To be fair I believe re-jetting is a good idea and within the scope of the series. We already know the Tao Tao has a horrible reputation. Spending a few dollars in order to correct a know issue only makes sense. After all if a person still buys a Tao tao they are either expecting it to blow up or they intend to do a bit of low cost work to hopefully correct any issues. Go forth and re-jet!
I think so, too. That poor thing is running so horribly lean, you can probably go up a few jet sizes up at once. After seeing that spark plug I wouldnt have bothered with the needle or idle adjustment screw at all. You wanted to give it "the best possible fighting chance". Do it! :-)
I think the people hating on this thing definitely miss the point. People with no mechanical know-how or will to learn should definitely steer clear and get a Honda. This things is perfect for people like myself who want a cheap base to mod, improve and tinker with to make it quicker and more reliable. You can get this with an entire bore kit, ignition parts, CVT parts, a better carb and exhaust for a couple grand less than a stock Honda. I also put an oil filter adapter on mine and I run a small splash of 2 stroke oil in every tank for better upper cylinder lubrication. After addressing the usual failure points, it's been great.
I'm ok with rejetting the carb. I know I said to keep the scooter stock in other vids, but safety is paramount. I'd even be ok with doing some basic mods. New air filter, sealing up the airbox etc. Nothing major like an engine swap or changing major components. Great work so far man! I'm loving this series.
This is easily one of my favorite channels. I’ve only watched this series but you are clearly an expert and absolutely excellent teacher. Your production is also very enjoyable. Wow. Well done.
When you said "im smarter than you" in a blooper or something on another vid you were not lying. Your a Professor giving detailed understandable online courses for free. I feel I already am more of a mechanic than any mechanic around where I live after watching your courses. I feel I should get a Degree... Till my next project i get myself into. I appreciate ya brother.
Scooter shop owner here. I recommend everyone that is short on money these days to this man! He definitely knows all the answers before the questions! Well done.
Thank you Garrett... for actually living it & giving us free ASE mechanic diagnosis.. Posers here try to make snide remarks, but we appreciate you guy... i noticed ur watch was almost 1:00 AM.. Thank you... much help & factual, very useful information.... please keep it going. U are appreciatwd my brother...
Rejetting is absolutely fine in my mind as not rejetting is going to turn this test into a guessing game of how long the engine will last. Which would suck. Great vid 👍
Also, I love this series. It’s nice seeing people put an honest attempt in making Chinese bikes last and treat them correctly! Great work man. Hopefully one day I’ll be 1/4th the Bike Mechanic you are!
I have a ”beater” tao tao 50 that i torture to the limit and it burns alot of oil and i just fill up with anything i get by. Ive ran it on power steering fluid, brake fluid, used motor oil from a diesel, lawn mower oil. It just keeps running. Just waiting for it to blow up because i have a brand new engine i will install.
eraldorh No in the crankcase. But a couple of years ago i converted gy6 to run on 100% diesel it ran a lot better than expected with great low rpm power expect hard starting when cold and a lot of exhaust smoke. It ended up blowing up around 2000km later. It wouldn’t run on used motor oil due to the viscosity of the oil. I currently have another taotao that i run on 100% E85. Runs great and seems to be reliable so far but haven’t noticed an increase in power. Starts up better than the “Diesel engine” but it doesn’t like cold temperatures. I don’t think it will start or run right in the winter.
I am enjoying this series so far and it makes me happy that I own a 2012 Kymco Like 200i (163cc) scooter with fuel injection. I have 11000 miles so far and the scoot has been stove bolt reliable doing my own services. Very good videos!
@@SegaDisneyUniverse You dont need to be a "highly experienced mechanic". These things are super easy to maintain. Built so everyone can do it. Anywhere. Even in the middle of nowhere with only a very few tools required. The most crucial thing: Changing the oil literally takes 1 tool (17mm wrench) and literally everyone can do it in 10 minutes. The only problem is: Most people just dont care and give a shat about their scooter.
@@Chris-yy7qc The nut for the oil drainer is 17mm? Thanks, I've been trying to figure out the size! And yeah I know, I was just exaggerating, I've been dealing with Chinese scooters for years now and have some knowledge on how to replace simple stuff, but as far as a brake/tire replacement, odometer replacement and valve adjustments I need assistance from local mechanics as I don't exactly have many tools to do a of that myself. (And mind you certain tools aren't exactly cheap) Plus everything I touch breaks! You have to be very delicate with these scooters lol.
I am following these series just for the fun :) Really well put together, and interesting content, with nice explanations. Damn, you almost made more Km's on this thing than I did on my RT ^_^ hahaha P.S. I wish I had access to content like this when I was growing up :) To you lucky youngsters out there, learn :D
I have a gy6 kymco « like » and i find this series really awesome ! I changed the cdi box, the air filter and re-jeted the carburator and it works better than when i purchased it
Absolutely superb video and presentation. I'm not a Tao guy, and very new to scooters in general. So new I've never looked at a CVT other than on my snowmobiles. Currently my main ride is an Adly Jet 50 that I and the old girlfriend abused riding two up for camping trips of a couple hundred miles, packing the gear along too. I've always worked on my own bikes for decades, but if you were my neighbor I'd hand you all my money, that's how good this video was. Edit: The only thing i disagreed on was turning the screw out more than 3 turns. I've been taught that after 3 you need to increase the idle jet size.
Truth to be told, a lot of HD riders would be a lot happier to have a Scooter - and faster. That experiment with the Tao Tao is interesting. I suspect the bad name of the Tao Tao is a combination of cheap engineering, lack of care and owner stupidity!
Having worked at a shop as a general statement ur mostly right. But I've seen caring responsible owners paying constantly for repairs and the complete flip side for instance a kid didn't break in bike beat it up on the beach jumping sand dunes. Ran it out of oil. Crashed it. Still ran. But if they in general just kept with oil changes at proper time prob b ok. The shop closest to my house sets ppl up for failure. Thanks for $ here's the keys bye. No u need to break it in, oil change. Proper fuel. It's a mess
these Chinese engines aren't as bad as they used to be IMO they are almost always clones of inherantly good designs, and the material quality is getting a bit better. look at the GY6 125cc and 150ccs for example Kymco is a great example of this. i own a kymco agility 125 thats stupid reliable and easy to work on, plus parts are cheap and plentiful. If you treat these engines right, they'll last forever. and while kymco is still a "budget" brand (which shows in some of the materials such as cheap plastics, switches, etc), its still nothing to sneeze at, and is very good value for the money! (its actually slightly faster than my yamaha zuma 125cc, which has EFI, 4 valves, and an O2 sensor!)
