Project TaoTao : ATM50-A1 Four-Stroke Experiences & Upgrades
Dec 16, 2014 20:00:46 GMT -5
2strokd, 190mech, and 2 more like this
Post by 90GTVert on Dec 16, 2014 20:00:46 GMT -5
Here are some Chinese plastics updates. Some of it has been done for a while, but I never posted it.
First up, the headlight has annoyed me for over 3,000 miles. I'm not sure if it's a problem for everyone or just taller riders, but I can see the top of the headlight housing. The bright light annoyed me at night and I thought I may be able to see better if my eyes weren't adjusting it. I masked off the whole front fairing and headlight assembly other than a small strip at the top of the headlight.
Then I painted it gloss black so it wouldn't be obvious.
I've enjoyed riding at night without the bright light shining up at me. I also put the 65W Silverstar H4 bulb back in. If you remember probably a year ago I tried it and liked the light output, but when sitting still in the garage for testing it started melting plastic. I've never been too sure that it would actually melt plastics in real world riding for me, and at this point my plastics are all getting rough. If it did melt the housing or plastics around it I wouldn't be upset about it, so it was worth a shot. The H4 has been in there for maybe 200 miles without issue in temps from about 30 to 60 degrees day and night. Maybe it would be different at 90+ in the summer sun and stuck in traffic, but so far so good for my fall rides in the country or small towns. This is really the only headlight I've ever used in the TaoTao that I'm totally satisfied with as far as night vision.
You've seen some pics along the way, but the handle bar cover is about trash at this point. Held together with Gorilla tape, screw mounts broken, clips in rough shape... not good, but still working well enough that I haven't done anything about it yet.
Some time ago I stiffened up the front forks with more fluid and said I had a bad knocking on some bumps. It turns out that was just multiple pieces of jacked up body work. The aforementioned handlebar cover was part of it. Another piece that made noise on bumps was the front running lamp, because the mount was broken. I removed it.
Then one night I was riding and heard something start rubbing the front tire, so I pulled over. The front fender had broken at both mounts and was falling off. Later, I removed the whole front fender rather than pay to replace it or try to repair it.
I also found that the tail/brake light lens was missing a mounting tab and cracked on one side. It could bounce around on bumps and make noise too.
A replacement was about $40-50 shipped when I looked quickly online. I didn't have the cash for it at the time so I rode around with it taped so it didn't move around for a while.
I finally got tired enough of it last week to spend a little cash on a replacement of some sort. I didn't just want another stock piece that would likely break again in a couple of thousand miles, so I decided to build a rear panel sort of like I have on my stripped down Triton.
I bought a sheet of 3/16" aluminum, 2 oval LED trailer tail/brake lights, and 2 sets of LED turn signals for $70 altogether.
I have been very pleased with the LED trailer light on my Triton. It's bright and the grommet mounting isolates it from vibration so it has not suffered the same fate as most other lighting I've tried on that scoot. I almost went with the exact same 56 LED light from superbrightleds.com, but decided to look on eBay and amazon before ordering. The 56LED light, plus grommet and connecter, with shipping would have been about $27. I found a set of 2 of these 10 LED tail/brake lights that included 2 grommets and 2 connectors for $26.99 on eBay and when I looked around they got good reviews. I didn't need 2, but I can always use a spare since 2 of my scoots would be using the same style of lights. I compared the newer, cheaper, 10 LED lights to the 56 LED I have had in T2. The 56LED has a little bit of an edge, but they are both really bright and hard to look directly at when on brake/bright. I'd buy 'em again.
The turn signals are the same style I have on T2 as well. Again they've held up for a long time for me and are pretty bright. I bought 2 sets, just in case I get tired of the front end or to have as spares. Couldn't pass it up at $10/set on eBay. They have plastic studs molded into the back, so they are easy to mount. I have had a couple break over time, but I applied double-sided tape and kept right on using them.
Old assembly removed.
I also removed the bracket that held the tail/brake/turn lights. It also allows the rear rack to be mounted, but I never use it. This still left me with 2 8mm studs to mount a panel to. If anyone removes this for some reason, make sure you put bolts and washers back that go through the gas tank's mount to keep it secure.
I made up a cardboard template to figure out where I wanted everything and then traced it all onto the aluminum.
I used a 2 1/2" bi-metal holesaw to take out each end of the tail light grommet cutout, then finished the opening with a jigsaw. In case it's of use, the total width is 6 3/4". Should be 2.5-2.625" tall.
Very roughly cut out with a 20 year old jigsaw that doesn't like to cooperate.
Quick mock-up before I quit on it. The panel is still in need of a lot of filing and sanding. Haven't done much beyond rough cutout at this point.
