TaoTao ATM50-A1: Fork Damage?

[itsbowsertime]

Hello! I recently bought this scooter online and it was shipped to me. After working through all the recommended modifications, we saw that the rear wheel rim was clearly damaged/bent so the rear wheel was misaligned (picture attached). The scooter folks sent me a new wheel and we replaced it so the rear is all set.

Unfortunately, after thinking we were ready to ride, it also became obvious that the front had taken some damage as well. It looks totally misaligned when you look at the scooter head on (see picture)--the handlebars are straight, but you can see that the fork is not symmetric coming out of the mudguard and the wheel looks like it's tilted. It seems like something must have hit the scooter from the side either before or during shipping that caused this damage to both the front and back wheels, as they are misaligned along the same direction.

Does anyone have advice on how to potentially fix the front? It seems like a problem with the fork, and the place I bought the scooter is willing to ship me new parts, but I want to be sure we're diagnosing the issue correctly so I can have them replace the right parts. Also, if the fork assembly does need to be replaced, are there any videos or instructions on how to do this with this scooter?

Thanks for the help!

photos:
rear (fixed!): imgur.com/yi4NsNT
front (need help!): imgur.com/DC7ZhuM

[badpumpkin]

Welcome, congrats on the new scooter. Can you see the top of the forks? Are both front shocks screwed or bolted in equally. You might have to remove more plastic to actually measure.

[90GTVert]

Maybe it's just me, but it looks like the whole scooter is tilted. Both the front and rear pics seems to show that the engine and the front end aren't sitting straight as they normally would. I know you said the wheel was messed up in the rear pic, but to my eyes the engine and scooter angles look a bit off. I would be worried about frame damage. If the frame is twisted or bent, you might as well have them send a whole new scooter unless you want to tear it down to nothing and basically build it from scratch again.

I'm going to move this to general chat so perhaps more will chime in and we can see if it's just me or others see what I've mentioned. I hope I'm just seeing things and you will only need to replace the steering stem. You may have to remove some plastics to get a better look at the front.

[niz76]

Oh man that's how they shipped it to you? I know you said you've already put some time and effort into this scoot but I'd be requesting an exchange! Seriously, I think even a lot of the experienced members here would be hesitant to even ride something like that. These are pretty serious issues...

[gsx600racer]

It sure looks like the rear rim is bent if you look at it in relationship to the gearbox/transmission. As for the front something is messed up.

Like niz76 said, Id would have them pick it up and replace it with another scooter. Iv seen scooters like that but they are used, banged up and on CL.

[Deleted]

Man, just look at the angle of the rear wheel vs the straight edge of the cvt cover line. It looks like someone rode over this scoot with a cement mixer or something. I would ask..and then demand, a total replacement scoot.

Bill

[stoneforth]

I'd check the little mount that mounts the engine to the frame as well as the fork stem. That engine mount is easily twisted.