I have the taotao thunder 50cc and I've had some issues with it but the parts are absolutely cheap and this bike has saved me quite a few times. It just comes down to fixing things and upgrading the parts. I have close to 4,000km. It does take time to break in and you are supposed to change the oil and gear oil more frequently during break in and then every 1,000 km. It's taught me alot about working on bikes and given me confidence to do so and take on projects.
If you oil air filter it will correct the lean running. If your getting really fancy you can weight the filter oil it and then calculate how much filter oil your adding
I'm ok with you being the best scooter owner and rejetting the carb. I want to see if you did/do everything right as a responsible owner that if it fails, it would be because of manufacturer issues/quality vs owner negligence. I want to see the best possible outcome, we already know what happens if you don't take care your sh**.
Man, I'm so glad we don't have to worry about carburators anymore. I remember the pain with my old 50cc scooter and I'm so glad my current motorcycle is injected.
I actually do live with a taotao. Lol. I had no idea when I bought it used with 2205 km. I experienced the breakdowns over the first few months, some due to the prior owner having rust in the tank, and 1 due to cdi or ignition. I'm not sure which, I changed them both. I had learned a lot from other videos, then I found this series. It's awesome. I've caught myself telling you what was wrong before you said it!! I'm now watching youtube taotao videos for fun and not because mine is broken. Thanks man.
Whilst I don't have much interest in the actual scooter, it's your three Ps which keep bringing me back, purpose, presentation, and professionalism... my old RK could do with a bit more of that.
loved these updates, I road a lance 150 gy6 bike for 7000 miles and did a bunch of the stuff your doing, first thing i did was a new carb with larger body and larger jets, cvt weights and clutch springs for 2000 rpm engagement and jb welded a small magnet to the screen oil filter. just kinda required to keep up with traffic and not blow it up. keep up the interesting and awesome content you provide.
Rejet it 😭😭 I love Tao Products. Yes, the Pony is the bottom of their quality barrel, but if you treat them right they last! I have a TaoTao TBR7 Dual Sport Motorcycle in North Carolina. It is a phenomenal motorcycle.
I bought a 2020 taotao thunder. Replaced the carburator, cdi, sparkplug and oils and I'm really happy with it sofar I would like to get it tuned but it does 40-45 on a flat.
I don't have a problem with you re-jeting the carb. I think it is still in the parameters of your initial objective. I always look forward to your videos.
I agree with you on the rejetting! I was one to comment on the last video about just adjusting the carburetor. But after you didn't get the right results from doing so you're right in being the best scooter owner you can an give it the best chance of lasting👌🏼 loving the series an look forward to the next video mate
with airbox derestrict it best runs with 90 jet. Sparkplug nice dark brown, not black, runs perfect. Then I installed pod foam/sponge filter to "gain" some more air flow, and 95jet to compensate more airflow. Sparkplug pitch black, but no carbon buildup after +/-100km. So i wirebrushed all the black off, and stepped down back to 90, sparkplug nice dark brown, as it should be. Then I wanted to do no filter/cleaner test f'ed up valves and cylinder got all scratched. So I upgraded to 50mm diameter big bore kit(82 actual ccs according to maths, sold as '100bbk'), big valve big port head, and still sparkplug tuning showed me, that it runs best with 90 jets. Very interesting results for me. Also it was sputtering and (i thought) ignition cutting mid-full throttle. So i ported intake manifold and its plastic gasket/spacer to the head port like cone-shaped extension/port match. And all that half throttle-full throttle sputering is gone. I thing it had to do something with big 90degree angle between tiny hole of a intake and big port. Like vaccum, turbolence, air inconsistencies and tumble effect, like semi trucks with rectangular trailers get bad aerodynamics. Also my exhaust is big rebar/slegde hammer straight through baffle removed. Cheers, mine looks exactly like yours, but blue one.Btw the look sick in my opinion. No problems over two years of riding, except from my own mistake running no filter. Also gonna try double, maybe tripple stacked plastic gaskets as a plenum volume incrase and see how it affects it's performance Cheers
Hey, I did the carburetor cleaner straight to the card like you showed and I'll be damned it worked great. I've been learning a lot about my tao tao 50 from your videos, thanks man
This is turning out to be one of my most interesting channels, so a big thankyou for that. I agree with you at 1000 kms, if you were a decent owner you would take the advice of the mechanic and re-jet the carb, so fine with that, but before you give your impressions of life with the scooter at 1000 kms and the running costs including parts bought, should you at least give some consideration on how much your other "commute" options cost, alright the Tao Tao is slower, but it's got to be stupid fuel efficient, also you now have to add the "thinking time" you've gained by the scoot being slower, lol.
@@Scooter_911 Well blinking flip! you've replied, I was a bit worried that you might give up on the thing, and go back to more normal things, and who could blame you?.
hey..i'm really enjoying this video series of yours ...iv'e watched all the videos so far, and your attention to detail is amazing .. i own a Honda CBX 250 and really did not like it very much when i first purchased it last year October ..... but it has really grown on me since then ...i wish i had all the equipment like you do incl camera and stuff ... i would really love to make some videos of my own ....keep up the amazing videos .... [ a viewer from South Africa ]
Wow, so that's why my local scooter mechanics placed tape over my air box!? I seen that when I first bought my scooter and took it off, then wondered why I was going super slow, then when I put it back on I'm able to go faster!? Oh well, I learned to live with it.
