New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 17, 2013 23:33:00 GMT -6
It could be a number of things. I had similar trouble with my Xingyue 150. It acted like a carbureted car with a bad accelerator pump. I raised the "needle" in the carb slide so it opened faster, and that made a big difference. My engne is a GY6 150 4-stroke.
Changing the needle setting is fairly easy, and may give you an indication that it either IS, or is NOT your trouble.
Hope this might help,
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 18, 2013 23:45:09 GMT -6
Have fun and ride safe..LOL Alleyoop Thanks Alleyoop! Will do. And as soon as I get the new variator sorted out, I'll do a post. Stay warm! Leo |
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 17, 2013 23:07:27 GMT -6
Yeah, Leo has posted about this and what he has done on my forum, he has bee running it with the uni filter for a few years it seems. It's been nearly 5 great riding seasons with "Lil' Bubba" just SCREAMING from idle-to-9,500+ rpm WOT! All the time, breathing that dusty 100-degree Texas air... With the UNI-sock, it runs just like it does with no filter at all: In other words, GREAT! It's such an EASY fix for such a FRUSTRATING problem... I'd just like the doggone thing "up-front" where I can get at it without interference. Gotta have all the top-end power I can get with the new Prodigy variator. If the engine will run up through the "sweet-spot" like it used to, I'm expecting a nice increase in top-speed, at lower rpm. Stay warm, ride safe! Leo |
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 14, 2013 14:10:03 GMT -6
Well here is the thing if it's a 24mm carb they usually come with a 103-105 main jet and a #35 Pilot jet. If you just add a free flow filter then you should only go up 1-2 sizes on the main jet. So if that is all you did and you slapped in a 112 that is why it runs rich with anything on it. It is air and fuel amount that is the problem, no filter lots of air and right now with the 112 it matchs the amount of fuel that is being sucked out. Add anything to it and now it runs rich as heck because now you took away some air flow. Trust me, I've tried it all. Tested every main jet from a 97 to a 120, with and without the extension on the carb. Same problem regardless of jet size.I've also gone over the entire intake to be sure no air leaks or other problems. I could be wrong about the current jet size (it's been in there for 4 years) and these days I have trouble remembering to eat breakfast... LOL! At any rate, it's somewhere between a 102 and a 112. I found ALL those jets to run well with no signs of too-rich or too-lean, and whichever is in there now is the one that ran best overall. There's just somethng unexplainable about SOME of these GY-6's. Mine isn't unusual. They either run OK with an extension or they don't. Should be explainable, but it's beyond my capability... I got my jets from a local Honda dealer (he GAVE 'em to me to experiment with!). He told me even the original Honda GY-6's sometimes acted like this, and his service people couldn't cure it, except with a UNI-sock... LOL! My Wife's scooter-loving doctor says "Get a Vespa, like his pretty red one"... RIGHT... $7,000. If I could afford a Vespa, I'd have a better car too. Besides, I don't like 10 and 11-inch wheels all that well... The local B&M dealer says: "Get a Kimco"... Better... $3,000. Rode one. They're NICE. But I say: "Get a UNI..." $20... It's worked great for 4 years! I'd just like it "up front" and free from interference from the motor-mount... LOL! Probably I'd be happier just leaving the old Mikuni in its current home, and replacing the sock every year or two. I'm lazy, but still open to a fix so long as it doesn't take rocket-science. I'll keep you posted as to what happens. Ride safe! Leo |
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 13, 2013 10:55:21 GMT -6
Well from what you say that it runs fine with no filter or a really free flow that points to one thing your running awfully rich. So as soon as you add a tube or whatever your making it even worse richer still. What jets have you got in the carb right now? Alleyoop Alleyoop, That's exactly what I thought too, but I spent an entire spring and summer experimenting to no avail. I've been running now for 4 years with the same jet, and I honestly can't remember what finally worked best. I think it's about a 112. The low-speed jet has never been a problem. I progressively tried every jet from the leanest to "slobbering-rich" and all would run "OK" with no air-filter. The very leanest would starve a little at WOT and the richest would bog just slightly, but ALL would totally peter out as soon as I'd add any kind of extension on the carb. Putting a standard, OR Uni filter on the extension made no difference. The shortest extension that passes