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Good lookin scoot for sure, with solid specs. I'm biased because I really just love maxi/midsy sized scoots. Just wish I had a place to charge one 
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Jul 9, 2021 03:09
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| # ? Jun 10, 2024 08:19 |
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Ooook so apparently it was not the lambda probe (or at least, not just that): the actual urgent issue with my Vespa is a blown voltage regulator, whenever I'm actively accelerating the battery is getting between 16V and 18V  apparently it's a very common issue with Piaggio scooters, Beverlys and Vespas often have this problem. The only Piaggio shop close to me doesn't have the regulator in stock, they ordered it but it will only arrive next week, until then I have to drive just 5-10 minutes at a time and without stressing the engine too much... luckily that's just fine for my home-work commute!Well while it's in the shop I'll have them check it out fully, after all it was unused for almost a year and before doing medium-long rides it's better to have it properly checked - and to be fully honest, while I love the looks I find the Vespa might not be the best fit for my needs, I'd like some more ride comfort, carry capacity and just a bit of extra oomph & stability for highway use ... I'm going to look at some other scoots and if I can give back the Vespa to get a nice discount I might think about trading up, considering I got it for free  What's the current hotness amidst comfortable everyday scooters that can do both city and highway? Tmax? Burgman? Forza? Beverly? I don't really care about looks, high performances, or fancy tech, as long as it has comfort, ABS and it's safe to drive up to 120-130km/h I'll be fine
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Jul 9, 2021 08:15
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Slide Hammer posted:If hose #9 is the supply for the carburetor, then hose #11 must be a vacuum hose. If it's connected to a petcock, it will only allow for fuel flow under engine operation. Which means... if your engine already runs, that your vacuum diaphragm in the petcock is broken, or, your engine doesn't run at all, because it can't get fuel if the vacuum isn't there to open the petcock. (Vacuum will also be produced when the starter cranks the engine.) So the fuel drips freely from the petcock regardless of whether vacuum is present. Is that a problem per se if everything else seems to be working correctly? After a quick carb cleanout, I got it to start on the first kick after sitting 10 years 
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Jul 9, 2021 21:09
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Bought myself an old, rare, scooter yesterday they might bite me in the rear end, what with spare parts bring hard to get. 1980 something (I think 86 or 85?) Honda Gyro:   As you can see, it's technically a trike with two back wheels, albeit very close together. But it has a pivot point so it can still lean. Body isn't in great shape, addition to faded paint there's loose body panels and a couple spots where bad repairs were made. But it runs...at least, it did when I test rode it. At some point between loading, driving 3 miles with it in the back of my truck, and unloading it, something broke. I assume it's this:  I think it's a ground? Just have to figure out where it reattaches, it wasn't obvious when I was looking, I only saw plastic pieces in it's immediate vicinity. I'll have to tinker with it tomorrow. There's also this:  Hose that doesn't attach to anything on one end, goes into the carb on the other. But I don't see any place it could go, so I think it's an air intake.
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Jul 9, 2021 23:15
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Looks like a rad mobility scooter
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Jul 9, 2021 23:19
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Bouillon Rube posted:So the fuel drips freely from the petcock regardless of whether vacuum is present. Is that a problem per se if everything else seems to be working correctly? Like Jim Silly Balls mentioned, if it has a Prime setting and it's turned to that, it will always drip fuel. (It should actually POUR fuel, not just drip, under Prime...) Otherwise, that vacuum diaphragm's torn or shriveled up from getting so dry, letting fuel by, and it's leaking. What happens if you turn it to its OFF setting? A leaking petcock isn't too big of a deal, if it's not leaking from the outside. Fuel is stopped from overfilling the carburetor by the float and the needle valve connected to the float. When THOSE wear out (rare), and the petcock is still just pouring fuel into the carb, the fuel overflows out of the carb and right into the cylinders, just flooding the pistons and oozing past the rings into the crankcase oil (but this is a two-stroke, so, there is no crankcase oil...). I think some carbs have overflow tubes that allow excess fuel to pour out, aimed beneath the bike/scooter.
