I recently picked up a Chinese 160cc scooter for $100, because it quit running and the owner tired of trying to get it started. He had a friend work on it, but he had no luck either. I thought it might be an interesting project.
Other than sitting untouched for a couple of years without running, it was in very good condition, with only 250 miles on the speedo. And it was in boxes.
It took me a while to sort it out, but it turned out to be a faulty ECI box, which the earlier mechanic replaced with an incorrect box. I splurged on a new $15 ECI and got it running with just a minor carb clean.
It now starts up instantly and runs like a watch. It's electric-start, water-cooled, electric choke four-stroke with disk brakes front and rear on 16" mags with good tubeless tires. All electronics work, the gauges and signal lights are bright. I haven't verified it, but it's supposed to do 60-65 mph and get 60-70 mpg.
The quality of parts such as the frame, the castings and machine work of the engine, and the overall component parts is pretty high. The carb is Keihin. The plastic body panels are not broken as they are flexible, and fit together perfectly. I was surprised and impressed to find things like shouldered bolts that squish o-rings into recessed castings, just as you'd expect from the high-end guys.
Overall I'm very impressed with this little Chinese scooter. To help troubleshoot this scooter, I bought a $10 multimeter that outperformed in every way my $100+ BluePoint (SnapOn) meter. I completed a moderate house re-model with an assortment of $25-50 Harbor Freight tools, which worked flawlessly. I just watched a Project Farm video today in which he rated the HF Icon torque wrench in the top third of performers, just under SnapOn, SK and Proto.
As much as I appreciate the value this Chinese stuff offers to someone like me (budget minded), we should not underestimate their likley coming worldwide dominance.
Gary
Other than sitting untouched for a couple of years without running, it was in very good condition, with only 250 miles on the speedo. And it was in boxes.
It took me a while to sort it out, but it turned out to be a faulty ECI box, which the earlier mechanic replaced with an incorrect box. I splurged on a new $15 ECI and got it running with just a minor carb clean.
It now starts up instantly and runs like a watch. It's electric-start, water-cooled, electric choke four-stroke with disk brakes front and rear on 16" mags with good tubeless tires. All electronics work, the gauges and signal lights are bright. I haven't verified it, but it's supposed to do 60-65 mph and get 60-70 mpg.
The quality of parts such as the frame, the castings and machine work of the engine, and the overall component parts is pretty high. The carb is Keihin. The plastic body panels are not broken as they are flexible, and fit together perfectly. I was surprised and impressed to find things like shouldered bolts that squish o-rings into recessed castings, just as you'd expect from the high-end guys.
Overall I'm very impressed with this little Chinese scooter. To help troubleshoot this scooter, I bought a $10 multimeter that outperformed in every way my $100+ BluePoint (SnapOn) meter. I completed a moderate house re-model with an assortment of $25-50 Harbor Freight tools, which worked flawlessly. I just watched a Project Farm video today in which he rated the HF Icon torque wrench in the top third of performers, just under SnapOn, SK and Proto.
As much as I appreciate the value this Chinese stuff offers to someone like me (budget minded), we should not underestimate their likley coming worldwide dominance.
Gary