found a part? any idea what it is?

[seasidehandyman]

hey guys this is my first time here, great site so far! i have a peace motor sports TPGS-811 classic style 50cc 4 stroke scooter....its runs and operates great......the other day i was cleaning it, and i removed a little plastic cover at the front base of the scooter where your feet sit, which reveals the vin#, when i did that, this metal painted part fell out, looks like it was just sitting in there, maybe fell out from up above around the steering or something......it looks to me like some kind of spacer or something....its about as big around as a nickel, has a 3/8" bore through it and it is machined with a concave on one side with a slot machined in it as well, like its supposed to fit against the steering column or something......any ideas? thanks!

[90GTVert]

It's what you think. It's a spacer so something can be bolted to a round tube easily. What exactly it was used for, I'm not sure. Perhaps someone else can tell you for certain, but IIRC some scoots use a similar spacer washer to secure the handlebars. I may be wrong, but if no one else knows for sure I'd check.

[Fox]

Yeah there's a bolt that secures the handlebars to the tube coming up from the forks and there's a washer like that on there sometimes. Sometimes not. I bet a worker dropped it down in there in the factory and just left it in there and used another one on the bars. It's a cheap little washer so it's not worth the time and hassle fishing it out when you have a bin of a thousand of them sitting right beside you.

[seasidehandyman]

yes, thats what i was thinking too......thanks for everyones input.......i have driven it since then and the steering is tight and sound.......i will try and look up in there with a flash light to confirm its secured, but other then that, im not too worried.....thanks again guys

[90GTVert]

You could hold the front wheel between your feet and try to turn the bars. If they turn and the wheel doesn't, it's loose.