Buying A Second Hand Gas Scooter

By Author: Tiger Motion, Inc. DBA Neo Scooters
Total Articles: 3764
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Tips for Scooters

If you own a scooter and cannot get it to start-up, you know how absolutely frustrating this can be. If you find yourself in this attitude keep reading for effective tips and insight.

Initially you need to calm and focus on the obstacle you are having so you can narrow it down to something given. This will help you know closely what answer to pursue.

In order for a scooter to operate efficiently and typically, there are certainly only 3 important things wanted. These are ignition at the approved time, the approved air and fuel mixture with proper exhaust flow and finally sufficient engine compression. If you can master and learn to maintain these, you will be in good shape.

Compression Check:
If you have just purchased a scooter one of the first things you must have is toachieve a broad inspection before you start running it. You should start with a compression test as this is relatively simple to achieve. begin by checking the amount and condition of the engine oil. If the oil is really sullied you might want to change it. Only do this if absolutely wanted because you might ...
... find out later that the engine is damaged and then you will have spent new oil in the change. If the oil level is low, then easily add an appropriate amount.

Once you have inspected the oil, hook up a good battery orobtain a new one if wanted. Now you need to inspect out the spark plug and turnover the scooter for approximately 5 seconds. This will help circulate the oil. Let the scooter sit for about 15 seconds and then turnover the scooter again for about 5 seconds. Be careful not to turnover for more than 5 seconds without pausing as this will make the starter to overheat and will wear the starter out. The majority of scooters expect a minimum of 100 psi in compression to work correctly. To suitably test this number the engine needs to be hot and the scooter needs to be operating. attach a compression gauge and open the throttle completely. turnover the scooter until the needle on the gauge stops pathetic. This should take around 5 seconds. Make a note of the gauge reading. In general 100-125 psi is good, 125-150 psi is very good, and 150 or more psi is admirable. If your reading is below this range you may have something wrong with your valves or piston rings. You might try adding one teaspoon of oil to the engine through the spark plug hole. After this, try the compression check again. If you get a increased reading this time, this is an indication that you might have bad rings. If you get about the same reading as the first check, you maybe have bad valves.

Spark Check:
Now its time to test for spark. There are a few ways to accomplish this. The simplest way is to take out the spark plug and place it back in the spark plug cap. Next, ground it to the engine. You can do this by placing it on a non-painted part of the engine. Make sure you have metal-to-metal contact. Now in a partially dark area, try to start the scooter. You should see a spark at the tip of the spark plug. If the spark is blue, it means it is a nice deep spark. A pale spark is less good and a blond one is weaker still. Most scooters have a relatively weak starter system compared to automobiles so even a blond spark should be ok. Now that you know you have spark, you need to make sure it is occurring at the right time. Almost every scooter manufactured after 1980 has an electronic ignition If this is the case, this is good news. These systems cannot be set and seldom go out of time. If your scooter has points, this is another issue. On these, in order to get the timing proper you will need to grasp the timing method mentioned in the manual. naturally, just before the piston reaches the top of its stroke, the spark occurs. There is small waiting time between the spark plug fire and the fuel-air mixture explosion. This is why the spark occurs somewhat early. Most ignition systems have a spark advance built in so that as the engine speeds up the spark time is adjusted accordingly. This helps make sure the mixture ignites at just the right time.

Starting Fluid:
Next you need to test the starting fluid. assuming there is enough compression, squeeze in a little starting fluid and see if the scooter will fire up. If so, fantastic! This lets you know you have both enough compression and the right spark. Let your scooter run for just a short time on starting fluid. If this works it means you have a good prospect of making your scooter to work properly. Be delicate however. You do not want to run your engine very long on starter fluid as it is hard on the engine.

Fuel/Air mixture:
The ending thing to check is the mixture of fuel and air. It's important to have the right mix of each. Too much or too little of whichever will be a hindrance. If the scooter has not been used for more than 3 months, sludgy deposits left over from evaporated gas may be manifested. Try to ascertain how long it has been after the scooter was last operated. If it has been more than 3 months, the fuel system and the carburetor should be cleaned out. Detach the fuel line and remove out all the old gas. Now add fresh fuel and make sure it flows efficiently through the petcock on the underside of the fuel tank. If vacuum controls the petcock, then you may have to draw a vacuum on the line to get the fuel toissue to start. In these cases the minor line on the petcock is the vacuum line. Is the flow of gas good and steady? If so, great! If not, you will need to remove and wash the petcock. The gas flow should conclude when you remove the vacuum.

Next you should remove the carburetor and thoroughly wash it. There are a lot of really small air and fuel passageways in the carburetor that have to be clean in order for your scooter to run properly. With care, dismantle the carburetor. This can be fairly simple on a 50cc scooter or fully complicated on a Riva 180-200. The Riva only has partial access and 8 distinct hoses connecting to the carburetor. The carburetor has very small passages which may get clogged. The scooter won't work properly if the carburetor is not perfectly clean, so be patient and thorough. I counsel using about a gallon of carburetor dip which you can obtain at your community supply store for about $11 dollars.

Initially take out all rubber and gaskets or they may get blemished. This is important. Make sure these are detached before proceeding. Now saturate the carburetor for about twenty minutes and use compressed air to blow it out. It is required for you to get the passageways and jets clean. ensure the jets are clean particularly the starter jet. Occasionally carb cleaner won't unclog these small jets. If this happens, make use of a guitar/piano wire, copper electrical wire or a tiny drill bit pin vise to finish the job. Be sure that the hole in the starter jet is not enlarged or the tuning will be changed. Put everything back together, looking for any cracks in the gaskets or rubber carb boots. If they are old and cracked, it's a good idea to get them replaced.

If there is an automatic choke, make sure that it works. The resistance between the wires should be around 10 ohms or less on the assembly. Take the choke from the carb and the wires should be plugged into a 12V source for about 15 minutes. The choke body should be tender to the touch. Now measure again. The length should have augmented by around 1/8th inches.

In our next series of articles we will cover how to inspect your gas tank for problems. We hope you find this information useful.