Flip #13- 2007 Wildfire 149cc 4t. $150... Unlucky #13??

[niz76]

Dang- this could be unlucky #13 because I already had this all typed out and somehow with a certain keystroke I closed the window and lost it all. Dangit!
  Boy oh' boy what have I done?? lol. Somebody please smack me now! I bought this scoot non-running from CL for $150. It looked much better in the pics than it did in person and I know I should've passed on this one. I had buyers remorse almost instantly- like while driving home with it in the back of the van haha. I've actually had this scoot for about a week now but I've been focused on getting my personal scoot up and running and kinda ignored this mess. 
  I almost considered not even doing a build thread on this scoot but I suppose I should show what happens when pickins' get slim and you become a motivated buyer! I have a feeling people are getting their tax returns back and swooping up the scooters on CL. I even called on a few that I have been passing by for months now and those scoots finally got sold recently... I guess I missed the bus. I should've stocked up on flip scoots before the end of January! I guess it's not too bad of a deal since at one point I was considering buying a stripped down frame w/title for $150... I least I get the rest of the scoot with this one- well, most of it  




This is the first 149cc scoot I've ever owned so I'm a bit curious to see the (actual GPS) top speed when I get it running.  The seller said it has low compression due to needing the valves adjusted. I'm already a couple hours into working on the scoot and one of the valves was very tight. The other was spot on. I adjusted them both to .003. 




Don't you just love the "replacement" body panels? and the 1/4 turn fuel shutoff valve lol. That shutoff valve actually works flawlessly so I'm keeping it on there. I'm thinking I don't want to put a bunch of work into cosmetics on this thing since I'm not sure it's worth all that much anyway. I'm planning to get it running and functioning correctly and selling as "ugly but reliable" for $300- $350. With the tax return $$ flying around right now it should be a quick sale. 
  I'm about two hours into working on this thing and it seems most of the problems are (were) in the CVT. I could barely push the scoot as the clutch arms seem to be stuck to the bell and all the kickstart components were terribly dry and stiff. I got the clutch unstuck and greased up the kickstart stuff so it kicks over nice and smoothly now. What a joy it is to put all the kickstart stuff back together on a 149cc! Sheesh. 
  I already replaced a few fuel lines and the filter too. Looks like a brand new spark plug. Carb is clean. Now I'm going to re-install the carb and airbox and cross my fingers I can get it to start!

[2TDave]

I missed an '05 Triton about an hour north of me for $350.

[niz76]

Dang- There's one by me for $300 that I've contacted before but they don't speak English and I can never seem to get the actual owner of the scoot on the phone. Just some woman that says "call call back in five hours"...lol

[tiny]

Dude that thing is Butt Ugly.
As to top speed expect around 105-115KPH/65-70MPH closer to 105KPH/65MPH with smaller 12-13" wheels.

[niz76]

I got it running! Seems like it's a bit rough and lacking power. I have the idle screw turned all the way just to keep it idling. It's running though! I'm gonna take it out for a test ride.

[humanshield]

There is no way to compare performance between a good running 150cc scoot and a 50cc scoot.

It's like the acceleration difference between a bus and a Corvette.

150cc scoot = "Zoom Zoom"

[niz76]

It seems to run pretty decent. Gotta love these Chinese speedometers- it said I was doing 50mph (80kph) through my neighborhood. Ha. I'll GPS it when I get things running a little smoother. My speedometer on my Roketa AIR is off by 20 mph!
Hey I didn't know Nike made scooters!

[niz76]

The headlights weren't working but my tester is showing power to that plug. It looked like a brand new bulb inside and maybe they didn't get it seated in there just right. I readjusted it and plugged it in- boom headlight works! All the blinkers and tail/brake light work too...




There's this little icon in the dash that looks kinda like a telephone??



I guess it means "if this light comes on you better call somebody for a ride" hehehe 

[tiny]

Is there a 12V outlet on the scooter? If so maybe it lets ya know you got something plugged in?

[90GTVert]

The light is supposed to light up if you receive a call. Doesn't need to be linked to a phone, just picks up a signal that the phone gets when you have an incoming call. I used to have friends that were cell phone addicts around when I played guitar in the garage at times and if they were close even my pickups would put the signal through the amp. There's actually noise all the time if you hold a phone near an electric guitar and other devices, and it changes when a call is coming in. I hear the lights are not too accurate though, going off at times for no known reason.

[niz76]

Feb 18, 2015 21:32:44 GMT -5 90GTVert said:

The light is supposed to light up if you receive a call. Doesn't need to be linked to a phone, just picks up a signal that the phone gets when you have an incoming call. I used to have friends that were cell phone addicts around when I played guitar in the garage at times and if they were close even my pickups would put the signal through the amp. There's actually noise all the time if you hold a phone near an electric guitar and other devices, and it changes when a call is coming in. I hear the lights are not too accurate though, going off at times for no known reason.

Whaaaatt? lol Wow that's crazy! So this little light lets you know when you're getting a phone call? That is pretty cool. Never heard of anything like that on a scoot. I will be sure to highlight that in my CL sales ad haha.

[90GTVert]

Put your phone near it and call it to see if it works at all first. Scoots with this must use resistor components in the ignition or the light goes crazy from what I've heard.

[niz76]

Hi ho, hi ho, a turd polishin' we will go...

So I figured I'd see if I could do anything about this terribly yellowed headlight housing. Based on my past experiences trying to "restore" these China plastic headlights I didn't have much hope. I went through the whole gambut in my old headlight restore kit- from 500 grit, to 800 grit, to the leather polishing pad thingy, to polishing with the compound...

 

I figured I'd try to clear up the instrument cluster while I was at it...



Yep. Just as I suspected- my scooter plastic de-yellowing success rate is still 0%...


I think I may have lightened the yellowing a bit anyway. Just to be sure, I sanded the crap out of the inside of the housing too- no dice.
  At least you can clearly see the instrument cluster now...


While I had the front nose piece off I gave it a quick once over with the pad and compound... not a bad shine for a few minutes of effort.


Hi ho, hi ho.....

[niz76]

Feb 18, 2015 22:24:06 GMT -5 90GTVert said:

Put your phone near it and call it to see if it works at all first. Scoots with this must use resistor components in the ignition or the light goes crazy from what I've heard.

I had my wife call me while standing next to the scoot with it running. The light didn't light up I guess it doesn't work. When I turn the key on it does flash red for a second...

[niz76]

Complete!
 I tidied up a few of the cosmetics and did a few things like tighten the loose rattling cargo box and added some screws here and there to make sure the body panels are all nice and secure. I'm almost impressed at the effort somebody put into making the missing pieces out of sheets of plastic haha.
  I found a decent battery that's usually too big for the other scoots and got the carb tuned just right. This baby fires right up at the touch of the button! I took it out and GPS'd it- 48 mph. It seems faster than that and has good pickup. I was reading the speedo wrong earlier with the mph/kph but it still says I'm doing 60... The booklet that came with the scoot says it's capable of 55mph. At 48 mph. it's no wonder I always blow by them on my 2t! 
  It's not a looker for sure but it runs good and that's what I was hoping for. I'll put it up for sale at $350 and hope it sells quickly.