I'm at almost 6000 km and staring to do some performance mods. I replaced the carb with one with larger jetting, a pod air filter fitted onto the stock boot to maintain the crankcase vent, better spark plug and plug wire, turbo cooling fan, racing cdi (the cdi doesn't make a whole lot of difference unless some cvt tuning is done) I put a 2" larger shock on to make sharper turns, a performance muffler and running a stock clutch with a performance clutch bell and 7gram roller weights. I'll be putting on a big bore kit and oil cooler eventually. My Tao experience has been ultimately fun and I've had no serious issues. My only issues so far, I had to replace the turn signal relay but other than that just basic stuff like changing bulbs.
YES! A rejet! I think it's also important to tell your viewers that carburetors are subject to elevation changes. So the jet you finally figure out to use will be perfect for the land elevation where you live. Someone in Denver WILL need a different jet versus someone that lives at the beach. You can also have wicked low or high pressure systems mess with the carb tuning if there is enough barometric pressure change. This is why fuel injection works so well, it automatically adjusts the mixture based on barometric changes.
Lots of fun, I'm really enjoying the project! I would probably use some locktite/glue on the headset nut. I'm really appreciating the Piaggio Liberty I spent a lot more on! It has fuel injection, a spin on oil filter, and a 3 year warranty. Keep up the great work!
I may have been riding a thin line between cruising & pushing but #2 GY6 Chinese motors had 20.k on the odometer & that wasn't in kilometers LOL . Bought a brand new Honda PCX scooter 🛵 over $ 4.k ! Took a beating when I sold it , couldn't keep on the road long enough to actually put miles on that🍋.My scooter days are over ( but GY6 Motors are bullet proof) exhaust systems are a throwaways but what due them costs Amazon LOL "Japanese keihin carb " , Magnetic drain plug kit
Feel 50/50 the owner would have rejected or replace Carb with higher quality. some just reject some would figure do better get it a carb with full adjustments.
6:13 when I replaced my air box with one of those pod style filters, the vibration of the engine cracked the rubber gasket and allowed very fine dirt into the engine, and that's all she wrote. I was at 3700 km. Garret, as I am not a mechanic, after the conclusion of your stock test, I think it would be VERY beneficial to myself, and a lot of other people if you would consider going over the so called "performance" parts you can buy on ebay and amazon, and discuss if they will really work, how much performance you could theoretically gain, what issues may arise from installing parts, and lastly a similar long term test with performance upgrades (that you chose) to see the wear effects (if any) on the moped. Also, do you have an affiliate ink for the scooter itself? I have searched and searched on amazon, but I cannot find this scooter at your price, additionally, I would like to support you and your work. You are very informative.
I bought a new carb and instead of using the pod filter I stuck with the air box filter. It actually runs pretty good but I'm sure it could be fine tuned to run better which I'm taking to a shop to have it tuned.
thanks for the update ^.^ 21:22 'the best scooter owner' would probably have done the same thing you did. also; those with lower incomes, and those who would, in theory, use this as their main A-to-B vehicle, would do what they could within their means; which means the small washer would be a cheap adjustment that would be done by even a mediocre owner. 24:54 I don't think I have seen one of those plugs do that before. 28:17 replacement is just a means for improvement :)
I think its a good idea for you to rejet the carb. These are jetted so lean from the factory. It would just self destruct. And that's not being a good scooter owner letting that happen.
On these scooters I agree that rejetting is just part of the maintenance program. On any other bike you would do it to match your altitude as soon as you bought the bike. I know that for years KTM sent a set of jets with the new bike and the dealer, where ever he was in the world, rejetted before the sale at that location. I also think you should add a shim to the needle. No one "buys" a shim. You find a washer in the bottom of the tool box (that's where mine came from) or in the little bottle on the work bench and use that. If necessary you buy a washer at the hardware for eight cents! A responsible owner would do no less.
I can imagine that if you bring the scooter to a good shop and they do a valve adjustment and notice it's running lean, they may disclose that to the costumer and the costumer can then choose to let them rejet accordingly. If you were a good scooter owner and trust the shop, you'd let them rejet it. That's my thoughts on it.
The carb work is all still in the theme of the series though. If it's maintained properly will it last. Proper maintenance includes adjustments which I'd class jetting as.
i had those belts last 20-30k miles and i had them break at 100-200 miles. also keep a eye on the shield that covers the pins on the clutch had them wear through on a tao tao clutch that i put into a jonway because the spring broke on the clutch to it and had the toa toa one laying around because it blew up on me. the used jonway engine ended up taking my tao tao to over 30k miles before i gave it away after buying a honda elite 50
now i understand why they're reported to be so underwhelming - you have to do backflips in order to get it adjusted properly! heck not even the needle is adjustable... and i've forgotten that they come with fuel mix plug. maybe - for science sake - also drill out the fuel mix cap and then adjust the mix to where it's supposed to be, i believe it'd be a more controllable adjustment than a washer on a needle.
My 150cc gy6 motor just ended its life at 8000 miles. Diagnosis; Spun Crankshaft Connecting Rod Bearing, Non salvageable. Not worth rebuilding. Am I upset? A little. It only took one hour to fully remove motor from the bike and another two hours to completely disassemble. Am I definitely buying another gy6 motor for my scooter brand new for 300 bucks? Absolutely. I might even buy the 171cc big bore kit too with a 28mm carb and upgraded valves to protect the kit.
@@davespooney8472 By shells do you mean the connecting rod bearings? I know the piston rod is connected as one complete piece down at the crank but the bearings inside the rod basically broke down into tiny pieces and started allowing the rod to basically knock evertime I gave it gas. I was hoping it was going to be the valves but unfortunately it wasn't. It's not worth rebuilding because of how cheap a brand new short case gy6 is. It's only 300 bucks new. If I can get another 8000 miles out of 300 bucks it's worth the money.
Joshua Z - ah yes that makes sense and for $300 it makes sense to buy new. The crank assembly isn’t great from the factory - if your planning upgrades I’d highly recommend a good crank/bearing upgrade. My Kymco’s crank bearings broke up too, I’m replacing with upgraded parts
in every 139qmb service manual is the opposite,it says, "mixture lean (to losen screw)- mixture too rich( to tighten screw) this can be seen under 1.general informacion-trouble shooting guide no power-cause of trouble.