under the engine mount is about 4". Just THAT little extension kills the performance even with no air-filter. Remove the extension and the engine runs anywhere from "decent" to downright great with ANY old jet... My plug shows a "perfect" rich/lean condition with the current jet, and the engine runs strong so long as there's nothing on the carb but a Uni. In desperation, first year, I even replaced the stock carb with a new Mikuni. It DID respond SLIGHTLY better to tuning, but only slightly. The engine simply will NOT run WOT with ANYTHING on the carb-mouth. I can't explain it, but I'm not the only one with the same problem. There is SOME glitch in the intake/valve/head design that absolutely defies runnung with a "normal" air-filter system. The original long, curved rubber "tuba" air intake, with paper filter under the seat was the WORST! The scoot would only go to 35 mph before the power would die. It would take an expert in flow-dynamics and lots of research to determine just why some of these scooters do this, but so long as it can be cured with a simple sock filter I'll live with it... LOL! The forward-facing carb has to be the simplest answer... There MUST be a reason it shows up on so many hot-rod scoots. I have a new UNI sock coming. I know it will run fine, so I'm OK for at least a full season with the carb in the stock position, but I'd really like to see about reversing it when I have some free time. That pretty well sums it up. It's not running rich, although it feels like it. I've tried every common jet size and ONLY removing any extension on the carb allows WOT running. Some aspects of Chinese scooters simply defy logic... LOLOL! Ride safe, and stay warm! Leo |
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 12, 2013 22:21:02 GMT -6
Just curious as to WHY you would want to do that and go through all the trouble and work just to have it faceing forward. Alleyoop My particular scoot will NOT run right with ANY extension between the carb and an air-filter. Trust me, I've spent literally WEEKS experimenting. It won't even run right with a short extension on the carb with NO air filter. It runs perfectly with no filter at all, or a UNI "sock" filter mounted directly on the carb-mouth. The "cat-back" engine-mount behind the carb won't allow anyting to be "properly" attached to the carb, not even a piece of tubing. The UNI sock WILL go on the carb, but it rubs hard on the cat-back mount. This causes it to wear fast, and it tends to crack on the underside where you don't notice it. This allows unfiltered air in, and is just a pain in general. Here's a picture of the UNI... You can see it fits (sorta) but must flex constantly as the engine-mount depresses it while riding.  With the carb reversed, it will protrude through the under-seat plastic, and ANY type of filter can then be mounted directly to the carb mouth. THAT'S the reason... Just sick and tired of that doggone cat-back engine-mount interfering with the only air filter that seems to work.I see the reverse-carb often on open-frame customs, and I can REALLY see why they do it... If the scoot suffers from the same drivability problems as mine, it would be a MAJOR improvement in carburetion/filtration. Like I say: I can live with the appearance of the carb sticking out beneath the seat easier than I can live with the never-ending interference of that dang engine-mount blocking all efforts to use a filter that works... LOL! Well, maybe NOT so L... HeHeHe... I think the carb WILL fit OK "backwards", and I've even found a "clocking" carb-plate that allows the intake manifold to be rotated 40 degrees left and right! NEAT item. My only real concern now is the float, since the carb will be "tilted" upward compared to stock position. Still, I see them all the time, with the carb aiming slightly "up". Must be workable. My drivability problems are echoed by numerous other riders. Scooter runs great up to about 3/4 throttle, and suddenly around 45 mph it just "peters out" like it's starving. You can re-jet and tweak until you want to send the thing back to China... But nothing really solves the problem... UNTIL you run it with NO air-filter at all (definitely NOT recommended...) or, mount the sock-filter with NO extension between it and the carb. And THAT runs fine, but conflicts with the engine mount. Yup... Front-facing carb fixes everything but the appearance! And they look fine on a bare-bones scoot. I'm not sure about how it will look on mine... But I can live with it.Ride safe! Leo in Texas |
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 12, 2013 2:38:08 GMT -6
Has anyone reversed the intake manifold/carburetor on a GY-6 150 to make it face forward? I see it done on Ruckus and "naked" customs, but I'd like to do it on my Xingyue Eagle 150 (same type as most similar Chinese like Tank, Sunl, etc.).
