(PT. 1) How bad is the most hated scooter on the internet? Living with at Tao Tao
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- In my experience working as a technician in independent motorcycle shops I worked on everything from CVO Harley Davidsons to Honda CT90s. But there was one bike that always stood out with exceptionally poor quality. The Tao Tao 50cc GY6 (139QMB) scooter. And now I'm going to put this scooter to the test and find out if they really are little money pits, or if the issues with the bike are a result of the people who buy these kinds of scooters.
So I purchased a Tao Tao "Pony" ATM 50 and my plan is to make it my main means of transportation for 6 months. Yes from June 1st to January 1st this little scooter is going to be my daily driver. I'll be logging all of the miles, issues and expenses of keeping this scooter running in a log. Doing this will allow me to present a true cost of ownership at the end of this experiment.
The Tao Tao Pony 50 is based on the generic GY6 139QMB platform. They were sold under many different "Brand" names like Wolf, Bintelli, Fly, Rocketa, MotoBravo and Dongfang just to name a few. You may be riding one and not even know it!
Follow my experiment in real time! Here is a link to my Tao Tao log/Health Report!
docs.google.co...
If you need to replace your sparkplug use the NGK CR7HSA: scooter911.com...
If you want to keep up with this project between videos be sure to follow me on social media!
Instagram: / garretseesingofficial
Twitter: @SeesingGarret
Facebook: garretseesingofficial
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The hardest thing about working on a Tao Tao in my experience is dealing with the people who own them. Typically because they ride them into the ground and then wonder why the bike is broken. When the repair bill is half of what the thing cost new, well you can guess what the conversation is like.
It will go the distance with proper upkeep! That said, Garret you're a brave man to ride it on the streets of Austin! Haha!
I dare you to ride it up to Waco to see the shop. :P
Hahaha challenge accepted! I did just ride it to Georgetown so I wasn't too far off
I bought my Lance Venice 150cc gy6 scooter for 100 dollars because the owner dint want to "fix" it. All it needed was a new starter solenoid and a better chassis ground to keep the battery charging every ride. That's it. Took me 3 hours to diagnose, repair and assemble everything that was wrong with it including a full tune up.
Joshua Z Where do you get a Lance Venice 150cc Scooter from
Bought a GY6 "Wolf" scooter for $100. PO "Couldn't get it to run." Of course it was a nice lime green, but he painted it solid black with the shittiest, cheapest black spraypaint I have EVER seen. The dollar tree wouldn't sell this garbage.
Cleaned the jet and replaced the CDI + stator for like $30? Scoot runs perfectly fine now.
So many people buy scooters and bikes alike then do exactly as you say - run them into the ground then bitch about them not working. It really is a phenomena, but I guess their loss is our gain? I don't know.
Every time the subject comes up on reddit all of the users, that of course have never EVER owned a chinese 2 wheeled vehicle, are quick to talk shit and dismiss these little machines, when in reality they are often fine. I just recommend that the potential owners research to make sure they can get parts and to let it rip. If you can afford a $500 scooter, but not a $3000 honda scooter why would I recommend the $3000 one to you?
Agreed! Ive put a lot of miles on taotaos and only had one real failure which was my fault (new filter, knew it was super lean and thought i could get to work before rejetting) it cost $80 and an afternoon to fix.. if you’ve got the slightest bit of mechanical inclination, these things can rock!
I was the r+l driver who delivered the scooter..just trying to keep up with the ride and journey
Dude! Thanks for checking in!
I see one of these on a big truck for riding on off time all over the country. Maybe on the catwalk.
Now that's follow up!!!😂👍
🔥 📛 👨🚒
The biggest problem with ALL scooters imported from China is, the quality (or lack of) of the parts and materials used.
If you live in China and buy a scooter locally, you can be assured that it will last for many years because they use the highest grade parts and materials available. However, the scooters they export are much lower quality. I read a report a few years ago, about a customer that purchased a new Chinese made scooter and didn't even make if off of the lot before the rear axle broke in half. When they pulled it apart to inspect it, they found that the axle was completely rusted through. They also found rust on the frame UNDER the paint!
I've owned one for 4 years straight now. At its original engine it fell apart due to lack of oil (my own fault). At around 35 000 kilometers (convert it, i'm bad at it). Bought a "new" engine with 1200 km's driven for 40$ and replaced it with a friend in half an hour. Since then i did more than 10 000kms with it. Hard and long drives wheather it was -7 celsius outside or +40 in summer here in Croatia. Last week was on a roadtrip with it and drove it for 3 hours straight without stopping. Did 181 kilometers in one direction. Only bad thing about it is the bad quality of the replacement belt. If you spend and extra 20$ on a malossi belt it will hold on for a year and a half (last one lasted that long)
From my opinion and 4 year ownership i can tell you one thing - wouldn't sell it for nothing. Best scooter ever. Just fill the fuel and go whereever you want to. And for the service, every 1000 kilometers i change the oil and every now and then i change some broken zipties that hold it together. Those who say bad things about it never owned one or never took a bit of care for them.
