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Post by rurc on Apr 10, 2014 11:04:54 GMT -6
Yes, a 50cc is good for just commuting in town 25-30 mph zones but not for long hauls or streets over 35mph. As you know if the speed limit is 35 people are doing 40-45 and the 50s will not do those speeds. Alleyoop Thats the problem. I see these little 50cc units everywhere here. I work 6 miles from my home. As I leave to and from work at various times every day I will see at least 5 of the 50's on the 45 MPH roads. Not to mention the 55MPH highway where they can barely hit 40 MPH. It seems that every week or so I see 1 or 2 new scoots I have not see before. These guys drive literally in the gutter or right next to it encouraging cars to pass them in the same lane because they cant even begin to keep up. The police do nothing. I have seen the police pass them, in the same lane, and just keep on driving. That is not safe for anyone. The scooter drivers I have talked to honestly think they are being safer and courteous that way. Plus they never wear a helmet. I have to say that hitting the ground at 30 MPH is the same no matter if you are riding a big bike or not. I dont want mandatory helmet laws but when you are driving like what I see daily you are stupid not to wear one. I always wear one and a jacket and pants with proper CE pads. On the road people need more training. At least on the race track you generally know what to expect from every other driver. On the roads here in the US you really dont know what to expect. |
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Post by rurc on Apr 10, 2014 10:47:16 GMT -6
I would answer the poll but I think the poll should include the choice of "it depends". My reason? I have a 50cc scooter along with 4 other different size scooters. What have I used it for? Training of my young stepson, he has now moved up to a 250cc (18 years old) and for a put around ride say when we are at the lake camping and want to just put around a campsite. In this use it is not dangerous. There are places for everything and a 50cc scooter has it's place but it's limited IMO. JR I agree with you to a point. If it is not being used on a public road then by all means. But if the driving is on the roads I feel these classes are a must. But I feel there must be a set minimum that all riders must know. Believe me I am all for getting the government out of our daily lives but in all honesty there should be way, way more driver training. I worked for Porsche for 18 years in Germany. I already had my Florida license, but I also had an IMSA, SCCA, and FIA road racing license. I had to get a German license and their training was relentless and excellent at the same time. We would do well to adopt a training system very like the German one. |
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Post by rurc on Apr 9, 2014 16:26:59 GMT -6
Speed, I was able to test ride a 500i back in November at the AIM Expo in Orlando. Kymco had 8-10 scoots of various displacements, all the way up to 700. Nice. You could test ride any of them on an open road, 5 mile or so, escorted ride. Real good opportunity for anyone visiting Orlando in November. My only complaint was the seating position. I am 5'10'', with a 35 inch inseam, and the seating arrangement forces your knees more upright than your 250B. My knees were only an inch or two from the dash panel. A tidy bit uncomfortable on longer excursions I would think. If you prefer the more feet-forward position of the 250B, then consider a Burgman or Silverwing. Otherwise, it was a very nice scoot, by far better than the Chinese we are used to. Top speed for the 500 is a bit over 90mph. Here is a good writeup Top speed did for the 500i. Kymco Xciting 500iWheezy, One thing,Kymco is not from China. Kymco has been around for over 50 years and in the USA for over 30 years. They also make all the BMW scooters as well as several other manufacturers. |
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Post by rurc on Apr 9, 2014 14:21:58 GMT -6
I have a great Kymco Xciting 500. My only complaint about this bike is that it is heavy. I have just rolled 18K miles on it and it is getting time to do some major servicing to it. I am wanting to upgrade a few areas but I am not sure what is the best way to do these upgrades.
I want to change the exhaust.
Upgrade the variator and belt
Change the rear shocks
and possibly change the jetting on the carb
In looking around I find lots of parts but little to no information as to what works, why, and what difference the new part will really make.
If you have done stuff let me know what it was and how it changed. Was it like you expected?
What I am looking for? A little quicker. A better sound. A better ride with myself and my son on it.
Thank you in advance for all you ideas.