Maybe that is a translation error. They may be trying to say "if the mixture is too lean: loosen the screw", "if the mixture is too rich: tighten the screw"
I would say, off-hand, that aluminum block machining (cylinder final honing) was done without slave plates, hence the crappy compression. This may well lend detrimental effects to overall combustion. There would be less complete combustion and possibly lend itself to a lean carburation mix, which will show up in drained crankcase oil either noticeable by eye or smell. If there IS a lotta blowby, oiling characteristics will make the overall dependability of the scooter decrease, thereby making the scooter a shitty choice to your everyday dummy.
You could have just did the cost of the parts and used what you had on hand already so long as the matched up (same sizes in the pack ect), to me that would have been in the spirit of the series in a sense. It is sad that I found a "used" (beaten would be a better description) Tao Tao for $900, I basically laughed at the person and showed them the ad on Amazon and offered them $200 because it had issues. I wanted to do a GY6 conversion as it would be better suited for me, basically the 50cc engine would not like me riding it at all 😂.
Check the screw that is used to bleed the carb. Mine fell out BUT b4 it did, it wasn't starting correctly and it ruined the starter (b4 u loose the screw-while driving...) and messes up the carburetor, NEEDING AN ADJUSTMENT. Cus it stalled ALL THE TIME CUS THAT SCREW WAS LOOSE THEN IT COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING ONCE I LOST IT- WHILE DRIVING IT JUST QUIT AND THEN LEAKED GAS. but I found another and a new gasket and it started right up but It needed a tune up
@@Scooter_911 really enjoying the content from here in the UK, so thank you for putting in so much effort! We have these scooters in the UK. They're sold as "Direct Bikes" and are £850. Which is over $1000
Good to hear about the re-jet, I am totally behind that modification! Also, at 1000 km, is that the break-in period over so you can open up the throttle?
I follow a 600 mile oil change interval on my 155cc yamaha scooter because oil is cheap and the lack of oil filter. I think it cost me about $2 per change on discount brand oil, and the bike has been running great since I've had it.
rejeting the carburetor is ok. just don't make it exceed to its limit. In Rpm. Or power that it causes premature wear and tear. the video is great and entertaining.😁👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I brought three brand new taos over the last 10 years and I can tell you right now none of them had a good steering bearing in it not one would stay in place not one
Been a while. Nice to catch up on the scooter series, especially tips on tuning small engines. One idea I had to prevent the mix screw backing out while riding: put a dab of silicone caulk over part of the opening as a temp seal, but just a little near the top of the opening so it is easy to pop out later. I do that on lawnmowers I fool around with. So how's the FI-upgraded Toyota? Bet he loves that.
I use nanotechnology mixed with its original parts it runs great and the nanotech allows me to check what's wrong with it at any point of time because it has a diagnostic analyzer
It’s not really a performance modification per say. If you took it to a mechanic I’m pretty sure they’d recommend the same option for repair. I’ve had 2 of these scooters and I’ve always said they’re for people that like to wrench on their own stuff. The parts are cheap and so are they. So it’s a fun and easy way to learn some basic mechanics.
A thing I find desturbing is the fact you mentioned your steering bearing is acting up again. This is something which imho has to work flawlessly for obvious reasons. I have my doubts if I would ever consider buying a scooter which does not steer exact, acts up with the breaking-system or does run that lean. The equivalents in germany you get aren't that much better, I know after short owning a Rex RS 500 and test driving lots of others. Of course one might say: You get what you paid for. But: If it is impossible to build a save to use scooter to the cost, then why not permit sale of this kind of dangerous devices? @Garret Sessing: Keep up the good work and conduct your experiment. I believe in the two years of warrenty you get to pay more money to keep this scooter running than you would have paid for getting and maintaining anoter brands scooter. Please prove me wrong!
To be fair I believe re-jetting is a good idea and within the scope of the series. We already know the Tao Tao has a horrible reputation. Spending a few dollars in order to correct a know issue only makes sense. After all if a person still buys a Tao tao they are either expecting it to blow up or they intend to do a bit of low cost work to hopefully correct any issues. Go forth and re-jet!
I think so, too.
That poor thing is running so horribly lean, you can probably go up a few jet sizes up at once. After seeing that spark plug I wouldnt have bothered with the needle or idle adjustment screw at all.
You wanted to give it "the best possible fighting chance". Do it! :-)
I think the people hating on this thing definitely miss the point. People with no mechanical know-how or will to learn should definitely steer clear and get a Honda. This things is perfect for people like myself who want a cheap base to mod, improve and tinker with to make it quicker and more reliable. You can get this with an entire bore kit, ignition parts, CVT parts, a better carb and exhaust for a couple grand less than a stock Honda. I also put an oil filter adapter on mine and I run a small splash of 2 stroke oil in every tank for better upper cylinder lubrication. After addressing the usual failure points, it's been great.
Woooooo! I don't have a Tao Tao nor would I purchase one, but man, I love this series!
Honestly though.
@Anthony Callahan Wut?
Check out Scootstar, better made, solid warranty.
I'm ok with rejetting the carb. I know I said to keep the scooter stock in other vids, but safety is paramount. I'd even be ok with doing some basic mods. New air filter, sealing up the airbox etc. Nothing major like an engine swap or changing major components. Great work so far man! I'm loving this series.
This is easily one of my favorite channels. I’ve only watched this series but you are clearly an expert and absolutely excellent teacher. Your production is also very enjoyable. Wow. Well done.
Thank you very much!
When you said "im smarter than you" in a blooper or something on another vid you were not lying. Your a Professor giving detailed understandable online courses for free. I feel I already am more of a mechanic than any mechanic around where I live after watching your courses. I feel I should get a Degree... Till my next project i get myself into. I appreciate ya brother.
Scooter shop owner here. I recommend everyone that is short on money these days to this man! He definitely knows all the answers before the questions! Well done.
Thank you Garrett... for actually living it & giving us free ASE mechanic diagnosis..
Posers here try to make snide remarks, but we appreciate you guy... i noticed ur watch was almost 1:00 AM..
Thank you... much help & factual, very useful information.... please keep it going. U are appreciatwd my brother...
Wow thank you for that. And you are very welcome. People like you are the reason I make these videos.
Rejetting is absolutely fine in my mind as not rejetting is going to turn this test into a guessing game of how long the engine will last. Which would suck.