Anyway i will never give up on mine, and even if it breaks down on me (it probably won't) i can replace the whole engine for 40$ and keep on driving it for the next 40000 kms
I absolutely love it :)
I own a 2019 Tao Tao ATM 50cc Pony. (white) I've had it 7 months...change the spark plug, oil and adjust idle to specs, gear oil and it runs pretty darn good. top speed 28-35 (light head wind) downhill it hits 40 to 50 MPH. keep brakes adjusted to specs....decent transportation. PLUS DO NOT over tighten screws n bolts, the metal is soft and its easy to strip threads.
LOL what do they think is going to be like they're buying a cheap scooter and most of them don't even modify it out they
think they can just buy a cheap $700 scooter and not put money into it I just
saw your comment sorry for the late reply on it I normally watch this video a lot cuz I own me a TaoTao 2013 what is
my main vehicle for now I might get me a go-kart next time by my homeboy one Coleman go kart are there pretty good might get me one too but anyways I pretty much swiped out everything put t
he biggest Bore Kit that you can possibly get for a 50CC and 93 CC from Rolling wrench Denver and I'm still modded it out and it's not finished yet I'm going to
put a nitrous can on it these bikes aren't as bad as people say or claim is just people want to buy a cheap
bike and don't want to do what they have to do to make it better than the more expensive bikes if you take out all the crappy cheap parts out of it it would be reliable you can expect to keep buying
cheap parts for it is a cheap scooter and think it's going to last that's ridiculous
I see a Top-Gear scooter challenge in your future.
Bring it on!!!!!!
Yea let's do it :)@@Scooter_911
I ride Urals, it would be rude to point out the problems of others whilst living in a glass house...
JamesAllmond
They should have called them urinals.......
Urals are comical. If you can find one from the 60s or one made in the Soviet era. they are much better and the ones than were manufactured after 1991.
Look for a Dnepr K750. They are much better built than new Urals
Is motorcycle, drives. What more you want?
Also, My first scooter, a variant of the taotao lived to 14,500km, with a bore kit installed at 7,200km, 13 year old me took very good care of it, I changed the oil every 500 miles and set the valves every 2k, and gear oil every 3-5k, I was also very intense about making sure the bike was jetted correctly. I think yours has the potential to go even further as i bought mine at 7,000 km in very neglected shape and because the bore kits are known to strain the crankshaft quite badly.
Bull shit you can get a new one and it doesn't go 30 mph and if you have to take it up hill top speed kills you at 25 maph and you ass holed from behind
I expected my 49cc peace scooter to fall apart fast but it kept going - despite needing 1 drive belt, 1 cdi, 1 headlight socket, 1 new sparkplug, a couple of light bulbs (front and rear), 2 batteries and 2 rear tires it has make it to 14,074 miles. I do change the oil and rear end fluid every 1000 miles. And I am a big and fat person but it still enjoys going 38 to 42 mph despite all the plastics cracking and falling apart. And I have never done a valve adjustment. Had a oil leak at 5000 and added some goo from a dollar store to the motor oil and now no dripping. Go figure...
I too have a Peace Sport 50cc .. I picked it up in 2006.. Has about 49,000 miles on it... It's not 50cc no more upgraded everything on the engine to the electronics..Now it's 94.6 cc .... it's my baby .. hah.. Goes about 55-60mph at full throttle.. Hell of alot easier now to merge into traffic anywhere..
@@ethicswheels1 49,000 miles is incredible. How much have you spent on parts?
A friend of mine got a 2016 tao tao 50 for free recently. It only had 100mi on the clock! The original owner gave up on it when it wouldn't idle. Cleaned the pilot jet and away we go! The plastics on this thing are so cheap, but it's fundementally not bad - at least for now. Does over 30 pretty easily.
I wish you luck on this challenge! Also make sure not to get it stolen!
I currently have a Tao Tao Evo 50 (and is currently my only mode of transportation), bought it from my local dealer for $1,100 on August 2019. This was also my first Tao Tao scooter, as I was dealing with Peace Sports scooters for a while. From my experience within the first 1,700 miles I've don so far, I haven't faced any catastrophic failures (yet), the only thing that happened to me so far was getting caught in pouring rain and water ended up in my air intake and carburetor, which caused my scooter to act funny. 2 days after I went to do my daily routines and ended up having to walk it home because my scooter didn't start up and when I tried to kick start it, the crank piece chipped on me and I barely used it! Had to spend $80 on a whole new assembly! On top of that, I accidentally tipped over my scooter and my throttle broke off, had to spend another $80 fixing my issues! Other than that, no other problems yet! I keep up with matinence and take care of my scooter.
