Oct/08-
The following was written back in the day when any scooter was rare and
the majority had been sitting in the back of garages, basements or
barns for lengthy periods. Some were scruffy and some looked like
they'd just come off the showroom floor but all were "project" scooters
to a certain extent. Having sat for a lengthy period, parts may have
been "mislaid" and the mechanical bits had deteriorated to the point
where the cables were stiff, the rubber cracked, the motor didn't
turn over and a "bit of work" was required to get the scooter up and
running to the point you could count on it for reliable daily
transport. Sellers used the phrase "needs a tune-up" which
grossly understated the amount of time and money needed to get it
running. You'll still see the "needs a tune-up" or "needs TLC"
phrase used commonly in the classified ad sections. If you find a
scooter for sale at a bargain price, the following may help you decide
whether you're up for the challenge. As far as a fair price, if it
doesn't run it's only worth what the parts or scrap value are. Myself,
I love "project" scooters.
Scooters are
fun. Scooters are cheap to operate. Scooters are simple to
operate. As a result of one or all of the above you've
bought a used scooter and you've managed to get it home. The
usual fantasy is you just have to put in some gas and fire it up
after which everything will be lovely.
Even if you drove it home,
there are some things you should check out immediately. In order
to check the scooter out you'll have to have a general idea
of how it operates. Study the owners manual, service manual, or any
information you can get on the
internet, the local
library or your local scooter dealer. I have a page up here that will be a good start for gathering information about your "project"
Is it a Four
Stoke or Two Stroke motor? Do you have to add oil to the gas tank or is there a separate oil tank ? What
should the tire pressures be? What type of spark plug does it take?
Does it take a 6 volt or 12 volt battery and light bulbs or does it
have a battery at all? What type of oil does it take for the
autolube /premix/ gearbox /final drive /crankcase and how do I check
these levels? How do I get these body panels off so I can get at the
motor? Do I have the right tools to start working on this thing? If
you don't know all of the above STEP AWAY FROM THE SCOOTER until you
do. Except of course to sit on it and make vroom vroom noises which
is perfectly acceptable. Also save the following for a time when you
have a few hours to spare like the weekend and be sure to have
something to write on close to the scooter.
1. Check out the controls. Where are they and what do they control. It will be
a major waste of time if you spend a week trying to figure out why
the scooter won't start and then find out the "kill switch" was on
the whole time. Does the scooter have a fuel tap you have to turn
on and off? Is there an automatic choke or is it manual? What do
the different positions on the ignition key do?
Do you have to engage the brake before the starter motor works?
2. Take off the
Body Panels that allow access to the
motor, the oil/gas tank, the radiator, the wheels and the
battery.
This can take some time to figure out. If you have to pull hard ,
then you missed a mounting bolt/screw. If you don't have a service or
owners manual, a parts manual with "exploded diagrams" will usually help figure where the body mounting attachments are located.
3. Check out the cables
(brakes, clutch,
throttle, oil pump) at both ends to check for fraying, rusting and
tight connections. The high wear areas are usually out where you
can see them. While you are at the end of the cables that go to
the brakes, check the brake adjuster to see if it has much more
adjustment to it. If the Brake lever/pedal is almost at the end of
its travel, there is usually an adjustment at the end of the cable
that attaches to the brake drum. Check that out first
because odds are once you get the engine fired up you'll want to
take it for a little spin. Check the cable going to the oil pump
on scooters with autolube. If the cable is broken you can always
put oil in the gas. When you are checking cables, it helps to have
an oil can/wd40 in hand especially if the scooters been sitting a
while.
4. Check the fluids (gas, oil, brake
fluid, engine coolant) If the
scooters been sitting a while, you should drain the gas(and oil if
its autolube) tank and put in new fuel. Replacing ot topping up
fluids is probably the cheapest way of ensuring long life
and the simplest maintenance issue. Checking out the condition of
the old fluids can give you a hint at the condition of the
scooter. If there is a lot of rust in the gas tank, you'll
find out when you're draining the gas. You'll also probably want
to think about cleaning the carburetor if the gas tank was full of
sediment especially if there was no fuel filter. Even automatic
belt driven scooters have final drive gears which run in an oil
bath. There are usually two openings for any
crankcase/gearbox/final drive oil. The one at the top is for
filling and topping up and the one at the bottom for draining.
Most scooters that have been sitting a while will have accumulated
some moisture/water and will need a change. If the oil being
drained is especially dirty, you may want to change the "new oil"
you put in after a few hours just so it will rinse out any
residue/grit. Oil is cheap compared to the price of new
parts. Any oil will not do. Find out the specific oils
needed for each application.
5. Replace and/or clean air filters, fuel filters,oil filters, and make sure
you know what tire pressure to run at. In most cases air filters are usually
cleanable. If they are foam then they can be cleaned in hot water
and soap, rinsed and ,after dried, saturated with a light oil.
Excess oils should then be squeezed out and the filter
re-installed. There are special air filter oils available at your
local motorcycle shop. If its a paper air filter, just try and
clean it as best you can until a replacement can be found. Don't
get it wet. use a brush, vacuum cleaner or compressed air to clean
away surface dust. Don't run the scooter without the air filter.
It will throw off the tuning and even a well tuned motor
will not run as well. When the air filter is off look inside
the carburetor mouth while working the throttle. The carburetor
slide/butterfly should open and close. I once laboured over
getting a newly aquired scooter to start only to realize after
checking everything else that there was no throttle slide in the
carburetor. Fuel
filters can be generic- you don't have
to spend premium price at a motorcycle shop unless your fuel line
is so small a regular auto filter won't fit. Even then, marine
supply or small engine (lawnmower) shops may be able to help. Some
filters have an "in" and "out" side, others will let fuel flow in
any direction. Measure your fuel line (inside) before going
shopping. You may or may not have an oil filter. Most four
strokes have them but they are not always externally fitted like a
car. Quite a few have a metal screen fitted inside the oil drain plug so
when you remove the oil drain plug, don't forget to remove and
clean the oil filter. The 50 cc Honda Elite/Vision/Dio has a
filter built into the oil tank just where the oil leaves the
tank.
