I'm taking the "Tao Tao Plunge"!

[bluegoatwoods]

I just placed the order about five minutes ago. Here's the scoot I bought:


www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/products_id/15467

I have a Kymco People 150 and my wife has a 50cc Honda Metropolitan. We went for 'name brands' because we're scooter newbies and wanted something that wouldn't require a whole lot of our attention. And the bikes are doing just fine. 

But I was pretty certain that I'd buy another scooter for the 2017 riding season. For one thing, my wife needs more than 50ccs. She's doing okay and she's having fun. And the Metro really is a sweet little bike. But it kinda feels like a toy, too.  Plus the fact that I want us to have some sort of spare for when one of our bikes needs service or repair.  I'm willing to work on them myself. I'm kinda eager to do so, in fact. But I don't want to be rushed when I do it.

But over this past weekend I pulled my wheels. In order to get new tires put on it. This was a tear-down nearly as complete as the "Chinese Scooter Post Delivery Inspection" videos that our host, 90gtvert has posted. I had watched most of them once and thought, "I could do that". But I hadn't gotten around to trying it yet because we'd rather ride than take apart our bikes. But this tear-down went really smooth. The parts were 'intuitive'. If that's the right term. Re-assembly went even quicker because I was now familiar with the parts. I got the re-assembly done in about two and a half hours. And it could have been quicker if I'd wanted.

Now a couple of weeks ago I very nearly pulled the trigger on a Lance Cali Classic 125. I don't doubt that I would have been happy to have that bike, too. But this tire swap got me thinking about the less expensive scooters and the PDI videos. So I watched the videos again and started looking for cheaper scooters. There were several that tempted me. But this particular one looks like it really offers a lot of bang for the buck.

It'll be a sheer pleasure to tear that bike down. To put in good fuel lines. To make sure that the wiring is up to snuff. To un-tamper proof the carb and set the idle speed and fuel mixture right where I want it. And to do it with brand new components that aren't all dirty and worn is just icing on the cake. 

I don't doubt that when it's all done the Metro will be the spare.

So thanks to Brent for going through the trouble of making these videos. To steal a line from J R R Tolkien, "Praise him with great praise!"

And I'm not just trying to be cute with that. He really does deserve gratitude for this. That knowledge is......if not priceless, then at least quite valuable. Plus he went to the trouble of producing it in a good video format. That takes effort.

So, Thank You 90GTvert! Your videos have given me the confidence to proceed and confidence in my own success. I can follow this trail.

One question comes to mind.

I'm sure that Tao Tao uses some fairly hardened steel and fasteners in critical spots. But I'm willing to bet they use the very cheapest stuff where they can get away with it. I'll also bet that I'll have a hard time finding torque specs for many of these fasteners. But that doesn't really worry me. I'll be able to estimate torque specs based on the thickness of the bolt in question and the threads and pitch.

I'm wondering, though, whether or not it would be a good idea to 'discount' any estimated torque value a bit based on the supposition that some of the steel might be less than stellar quality.

Any thoughts on that?

[greggkinney]

if you search around online there are manuals for the tao tao's. i have a gt5 50 and im working on something daily (mostly for fun) so the bolts get torqued alot. ive stripped the crank with an impact, along with the cvt cover bolts and a valve cover bolt with just a ratchet. once the bolts are tight just snug em a little bit more and loktite is a good idea. but DO NOT use the red it will strip the bolt when you remove them and leave the bolt threads in the hole. ive now downloaded a manual so i wont do these mistakes again. overall the tao tao gets punished daily and is holding up really well. i think the newer ones are better wuality than they used to be.

[bluegoatwoods]

Jan 26, 2017 23:16:46 GMT -5 greggkinney said:

if you search around online there are manuals for the tao tao's. i have a gt5 50 and im working on something daily (mostly for fun) so the bolts get torqued alot. ive stripped the crank with an impact, along with the cvt cover bolts and a valve cover bolt with just a ratchet. once the bolts are tight just snug em a little bit more and loktite is a good idea. but DO NOT use the red it will strip the bolt when you remove them and leave the bolt threads in the hole. ive now downloaded a manual so i wont do these mistakes again. overall the tao tao gets punished daily and is holding up really well. i think the newer ones are better wuality than they used to be.

I can even get a service manual??!!

It just gets better and better. Thanks!

[greggkinney]

try manualslib.com thats where i found nine for my tao tao and my daelim. familymotorsports has one for a gy6 150. absolutlyscooters might have one too. good luck

[90GTVert]

Those look like they should be fun scooters to me, because the 150 is in a fairly small frame. Hope it all goes well. In some ways it's a pain to have to go through the PDI. In other ways I think it's good because you get to know your scoot right from the start and it may feel like your own a bit more. Unfortunately, the PDI still won't make it a Honda, but they can be decent scoots.