Great vid 👍
In my opinion, properly jetting your carb is proper maintenance, don’t feel bad! Lol
agreed
Also, I love this series. It’s nice seeing people put an honest attempt in making Chinese bikes last and treat them correctly! Great work man. Hopefully one day I’ll be 1/4th the Bike Mechanic you are!
I have a ”beater” tao tao 50 that i torture to the limit and it burns alot of oil and i just fill up with anything i get by. Ive ran it on power steering fluid, brake fluid, used motor oil from a diesel, lawn mower oil. It just keeps running. Just waiting for it to blow up because i have a brand new engine i will install.
Are you saying you use used motor oil for fuel or as engine oil?
eraldorh - a spark plug would have a tough time igniting engine oil.
@@davespooney8472 Indeed but the way he wrote it makes it very confusing.
eraldorh No in the crankcase. But a couple of years ago i converted gy6 to run on 100% diesel it ran a lot better than expected with great low rpm power expect hard starting when cold and a lot of exhaust smoke. It ended up blowing up around 2000km later. It wouldn’t run on used motor oil due to the viscosity of the oil. I currently have another taotao that i run on 100% E85. Runs great and seems to be reliable so far but haven’t noticed an increase in power. Starts up better than the “Diesel engine” but it doesn’t like cold temperatures. I don’t think it will start or run right in the winter.
I am enjoying this series so far and it makes me happy that I own a 2012 Kymco Like 200i (163cc) scooter with fuel injection. I have 11000 miles so far and the scoot has been stove bolt reliable doing my own services. Very good videos!
"Stoichiometry"! - As a chemistry teacher, I love it!
As a science nerd, I love it too!
If every chinese scooter had an owner like this they would last a life time
Unfortunately, not every Chinese scooter owner is a highly experienced mechanic.
@@SegaDisneyUniverse They will be after 6 months of chinese scooter ownership lol
@@UncalBertExcretes True! I became somewhat an expert on repairing my own scooter, as I've been dealing with Chinese scooters for 7 years lol!
@@SegaDisneyUniverse You dont need to be a "highly experienced mechanic". These things are super easy to maintain. Built so everyone can do it. Anywhere. Even in the middle of nowhere with only a very few tools required.
The most crucial thing: Changing the oil literally takes 1 tool (17mm wrench) and literally everyone can do it in 10 minutes.
The only problem is: Most people just dont care and give a shat about their scooter.
@@Chris-yy7qc The nut for the oil drainer is 17mm? Thanks, I've been trying to figure out the size! And yeah I know, I was just exaggerating, I've been dealing with Chinese scooters for years now and have some knowledge on how to replace simple stuff, but as far as a brake/tire replacement, odometer replacement and valve adjustments I need assistance from local mechanics as I don't exactly have many tools to do a of that myself. (And mind you certain tools aren't exactly cheap) Plus everything I touch breaks! You have to be very delicate with these scooters lol.
I am following these series just for the fun :) Really well put together, and interesting content, with nice explanations. Damn, you almost made more Km's on this thing than I did on my RT ^_^ hahaha
P.S. I wish I had access to content like this when I was growing up :) To you lucky youngsters out there, learn :D
Thanks for putting this Series together. I'm new to scooters and I'm learning a lot.
Really enjoying the series!! Liked the belt inspection. Need to inspect mine on my Buddy 125
I have a gy6 kymco « like » and i find this series really awesome !
I changed the cdi box, the air filter and re-jeted the carburator and it works better than when i purchased it
Absolutely superb video and presentation. I'm not a Tao guy, and very new to scooters in general. So new I've never looked at a CVT other than on my snowmobiles. Currently my main ride is an Adly Jet 50 that I and the old girlfriend abused riding two up for camping trips of a couple hundred miles, packing the gear along too. I've always worked on my own bikes for decades, but if you were my neighbor I'd hand you all my money, that's how good this video was. Edit: The only thing i disagreed on was turning the screw out more than 3 turns. I've been taught that after 3 you need to increase the idle jet size.
Truth to be told, a lot of HD riders would be a lot happier to have a Scooter - and faster. That experiment with the Tao Tao is interesting. I suspect the bad name of the Tao Tao is a combination of cheap engineering, lack of care and owner stupidity!
Having worked at a shop as a general statement ur mostly right. But I've seen caring responsible owners paying constantly for repairs and the complete flip side for instance a kid didn't break in bike beat it up on the beach jumping sand dunes. Ran it out of oil. Crashed it. Still ran. But if they in general just kept with oil changes at proper time prob b ok. The shop closest to my house sets ppl up for failure. Thanks for $ here's the keys bye. No u need to break it in, oil change. Proper fuel. It's a mess
these Chinese engines aren't as bad as they used to be IMO
they are almost always clones of inherantly good designs, and the material quality is getting a bit better. look at the GY6 125cc and 150ccs for example
Kymco is a great example of this. i own a kymco agility 125 thats stupid reliable and easy to work on, plus parts are cheap and plentiful. If you treat these engines right, they'll last forever. and while kymco is still a "budget" brand (which shows in some of the materials such as cheap plastics, switches, etc), its still nothing to sneeze at, and is very good value for the money! (its actually slightly faster than my yamaha zuma 125cc, which has EFI, 4 valves, and an O2 sensor!)
@@chE3z1 kymco is Taiwanese, not really the same as a chinese scooter. Ive owned chinese and my kymco is like a mix of chinese and japanese quality.
I have the taotao thunder 50cc and I've had some issues with it but the parts are absolutely cheap and this bike has saved me quite a few times. It just comes down to fixing things and upgrading the parts. I have close to 4,000km. It does take time to break in and you are supposed to change the oil and gear oil more frequently during break in and then every 1,000 km. It's taught me alot about working on bikes and given me confidence to do so and take on projects.
If you oil air filter it will correct the lean running. If your getting really fancy you can weight the filter oil it and then calculate how much filter oil your adding
Thank you for re jetting, it is painful to see it run so lean haha.