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Post by rurc on Apr 9, 2014 14:06:55 GMT -6
First I have been riding scooters for 3 years now. I started with an CF Moto E-Charm 150 FI. I also have a Kymco Xciting 500 (I got this about 18 months ago). Between the 2 I put about 9000 miles a year on them. So I feel I ride a fairly good amount. Knock on wood I have not had any accidents or even a real near miss from a car or truck.
But, I have had the shit scared out of me several times by people riding the little 50cc scoots. Everything from not even slowing down for a stop sign to being hit in the rear because the guy had no idea that he had to let off the throttle for the brakes to really be able to work. when I first thought about getting a scooter to use as daily transportation to and from work I looked into the laws. Well I was not going to get anything less than a 150cc. I felt that anything smaller might be hazardous. I also learned that I needed to get a motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license. To me that made perfect since, learn from others that have been riding for a while so I can be safe for my self.
Well taking the class was the best. It is always the little things you learn at these classes that make the difference. But I was shocked to learn that here in Florida if you are riding a 50cc or smaller bike you are not required to have an endorsement. Now that I have been riding for a while I feel that this is a HUGE mistake. With these under powered scoots you are a hazard to the road. Believing that and watching the huge proliferation of these little scoots in the past 3 years I feel that this must change.
Because of the lack of power and lack of training I am seeing almost weekly accidents just in the county I live in. Without proper training these people are killing themselves and putting that guilt on other drivers that they have involved because they have no idea what they are doing.
I dont want to take this cheap means of transportation away from anyone but I cant be the only one that thinks that the smaller scoot or bike you ride on the streets the more important it is to know what the hell you are doing.
Please answer the poll and give me a comment because I truly believe that people are being injured and killed because they just don't know how to respond in situations on the road.
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Post by rurc on Mar 3, 2014 18:15:20 GMT -6
Hello all. what I have here is a 45 minute upgrade that I feel anyone can do. This is simple and direct. If you can run a screwdriver you can do this with half your brain tied behind your back. Here is the scooter with the OEM headlamp bulb installed.  First thing you have to do is locate all the screws that hold on the front cowell of you bike. To make this easier I have photos of their locations. Please remove the front one last and install it first when going back together.     Be careful with the screws. I did brake one while tightening it too much. So use caution. Now unplug the harness and then take your headlamp assembly to a large bench to work from. So here is the back side of the cowell looking at the rear of the headlamp assembly. Here I have installed the HID bulb already but you get the idea.  Here are the new and old bulbs going in and the next photo is of the wire harness that comes with the HID bulb. The bulb fits like a glove.   This is how I laid out the harness in the cowell. I had to try 3 different times to get it right. The sub frame parts on the bike kept on getting in the way so this is where everything ended up.  Here is the front view once reassembled.  Now if you look here you will see the beam from old first then the beam from new.   These photos were take about 45 minutes apart inside my shop at about 11am and 11:45am. Bright and sunny outside here in Florida and no lights on in the shop. all ambient lighting is from skylights. Here is the front view side by side. Here is a link to the videos I shot both are less than 2 minutes. this is really a very easy install and the difference will be huge. I will post photos and videos during the night of the finished product. Forgive all the background noise I was running the autoclave during all this and it is noisy even more so with the heaters on. Here is the euro style headlamp housing.  This is not my image. I am using it only to show the euro style headlamp housing. In any event have fun and do this upgrade to your bike. |
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Post by rurc on Jun 8, 2012 10:30:41 GMT -6
Yoster and Damin,
Than you both. Going to try and hammer out a deal on this tonight.