Also, I do notice that after all the years that I've owned Chinese scooters, is what usually wares out first is the light bulbs, regulator, and battery. My scooters tend to rust quickly since I unfortunately don't have a garage to keep it in, and some other parts do tend to ware out quickly due to being outside all the time constantly exposed to the elements.
And now that you mention it, you're right about the tires lasting longer than the engine, but I think it depends on the rider. I had to replace a tire on one of my scooters due to a flat, and the engines can last forever if you take care of it and not do any modifications. Oh and let's not forget the brakes! I never had to replace any break pads in my life!
I had a 50cc tao tao 2019 made alot of money postmating on it got rained on and stuff but kept up with the maintenance myself. Had no problems. Had 6800 miles before i traded it for a 2020 vip tao tao a few weeks ago. Take care of the scooter it will take care of you.
I been driving one everyday for 4 years and been working on it myself and I’ve got 50,000 on mine so I think it’s user error. It’s a piece of shit but it’s got me there
WOW! THATS INCREDIBLE!!!
Really appreciate your video series , the level of detail is fantastic. Learned a ton!
Thanks for watching!
You poor boy. We have had two of these come to our shop in the last year or so. All with problems around 2500 to 3000km on the clock. And thats assuming the clock is correct. Back in March we got a phone call from someone asking if we could fix the one they have. I suggested to them, they should contact someone else as I don't feel right taking money and repairing something that will have another issue in few weeks. Well we did hear from them again in May asking if we would give any trade in if they were to buy a new one from us. he said he had checked around and the most he was offered was 50 Euros. I told him I won't buy it back as I won't resell it. He did eventually buy a Yamaha and sold Tao Tao off as scrap.
I have owned a few of these over the years. the last one I purchased used was a 2018 with 100 miles on it. I sold it this month for the same money as I paid. I put 9200 miles on it in the year I owned it. I replaced the rear tire, carb, variator and weights, drive belt a few times & headlight bulb. I changed the oil about every 1000 to 1200 miles and I had to adjust the valves once. I only ran 91 octane fuel in it. Now that it had 9300 miles on it I figure it was time to sell before it declines. I purchased a new TGB scooter to replace it. TGB scooters are a world above tao tao's . With a tao tao pony you can expect to replace the odometer cable, rear tires, carb, headlight bulbs, variator, variator weights and drive belts. One good thing is parts for these bikes are easy to find and cheap.
Tao Tao should pay attention to this comment from a bike tech, regarding Chinese scooters:
"I have never seen a tire outlast a motor"
That is a stunning comment, to someone who has worn out many tires on a '79 Motobecane Moby and later on many motorcycles over the years.
My son got 11k out his first Pony 50. Had to replace the carburetor, rear tire, two belts, kick start gear, electric starter and multiple headlight bulbs. Muffler welds broke around 5k, Entire exhaust broke off around 8k. Changing oil every 1k miles was only regular maintenance. Finally died of bad variator and clutch. Not worth fixing by then. He replaced with a 2019 Pony 50 and it has been THE biggest pile of crap. Bad carb, electrical issues of every kind and breaking belts left and right. Just sitting and collecting dirt now.
This exact same bike was being sold on eBay out of Texas back in 2010, $650 shipped. I bought one. Front disc brake locked up very earlier on, later the exhaust did fall off.
I bought myself a Puch zip 50cc 2 stroke for €400 with 9900 miles and I've put a total of 14000 on there in in the last three years without any maintenance at all. I'm only servicing it now because of all those miles. If you really want a cheap scooter I'd recommended a second hand from anything other than a Chinese brand. Although I don't know how many people ride scooters in America but here in Holland there are thousands of them available second hand.
My roommate is trying to keep up with my Genuine Roughhouse... by buying his cousins Tao Tao 50.. thats a pile of parts and in VERY bad shape. I kept telling him to scrap it and just buy a new one but he strongly believes it's worth it. So I'll let him waste his money on it.
There is a night and day difference between those 2 scoots. Like a massive difference.
Tou know where to send him when it breaks down....
There are so so so many tao tao here in Hawaii... they are falling apart and get very bad sun damage... poor quality ... what you are doing in this video... that's awesome idea!!!
Wow thats high praise from a fellow scoot-tuber! I love your channel!
I just can´t stop laughing. Great idea, but you´re in for a challenge, mate. Repairing almost every vehicle from China is usually uncomfortable to say the least. Good luck, you´re gonna need it!