During the mock-up I realized the panel can't sit out far enough as-is. The studs on the rear of the scoot are not long enough to space it out, so I will have to work with the mount some.
I know it's not a sleek or cool looking panel, but all I want is something that is bright and that will hold up.
First up, the headlight has annoyed me for over 3,000 miles. I'm not sure if it's a problem for everyone or just taller riders, but I can see the top of the headlight housing. The bright light annoyed me at night and I thought I may be able to see better if my eyes weren't adjusting it. I masked off the whole front fairing and headlight assembly other than a small strip at the top of the headlight.
Then I painted it gloss black so it wouldn't be obvious.
I've enjoyed riding at night without the bright light shining up at me. I also put the 65W Silverstar H4 bulb back in. If you remember probably a year ago I tried it and liked the light output, but when sitting still in the garage for testing it started melting plastic. I've never been too sure that it would actually melt plastics in real world riding for me, and at this point my plastics are all getting rough. If it did melt the housing or plastics around it I wouldn't be upset about it, so it was worth a shot. The H4 has been in there for maybe 200 miles without issue in temps from about 30 to 60 degrees day and night. Maybe it would be different at 90+ in the summer sun and stuck in traffic, but so far so good for my fall rides in the country or small towns. This is really the only headlight I've ever used in the TaoTao that I'm totally satisfied with as far as night vision.
You've seen some pics along the way, but the handle bar cover is about trash at this point. Held together with Gorilla tape, screw mounts broken, clips in rough shape... not good, but still working well enough that I haven't done anything about it yet.
Some time ago I stiffened up the front forks with more fluid and said I had a bad knocking on some bumps. It turns out that was just multiple pieces of jacked up body work. The aforementioned handlebar cover was part of it. Another piece that made noise on bumps was the front running lamp, because the mount was broken. I removed it.
Then one night I was riding and heard something start rubbing the front tire, so I pulled over. The front fender had broken at both mounts and was falling off. Later, I removed the whole front fender rather than pay to replace it or try to repair it.
I also found that the tail/brake light lens was missing a mounting tab and cracked on one side. It could bounce around on bumps and make noise too.
A replacement was about $40-50 shipped when I looked quickly online. I didn't have the cash for it at the time so I rode around with it taped so it didn't move around for a while.
I finally got tired enough of it last week to spend a little cash on a replacement of some sort. I didn't just want another stock piece that would likely break again in a couple of thousand miles, so I decided to build a rear panel sort of like I have on my stripped down Triton.
I bought a sheet of 3/16" aluminum, 2 oval LED trailer tail/brake lights, and 2 sets of LED turn signals for $70 altogether.
I have been very pleased with the LED trailer light on my Triton. It's bright and the grommet mounting isolates it from vibration so it has not suffered the same fate as most other lighting I've tried on that scoot. I almost went with the exact same 56 LED light from superbrightleds.com, but decided to look on eBay and amazon before ordering. The 56LED light, plus grommet and connecter, with shipping would have been about $27. I found a set of 2 of these 10 LED tail/brake lights that included 2 grommets and 2 connectors for $26.99 on eBay and when I looked around they got good reviews. I didn't need 2, but I can always use a spare since 2 of my scoots would be using the same style of lights. I compared the newer, cheaper, 10 LED lights to the 56 LED I have had in T2. The 56LED has a little bit of an edge, but they are both really bright and hard to look directly at when on brake/bright. I'd buy 'em again.
The turn signals are the same style I have on T2 as well. Again they've held up for a long time for me and are pretty bright. I bought 2 sets, just in case I get tired of the front end or to have as spares. Couldn't pass it up at $10/set on eBay. They have plastic studs molded into the back, so they are easy to mount. I have had a couple break over time, but I applied double-sided tape and kept right on using them.
Old assembly removed.
I also removed the bracket that held the tail/brake/turn lights. It also allows the rear rack to be mounted, but I never use it. This still left me with 2 8mm studs to mount a panel to. If anyone removes this for some reason, make sure you put bolts and washers back that go through the gas tank's mount to keep it secure.
I made up a cardboard template to figure out where I wanted everything and then traced it all onto the aluminum.
I used a 2 1/2" bi-metal holesaw to take out each end of the tail light grommet cutout, then finished the opening with a jigsaw. In case it's of use, the total width is 6 3/4". Should be 2.5-2.625" tall.
Very roughly cut out with a 20 year old jigsaw that doesn't like to cooperate.
Quick mock-up before I quit on it. The panel is still in need of a lot of filing and sanding. Haven't done much beyond rough cutout at this point.
During the mock-up I realized the panel can't sit out far enough as-is. The studs on the rear of the scoot are not long enough to space it out, so I will have to work with the mount some.
I know it's not a sleek or cool looking panel, but all I want is something that is bright and that will hold up.