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Post by rurc on Jun 7, 2012 10:30:07 GMT -6
Don't worry if they're out of business. This scooter is sold under a dozen other 'brand names' as well - same scooter across all of them. What are those brands. I just dont want to spend 2 months tracking parts down. |
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Post by rurc on Jun 5, 2012 14:24:58 GMT -6
I am looking at buying a SunL SL250-22. It is a 2008 with less than 2000 miles. Now I know that this unit needs work. I have been told that the stator and coil are for sure bad and need replaced. This is what the mechanic told me in the shop that it was serviced at and taken to to get fixed. The owner did not have the money to fix it and pay the mechanic. So the owner took it back non working. Here is what I am concerned about. I have been told that SunL is out of business. Is this true? I have not been able to confirm this. Also I have heard both that SunL are good bikes and that they are crap. I welcome your opinions.  |
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Post by rurc on Jun 5, 2012 14:02:24 GMT -6
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Post by rurc on May 9, 2012 6:02:38 GMT -6
The removal of the front panel has really made a huge difference. I have been on several rides of more than 70 miles and not one problem. Including the pushing the bike off the center stand. I am making a tool that will form louvers into the OEM plastic front panel. Once I do that then I will cut out the intake holes and reinstall the body panel. I have just rolled over 1300 miles on the scooter and I really do enjoy it.
I have heard that CF Moto is releasing a 500cc scooter by mid summer. Anyone know about this?
Also I am changing all my lighting over to LED. Does anyone have a good quality SMD LED that they like? I am also going to make a projector beam HID headlight set up for this. As I gather parts I will start a build thread. I have bought a old light housing and intend on letting that be my guinea pig. The object is to build something brighter that will NOT blind on coming traffic.
Any ideas or questions let me know......................
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Post by rurc on Apr 20, 2012 10:41:10 GMT -6
JR , after I responded I saw he got answered by the gear guy/old fart . I wonder if he is setting any lamda codes . John No codes at all in the system. Had it checked and I also have an indicator light if there is a fault and nothing ever has come up on that. |
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Post by rurc on Apr 20, 2012 10:39:57 GMT -6
Welcome to the forum and while I'm not familiar with the EFI John is but I do have good news on one thing and that's the wiring diagram. We have one of the best all around manual sections around and CFMoto manuals are no exception. In this section you will see the 150 E-Charm EFI maintenance manual and it's huge! thescooterprofessor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=5200&action=display&thread=766It has a wiring diagram for this scooter and I'll look it over and you also do the same because the vibration thing for sure sounds like a bad connection or switch for sure. Also I don't know about the CfMoto's but on some scooters the cutting out could be a overheating and going out CDI? It's been known to happen. Again Welcome to the forum.  JR Awesome on the wiring diagram. Thanks I am going to look at the ign coil system this weekend. I will say that I have removed the panel in front of the head. I went on a 70 mile rode with the cover removed to allow more air into the engine compartment and NOT ONE FAULT. not even a hiccup. I am going to find a louver set up and mount that into that body panel. But I am still going to test the ign system and get that replaced under warranty. |
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Post by rurc on Apr 20, 2012 10:35:09 GMT -6
I would start with fuel pressure . Have you done a read on your spark plug . I would also use a resistor to fool the ECU with o2 readings and gauge the response time . I have never seen an E-Charm , does it have a centerstand switch ? This is an interesting problem . While the problem is happening is the tempture higher than normal on the gauge ? Are you getting spark during the full shutdown ? Could it be a bad coil that acts up when hot ? (do you own a heat gun) Welcome to the forum!!!! John At the 500 mile service they said I had a plug that was fouling and they replaced it. I never saw it. "fool" the ECU maybe but what is the gain? No switch on the center stand The temperature has never been above 1/2 way. It generally would sit at the 7/16 area toward 3/8. I will have to 'noid' the spark to check for spark during shutdown. I think the bad coil when hot is a real idea. I will look to that one for sure. Thank you for the comments |
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Post by rurc on Apr 19, 2012 11:17:28 GMT -6
HI & WELCOME
um
your smarter than me on cars
but i'll offer my 2 cents
1. vacum leak / not enough fuel
2. since it sat for so long , build up in the carb
do a good cleaning
and the vibration still makes me think air /fuel leaks
3. valves probably need adjusted
they have to set em real tight to pass EPA
to get into the country
classic symptoms for valves is hard starting and not idling at stops
Thank you so much 1 vacuum leak not enough fuel-- maybe but this has a electric fuel pump and that has checked out ok. 2 no carb fuel injected from factory 3 valves- very possible. I will look into that. However never hard starts and idles fine till it just stops but it does that at speed or idle. |
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