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Post by RollingThunder on Oct 19, 2017 19:08:36 GMT -5
I recently traded an old snowmobile for my 2015 139QMB Propel Zago. My scooter purchase was an off the cuff, knee jerk decision and I feel like I might have made a mistake. I've always wanted a scooter, but never have really driven one before I got this one. I didn't do any research before I got it, which honestly, is very unlike me. This scooter has about 2600 miles/km (not sure which the odometer clocks) and has been tipped before, so it has a few light scratches and the front plastic mounting tabs are broken. After buying and giving it a good look over, it was quite obvious that it has been abused. It was really slow through the midrange when I got it and putting a 1.5k set of springs in it helped it quite a bit. I also went through the CVT, carb, adjusted the valves, changed the engine and trans oil, and checked it over. My average top speed on a flat street is about 34-36 MPH on GPS.
The Zago is a cheap and basic model. It doesn't have a typical fork design, instead it has two shocks on the end of the fork. It also has cable drum brakes, which really don't perform all that well. It seems to ride alright, but I have nothing to compare it to. It's a single seat design and has a fair amount of room for me. I'm 6'4" and about 235 lbs, so I'm no lightweight. I get lots of smiles when people see me driving it so I probably look pretty comical on it.
I originally bought this to ride around on the back roads, but I think I would be limiting myself by not having something that I could safely take on 55 MPH highways for a short distance. This might be possible if I could sustain 45 MPH on flat ground, but I also don't want to sacrifice reliability for performance.
I do have my motorcycle license, so going to a larger CC bike would be easy. Instead of spending more time and money tinkering with and modifying it to gain another 10 MPH, would I be better off getting a 150 cc larger frame scooter?
My friend is also going to get one so we can ride together. He originally was going to buy a 50cc scoot, but showed me a 150cc the other day he was interested in. Unless I modify the hell out of mine, I would think it would be hard to stay with him, especially on the hills.
So this brings me back to my original question: Did I make a mistake getting the model I got? If not, would putting a 47mm BBK, A9 cam, clutching, and possible gearing get me reliable performance? Could I do this for under $250? It seems possible. Even with more speed, the brakes and suspension are still going to be crap, though.
If you think this scooter isn't a good fit for me, do you guys have suggestions for something that would work better? I don't mind buying used, but the market is not great here since I live in a very rural area.
The riding season is over here, so chances are I probably won't make any major decisions before spring.
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Post by bluegoatwoods on Oct 19, 2017 19:45:22 GMT -5
Hmmm......it's actually kinda hard to choose which way to vote.
You do sound as though a 150 or so is more your type of bike.
But there's a lot of charm in the light and nimble 50cc as well.
I can definitely say that I wouldn't vote for the BBK and other mods. If you did that and rode it hard, you'd be stressing the rest of the bike more than I'd be willing to do to mine.
If you do decide to go for a bigger bike, then I'll go ahead and make a suggestion: www.megamotormadness.com/product/sco027-150cc-scooter
This is the model that I ride. I've had it since January. I do ride it fairly gently. But it's been getting genuine use. It gets ridden nearly every day.
It has had a few minor component failures, it's true. But that's to be expected from GY6 bikes. Otherwise it's been a really sweet bike.
The price is good. And it has the advantage of having genuine 'heft'. It's a solid bike. You could chase your friend around, I think, feeling confident that you're not going to beat it to death.
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Post by greginisn on Oct 19, 2017 20:10:35 GMT -5
What are your needs, and how fast do you need to go to get where you want to go? I have a 49cc and was thinking of installing a 47mm BBK and an A9 cam. After riding my scoot for a while now I find that I can get everywhere I need to go without having to exceed 35mph. Fortunately the people around here mostly drive at the speed limit and I haven't felt yet like someone was trying to snuggle up to my back side. So, so far I'm tickled with my 49cc. It has exceeded my expectations. But if I should feel the need for more speed there are always the easy engine mods and a gearing change. And best of all I don't need to get a motorcycle permit, again. The scooter and I are licensed and it is insured too, FYI. Enjoy your scooter, you should get to use it way more than a snowmobile. Good luck, Greg
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Post by eclark5483 on Oct 19, 2017 21:41:05 GMT -5
I also say it depends on what your looking to do with it. I use my motorcycle to ride back and forth 20 miles each way to work, but I rarely use it in town. For in town I usually pick one of the scooters (except my kids gay ass pink one of course), which are all capable of 35+ with different degrees of speed pickup. I'd just as soon have a 125+cc scoot, but I find a 50cc upgraded to a 47mm BBK, A9 cam, and a decent carb with easily changeable jets is a very worthwhile solution. On a 139QMB engine, no matter what brand the scoot is or how much you paid for it, you'll get these decent gains (BBK/carb/cam) for easily under $100 if you shop around and research first. Typically you can get the CVT tweaks done as well for still under $100. Nothing fancy mind you, but for sure beefier than stock. But I voted sell it and buy a 125cc. No replacement for displacement.