If you run out of gas, no harm comes to the motor. If you run out
of oil, the engine is toast so always ensure oil, filters are
switched and clean on a scooter you've just bought.
6.
Tires More so than a
car, the tires are really important. It doesn't really matter if
they have a lot of tread left. I've seen fourty year old tires
with lots of tread left. The only reason for not replacing the
tires IMMEDIATELY is you want to see if the scooter runs ok
before putting out any serious cash. Fine but don't count on more than
a few SLOW turns up and down the driveway/parking lot before
replacing tires if the scooter was exposed to the weather, left
at low pressure or has age "cracks" in the sidewall. At the very
least check the air pressure.
7. Spark
Plug should be replaced. Its cheap and you should have a spare
one anyway. Make sure you have the right one for your scooter and
that the gap is correct. If the scooter wasn't running when you
bought it, check whether you have a spark. Turn on the
ignition and make sure the kill switch isn't "on".
It doesn't
matter if the battery is dead unless you only have an electric
starter and not a kick-start. Even then you can use booster cables
from your car to see if it starts but check first whether the
scooter runs on 12 volts (most modern scooters) or 6
volts ( most pre-80s scooters). Regardless of whether the
battery works or not, don't remove it as it may need to be hooked
up as part of the electrical circuit in order to operate. Some
scooters also need all their light bulbs (brake, turn signal etc.
) in working condition before the scooter will fire up.
You'll
want to make sure the metal base of the spark plug with the
hexagon shape is touching metal or grounded. Try and have it touch
the motor case somewhere where you'll be able to watch and see if
it sparks when you turn the motor over. You could always run a
wire from the base of the spark plug to a metal part of the
scooter. Turn the motor over and watch for a spark. Make
that hope for a spark because if you don't get a spark it could
get expensive and complicated but, before panicking, check the
ignition/kill switch/spark plug ground already mentioned.
If
there's still no spark, check all electrical connections back from
the spark plug. On older scooters, the ignition sometime relied on
the light bulb for the rear brake light working. On older scooters
you'll probably also want to check the points. If the scooters
been sitting awhile the points will need to be cleaned and gapped.
If you still don't have a spark, you'll need the specialized
knowledge of a service manual or someone familiar with your brand
and model of scooter so make sure you haven't missed something
obvious first.
8. If your scooter has a battery is it fully
charged? Is it 12 volt or 6 volt? There is usually a "fill line"
and if the liquid is below that, top it up with distilled water.
If it's dead and attempts at charging it have failed you should
still keep the battery hooked up. Its very important to keep the
charging circuit intact otherwise damage to other electrical
components could result.
9. Start me
up! After replacing fluids and bleeding
any oil/fuel lines to make sure there is no air inside, Its time
to see if the thing will actually run. You know where the choke is
(if its manual) after checking out all the controls . Does the
fuel need to be turned on? Did you pre-mix the gasoline if needed?
Put the scooter up on the stand and give it a kick. Nothing? Give
it two or three more and do not open the throttle. Still
doesn't start? Pull the spark plug and smell it- do you smell
gas? If not try a couple more kick-starts in case the gas
hasn't worked its way through the carburetor. If its still dry
then you may have to see where the problem is and why fuel isn't
making it through from the gas tank to the fuel line into the
carburetor and next into the motor.
If it starts it may still run
roughly. Don't rev it too highly but don't let it just idle. While
its running, check out if there are any especially loud noises
coming from the exhaust, the gearbox, the carburetor/manifold.
Test the engine controls such as the clutch lever, the throttle
and make sure they operate smoothly. If you must take it for
a drive, make it a short one and don't make the motor work too
hard. Odds are good that if it has been sitting a while before you
brought it back to life that it will take a few miles for the
motor and controls to loosen up. One scooter I had kept working
better every time I drove it for the first two
weeks.
 If its a toy only or just
meant for short rides, you may not want to do anything else to it. If it is
going to be used for "transportation" then you''ll probably
want to start thinking about getting a service manual, replacing the
battery and tires and getting those turn
signals/mirrors/headlight/brake light functioning properly. The
carburetor should be adjusted (idle speed and mixture) and points
replaced if applicable. Now that you know it runs and have a better
idea of the condition of the scooter, you may decide to invest a bit
of money. Getting it running is one thing. Getting it running well
could take more time and money but in the long run it should
pay off . When you do stop using it, don't park it- sell it.
Most scooters that have been
sitting around were running before being parked and most I've seen
had comparably little mileage. Having sat, metal will have
corroded, rubber will have cracked, liquids will have evaporated
leaving behind residues which may have clogged or stuck mechanisms.
Even if it looks pretty, don't pay top dollar for a "low mileage"
scooter that has been sitting for 5 years. A brand new scooter
never driven after the ride home may need extensive work if parked
for 5 years. Some mileage is better than a "no mileage"
scooter.
If the motor won't turn over
or if the scooter is partially disassembled don't think this will be
a simple or inexpensive job. Unless the scooter is something
very special you may want to pass on buying it unless its a freebie
or you want to use it as a learning tool by doing an autopsy. You may
even be able to disassemble it and sell it for parts to get another
scooter on the road. Never ever trust any body who says "all it
needs is a good ..... and it will run fine". They could be right but
figure out a price based on the assumption they are wrong.
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