Really looking forward to watching this series. Great work man!!
My wife has a 150cc the exhaust fell off around 500 miles,headlights burn out 1200 miles,fork barings dried out at 1500 miles. Changed carb at 1600 miles. Just cheap easy to fix Little stuff.
I've owned a 150cc Gy6 Chinese scooter for about 5 months now and I love it. The biggest regret I have with It is that i weigh almost 300 pounds so subsequently I'm keeping it from reaching 60mph, that and the front brake is kind of weak. Tuning and shimming the variator is an absolute must if you want more power out of it.
These aren't even bad scooters. It's bad owners. If you just take care of it and address the breakdowns right when they happen, it will last forever really. I've had mine going on 3 years at this point and the only things I've ever had to do was minor repairs like lights, oil changes, belt replacement, battery replacement and a carburetor. But the carburetor was my fault I was new to vehicles and put a whole bottle of gas treatment in my tank.
Mine has 6000km on it and I have been through one set of tires. I had to adjust the valves when I got it so it would start consistently, but other than that I have done nothing to my TaoTao 50cc that my wife bought 7 or so years ago. She bought it to gain experience and confidence and quit riding it when she moved to a bigger displacement bike after a year. So it became mine and I have been having fun one gallon at a time ever since. In 6000km it has never stranded me. The speedo is off by 30% and if you get up to 45mph going downhill you definitely feel like you are going to die. It is still my favorite grocery getter. Even loaded up with bags of groceries and dog food that little champ keeps on moving, albeit very slowly!
The factory carbs suck because you can't get the bowl off it ain't worth the time to take the bowl of and it seems after a month something in the bowl where the overflow tube is gives out and it steadily let's gas run out so the carb can't regulate the gas filling the bowl so when you get one new might as well buy an after market carb with set screws in the bowl
speaking from experience, may i suggest de-restricting it right from the get go.....remove the spacer ring from the variator....remove restrictor cone from from exhaust headpipe....raise main jet needle up one notch.
I have a TaoTao I bought for 625 dollars couple years back. Still works so I'm happy with it. If it breaks I don't mind it I did buy it for 625 dollars.
I just got given one of these little things and its so funny that you are starting this project. My plan is to get it up and running again and trouble shoot it. Perfect timing. Thanks for all the great videos and advice!
Thanks a million for this video.I just bought 1 a month ago.A real Nightmare!!mn 750 miles it won't start. Battery keeps draining 😩.
Just two days ago exactly on 1500 miles the muffler completely fell down! Can't wait to hear your experience
Thanks again.
We're going to find out here soon!
you're a smart investor. you make us subscribe to you to follow you're story. i respect it
I had one of those when I was 15. That moped was legit the best one I ever had. Mine was running hot but found the restriction in the intake and it started to run fine. Never really did any service on it and ran strong like 8000km then I put a 52mm bigbore with a 24mm carb on the original crank. Did about 2000km more then sold it. Still works to this day and I sold it 2 years ago. Only thing that broke was the plastic they just fell off. And it would not fit back together, just ran it naked after that
I have one and they're good for what they are, I ride mine to work over 30 mins away, and for the most part, it's done fine. Now I did put a big bore kit on mine, so it's a tad faster lol. But change the oil, run good fuel, and don't beat the crap out of it and it'll last alot longer
i am getting a Tao Tao 50. so glad to watch your video and learn some of the things that can go wrong and possibly how to fix them. also saw on the Tao Tao Log you have resurrected the pony. hope you do another video on it soon!
Can't say much about the rest of the scooter but the engine, the GY6, is an incredibly reliable engine in my experience.
They generally go at least 10.000 miles before having to be rebuilt even if services poorly.
If services well they go upwards of 20/30.000 miles before requiring a rebuild.
The cheap carburetors often used on them are a source of trouble though...
Every one I've seen uses genuine Japanese carbs out of the box however the replacement carbs on ebay and Amazon are china carbs go figure right
I've only had larger scooters (Honda Helix 250, Burgman 650, currently: Majesty YP400) because you can ride them on freeways (as well as streets). I think they give you more flexibility and save lots of money. I think 50cc (or 49cc) scooters are dangerous on city streets because of lack of speed and poor brakes, so I predict that you'll have a unforeseen accidental event (a crash) at about 4000KM. It will be low-speed and you will only be injured slightly, so no problem there. Remember to wear a helmet, gloves, sturdy shoes, and a sturdy jacket at a bare minimum!
All the gear all the time my friend!
