Tao Tao Scooter - Bogging down when cold, now won't idle

[chl]

I have a Tao Tao BWS scooter. Recently, I have been having trouble getting the scooter to run properly before it is warmed up. I have to leave the scooter idling on the stand for a few minutes until it is ready to ride. If I don't do this every time I start it, the scooter will bog down and die. This has been an annoyance, but not really a major problem. However, this morning the scooter started off idling fine, as it always does, and then slowly died. I've tried letting it idle a couple more times throughout the day with the same result. 

Also, the carbs have just been cleaned and the idle was adjusted recently (both of these done by a scooter mechanic).

Basically, I'd like to know what is causing this problem and what I can do to fix it. Thanks in advance for any help.

Caleb

[90GTVert]

Mine tends to do this if the idle mixture is a little lean or if the idle speed is just a bit low. Sometimes it does it even if the idle settings are good. You can try checking the operation of the enricher to make sure it expands when hot and contracts when cold. Mine appears to work alright, but I still have these issues at times. I'm not sure that the automatic enricheners are always very effective. I babysit the scoot for a couple of minutes if it's dying out and then ride off. No issues once it's warm. Sorry that's not the answer you probably hoped for, but warm up is not much of an issue for me so I haven't bothered trying to switch out the enricher or delve too deep into the issue.

[Fox]

I am a scooter mechanic and I would say it probably needs a valve adjustment immediately followed by an idle mixture screw adjustment. These two procedures should be done two or three times a year to ensure proper performance and reliability. I know you say the idle was adjusted "recently" but if you have a valve out of adjustment and you make it right then the idle will need to be done again. These are two things that you yourself can do if you watch the videos and mimic them exactly. The valves are nothing to be intimidated by. Once you get in there and do it you will see it's no big deal. You need a few tools. 9mm wrench, feeler gauge set and a metric socket set.

Valve adjust:



Mixture screw and idle adjustment. Proper adjustment of the mixture screw is crucial for a healthy and steady idle. It's not the idle speed screw as you'll see in this video.



If your scooter's mixture screw is capped off you can un-cap it with a small drill bit. Once you get a few holes drilled in it it should come out easy with a sharp tool like an awl or a tiny screwdriver.