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Post by 'O'Verse on Oct 19, 2017 22:18:14 GMT -5
Missed a very important voting category. One of our choices should be "Sell my 4 stroke and buy a 2 stroke". I think the votes would be a lot higher.
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Post by crawford on Oct 19, 2017 22:46:05 GMT -5
with your weight you need more cc's building more you will never be happy get the right one forget about wasting money on the 50 cc
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Post by ThaiGyro on Oct 19, 2017 23:11:56 GMT -5
Missed a very important voting category. One of our choices should be "Sell my 4 stroke and buy a 2 stroke". I think the votes would be a lot higher. What O'Verse said...you could consider a very large 2 stroke, say 80+cc, or like you suggest, a 4 stroke 150 or even the new Aerox 155. (I don't own one yet, but it kicks ass!) Not sure about cost comparison, but a good way to spend your winter. I am in Thailand, so we have much lower costs...but my example: We bought a 2014 Yamaha 125 with FI. ($1700 new) Not super at higher speeds, but I don't like the skinny front tire and would opt for a wider one. My Honda Gyro is a 49cc. (total to date investment $1200) I have many hours playing with various engine parts and do my own porting...now doing exhaust systems too. Stock it would barely do 32mph. Out goal isn't more speed, but more usable power. With a DIO variator setup, we might get another 5mph. Village scooter, good enough. The new Thai version Aerox 155-R with ABS mentioned above costs ~$2250 here new. I have seen a few tests done with CVT upgrades...~140kph. In full racing setups near 150, some claim higher. Stock, I am not sure. The one we test drove was on a busy street. We did get one GPS 120kph pass in, but that may be near it's limit without mods. Again...consider a good 2 stroke. The Yamaha 135, Honda NSR125 and Kawasaki Leo 110 are under-bone frame bikes. Nothing can touch them until you get to 300cc. If you want scooter comfort, Honda PCX or Yamaha Aerox or T-Max.
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Post by 90GTVert on Oct 19, 2017 23:26:10 GMT -5
The mention of 55MPH highways made me vote to get a larger scooter. I have had multiple 49cc scoots (two-strokes and four-strokes), a GY6 150 (modified to 155cc, cam, CVT work, etc...), and a 500cc Yamaha TMAX. The small scoots are fun and serve their purpose, but they have not business on the highway. That includes the GY6 150 IMO. I really don't want to ride anything on a 55MPH highway that can't sustain 55MPH if I don't have to. I have been on highways with the 150 and 50s, but they feel really out of place there compared to the big scoot. My suggestion would be to consider something 250cc or larger, preferably a quality brand like a Yamaha, Piaggio, Vespa, Honda, etc.... They have the power to cruise on the highway, though they'll be running hard if you try to push to much beyond 55MPH zones. Realistically, 55MPH highways commonly have traffic flow at 60-70MPH. You could get out there on a modified 49cc 4T and run it wide open at 40-50MPH, but it's a whole different experience than it is on a scoot meant for any roads. Here's my 150 on the highway, getting passed by everything. I took it out there many times for 10-20 miles at a time, but I never enjoyed it. To me, the 150 served basically the same purpose as the modified 49ccs... but the modified two-strokes were faster than it. If you want scooter comfort, Honda PCX or Yamaha Aerox or T-Max. I'd put the Suzuki Burgman or Yamaha Majesty in there for comfort. I don't find my TMAX to be terribly comfortable... but then I like to ride all day without any real breaks. I'm 6'2 or so and I just can't shift around my seating or feet on it to help me stay comfy, and it's not plush like the typical maxi-scoot. It's more of a sport scoot than a touring scoot, though it can certainly handle touring if your butt can deal with the seat that long. I rode it 2 days in a row for something like 16-18 hours total and I was hurting after that worse than riding around my modded 50. It's a lot of fun on turns, and it runs pretty strong for a scooter, but comfort isn't it's strong point. Also to be mentioned when we start discussing big scoots are motorcycles. If you don't specifically want a scooter for some reason, then you can get a lot more performance bang for your buck by doing some shifting and giving up the underseat storage.
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Post by ThaiGyro on Oct 20, 2017 2:55:35 GMT -5
Yes! Not all of those available here...but I am only 5'10" and 168 pounds. If I were to vote beyond a hyped 2T...and no budget...I would have a BMW GT650. Comfy/power/handling/storage.
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Post by aeroxbud on Oct 20, 2017 3:17:59 GMT -5
Realistically you want at least a 150. Watching that video Brent posted, and getting passed by 18 wheelers is not my idea of fun.