My Tao Tao pony I had was 7 years old when I got it badly abused. After some maintenance like new fuel pump filter carb and starter. I kept up with oil changes and gear oil changes it ran great for about 4400km. It would probably be running great today if it hadn't been stolen. I replaced it with an icebear Aldo 150cc brand new and have put more money and time fixing this one then I did the taotao that was 7 years old at the time. I love taotao.
awesome dude! I love how you go over everything and hit all the key points when checking out a good scooter. I heard these are trash so I got an Kymco but Im very curious to see what will happen when you actually take care of those cheap ones. good luck! Ill def stay tuned
Excellent timing! I'm considering getting one of these after getting my driver's license. Right now, this scooter is at the top of my list! This way, I can get an idea how it runs before buying!
June 1 to January 1 is seven months, not six. Bonus month for extra torture! Nominate the "OWNER' SMANUAL" for a Pulitzer prize.
I can always count on you for an honest fact check!
must you to go Chinglish --- lol
i have SMC NAF - originally 50cc air cooled chinese scooter being minarelli copy. i put in 70cc kit with carb and exhaust and i've been driving it to the ground for 3 years without a single issue. I changed tires but only because they were old. This little thing is super reliable and says everyone who owns one.
I have 2017 Yamaha Zuma 125 and now has 4650 miles on it , only 2 things needed replacement so far is the tires and a spark plug.
"I'll make notes like 'was it really hot outside?'" Sounds like you'll be filling up that log book sooner than later.
Hahah I'm already on page 2!
Had one of these approx 14 Years ago. Here is my prediction what will happen before 4k Miles:
- Carburetor draws water either from its bad housing or unsealed tank.
- E-choke fails.
- Speedometer not showing speed because of broken cable to the wheel.
- Gasmeter showing incorrect values because of bad swimmer-chamber.
- Horn not working.
- Electr. Starter gears sometimes hang and spin free (I'll bet my kidneys on that).
- Variomatic Belt snaps before scheduled maintenance.
The engine, valves, generator, exhaust, brakes, wheels, lights however were pretty solid in my 4 Years of ownership. I believe the chinese scooters CAN be quite reliable if you keep them away from moisture/rain and replacing crucial parts before scheduled maintenance or even right after buying the scooter. If I'd buy a new one, I'd immediatly replace with quality parts:
- Carburetor from NARAKU.
- SparkPlug from NGK or Bosch.
- Gasfilter from MANN.
- Belt which is not from china.
Good luck!
Hey Garret, I've been riding a ATM50A1 since January of this year. It has been my only transportation, as I've encountered financial problems. Though I am not a motor technician, I do have ample experience in electrical engineering. I've been keeping this scoot upright for a good while now, and I have some (chaotic and uneducated, but useful) tips and tricks concerning it. You may already know some of these, but bear with me.
1. I turned the idle all the way up and choked the airflow, this allows it to climb hills and accelerate easier. I can't adjust F/A mix because the screw is capped. If you take the choke out of the stock airbox and duct-tape one of the four holes on the intake tube instead, it works better.
2. Please, Please, Please only burn supreme in this thing. Anything else will clog fuel lines and cut acceleration in half.
3. It's not a question of if the headlights will go, it's when. Definitely pick up some strong LEDs as soon as possible.
4. Occasionally, it will start but then bog out immediately after giving throttle. Taking the airbox cover off and giving it the carb clean treatment while accelerating for WAY too long will fix this.
5. There's a very good chance your electric start gear will strip itself clean very soon. Pick up an extra just in case.
6. The slip-ring that holds the crank case on needs to be replaced with a better one immediately after being removed. I know it sounds stupid, but the stock one is just a one-trip ticket.
7. The liquid in the oil tank from the factory is NOT OIL.
8. The stock speedometer is always five clicks short. If it says 30, it means 25, etc etc...
9. The stock fuel gauge takes a minute to warm up. If it says it's at half, drive it for 5 mins and it will be right.
10. Trying to modify the height of the carb needle without drilling out the F/A mix cap is absolutely futile. I heavily suggest it to be the first thing you do to the carb, because it lessens many woes.
If you did read this whole essay, I hope at least one of these will serve you well, and happy riding!
love the write up! I am having some issues with my mopedand you seem extremley knowledgable!
it will only idle with starting fluid andwhen i give gas it bogs down.
I am not too experienced and I am trying to do the work myself.
Could it be the valves? I changed out the fuel filter and the air box already! I havent drilled out the F/a mix cap yet but I think this could help.
Any suggestions? Any help is appreciated!