Awesome video.. when the scooter kicks the bucket you can make a video on installing a big bore kit.. looking forward to the rejet video
Kai Rolla videos takes more time than your commute trips. SHOTS FIRED! 😂
I'm ok with you being the best scooter owner and rejetting the carb. I want to see if you did/do everything right as a responsible owner that if it fails, it would be because of manufacturer issues/quality vs owner negligence. I want to see the best possible outcome, we already know what happens if you don't take care your sh**.
I put magnetic plugs in mine with my first oil change to help catch those shavings.
Living with a Tao Tao. I love that robotic jingle don't ever get rid of it.
Hahaha i don't plan on it!
Great jingle..😎
better then the corolla song?
Man, I'm so glad we don't have to worry about carburators anymore. I remember the pain with my old 50cc scooter and I'm so glad my current motorcycle is injected.
I actually do live with a taotao. Lol. I had no idea when I bought it used with 2205 km. I experienced the breakdowns over the first few months, some due to the prior owner having rust in the tank, and 1 due to cdi or ignition. I'm not sure which, I changed them both. I had learned a lot from other videos, then I found this series. It's awesome. I've caught myself telling you what was wrong before you said it!! I'm now watching youtube taotao videos for fun and not because mine is broken. Thanks man.
Whilst I don't have much interest in the actual scooter, it's your three Ps which keep bringing me back, purpose, presentation, and professionalism... my old RK could do with a bit more of that.
Love the series. Hopefully I will pick up some stuff once I get my licence. Winter in a few months 🥶
loved these updates, I road a lance 150 gy6 bike for 7000 miles and did a bunch of the stuff your doing, first thing i did was a new carb with larger body and larger jets, cvt weights and clutch springs for 2000 rpm engagement and jb welded a small magnet to the screen oil filter. just kinda required to keep up with traffic and not blow it up. keep up the interesting and awesome content you provide.
Rejet it 😭😭 I love Tao Products. Yes, the Pony is the bottom of their quality barrel, but if you treat them right they last! I have a TaoTao TBR7 Dual Sport Motorcycle in North Carolina. It is a phenomenal motorcycle.
I bought a 2020 taotao thunder. Replaced the carburator, cdi, sparkplug and oils and I'm really happy with it sofar I would like to get it tuned but it does 40-45 on a flat.
I don't have a problem with you re-jeting the carb. I think it is still in the parameters of your initial objective. I always look forward to your videos.
I agree with you on the rejetting! I was one to comment on the last video about just adjusting the carburetor.
But after you didn't get the right results from doing so you're right in being the best scooter owner you can an give it the best chance of lasting👌🏼 loving the series an look forward to the next video mate
with airbox derestrict it best runs with 90 jet. Sparkplug nice dark brown, not black, runs perfect.
Then I installed pod foam/sponge filter to "gain" some more air flow, and 95jet to compensate more airflow. Sparkplug pitch black, but no carbon buildup after +/-100km.
So i wirebrushed all the black off, and stepped down back to 90, sparkplug nice dark brown, as it should be.
Then I wanted to do no filter/cleaner test f'ed up valves and cylinder got all scratched.
So I upgraded to 50mm diameter big bore kit(82 actual ccs according to maths, sold as '100bbk'), big valve big port head, and still sparkplug tuning showed me, that it runs best with 90 jets.
Very interesting results for me.
Also it was sputtering and (i thought) ignition cutting mid-full throttle. So i ported intake manifold and its plastic gasket/spacer to the head port like cone-shaped extension/port match. And all that half throttle-full throttle sputering is gone. I thing it had to do something with big 90degree angle between tiny hole of a intake and big port. Like vaccum, turbolence, air inconsistencies and tumble effect, like semi trucks with rectangular trailers get bad aerodynamics.
Also my exhaust is big rebar/slegde hammer straight through baffle removed.
Cheers, mine looks exactly like yours, but blue one.Btw the look sick in my opinion. No problems over two years of riding, except from my own mistake running no filter.
Also gonna try double, maybe tripple stacked plastic gaskets as a plenum volume incrase and see how it affects it's performance
Cheers
I enjoyed this story
Hey, I did the carburetor cleaner straight to the card like you showed and I'll be damned it worked great. I've been learning a lot about my tao tao 50 from your videos, thanks man
This is turning out to be one of my most interesting channels, so a big thankyou for that.
I agree with you at 1000 kms, if you were a decent owner you would take the advice of the mechanic and re-jet the carb, so fine with that, but before you give your impressions of life with the scooter at 1000 kms and the running costs including parts bought, should you at least give some consideration on how much your other "commute" options cost, alright the Tao Tao is slower, but it's got to be stupid fuel efficient, also you now have to add the "thinking time" you've gained by the scoot being slower, lol.
that is an excellent point! I think i'll mention some of that in the 1000 mile review! Thanks!
that is an excellent point! I think i'll mention some of that in the 1000 mile review! Thanks!
@@Scooter_911 Well blinking flip! you've replied, I was a bit worried that you might give up on the thing, and go back to more normal things, and who could blame you?.
@@emiliejade1910 hahaha I dont give up that easily!
hey..i'm really enjoying this video series of yours ...iv'e watched all the videos so far, and your attention to detail is amazing .. i own a Honda CBX 250 and really did not like it very much when i first purchased it last year October ..... but it has really grown on me since then ...i wish i had all the equipment like you do incl camera and stuff ... i would really love to make some videos of my own ....keep up the amazing videos .... [ a viewer from South Africa ]
Re-jet!!! Can’t wait for the next installment!
Can't smash the like button enough... great video and very informative
Wow, so that's why my local scooter mechanics placed tape over my air box!? I seen that when I first bought my scooter and took it off, then wondered why I was going super slow, then when I put it back on I'm able to go faster!? Oh well, I learned to live with it.
I feel so involved in this series, I look forward to it always!
I'm at almost 6000 km and staring to do some performance mods. I replaced the carb with one with larger jetting, a pod air filter fitted onto the stock boot to maintain the crankcase vent, better spark plug and plug wire, turbo cooling fan, racing cdi (the cdi doesn't make a whole lot of difference unless some cvt tuning is done) I put a 2" larger shock on to make sharper turns, a performance muffler and running a stock clutch with a performance clutch bell and 7gram roller weights. I'll be putting on a big bore kit and oil cooler eventually. My Tao experience has been ultimately fun and I've had no serious issues. My only issues so far, I had to replace the turn signal relay but other than that just basic stuff like changing bulbs.