Some manuals in here for 150s. The Arrow is a pretty good one to try.
www.49ccscoot.com/manuals/manuals.html

[Lucass2T]

Don't drown in that 4t misery! No im kiddin, good luck!

[humanshield]

As far as torquing the bolts, I haven't encountered any recurring issues with Chinese hardware. I order a good bit of bulk bolts and nuts.

As long as you don't go crazy you should be ok.

Have fun with that new 150. They're plenty speedy.

[greggkinney]

just a heads up my tao tao gt5 50 came with those same wheels and the rear one is warped. you can feel it and see it when you rev it on the center stand. can even hear makung a wah wah wah rythm. i started searching online and a few dealers say its a common problem with those steel wheels.

[bluegoatwoods]

Oh, no! Warped wheels? That's a bummer.

But I'll hope to get lucky enough that mine are straight. If they're not, then I'll use a bit of force to try and make them straighter. And I'm serious, though I'll be careful. But, of course, I won't succeed.

So I'll look for replacements then. The online retailer does make a pretty big deal of their warranty. But I suspect that the warranty is just an empty promise.

And I don't blame them. If they're going to sell this scoot for a mere $650, then they can't afford to be dealing with returns, etc.

But maybe they can afford to deal with the return of a small part, like a wheel.

[greggkinney]

for $650 your walking away a winner thats for sure. the tao tao's arnt as bad as people make em out to be. ive enjoyed mine to the fullest extent and you probably will too

[eclark5483]

$650, and shipping was what?? $240?? Under $900 total. I'd say that's pretty decent for a 150cc.

[bluegoatwoods]

You're right eclark and greggkinney. That really is a good price.

I was tempted by a few other scoots. Here's a couple of examples.

www.saferwholesale.com/Brand-New-150cc-Air-Cooled-Venice-4-Stroke-Scooter-p/ice-pmz150-5n-f.htm

www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/38_94/products_id/16140

I like them both. But the price difference is more than enough to disqualify them.

I also looked at some 50cc models that were a bit cheaper. One of those with a big bore kit would be just about the right size for my wife. But they weren't very much cheaper.

[eclark5483]

I went with a 50cc for my wife for one good reason... she doesn't need a motorcycle license to drive it. I knew 50cc was gonna be pretty wimpy, so I of course, had to shell out some cash to get it going better. Wanted it to at least be able to keep an OK pace with my Indian.

See this topic: 49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/16591/project-scrappydogscooters-taotao-zuma-125

Final cost and configuration breakdown here:

49ccscoot.proboards.com/post/258206/thread

All in all, it's not that bad. It'll do over 50 now after tuning it. But cost wise, it would have been cheaper just to buy the 150cc instead, but, I couldn't get the ole' lady to go and take the test, so screw it.. 50cc with a BBK and higher gears it was.

[greggkinney]

eclark5483 i just went back over your thread linked above and seen your total parts cost lol ive never totaled up like that untill now. ouch!!!! the cost of not having a valid nc driver license

[eclark5483]

I guess it depends on where someone is on a budget. An extra $600 on parts (not counting labor if you do it yourself), ain't really too bad if you compare it to buying a name brand 50cc. And a few of the parts, I probably didn't really need or would have been just fine without.. Could have done a basic BBK, higher gears, lighter sliders, cracked open the carb and change out the jets and got almost the same thing. Could have also bought a complete kit off of eBay, or scrappydogs.. Many ways to go and much cheaper then what I did. If I wasn't doing a review/comparison in that post, I would have shopped around and used multiple vendors.

Kinda want to do a Zummer build on a 150cc using performance parts, but I have no room in my garage for more bikes and my wife would bitch about it. Probably make me sell one of the bikes off. Something I'm not willing to do. The Spree's are collectible restorations, the pink one is my kids, the blue one is hers, and I'd divorce her first before parting with my Indian. Still in negotiations with a dude for his AMI-50, just waiting for him to get the title cleared.. After I get THAT, it's gonna be 6 bikes in my tiny ass garage.

Oh if I had the room, I would make fixing them a hobby. I'd love to do a 3rd Spree with an AF16 or AF18 swap as well. Funding for my hobby comes from my profit sharing, otherwise, I doubt I could normally afford it. This last year's profit sharing funded my Spree restoration and had enough left over to do the TaoTao. Don't know how it's gonna be this year with the recalls we have had, and with the company doing away with Victory motorcycles. They told us it shouldn't be affected by that, which could be accurate, we're going balls to the wall trying to whip out all those Indians now.. but I guess we shall see.