GY6❤️
Tao Tao is not the most hated scooter on the net! I've owned one for 6 years and she always starts right up! Fun to drive, too and only cost me 700.00 new. I'm 70 and retired and I could not afford 3000 dollars for the name brand one.
i used to have this model of scooter in The Netherlands, i actually had 2 even. pretty reliable, and quite easy to fix when something would be wrong. but i think I had never had troubles with it.
one of them I replaced the engine and backwheel for a 70cc kit.. and it still worked fine.
used to have each for at least 6months.
services and maintenance on the sidewalk at home
bought them for 150 each (second hand)
sold them for over 250 each after driving.
max km's on the clock:
- first one over 19xxx km's
- second one sold at 9500km
Maybe i was lucky, but i kinda like these?
Not scooter related - but I got a memory rush from seeing your Pinto. A 1971 Pinto was the first (and only) new car that I have ever bought. It had the German 2.0 liter 4. Loved that car.
Thank you for all that you do. I remember when I was in highschool and tried to daily one of these but didn't really have the know how and money to keep it going. I currently ride a gy6 150cc. Maybe after the 50 you try a 150 I have seen bald tires on some of the ones I've come across. Maybe the owners are just more responsible or maybe the motors are just more understressed. Anyway good luck on the challenge. I'll be out here riding mine on the west coast hopefully until January (it just got a new motor at around 4k but the old one isn't super worn out just exhaust manifold stud and a difficult to reach gasket. it has a bbk in it's future)
I put 7k miles on my 2019 gator 150cc so far starting to leak oil from front of engine but runs strong as ever . Hope to get 20k out of the stock engine ** maybe cause i change oil every 500 miles has made the engine live so long
I'm in!! This should be interesting.
How about having an oil analysis after each change? Then you'll (we) have a real indication of engine wear and what is wearing the most.
This will be interesting.
oh dang thats a cool idea. any idea where i can send the oil off to or what that would cost?
I'm about to do this type of adventure in Yuma AZ on a BMS Chelsea 150cc that has 8 miles on it. It's a little Chinese thing as well. It was bought last year by a friend of mine and has only been run monthly around the block. This whole series and your other repair series is super helpful. I'm going to have spare parts and tools that will help before I even have to do the first maintenance on it. I'm expecting to replace everything systematically and I'm excited to do it myself. If nothing else,to learn how.Only ever worked on cars and trucks before. This will be a fun mode of transportation and a fun hobby.. I know this is years late,but thank you.
If you want something to ruin your day a bad boss pays better than a Tao tao .
As a Former Owner of this Bike. I must stop the Madness. Because everyone says negative things. At the end of the day DON'T MESS WITH ANYTHING. It will do what you need it to do without acting like some backyard mechanic. Just change the oil belts and carburetors out AS RECOMMENDED and make sure to use the CORRECT GAS and GAS TREATMENT such as Sea Foam or B-12 To keep the Carburetor and Gas Lines as clean as Possible. As far as what my guy said in this video about TIRES lasting longer than the ENGINE... Well let me put it this way. My 50cc Tao Tao Scooter had 10K Miles on it before I was rear ended by some idiot. I changed the front and rear tires out. And it started easily ran like a CHAMP!!! And EVEN AFTER being rear ended at 50mph IT STILL CRUNK UP 😂 I miss my Lil Buddy
Great idea! Will be watching your experiences.
First mode of transport I ever got. At the recommendation of the shop I had fuel and vacuum lines swapped out, cdi replaced, and the crappy battery and spark plug too.
Of course seeing how I was desperate enough to buy an ATM 50 these were done in short spans of time due to money but I feel it helped give that Chinese bike a decent life span. I got my money's worth and if you do basic upkeep it will run fine. One thing that drove me mad was the wiring issues though... Too many times having headlights and tail lights fry on me
When the muffler fails, please upgrade. Preferably mod it. Like what we would do. Try to get better performance out of it. Better tone or something. In fact, tweak it every time you get the chance. On my vehicles when a part fails I upgrade and or mod it. I need a good cheap scooter or something.
Thats kind-of what I was thinking. If something fails I'd replace it with something better. But I don't think I'll do performance mods until then
EDIT: Mine has done over 10k miles.
It has many names in my country. Comes both as 2 and 4 stroke. Usually very reliable..... until it breaks xD
Trust me, mine just blew an engine. Thankfully, parts are cheap :D (and second-hand engines)
Giantco Sprint 139QMB (discontinued)
VGA (Longjia) Digita (2 stroke version) discontinued))
Baotian Speedy (discontinued)
Texas Flash X30 (still being made)
40536 miles and im having start issues in cold never had valve adjustment and even worse in nyc Noone knows what's to do even Chinese can't do it sad we need u in nyc asap
One last thing.. important data to keep track of carburetor set up jet size! If your running stock jet ir not... Plus average temperature and elevation of your area.. no air/fule screw in stock carb unless you drill out plug there is a screw under plug.
Good point!
