Before your scooter gets here

[Rebel]

You did all the research, you know what scooter you will buy, you combed the web to find the best deal and now you are ordering the scooter.

But wait, you forgot something. you didn't know that you need to prep that new scooter before you start riding it.

You will need to change the oil, now some people get really particular about oil, great, but one thing we all agree on is that any oil you can buy here is better than what came in it, it is shipped with shipping oil, not oil for riding. So change out the oil with you favorite brand. If you have a water cooled scooter change the coolant also, it would not hurt to also flush the break fluid out and put high quality break fluid in. You also have gear oil in the CVT that should be replaced.

Take all the body panels off and check all electrical connections. While they are off also check all nuts and bolts you might even want to put some thread lock on them, the name brand is locktite. Those electrical connections need to be tightened and if you are inclined replaced with higher quality connections.

Valve stems, these are usually pretty low quality on Chinese scooters, so replace those with some new ones, you can find those at Wally World.

For a good PDI follow this links directions and you will save yourself a lot of problems down the road;

x1scooters.com/scooterpdi.html

I know, you are buying a new scooter, why should you do all this stuff. Well,
we find that if you do all this stuff you will be a much happier scooter owner, you will have far fewer problems. These Chinese scooters are really pretty sound mechanically, it is all those other things that can and do break that makes some of them real pains.

[manatee]

i just ordered and am waiting arrival of a 150cc roadrunner i scooter. i wish i'd known about scooter rebels before buying. whats the low down on roadrunners?

[kliff]

Were'd ya order from, which model, can ya supply links?

I'm partial to EAGLE, from GSMW. Mainly, because of the service and assistance after the sale.
I don't beleive there is a bad scooter out there. Some seem to have better paint and panel fit, better wire connectors, small nit picky stuff. I've yet to actual see, taste, or feel a reason for a Roketa(or any low ball brand) to cost 1000.00, and a ZNEN twice as much.

REMEMBER, this is ALL personal opinion, and observation... NOT necessarily bord policy or opinion!

But I think a RoadRunner has every bit of potential as an EAGLE or a ZNEN, to be a good scoot. BUT if you don't do a thorough PDI, it could be a nightmare. FINAL FACTORY ASSEMBLY and QA are where some of the lesser known scoots seem to loose it. It is up to you, ta actually complete the assembly of your scoot, find the defects before she goes on the road, and fix them. THEN you will have a good scoot.

READ the link Rebel posted. It is written by a guy that sells ZNENs..... I use it, I've tweaked it here and there to suit the scoots I'm doing, and since the rust doesn't bother me as much as some, I go after the easy stuff, and let the more tedious areas go.

Wire and cable routing, wire connections,valve stems, and fuel lines are the biggies. I also adjust valves before they hit the street, and again at 1000 miles. Do what feels good, and know you will only make it better for yourself in the long run.

Welcome aboard, and get ready for an adventure, and learning experience.

[manatee]

thanks for the good advice... the scoot is the retro vespa and from what i understand there are no dealers...they're shipped straight from mainland china. i did read that the assembly instructions/owners manual is at its best, confusing. is there somekind of an idiots guide to chinese scooters available anywhere? your right kliff, its already becoming a learning experience!

[Rebel]

Welcome to the forum,

Road Runners are being sold by a California dealer called Evosales;
evosales.com/

I believe the guy that runs it is named Ronnie. There have been both good and bad reports from the people I have spoken with about their dealership, I think that they are really probably OK, no real problems, they will try and work with you at least some. As far as the scooter itself goes I'm sure it is probably on par with most of the Chinese scooters. Be sure to do a good prep on it and fill us in on how you are doing with it.

It is my opinion that a good PDI will make up for a bad assembly at the factory. These scooters are all based off the same design and made of equal quality mechanical parts. It is a Honda design and pretty bullet proof, just not idiot proof. You have to eliminate the idiot factor and it is not a mountain to climb.