YES! A rejet! I think it's also important to tell your viewers that carburetors are subject to elevation changes. So the jet you finally figure out to use will be perfect for the land elevation where you live. Someone in Denver WILL need a different jet versus someone that lives at the beach. You can also have wicked low or high pressure systems mess with the carb tuning if there is enough barometric pressure change. This is why fuel injection works so well, it automatically adjusts the mixture based on barometric changes.
Bro your videos are so helpful thank you very much, i have learned many things from you in fixing scooters...for me you're the best
Excellent as always.
Lots of fun, I'm really enjoying the project! I would probably use some locktite/glue on the headset nut. I'm really appreciating the Piaggio Liberty I spent a lot more on! It has fuel injection, a spin on oil filter, and a 3 year warranty. Keep up the great work!
I may have been riding a thin line between cruising & pushing but #2 GY6 Chinese motors had 20.k on the odometer & that wasn't in kilometers LOL . Bought a brand new Honda PCX scooter 🛵 over $ 4.k ! Took a beating when I sold it , couldn't keep on the road long enough to actually put miles on that🍋.My scooter days are over ( but GY6 Motors are bullet proof) exhaust systems are a throwaways but what due them costs Amazon LOL "Japanese keihin carb " , Magnetic drain plug kit
Feel 50/50 the owner would have rejected or replace Carb with higher quality. some just reject some would figure do better get it a carb with full adjustments.
6:13 when I replaced my air box with one of those pod style filters, the vibration of the engine cracked the rubber gasket and allowed very fine dirt into the engine, and that's all she wrote. I was at 3700 km. Garret, as I am not a mechanic, after the conclusion of your stock test, I think it would be VERY beneficial to myself, and a lot of other people if you would consider going over the so called "performance" parts you can buy on ebay and amazon, and discuss if they will really work, how much performance you could theoretically gain, what issues may arise from installing parts, and lastly a similar long term test with performance upgrades (that you chose) to see the wear effects (if any) on the moped. Also, do you have an affiliate ink for the scooter itself? I have searched and searched on amazon, but I cannot find this scooter at your price, additionally, I would like to support you and your work. You are very informative.
Yes!!!
I bought a new carb and instead of using the pod filter I stuck with the air box filter. It actually runs pretty good but I'm sure it could be fine tuned to run better which I'm taking to a shop to have it tuned.
Great videos, I would take my bike to you for maintenance if I lived nearby
all i know, im very glad i bought honda GO JAPAN..... great series very informative. lesson learned !!!!!
thanks for the update ^.^ 21:22 'the best scooter owner' would probably have done the same thing you did. also; those with lower incomes, and those who would, in theory, use this as their main A-to-B vehicle, would do what they could within their means; which means the small washer would be a cheap adjustment that would be done by even a mediocre owner.
24:54 I don't think I have seen one of those plugs do that before.
28:17 replacement is just a means for improvement :)
I don't think that re-jetting the carb is unreasonable at all. As you said it's what a normal good owner would do or have done by a shop.
I don't have one of those, but you are intertaining, average riders may not have that much time and energy to deal with
I think its a good idea for you to rejet the carb. These are jetted so lean from the factory. It would just self destruct. And that's not being a good scooter owner letting that happen.
On these scooters I agree that rejetting is just part of the maintenance program. On any other bike you would do it to match your altitude as soon as you bought the bike. I know that for years KTM sent a set of jets with the new bike and the dealer, where ever he was in the world, rejetted before the sale at that location.
I also think you should add a shim to the needle. No one "buys" a shim. You find a washer in the bottom of the tool box (that's where mine came from) or in the little bottle on the work bench and use that. If necessary you buy a washer at the hardware for eight cents!
A responsible owner would do no less.
I can imagine that if you bring the scooter to a good shop and they do a valve adjustment and notice it's running lean, they may disclose that to the costumer and the costumer can then choose to let them rejet accordingly.
If you were a good scooter owner and trust the shop, you'd let them rejet it.
That's my thoughts on it.
The carb work is all still in the theme of the series though. If it's maintained properly will it last.
Proper maintenance includes adjustments which I'd class jetting as.
You should put a freeze frame picture of each wire your talking about. As you start the test for each wire.
Thats a great idea!
i had those belts last 20-30k miles and i had them break at 100-200 miles. also keep a eye on the shield that covers the pins on the clutch had them wear through on a tao tao clutch that i put into a jonway because the spring broke on the clutch to it and had the toa toa one laying around because it blew up on me. the used jonway engine ended up taking my tao tao to over 30k miles before i gave it away after buying a honda elite 50
Loving this series. Keep it up. Would love to see a cheap hyosung or 250 small motorcycle getting the same treatment!
now i understand why they're reported to be so underwhelming - you have to do backflips in order to get it adjusted properly! heck not even the needle is adjustable... and i've forgotten that they come with fuel mix plug.
maybe - for science sake - also drill out the fuel mix cap and then adjust the mix to where it's supposed to be, i believe it'd be a more controllable adjustment than a washer on a needle.
My 150cc gy6 motor just ended its life at 8000 miles. Diagnosis; Spun Crankshaft Connecting Rod Bearing, Non salvageable. Not worth rebuilding. Am I upset? A little. It only took one hour to fully remove motor from the bike and another two hours to completely disassemble. Am I definitely buying another gy6 motor for my scooter brand new for 300 bucks? Absolutely. I might even buy the 171cc big bore kit too with a 28mm carb and upgraded valves to protect the kit.
Hi, these don’t run shells, did it overheat the bearings?
If it’s all in one piece, buy a good crank and build it up.
@@davespooney8472 By shells do you mean the connecting rod bearings? I know the piston rod is connected as one complete piece down at the crank but the bearings inside the rod basically broke down into tiny pieces and started allowing the rod to basically knock evertime I gave it gas. I was hoping it was going to be the valves but unfortunately it wasn't. It's not worth rebuilding because of how cheap a brand new short case gy6 is. It's only 300 bucks new. If I can get another 8000 miles out of 300 bucks it's worth the money.