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Jul 10, 2021 02:49
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DrBouvenstein posted:Bought myself an old, rare, scooter yesterday they might bite me in the rear end, what with spare parts bring hard to get. This is awesome, Honda Gyros rule!! That metal bit that came off looks like maybe a resistor ballast? Those don’t generally need to be grounded and are self contained, the bolt is simply to keep it in one place. That canister I’m guessing is the exhaust based on how rusty from heat cycling it is. Also it says “motorcycle exhaust” on the stamped plate The good thing is that electrically and mostly mechanically it is a Honda spree and those are very well understood. I’d start by getting a wiring diagram somewhere online. But that thing rules, please post pics and videos, a Gyro is on my bucket list
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Jul 10, 2021 14:29
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:This is awesome, Honda Gyros rule!! That metal bit that came off looks like maybe a resistor ballast? Those don’t generally need to be grounded and are self contained, the bolt is simply to keep it in one place. Well, it actually is now starting just fine, no issues. It turns out the problem was...*checks notes* I'm an idiot? Even with BOTH parking brakes on (rear brake is locked down on the right handlebar as a parking brake, PLUS there's that black lever to the left of the ignition that flips up to lock the tilt system and back wheel) you have to hold down the front brake when starting for it to start.
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Jul 12, 2021 15:29
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Slide Hammer posted:Like Jim Silly Balls mentioned, if it has a Prime setting and it's turned to that, it will always drip fuel. (It should actually POUR fuel, not just drip, under Prime...) Otherwise, that vacuum diaphragm's torn or shriveled up from getting so dry, letting fuel by, and it's leaking. What happens if you turn it to its OFF setting? Thanks! I don’t see any way to manually control the flow of the petcock; there aren’t any external controls. I’ve noticed that while the scooter starts and idles, it bogs down and stalls when I apply max throttle. Given that the gas is just sort of dripping out of the petcock, I think that it might not be getting enough fuel and is running lean as a result. Petcocks don’t seem to cost anything, so I just ordered a new one off eBay and will see if that helps. I don’t see obvious any way to get to the petcock; I’m guessing that I need to pull out the fuel tank to remove it? The shop manual tells you how to test it but doesn’t give instructions for replacing it.
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Jul 12, 2021 16:02
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So my prebug Zuma will now start and idle just fine, but within a few seconds of heavy throttle it dies and won’t start again for a few hours unless I fully engage the choke. I’m thinking it’s running lean, so will start by replacing the petcock and fuel line. The vacuum petcock seems like a pretty flinsy solution, so I was going to try to just use a manual petcock to simplify things. The only issue is, the petcock is not accessible without removing the carb, so I wouldn’t have a good way to shut off the fuel when the engine is off. So could I route another manual shutoff like this and ziptie it near the airbox? This would increase the length of the fuel line of course. Aside from that, all that I would need to do is plug the vacuum line on the carb, right? Maybe just put some superglue in a short length of hose and let it dry?
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Jul 23, 2021 17:05
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Bouillon Rube posted:So my prebug Zuma will now start and idle just fine, but within a few seconds of heavy throttle it dies and won’t start again for a few hours unless I fully engage the choke. What’s the spark plug look like after it dies?
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Jul 23, 2021 22:14
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I’ll know Sunday when the weird 13/16” socket that it requires comes in from Amazon (Why the gently caress is the spark plug imperial when literally everything else on the bike is metric???)
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Jul 23, 2021 22:39
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Bouillon Rube posted:I’ll know Sunday when the weird 13/16” socket that it requires comes in from Amazon My only experience with two strokes is my Stella (which shares a design with a '70s Vespa), but if Zumas are anything like it, that spark plug wrench and a quiver of fresh plugs will be your best friends in getting this thing up and running. Step 1 should be a fresh plug - way before you go changing petcocks and especially before you go jerry rigging aftermarket petcocks in. Again in my experience, two strokes, when lean, will tend to rev. If it's an air leak (extra air getting in behind the carb), you can get a runaway motor effect where it revs out even with throttle closed. When I cut the gas on my Stella (manual petcock), when it reaches the end of what's in the hose, it revs up before sputtering and dying. If you're holding throttle open this might not be apparent, and what you're describing with difficulty restarting for hours sounds to me like it could be flooded, a fouled plug from being too rich, or fuel in the line has run out. A plug should tell you more.
