Scientific Methods Applied To Scooter Performance And Repair

[90GTVert]

The scientific method is a way to perform experiments and search for cause and effect relationships. It can be used to separate fact from fiction and I feel it should be employed in scooter tuning, modification and repair. There is no shortage of fiction or falsehoods in advertising, especially when dealing with performance parts. A great number of manufacturers, retailers and advertisers are willing to exaggerate and even fabricate information to sell their products. Using scientific methods we can sort out some of the gold from the garbage and make more educated decisions on where we spend our money or devote our efforts.

So, what is the scientific method? A quick search will show you multiple variations of the scientific method, but here's a rundown of the basic steps somewhat adapted for our purposes. I will also provide a hypothetical example of the method being applied to an issue along the way.

Observe and ask a question or identify a problem.

What do you want to find out? What do you want to prove or disprove? What is the problem? What do you want to accomplish? Example: You observe that your scooter is slower than you prefer. It only reaches 35MPH on flat roads. You ask, "how can I make the scooter go faster?".

Do research.

Search for information about the question or problem that you are faced with. Internet searches, service manuals, books, whatever you can find that provides some sort of information on the topic at hand. Example : You do an internet search with the terms "how can I make my scooter faster". You browse the results and find a great number of advertisements and claims from sellers and users of various potential solutions at varying price points. You also pose your question to an online forum such as this one for input from others that may have experience in this area.

Create a hypothesis.

Come up with an educated guess as to what will solve the problem or provide the desired result. Example : You evaluated the results of your research. You decide that the information you've found suggests that a "performance" CDI will cause your scooter to go faster and it fits within your budget. Your hypothesis is that a "performance" CDI will increase your scooter's speed on flat roads.

Perform an experiment.

Test your hypothesis with an experiment that is fair and unbiased to the best of your ability and resources. This is often limited largely by the amount of time, effort, or money that is practical for you to invest. Change only one thing at a time. If multiple variables are introduced at once you cannot prove or disprove the effect of any single variable, but rather you only know the results of the combination of variables. For greater accuracy the experiment may be repeated. Example : You buy the CDI that you hypothesize will increase your speed on flat ground. You leave your scooter as it is and come up with a test to determine it's current top speed on flat ground and record it accurately. You then install the "performance" CDI and repeat the test you just did in the same conditions and record the results in the same manner. You repeat test with each CDI to provide more data.

Analyze data from the experiment and form a conclusion.

Review all of the data and observations recorded during the experiment. Use the facts to determine if your hypothesis is true or false. Example : On the tests of the stock CDI the scooter reached 34MPH and 35MPH on flat ground. On the tests with the "performance" CDI the scooter reached 36MPH each time. You conclude that your hypothesis is true. The "performance" CDI did increase your scooter's speed on flat roads.

Report your results.

Share your results and the information about your experiment with others. Sharing information benefits the community and in some cases may lead to farther proof of your hypothesis or show the need for additional experimentation and fine tuning of the idea. Example : You post your findings on the forum. Someone else reports that the same CDI did not increase the speed of their scooter on flat roads. If the data is there to support their claim you may wish to re-test. If your conclusion is indeed true, it should be repeatable. Perhaps your new hypothesis is that the "performance" CDI increases flat road speed on your make and model but not all scooters. This may lead to farther experimentation by you or others.

You don't necessarily have to wear a white lab coat and adhere to the method exactly, but I think that the general thought process is great for determining a variety of results. It encourages you to think through problems or to think about claims. It reminds us that data means more than opinion. Just because someone's friend says that something worked for them, that doesn't mean it did. Sometimes we want something to work so bad that we believe it does without supporting results. I believe this is often true of performance parts. We want to go faster so bad that we are willing to believe what we're told without evidence. We convince ourselves that it does work to the point that just installing the part may have some sort of placebo effect. We may believe that it works even without any proof of major change, but simply because we "feel" it works if not employing these methods.