I am living with a Buddy 125. I am going to check my drive belt. One guy on RUclips shows how to remove and replace the belt with his bare hands. I need to replace my starter one way clutch. It doesn’t hold. I am looking forward to the series!! My speedo is off quite a bit. Thank u for your great content.
I'm excited for you I actually own a TaoTao and I wish your video would have been out by the time I had bought it but it's not that far is only a year old I just finished watching your first video the reason why I'm really excited because my TaoTao is starting to give you some trouble every time I'm putting gas and I hope to see you that once you cut off to that point I wonder what the trouble is or what I can do to fix it I love your channel thanks
I used to own one before I had my motorcycle license... Took great care of it and drove almost 40000km (25000miles) in Europe without major issues... I think the bad reputation comes from the owners...
Hmmmmm. Gigging musician? Would love to know more about that. Any content of yours related to that buddy? Thanks again for all you do!
Well here's a taste of one of my bands playing on a local TV show
And the buddy in the background is actually the star of several scooter 911 episodes. Mirrors, stator, diag no start, diag charging system
@@Scooter_911 Is he a "genuine buddy?" I know, I'm an idiot. Am I missing something. Seems like you sent a video of you in a band? I wanna see!!!
How often will you be giving us an update? Can you give us a weekly update? Maybe not an update by itself, unless there was an issue, but maybe add a quick update to any scooter related you might post? Also, if anything breaks and you have to fix it, I hope you do a video on the diagnoses and fix. Thank you!!
You were very thorough in your assembly of that thing. I'll bet its a good scooter for you. I spend a lot of time in China and SE Asia. They are very good scooters over there. Not the best, but very good.
In my experience Taiwanese scooters are a good compromise, Tao-Tao generally will run good if you aren't afraid to hold a wrench, but paying that 300 dollars does mean alot in the long-run IMO
I agree completely! And something a lot of people don't realize is that the "Japanese" scooters are also made in Taiwan. Just look at the vin tag on your yamaha zuma 125 or Honda pcx!
@@Scooter_911 I'm looking into saving my money to buy a for-fun scooter, Kymco Super 9, Water cooled, Minarelli, 2 stroke, what more could a guy want?
My friend is the US distributor for TGB scooters. I rode the Joe's Pizza (Hollywood, L.A. locations) delivery TGB scooter for 7 or 8 months and that thing only required making sure the 2-stroke oil was filled up enough.
I watch reviews on mountain bikes a lot an motorcycles all they do is ride them just a little I like this cause you are to do a long term review
From my experience of Chinese scooters in the UK first thing to go will be Speedo cable and or drive for it ! But mainly putting right other people's repairs.... Nice to see how one looked after correctly from day one will do .
I have one 2 years old. It does not bother me but I've definitely spend hours repairing it. It goes with the territory.. if you want a tao tao expect to work on it often and know how to do it
Just noticed the tags on the Pinto....3DR BBQ
Best ever.
Bet you get comments and laughs at every stop light.
Hahah it goes more un noticed than you would guess
A master tech youtuber with VW collectibles and 50cc motorcycles. . . . are we the same person???
i did everything replaced the exhaust bought new variator and new sliders for it. new alternator. pretty much invested another $400 to make it run better and faster. i could only make it go up to 47mph but eventually it broke down . the only good thing to it was that i was able to get my M1 here in california. now i ride a big cruiser bike. and scraped this thing and threw it away
Nice work!
I’m excited to see what happens
I tried a almost new one out for a quick turnaround and the taillight fell out from a slight pothole, from a person who owned me money,we had to be even,sadly.
Carb issues at 1000 miles
I have a 2017 Tao Tao, it has 10,000 on it and going strong! Like any machine, as long as you properly maintain them, they will last!
I have a Hercules SR50 Samba, got it cheap from a guy who just had it sitting in a garage for years, had to replace the battery, sparkplug, lightbulbs and tires, it runs like a dream and gets up to speed pretty good. only problem im having is that oil is leaking into the crankshaft housing because of an worn out rubber sealring, and cuz of that it wont start sometimes if i let it sit for 2 months or so, then i have to pump the oil out which has collected over time. gotta do something bout that soon. Much love from Germany !
I think a lot of the problems do come from people who don't know how shoddy the assembly is and expect everything to be tight.
I relied on one of these for a year, didn’t ride anything else.. if you understand that you’ll need to do some work and know where to find the info, they can be great! Pretty much every bad review I’ve seen is from something who either expected honda quality or can’t turn a wrench.
Take decent care of it and it should do fine! You’ll also wanna replace the headlight off the bat.
11 miles. Had to replace the starter. You get what you pay for.