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Jul 24, 2021 07:27
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So the Zuma’s spark plug is all nasty and oily/gunky. Looks like it’s been working in a West Virginia coal mine. What does that mean? free image hosting Bouillon Rube fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Jul 25, 2021 |
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Jul 25, 2021 23:38
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Too rich If you haven’t been messing with the jetting I’d suspect a gunked up air filter first
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Jul 26, 2021 01:46
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The air filter is brand new, but the one that I took out last week was definitely not from Yamaha (looks like a heavy duty ATV filter? It was like an inch thick) So is it possible that running rich gunked up the spark plug, which in turn caused it to bog down when I apply throttle?
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Jul 26, 2021 02:02
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Bouillon Rube posted:The air filter is brand new, but the one that I took out last week was definitely not from Yamaha (looks like a heavy duty ATV filter? It was like an inch thick) Yeah, that's definitely possible. You may have fixed the rich condition by getting the right air filter in there, but that plug may be too gunked up to run anyway. Get a fresh plug in there and try again without changing anything else. Buy a few plugs - and given that the previous owner crammed an ATV filter in there, don't assume the plug that's in there is correct; check the manual to make sure you get the right type (or equivalent from another brand).
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Jul 27, 2021 05:48
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Yep, bought a handful of plugs from Autozone (NGK BR8HS). Looks like the one in there was correct. I’m going to go ahead and replace the carb float and needle valve too since it seems fairly cheap and easy.
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Jul 27, 2021 16:32
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when I bypassed the stock air box on my 50cc vespa and put your stereotypical pod filter like a cool guy i had to bump the main jet up quite a bit to richen it up enough to match the new filter. https://youtu.be/iCGjVRyN6YU This vid got me up to speed on scoot carb tuning. Everything in the 50cc world is nearly identical. Chinese scoot carb will translate over to just about any other bike. With the scoots. They are very sensitive to the temp/altitude/humidity changes. what works in the winter will probably need tweaking for the summer. Then occasionally you get the perfect day where you can tell the bike is super happy. Also conveniently. simple butt dyno runs is enough to tell if you’ve got it right or not. After that you can pull the plug to confirm what you already probably know. Congrats on the Zuma. thats my ideal bike. they are quick and the Japanese bikes are pleasant to work on and last forever.
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Jul 30, 2021 19:53
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So the Zuma has a new spark plug, petcock, float and needle valve but is still bogging down and dying under throttle. It happens even with the airbox removed, so definitely not an issue with the air filter. I’m going to try to clean the carb again (this time letting the jets and pilot/air screws sit in carb cleaner overnight). Failing that, what else could it be? I’ve had this thing in the same environment for 10 years and it did run fine at the beginning- so I don’t think it has anything to do with the climate. E: I’m also at sea level, so high elevation definitely isn’t a factor. Bouillon Rube fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Aug 4, 2021 |
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Aug 4, 2021 02:56
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Check the reeds.
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Aug 4, 2021 13:02
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Now that you mention it, I did notice little puffs of air coming out of the carb last night. That could be a sign of air escaping from the engine (and thus bad reeds), right? E: the reeds look fine? Maybe there is damage that isn’t appearant but they seem totally flush with the housing, and I don’t see any light peeking through when looking through the back. The gasket was pretty cruddy and fell apart though. Should I just replace the whole thing?  E: is it possible that I need to move the needle clip setting? Or is that more for fine tuning? It’s currently on the middle setting (3 out of 5) Bouillon Rube fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Aug 5, 2021 |
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Aug 4, 2021 16:08
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Bouillon Rube posted:Should I just replace the whole thing? Yes, absolutely.
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Aug 5, 2021 07:44
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Meaning the whole reed assembly or just the pedals and gasket? Sorry if these are dumb questions
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Aug 5, 2021 16:05
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A new one is so cheap you might as well replace it all.