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Post by RollingThunder on Oct 20, 2017 9:23:51 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the input and ideas. I would love a 2 stroke, but finding one that's not over priced or completely beat is tough around here from what I've seen. I'm going to keep my eyes open for one, though.
It would be easy to just buy a cheap motorcycle, but that really doesn't appeal to me for some reason. I owned a old two stroke 250cc Suzuki enduro, and have ridden many street bikes and never really enjoyed it all that much. I think the same would go for a maxi-scooter. They just don't appeal to me. What does appeal to me is a sleeper that can surprise people but is fairly reliable but is able to be tinkered with.
I also don't really want to spend a few thousand on a toy right now, and that's all a scooter is for me. The summer is short where I live so it's going to sit more than it's going to be ridden.
I live in a very rural area. The closest town is about 15 miles away and has under 10k people. All the back roads around here are 35-45 mph, and there's some state highways that are 55 mph with traffic flowing around 60 mph. I don't enjoy getting passed by people because they tailgate you and take stupid risks trying to pass you since they can't stand driving under the speed limit for a minute or two. If my scooter could cruise around 45 mph, I think I would be happy with it. It would be fun to drive to work, but I start fairly early in the morning and it's a straight 20 mile ride up a state highway. I can get there on side roads, but that would probably add another 10 miles to my commute. There's also lots of deer and people who are rushing to get to work so I think I would be better off not using it to commute.
If I were to look for a two stroke scooter, are certain years and models better than others? Is there a model that would give me more seat room? I would assume models from the Japanese and Taiwan companies would be better bets. Knowing my luck, I would probably find something that is odd and replacement and performance parts would be hard to find.
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Post by pinkscoot on Oct 20, 2017 9:28:28 GMT -5
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Post by RollingThunder on Oct 20, 2017 9:39:59 GMT -5
That's a great site. I don't have any problem driving 4+ hours to get what I'm looking for, but it's hard to justify when a lot of sellers aren't very honest.
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Post by pinkscoot on Oct 20, 2017 9:47:36 GMT -5
My current daily rider is a 2003 Aprilia Scarabeo 150 that I saw on the Aprilia forum that the PO was giving away. He was 4 hours away and I have to say I was skeptical. O had visions on ending p in his basement chained up. But we emailed back and forth and I felt it was worth the risk. It was great find and $120 worth of parts and a few days of work and cleaning and it was worth it. Just keep an eye on crags list and expand your range and you'll find something.
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Post by culcune on Oct 20, 2017 9:51:30 GMT -5
As far as two-strokes go, I am biased towards TGB scooters, but that is because I personally know the US importer/distributor. A goal is to move to Las Vegas and start a side business renting TGBs due to the common sense 50cc scooter laws. But I am getting off topic. I ride a '04 TGB 151cc Delivery scooter which I bought with super low miles for $1100 bucks and have put over 16,000 miles in the past 2 years year-round, daily commuting and more recently, using it for my side gig of working as an independent contractor courier (local company providing services ala Postmates, Doordash, UberEats, Grubhub, etc. I commute at 55 to 60 mph daily, and some of my deliveries are at the same speeds. TGB is a Taiwanese company, so have not had any issues with fit or finish, but the 151cc bikes are not imported, so you would only find used ones. As far as Chinese 150cc scooters go, most have decent to very reliable engines, but things tend to fall off in the fit and finish department (ie heat shields on the exhaust). They will easily run at 45 mph to faster, and are well worth the sub-$1000 price in my opinion in spite of quality shortcomings. Again, their quality shortcomings are generally NOT in the engine department. There are a few brands that offer higher quality bikes, but their prices generally reflect it (ie $1500+ for a 150cc vs. $899)so you could probably avoid those. As you stated you have a limited riding season, I am guessing any shortcomings of a sub-$1000 scooter will not rear their ugly heads, making a $1500 Znen probably not worth the extra cost. I would tend to start with Taotao as the one brand that has paid attention to quality, combined with bargain prices. Boom! (Baodiao) are in the same 'league' as Taotao pricewise, but I would be more hesitant with those. Disclaimer--my friends at Excalibur Motorsports who import the TGB 2-strokes have also dealt wholesale/retail in Chinese motorsports, and have a good relationship with the people at Taotao's Southern California warehouse, so I would be purchasing my Taotao through them, and know I could get warranty parts if needed which is partly the reason I mention Taotao, but I do know from a wide-range of members on different Chinese-oriented motorsports groups, including this one, that Taotao has upped its quality with their scooters and ATVs, so I have no qualms suggesting them (of course taking the 'Chinese' and expected lower quality into account vs. other brands' offerings).
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