\\-olf
Scoot Enthusiast
Iowa
Posts: 292
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Post by \\-olf on Dec 23, 2017 12:37:38 GMT -5
 Just rolled over to 6,000  The TaoTao has been running well, the only issue has been the plastic headlight shroud and the other plastic shroud inboard on the handlebars, I bought what was supposed to be the right one for the inboard and it was wrong... wound up having to go to EagleATV which always seems to have the RIGHT parts the first time but high shipping costs, and it fit right. The headlight shroud same story, looked right, wasn't, got another one and it was right but had a small crack in it going to one of the screw holes and the headlight itself was not a good fit in the hole, guess I'm just going to have to get the whole shroud with the headlight assy in it as a unit from EagleATV The plastics they use on these scooters sucks, plastics just don't do well out in the sun and weather, I'm almost tempted to make a mold of a new piece and cast it in something more durable. |
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Post by 90GTVert on Dec 23, 2017 17:57:53 GMT -5
It's been a day short of a year since your last post, so I'm glad to see you posting again. My headlight plastics fell apart too, so I went to naked bars and an LED spot light. The more plastics I can get rid of, the less I'll need to replace later.
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\\-olf
Scoot Enthusiast
Iowa
Posts: 292
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Post by \\-olf on Dec 23, 2017 20:33:32 GMT -5
It's been a day short of a year since your last post, so I'm glad to see you posting again. My headlight plastics fell apart too, so I went to naked bars and an LED spot light. The more plastics I can get rid of, the less I'll need to replace later. Yeah, not much to post about until now. The tree and wiring looks kind of funny without the plastic covers. That plastic is ABS I think, very brittle and easy to crack. |
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Post by viaqua on Dec 25, 2017 18:44:54 GMT -5
Wow 6k that's a lot of miles I hope mine will make that, only has around 2100 now.
Cheap Chinese plastic so it turns yellow fairly quick. I keep an old windbreaker to cover the headlight and speedo when I park it in the sun at work, otherwise its in the garage at home. Still looks new after 2 years.
Cant say so much for the paint job. The clear coat is peeling from the front fairing and the the trunk box, guess next summer I will have to see about having it repainted.
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Post by tortoise2 on Dec 25, 2017 22:37:55 GMT -5
One Amazon review claims 12,000 miles. Interesting how some manage to get substantial longevity out of the 139QMB engine . . while others transform it into a pile of excrement by making "enhancements"! Also interesting is the greggkinney observation about the Znen parts similarity. Znen is typically considered to be mid-tier on the quality scale. Exuberant quote from a Bintelli (JiaJue) dealer . . .
"Because of these higher end parts, it is not uncommon to see a 49cc or 150cc scooter come in with over 20,000 miles on it." |
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\\-olf
Scoot Enthusiast
Iowa
Posts: 292
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Post by \\-olf on Dec 26, 2017 0:34:07 GMT -5
Cant say so much for the paint job. The clear coat is peeling from the front fairing and the the trunk box, guess next summer I will have to see about having it repainted. The clear coat on my plastic started peeling a couple of years ago, so I sanded it and repainted, and clear coated. Yeah 6k on the chinometer is a lot, just think, that's 3,700 miles, or roughly 500 miles further and the distance from Portland Maine to San francisco! all sitting on a littl 49 cc scooter going an average of maybe 30 mph! |
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\\-olf
Scoot Enthusiast
Iowa
Posts: 292
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Post by \\-olf on Dec 26, 2017 0:41:23 GMT -5
One Amazon review claims 12,000 miles. Interesting how some manage to get substantial longevity out of the 139QMB engine . . while others transform it into a pile of excrement by making "enhancements"! Well if I've learned anything over the years with engines it is to keep the oil fresh and changed a lot, don't force the engine with wide open throttles, hard takeoffs, bogging it down etc, and don't exceed it's design capabilities with modifications or enhancements. I've always been against adding on "big bore" kits and "racing" modifications, the larger bore increases stress and pressures and causes more wear faster. I typically add some seafoam to the gas on fillups too, but not the oil. |
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Post by greginisn on Dec 26, 2017 23:04:30 GMT -5
Congrats on your scoot’s longevity. Not to be picky or a piss-ant but I noticed your inst cluster lens is a little yellow and wondered if you or anyone else had tried to polish the lens out & back to clear again using that plastic headlight cover polish / restorer stuff?
Greg
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\\-olf
Scoot Enthusiast
Iowa
Posts: 292
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Post by \\-olf on Dec 28, 2017 1:41:14 GMT -5
Congrats on your scoot’s longevity. Not to be picky or a piss-ant but I noticed your inst cluster lens is a little yellow and wondered if you or anyone else had tried to polish the lens out & back to clear again using that plastic headlight cover polish / restorer stuff? Greg It turned yellow a long time ago and was hard to see thru, so when I repainted the plastics and clear coated it, I found the clear coat on the plastic lens made it immediately clear and readable again, what you do see in the photo includes frost on the lens. I also shot the pic as I remember at night under the porch light when I got home, so it's grainy too. I don't know about polishing the plastic, I tried with WD40 and a very fine scotch pad to see if it would remove what seemed to be a sappy film from the trees, but it didn't help. Being outside 24/7 the sun does a number of the plastic |
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Post by jackrides on Dec 28, 2017 17:40:21 GMT -5
My scoot is approaching 8k miles with no signs of age in the performance area.
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\\-olf
Scoot Enthusiast
Iowa
Posts: 292
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Post by \\-olf on Feb 19, 2018 21:49:09 GMT -5
I'm kind of thinking lately of getting a new ride later this year, same model, mainly because when I think of all the stuff on my 2011 TT50 I've had for 6 years this month that needs "help," it would be cheaper in the long run to get a new one.
One mirror is cracked, the universal windshields get brittle and crack and I can see mine is getting to that point again as I don't have a garage so the scoot sits outside in the weather 24/7 for the last 6 years.
The battery is still the original factory installed battery! I wouldn't expect to get much more life out of that before I need to replace it.
One front shock lost it's oil quite a while ago, the headlight plastic and the other plastic it screws to are both cracked, the headlight one does not properly fit the light and it cracked the day after it was installed, so the headlight is not aimed right any more, a side body plastic panel is also cracked where a screw goes, the bottom plastic pan also cracked where the mounting screws go thru. and with 6 years of age other things will start coming up that will need to be replaced due to age too.
So when I consider a bunch of little things and the costs for the parts from multiple sources plus shipping on each, and the fact a whole new scooter is still around $700, well, it's almost a no-brainer.
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