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Aug 5, 2021 16:38
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Yeah, hard to come by though. Looks like I’ll have to order from Europe?
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Aug 5, 2021 16:42
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https://www.racingplanetusa.com/min...23#.YQwIqeReCEc
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Aug 5, 2021 16:50
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Nice, thanks. Just ordered the reed valve plus a bunch of various gaskets.
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Aug 5, 2021 18:02
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Nice, I also just realized I was going to tell you to check the crank seals as well, two strokes tend to run like poo poo when those go bad.
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Aug 5, 2021 18:15
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Cached Money posted:Nice, I also just realized I was going to tell you to check the crank seals as well, two strokes tend to run like poo poo when those go bad. Crank seals would be more likely to cause air leaks/lean conditions, no? Bogging sounds like something else. Bouillon Rube, what's the color like on the new plug one it bogs down? When you're revving it, are you just doing this on the stand or are you riding it around? Are you letting it warm up before trying to rev it? These things can behave differently under load than on the stand, and can run totally different when cold than when up to temp. Each change you make introduces more variables and if you're trying to tune on the stand with a cold motor you really might be chasing your tail.
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Aug 5, 2021 18:38
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Gay Nudist Dad posted:Crank seals would be more likely to cause air leaks/lean conditions, no? Bogging sounds like something else. Yes that's true, but people mean different things when they say "bogging down", for you and me it probably refers to a rich mixture but I don't think everyone is in on that.
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Aug 5, 2021 19:23
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This is what it looks like now(I haven’t run the bike in two days if that makes a difference) I tried to ride it last week but it just died after getting to 10mph or so (then wouldn’t start back up for a few hours) Since the I’ve just been running it on it’s stand in my garage, but the behavior is the same either way. I do let it warm up for a few minutes. It starts really easily if that makes any difference; on the first or second kick and I don’t even have to engage the choke. Bouillon Rube fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Aug 5, 2021 |
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Aug 5, 2021 19:46
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Bouillon Rube posted:This is what it looks like now(I haven’t run the bike in two days if that makes a difference) We need to see the ceramic part around the tip, that's where the important colorization happens. Here's the color you want:  Also, to get an accurate reading, you need to warm up your bike, drive on full throttle for about 60 seconds, then without letting off the throttle turning off the ignition, stopping and then pulling the plug.
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Aug 5, 2021 21:37
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It looks like the color is about right, but I can’t do the chop test till the new reed valve and gaskets come in a few weeks  
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Aug 6, 2021 00:45
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Bouillon Rube posted:It looks like the color is about right, but I can’t do the chop test till the new reed valve and gaskets come in a few weeks It is a bit hard to see but it looks wet and there is no carbon on the surface around the insulator so if i can guess wildly for a bit then i would suspect that your float valve is leaking. that would explain why it works for a little bit before it stops, the vacuum petcock keeps it from flooding until you start the bike.
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Aug 6, 2021 19:30
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I already replaced the float, needle valve and petcock. Is there anything else that could be causing it to flood?
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Aug 6, 2021 19:53
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Bouillon Rube posted:I already replaced the float, needle valve and petcock. Is there anything else that could be causing it to flood? Gremlins? if that spark plug is as wet as it looks and you did not do anything to the bike between the time it died and when you removed the plug the gas must have come from somewhere. you did remember to put the main jet back when you cleaned the carb?
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Aug 7, 2021 23:17
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I definitely reinstalled all of the jets. How snug should they be?
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Aug 8, 2021 18:48
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Bouillon Rube posted:I definitely reinstalled all of the jets. How snug should they be? not much, just tight enough so they cant back out from vibrations.
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Aug 8, 2021 21:10
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| # ? Jun 10, 2024 08:19 |
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Anyone have thoughts on what's the best mileage tire for a 3.50-10? We got an absolute lunatic of a customer here with a Buddy 125 who just wore his Michelin S83 through the cord and blew it out over 3000 miles in 2 weeks. Would like to recommend him something longer lasting. I think I've seen Shinko 009s last longer than that maybe but not much.
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Aug 12, 2021 05:19
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