Obviously, the plastic below the seat must be cut to allow the carb/air-filter to protrude, but I'd like advice from anyone who's done it, concerning frame-tubing clearance, linkages, etc.
I always like to get advice from someone who's done it before doing it myself... LOL!
Many thanks,
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Hello
by: oldchopperguy - Dec 10, 2012 20:34:42 GMT -6
Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 10, 2012 20:34:42 GMT -6
the boss is right
its pretty easy
ive done it
 ! You CAN do it. Of course, I always was partial to bad brakes on ice and snow... Prevents locking up the wheel... Just kidding... JUST KIDDING! I'm used to sixties choppers with no front brakes, and they won't stop on any surface anyway... I'm a vintage master of the "Fred Flintstone" braking system... LOL! Terrilee, good to see you here! BEAUTIFUL CAT!!! The missus and I DO love kitties! I've not been on Scooter Professor for a while. JR called me this morning to see if I'm OK. (As if I'm ever "OK") HeHeHe... He needed to add "ATV's" to the banner, and I see he's ALREADY got the new art up and running! Well done JR!As always, Ride safe!Leo in Texas |
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Dec 10, 2012 11:26:28 GMT -6
Whew, I've been away from the site TOO long! Old age and too much work...
JR called me today, to see if I'm OK (THANKS, JR! It's appreciated!)
Anyway, I suppose you can tell by my handle "OldChopperGuy" that I appreciate the "minimalist" approach to a bike. THIS build is FABULOUS! My hat's off to you for pulling off a real bobber-style ride from a scooter. Lots of guys try, few make it work. The two rides are just TOO different in construction for the concept to work. USUALLY... Cushman did it pretty well WAY back in my youth with the original Eagle. But the Chinese scoots (even the Ruckus) just don't lend themselves to the concept very well.
You did it! A $250 mini-bike? P-L-E-E-E-E-E-Z-E... Oh well, we love the missus anyway. Guess you could show her how the top chopper guys strip, cut, chop and remove goodies to turn a $25,000 Harley into a $250,000 "biggie-bike"... HeHeHe... Better not, unless you like sleeping on the couch.
My favorite part of your build? Gotta be the hairpin spring/seat setup. Never have seen that done on a scoot, and it looks GOOD!
If you ever do another one, here's one more trick you might try: One of the least attractive "features" of these is the front fork, with legs that only "grow" out of the lower triple-tree. I've thought it might be possible to place a fake upper fork leg (maybe made from chrome sink-drain pipe) between the triple-trees to give the appearance to a regular full-length motorcycle fork. Could be a very easy mod that would beef up the appearance on a "nekked scoot".
You DID do a fine job on this one, and I'm betting you may get other scooter-jockeys wanting you to build one for them! I don't know if it's possible to make any profit doing that, as most riders want to keep the price down in the low-end scooter neighborhood, and just a little handwork would be far more expensive than the original bike. But... you never know!
Great scoot for SURE! With the international attention and world-wide membership this site is gathering, I'd bet my last Euro that pix of your bike are tacked up in pubs and scooter-shops all over Europe, as a shining example of a first-class "hooligan scooter" and European guys and gals are breaking out their "spanners" and getting grease on their silver-studded biker jackets trying to make their own! How cool is that?
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Jun 10, 2012 0:25:56 GMT -6
HOO HAA, I'm still laughing! GREAT pic!
Seriously, at a rotund weight myself, I'm seriously working on my own weight... I lost 25 pounds over the winter, and found that my 150 scooter is noticeably quicker and has a mile or two faster top speed... Easiest way to hop-up your scoot? Lose weight!
Hey, don't knock it, it WORKS!
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 7, 2012 21:39:15 GMT -6
THIS will be VERY sharp! The Professor e-mailed me on this. Health issues have kept me off the scooter sites for some time, and I need to get back now and then. I can't imagine anyone thinking these slick little turtle-deck scoots aren't sporty enough! Heck, they are totally Vespa cosmetics inspired. For a custom, they are HARD to beat for raw material!
As for my own "personal" taste, I think you're right on the money... I'm anxious to see where you take this one. It's sorta "Rat-Rod" and sorta modern-day "evil"... Whatever it ends up, it will be a head-turner.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 27, 2011 11:00:32 GMT -6
Woo Hoo!