I had a 2 stroke Suzuki put 37,600. kilo, wore it out, Had a Saga was terrible fell apart , hated it , now have a Honda Jazz, just not like a 2 stroke, this is 4 but runs great, I m 80 years old and use it all the time,
Awesome video and challenge. Very calculated and very well thought out. Nice job
I foresee small issues like loose bolts, maybe an electrical issue but I think if you follow the maintenance and upkeep you won’t have a major problem.
I’m not saying they are built with hand assembled precision but look at what some of these people do or drive these rides. What mechanical device doesn’t self destruct when you are popping wheelies, the rider weighs 400 Pounds, or you are driving it 70mph when it’s made to go 35-40 tops? Are the scooters capable of that? Sure but will it last if you do that...probably not. Throw in poor quality control, cheap materials, and no maintenance and it’s a recipe for a mechanics wet dream and early retirement 😂
Had a couple of these tao taos. For the constant level of maintenance they require and ability to break down whenever they feel like it, they should perform above and beyond.
Tldr; save up a few bucks more and buy used Japanese or European scoot you can spend more time riding rather than fixing. You'll go faster too.
rewatching this series just to make a list of tools I need to service a scooter like a pro
This is hilarious! Can't wait to follow along! 🤩
Thanks! it should be exciting!
You need to build a little trailer (and hitch) to haul your gear... though with Covid19 I am not sure where you are playing out?
This should be a fun one. One observation, though. I don't think you should be attempting to haul around any big loads either directly or on a trailer. That, to me, wouldn't really constitute what the average owner would be using it for as I would see this more for the light commuter that may carry a laptop bag, or a sack or two of groceries.
Just started following you on Instagram.
Thanks for the input!
In France we have the chance to have the MBK Booster (Yamaha bws). We love overating this thing. It's THE respect machine to have as a teenager.
“ I have never seen a tire out last a motor “ .. just let that sink in
Where is the part 2 video ?
Coming soon! Hopefully saturday!
I have an old Roketa scooter (2006) and other than the belt and clutch stuff , I have never had real issues.... I don't run it hard and I am all about the fluid changes... It still goes although I don't think I EVER got the right replacement belt... I can't seem to find dependable information regarding this... Good luck and I will be viewing your progress with interest...
I bought one April 12. It broke down after two months with only 1500 kilometers. In the shop now.
One was given to me, body was shot so ripped off anything not essential to run and stop it. Got 48 mph out of it with the muffler cut off and a little carb tuning. It now resides in Mexico with the new owner.
Hm, i have an exactly same Kymco Filly scooter from 2005. bought it for 220€ and that thing has God knows how many kilometers but still runs well. in fact, those Taotao are Kymco clones.
so, i think its the manufacturing quality more than the design being bad. i think you will make it, and from what i've seen, not everyone hates them. in fact, guys who are mechanically inclined do not say these are pure rubbish, and that says something. so i predict you will succeed.
IMO you would do good to do some "preventive actions"; to tighten and check everything, install better fuel lines and new CDI. but that's it, really. anyways, good luck!
I have a 2003 kymco super 9 jetted and full exhaust. On my channel I ride it all the time has like 13km on it all stock piston.
I have both, Filly and chinese Baotian. Only engines are allmost same and what they look from distance. Filly is smaller and fuel tank is under floor panel. Electrics are different.
Chinese properties Chinese kick starter is weak because bigger gear have not full number of tooths (Filly`s it have!) and when engine kick back, smaller broke. If you still use it, variator cover crack. Don`t release lever in low position. Wire harness broke somewhere inside and some thing not work. Variator eat belts if rear end is bad. First sign is soot inside of cover. Front wheel bearings take dird very easely. Body panels crack easely. Spesial problem occur sometimes: Carbon resedue from piston stuck in valve and compression pressure disappear. Need not any repair, only turn until it start. 5000 mile is very good result with that.
For maintenance: Carburetor rubbers and bakelite insulator broken if tightened too hard.
U have a 2012 tao tao pony and it has 380672 kilometers and all original parts and it still pushing to this day only had small problems like carburetor needing cleaned or tubes falling off but it still has all original parts love the scooter
You should also use AGPS device to test the accuracy of the speedometer based on my experience from when I owned one of those scooters I was saying a 23% and accuracy on the speedometer 4 km per hour and a 26% or 27% inaccuracy in the speedometer in miles per hour and it read high not low and that is primarily due to the fact that mainly in the US these bikes have a tenant tire but they only have one speedometer assembly set up from the factory in that is for the 12" tire which does explain why the speedometer is so horribly inaccurate I can tell you that 50 miles an hour indicated on that speedometer is truly 37 Wells and our real world speed but you should double check this and test it yourself and supposedly they do so a kit to help correct for the 10" tire instead of the 12" tire is far is the speedometer accuracy.
wow thats an excellent suggestion! I'll definitely do that!