New to Scooting

[49cc]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post. I rented a scooter on my last vacation and now I really want to get my own (50cc) because I live in a part of Atlanta that has a lot of slow speed limit roads. The issue I'm having is that I have a $1,500 budget, and I want a scooter that has a European look, but all of the models I'm finding (that seem to be excellent quality) have NO reviews, support, ANYTHING. Seriously, I can't find one review on them sometimes. Take this scooter for example: www.superiorpowersports.com/50cc_gas_scooter_p/zn50sc-f10.htm - It appears to be everything I'm looking for, but the information is sort of lacking. I've had to ask questions to the dealer via email, not much information provided.

With that said, I'm looking for advice on which direction to go. I see that a lot of the Chinese model scooters have TONS of videos on youtube about changing the oils and using loctite. All of the things I know I can do because I have tools and am familiar with working on vehicles, but I just can't stand the look of the Tao scooters and the like models. Do new scooters come with manuals on how to change the oil and such? How about making upgrades, where would I go for this? I'd just like to know, if this were one of you pros buying the scooter that I linked above, walk me through some of the first things you'd do once you got it.

I appreciate the help.

Joseph

[aeroxbud]

Welcome to the forum.

Most of the Chinese scooters use the same basic running gear. It's just the body style that varies. A lot of parts are interchangeable.

Some manuals here. www.49ccscoot.com/manuals/manuals.html

Brent has put together a great guide. It covers assembly and full P.D.I. 49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/8006/chinese-scooter-assembly-pdi

[Zino]

craigslist and facebook would be a place to look for a good deal on a used scooter .
If you keep your eyes open you can find something in good shape with plenty of miles left .
A quality scoot will give you a ton of trouble free miles.

this is a link that will give you some background on various quality brands .
www.motorscooterguide.net/

[90GTVert]

The good news is that you would mostly just need to learn how to remove body panels and some chassis related odds and ends for specific models. The engine/trans assembly is the same or close to the same with most of the current 49cc Chinese scoots. They are mostly 139QMB engines.

If you really want something with specific support, consider going up to a Kymco, Yamaha, Honda, Piaggio, Vespa and the like. Those have detailed owner's and service manuals, videos and articles specific to them, and an actual dealer network.

[49cc]

Thanks for the help everybody.

@brent That is good news, because I've just watched all your videos on the ATM50-A1 just to see what it's like. Wow, that's an extensive process. So the only tools I have are a basic tool set with ratchets/sockets, and a hammer/screw driver set. Could you give me a good estimate on the cost of all the tools if I were to do everything you did in the videos?

[Zino]

A couple 12 packs of beer gets any tools I ever need .

Sockets, allan wrenches ,the right size phillip screw drivers , good torque wrench , oil filter strap wrench for taking apart the trans .
I probably have a 200 bucks in a go bag worth of tools that I could take my scoot down to the frame if needed .

I do like having a variator holding tool it is a specialty scooter tool that allows me to not use a impact driver on the crankshaft.

[49cc]

Feb 29, 2020 18:56:39 GMT -5 Zino said:

A couple 12 packs of beer gets any tools I ever need .

Sockets, allan wrenches ,the right size phillip screw drivers , good torque wrench , oil filter strap wrench for taking apart the trans .
I probably have a 200 bucks in a go bag worth of tools that I could take my scoot down to the frame if needed .

I do like having a variator holding tool it is a specialty scooter tool that allows me to not use a impact driver on the crankshaft.

That helps. If this is the majority of what I need I'm in good shape.

[Zino]

Theses scoots are relatively easy to work on ,

Just take alot of pictures as you take it apart and just try to fix or upgrade one thing at a time .

Alot of people need help because they change too many things at once and cant figure if it is the pipe,carb,he trans which is holding them back

[49cc]

Any recommendations on where to buy a scooter online (other than Amazon)? I am amazed of how many websites I've come across the same model. For instance, the Amigo 50 Scooter Type F10 and TrailMaster 50 Scooter Type Turino 50A look exactly the same, but there's a $100 price difference on SuperiorPowersports.com. I've waiting to hear back, but I'm guessing (based on what you guys have said) that the sole difference is the body styles.

www.superiorpowersports.com/50cc_gas_scooter_p/tm50sc-turino50a.htm
www.superiorpowersports.com/50cc_gas_scooter_p/zn50sc-f10.htm

Most reviews I read on places are bad, but it looks like the people were in a hurry to get their scooter (which I'm not) and upset about the lack of support. I think I can work on it myself, but I at least want the engine valves to be adjusted correctly.

[Zino]

If you want support Start with what dealers kymco,genuine,honda,yamaha,piaggio are within a hour of you and then buy those brands .

A used quality scoot is better than buying something that you have hard time getting support for fixing and parts a lot of shops will not work on chinese scoots .
The tolerances on some of the chines scoots are very suspect you seldom see many with more than 5000 miles on them.

If you are very mechanically inclined then you can do the work your self