012 4:04:59 GMT -5
Hey Terrilee,
You definitely got a good one! Your speed MAY, or may not be partly due to you weighing a lot less than most of us guys... But, at near 70 mph, you will beat a lot of 250's.
I'm 66 (and feel 80... LOL!) and weigh 235. Last year I weighed 255 and just 20 pounds less makes enough difference to notice: mostly on acceleration. Could be the best way to make these go faster is lose weight...
My Wife's doctor bought a Vespa 250 last year, and I rode it. Pretty fast... Seemed right up there with the old 1960's 250 motorcycles. Dang good acceleration, and I took it up to 85 and it had plenty left. I'd guess it would do near 100.
He didn't like it, and this year, traded it off on a Vespa 150. Electronic fuel-injection and such, but still looks like a fifties Vespa, but with a CVT tranny. No more clutch n' gears. I rode it, and was AMAZED at the acceleration up to 65, and took it to 75 which about topped it out, but that's moving on a 150. But it's E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E... And has those teensy 11" and 10" rims front and rear. No shimmy though. The thing uses a "uni-body" with no frame, and it's rigid as... well, it's plenty stiff.
I'll be interested to see just how much difference the Prodigy variator makes. It has more room for the belt to climb, and my original belt is now well stretched. In fact, while my top speed has never been over 55, it USED to be at nearly 10,000 rpm, and now does it at 8,800 rpm. I never let Bubba run at 10-grand more than a few seconds. Sounds like a 2-stroke at that speed!
I've run into several riders with Chinese scoots that have given no trouble. Like yours, they do exist. Even with the trouble mine gave, now that I'm familiar with them, it's not all that big a deal, and worth some work for the cheap ride!
Of course, there's always the "extremist" scooter jockey like the guy I ran into 2 years ago with a totally handmade scoot with billet-aluminum backbone frame and a turbo-charged Accura V-6 pumping out over 500 hp to the monster back wheel. NASTY!
That guy races crotch-rockets for money and wins!
Stay safe,
Leo
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Post by terrilee on Dec 7, 2012 9:46:15 GMT -5
leo,
O im sure alot of it is my weight, when i 1st got her i was 120lbs now because of my meds, im up to 140. still curvy tho ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
so yea unless its a young teenager guy, im sure im 50lbs ,at the least , lighter, and i will admit thats prob. 75% of the reason i go so fast.
BUT it doesnt explain the , No breakdowns and stuff. maybe its because i am a woman, also. i dont WOT all the time, but believe me i do WOT sometimes.
i REALLY wish alot of the people who DON"T have any probs would join and post. More of example to all that not all Chinese scoots are "junk".
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Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 10, 2012 20:23:17 GMT -5
Terrilee,
Judging from experience, I'd say your scoot would still do 60 to 65 even with a heavyweight rider. The weight seems to degrade acceleration much more than top speed. You got a frisky one for sure!
And I have to agree that people who experience GOOD, trouble-free Chinese scoots should post more. I think it's mostly because the majority of members of scooter sites got there while looking for answers to their problem-ridden scoots. Riders of trouble-free scoots often don't search the net for websites. They just ride a Chinese scooter because it's cheap transportation, and they assume it will be trouble-free like their car, and don't even know they got "lucky"...
As for the rest of us... well, we got an education on Chinese mechanics, and learned why those who don't even know there's a depression on, have no quams about paying $7,000 for a $1,200 ride... LOL!
It DOES gripe me when somebody says Chinese scoots are "junk". The WORST of them are WAY above what I'd call junk. "Problem-prone" is lightyears from "junk". I'm an old Cadillac fan, but during the 80's these very high-priced, high-end cars received aluminum engines that could honestly be called "junk". I had a couple... They would self-destruct on a regular basis regardless of proper maintenance. A precious few Caddies of that era received cast-iron Olds/Chevy 350's and they'd run forever. They brought top-dollar at trade in time, while the aluminum engine versions would often not even be wanted in trade.
They used that AWFUL engine for YEARS before morphing it into the superb "Northstar" V8. The basic engine was a good design, but it had some problems which SHOULD have been ironed out BEFORE the engine got into production cars. But... Not only did the engine NOT get tweaked, it remained in production year, after year, after year until Lincoln took over the American-made luxury car industry. It's a phenomenon that MIGHT be understandable in 3rd-world countries, but NEVER in America. Just plain laziness and the attitude of "Heck, it's a CADILLAC; buyers will still buy 'em even if they're junk."
Same thing happened with Harley Davidson during their dismal AMF management days. Nowadays, Cadillacs and Harleys are better than ever, but, EXPENSIVE as all get out.
I suppose if the Chinese manufacturers "got their acts together" and started using quality control like the Korean scoots, then, a $900 scoot would cost $2,500.
I'll happily wrench on a Chinese scoot and save the money... LOL! Most of REALLY important parts in a Chinese scoot are very good, so a little "tweaking" can provide a champaign ride on a beer budget.
Thank God for websites like Scooter Rebels so us old-school Cadillac and Harley guys (and Triumph, BSA, Indian, Cushman, Vespa, Labretta, Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc...) can find out what in the heck a CDI or CVT is, AND how to fix the doggone things!
Give Chrissy a sip of good oil for the old chopper guy... And shhhhh... Be quiet, I don't think she knows she's not a crotch-rocket... HeHeHe. And, as always...
Ride SAFE!
Leo in Texas
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