SWEET SCOOT! Proof positive that you don't need a hundred-grand chopper to to look great pulling up to anyplace!
Whatever you do, DON'T let the wind, little kids, the cat or dog etc. knock it over while sitting on that near-vertical side stand! Been there, done that... I wish there was a bolt-on side stand like old Cushman Eagle, or Harley... One that sticks WAY out, and leans the scoot WAY over so just will NOT fall over!
Some enterprising scooter jockey will come up with one and make a few bucks someday...
Ride safe, and keep that beautiful green side up!
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 23, 2011 0:04:50 GMT -6
I lock my scoot with a Coleman cable lock to a sructural beam in my carport. Several times I've found new cut-marks on the plastic covering on the cable, from some BIG bolt-cutters. Fortunately the stranded cable has held up perfectly. It at least "keeps the honest people honest..."
I lost my Harley to theives years ago. It was chained with a solid Titanium link chain which the dealer said was about "cut-proof". He was right. BUT... theives sprayed the monster chain with freon, and hit it with a hammer. It shattered like glass, and the hog was history. At least in MY personal experience, stranded cable seems far more theft-proof than heavy chain.
Then there's my neighbor... He has lives in a $3,000 trailer house like me. He rides a $75,000 custom chopper. His security? A 125 lb pit-bull tied (loosely, with a VERY flimsy rope) to the bike. The dog has 3-inch stainless-steel fangs (actually done by a local high-end dental surgeon, and fellow biker...).
So far, NOBODY has vetured closer than 50 feet from the chopper... LOL!
We all have our ways... I'm a light-sleeper and like most of us in the trailer park, keep some heavy-caliber insurance handy.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
The old Tank
by: oldchopperguy - Jul 15, 2011 14:10:38 GMT -6
Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 15, 2011 14:10:38 GMT -6
Hmmm....
When on the center-stand, if my fuel tank is FULL, my rear wheel is on the ground. If my tank is almost empty, the front wheel is on the ground. With half a tank, BOTH wheels are off the ground, and in the wind, it rocks back and forth from front wheel to rear wheel.
I always figured the center-stand and its little foot-piece was designed that way so the scoot was pretty much balanced fore and aft, so either wheel could be removed simply by putting a small amount of weight on whichever end you wanted on the ground, leaving the other end "up in the air"...
I usually get on the scoot before starting the engine, but many times I've started it on the stand to warm it up, rear wheel on the ground, and even if I goose the throttle and spin the wheel, it just harmlessly "chirps" a few times. The scoot never even comes close to driving off the stand.
Who knows what the designers actually had in mind with the stand placement? Probably nothing at all. It just ended up somewhere near the center of gravity...
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
|
|
New Student
Currently Offline
Posts: 17
A+'s: 0
Joined: Jul 5, 2011 0:23:49 GMT -6
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Jul 7, 2011 13:00:40 GMT -6
Nalrac,
My scooter is a Xingyue Eagle 150, which is probably the same basic scooter as yours. Your scoot's performance is identical to mine. My speedometer is actually accurate (surprise!) and I do have a factory tach (which is accurate within 200 rpm).
I've got the engine running great, and like yours, it runs strong up to about 40 to 45, then sort of "Peters out" finally reaching 50-52 mph. The scoot has about 3,000 miles on it, and the drive belt has "stretched" just a teensy bit. THAT has increased overall performance enough to notice!
Up to this season, my top-end was about 48 mph. So, there's NO doubt the variator, weights, belt and clutch make a BIG difference. Bad health and other priorities have kept me from installing a Prodigy variator which I've had for over a year... SHAME on me!
When your engine runs fine, getting an extra eighth-inch of belt travel toward the outside of the variator CAN make a five, to even TEN mph increase in top speed, while doing so at a safe rpm. Right now, on the flat, with no headwind, (the unusual "perfect" conditions...) I can get an honest 54 to 56 mph, but at near 10,000 rpm. A good performance variator, and a belt that goes "all the way out" should give you at least 55- 58 mph, maybe even 60+ and, at around 7,500 to 8,500 rpm.
I'd go with JR's advice completely, and if the engine is good, which yours seems to be, concentrate on the CVT tranny. I'm convinced that the CVT is the area that can give the greatest increase in performance and overall driveability.
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
|
|