Joshua Z - ah yes that makes sense and for $300 it makes sense to buy new. The crank assembly isn’t great from the factory - if your planning upgrades I’d highly recommend a good crank/bearing upgrade.
My Kymco’s crank bearings broke up too, I’m replacing with upgraded parts
in every 139qmb service manual is the opposite,it says, "mixture lean (to losen screw)- mixture too rich( to tighten screw) this can be seen under 1.general informacion-trouble shooting guide no power-cause of trouble.
Maybe that is a translation error. They may be trying to say "if the mixture is too lean: loosen the screw", "if the mixture is too rich: tighten the screw"
lovin' this experiment. keep posting updates!
Crocs! I used to live in those things till I got a pair of Croc flip flops. They are soooooo comfortable!
I would say, off-hand, that aluminum block machining (cylinder final honing) was done without slave plates, hence the crappy compression. This may well lend detrimental effects to overall combustion. There would be less complete combustion and possibly lend itself to a lean carburation mix, which will show up in drained crankcase oil either noticeable by eye or smell. If there IS a lotta blowby, oiling characteristics will make the overall dependability of the scooter decrease, thereby making the scooter a shitty choice to your everyday dummy.
I'm addicted to this series. I'll bet it's mostly the owners. I do have two buddy scooters to ride with the wife. 150 for me and a 50 for her.
You could have just did the cost of the parts and used what you had on hand already so long as the matched up (same sizes in the pack ect), to me that would have been in the spirit of the series in a sense. It is sad that I found a "used" (beaten would be a better description) Tao Tao for $900, I basically laughed at the person and showed them the ad on Amazon and offered them $200 because it had issues. I wanted to do a GY6 conversion as it would be better suited for me, basically the 50cc engine would not like me riding it at all 😂.
Check the screw that is used to bleed the carb. Mine fell out BUT b4 it did, it wasn't starting correctly and it ruined the starter (b4 u loose the screw-while driving...) and messes up the carburetor, NEEDING AN ADJUSTMENT. Cus it stalled ALL THE TIME CUS THAT SCREW WAS LOOSE THEN IT COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING ONCE I LOST IT- WHILE DRIVING IT JUST QUIT AND THEN LEAKED GAS. but I found another and a new gasket and it started right up but It needed a tune up
Garret are you doing these updates at 1am? You absolute legend! Thank you for the dedication
Hahah well I certainly can't take a day off work!
@@Scooter_911 really enjoying the content from here in the UK, so thank you for putting in so much effort! We have these scooters in the UK. They're sold as "Direct Bikes" and are £850. Which is over $1000
I like my Minarelli 2stroke. Thanks for sharing.
I have owned a Tao Tao since 2013. No Problems.
Love this series
Good to hear about the re-jet, I am totally behind that modification! Also, at 1000 km, is that the break-in period over so you can open up the throttle?
Unfortunately it is not. The manufacturer specifies a 3000 km break-in
@@Scooter_911 yeesh, talk about an eternity!
I follow a 600 mile oil change interval on my 155cc yamaha scooter because oil is cheap and the lack of oil filter. I think it cost me about $2 per change on discount brand oil, and the bike has been running great since I've had it.
I’d love to see you do this for a 150cc carbd and one of the newer 150cc/ 200 (168cc) efi ones
I find a drill bit that slides in go next size up and hand twist the jet out.
rejeting the carburetor is ok. just don't make it exceed to its limit. In Rpm. Or power that it causes premature wear and tear. the video is great and entertaining.😁👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Littlebit too late but thanks! These settings works for my Kymco Filly 50 4t 2000! Subscribed!
You can adjust the needle clip on mine one its lexmoto scout 49 but its exactly the same bike.
In order to appreciably increase the power by enriching the mixture, we should, somehow utilize spark advance..
Mine came with the same clip, I used needlenose to take it off and move it to where I needed it.
I brought three brand new taos over the last 10 years and I can tell you right now none of them had a good steering bearing in it not one would stay in place not one
Good sign, no soot in variator. If so, it came from belt.
Been a while. Nice to catch up on the scooter series, especially tips on tuning small engines. One idea I had to prevent the mix screw backing out while riding: put a dab of silicone caulk over part of the opening as a temp seal, but just a little near the top of the opening so it is easy to pop out later. I do that on lawnmowers I fool around with.
So how's the FI-upgraded Toyota? Bet he loves that.
I use nanotechnology mixed with its original parts it runs great and the nanotech allows me to check what's wrong with it at any point of time because it has a diagnostic analyzer
It’s not really a performance modification per say. If you took it to a mechanic I’m pretty sure they’d recommend the same option for repair. I’ve had 2 of these scooters and I’ve always said they’re for people that like to wrench on their own stuff. The parts are cheap and so are they. So it’s a fun and easy way to learn some basic mechanics.
Properly jetting is more maintenance then modification if it's for a improper running engine.
Vi again master teacher ....in this video ..u didnt show as ..where u Contact ur avomiter to havet ur reading ....thank u sir .
These engines are the most reliable engine I’ve ever had
Magnetic drain plugs help with the fine particles.
Good Job! Greetings from Italy!
The stock carburetors arpot riveted because the ventures holes are so small you can't clean the carburetors and make them run
A thing I find desturbing is the fact you mentioned your steering bearing is acting up again. This is something which imho has to work flawlessly for obvious reasons. I have my doubts if I would ever consider buying a scooter which does not steer exact, acts up with the breaking-system or does run that lean.
The equivalents in germany you get aren't that much better, I know after short owning a Rex RS 500 and test driving lots of others.
Of course one might say: You get what you paid for. But: If it is impossible to build a save to use scooter to the cost, then why not permit sale of this kind of dangerous devices?
@Garret Sessing: Keep up the good work and conduct your experiment. I believe in the two years of warrenty you get to pay more money to keep this scooter running than you would have paid for getting and maintaining anoter brands scooter. Please prove me wrong!
Is there more video about this it’s really helpful and I was suggesting if there was more or if not can make more
"I would ride 1000 miles, and I would ride 1000 more" :)
This tao tao smacks dude!