Post by cooch1000 on Apr 22, 2012 14:44:45 GMT -5
Chinese (GY6) 50cc (TaoTao Atm50-a) Upgrade Story
Thought I would take a few mins to talk about my TaoTao 50cc, the mods I made, and some problems/solutions I encountered to help someone else who might be thinking about or in the process of upgrades for this particular genre of scoot.
I purchased a 2011 TaoTao ATM50-1 from an online dealer, which standardly came in a crate and required some assembly. All went without a hitch. I changed the Chinese plug, fluids, and off I went with rather acceptable results. The stock items included an unrestricted setup (I don't know about the exhaust, but the Variator, CDI and carb seemed unrestricted stock). However, it did come with the EPA'd Carb which didn't allow for air/fuel mixture adjustments.
The first thing I noted was that this STOCK Scoot was FAST! It had great accelleration off the line, and the top speed was appreciable at about 38 mph....maybe 40-42 downhill! I am 5'10", about 180 lbs. So all was great for about the first 600 miles.
After that time, I became interested in upgrading to the 72cc BBK. I shopped around and went with Enviromoto's Stage 4 Kit, which included 9g Roller Weights, the 72cc BBK, a #85 Main Jet and all the seals, etc.
I had a local mechanic install the Kit for me. It also came with the recommended UNI Foam Filter. The bike ran, but I came into some problems.
#1:
After the upgrade, the bike seemed difficult to tune. We drilled out the stock Carb EPA plugs so we could fiddle with the air/fuel mixture. In went the #85 Jet. No matter how we prepared the UNI filter, the TaoTao just didn't seem to like this. We tried spacing, altering the amount of Filter Oil, Eliminating the filter oil altogether....NOTHING seemed to help. The bike bogged and lost all TOP end, even though it took off ok. After several trials, I went back to a brand new STOCK airbox and everything went smoothly again, bike tuned nicely through WOT. I suspect that perhaps the stock exhaust is restricted and without modifying IT, we would not be able to run the UNI filter/intake. So, we didn't. On went the stock airbox.
The final result was a scoot with greatly improved Torque and Top end, but it took a LONG time to get there. I'm in a position now to suspect that the 9g weights in the variator are simply too heavy, so I've ordered an assortment of 3g-9g weights and will try 4g through 7 gram trials to try and maximize the accelleration without sacrificing too much of the top speed. In the end, if I can improve low end the bike will be perfect. The top speed is awesome with the 72cc kit, but its a dog on hills and needs the variator adjusted. I'll also consider adjusting the clutch spring too if needed.
I've ordered a Kevlar belt and will be switching it out with the stock one when the variator weights get changed. I can then keep the stock belt handy on the bike in the future should I have an on-the-road belt mishap.
The bottom line:
The TaoTao 50cc --- 72cc Upgrade is a great Scoot with great stability and power. I recommend a lower roller weight setup. Don't install the 9g weights on this model.
Replace the lines. Replace the fluids and invest in a good belt and plug. I have about 1900 miles on the bike so far and NO problems. I've managed to install a 12v Cig adapter for cell-phone charging which is awesome and handy. Valve adjustments on the TaoTao are easy, and I would be willing to walk someone through the process if need be.
I also replaced the stock carb with a new one WITHOUT the EPA plugs. The size is the same, its simply a better model with meatier parts.
Good luck - Happy scooting! Remember - avoid Intake/Airbox/Filter upgrades on this bike unless you're willing to explore/derestrict or upgrade the exhaust. I have a suspicion that unless you can get all that increased airflow OUT, you'll have tuning troubles.
Cooch Leicester MA 2011 TaoTao ATM50-1 Stock Airbox Stock Carb #88 Main Soon to be Kevlar Belt
Thought I would take a few mins to talk about my TaoTao 50cc, the mods I made, and some problems/solutions I encountered to help someone else who might be thinking about or in the process of upgrades for this particular genre of scoot.
I purchased a 2011 TaoTao ATM50-1 from an online dealer, which standardly came in a crate and required some assembly. All went without a hitch. I changed the Chinese plug, fluids, and off I went with rather acceptable results. The stock items included an unrestricted setup (I don't know about the exhaust, but the Variator, CDI and carb seemed unrestricted stock). However, it did come with the EPA'd Carb which didn't allow for air/fuel mixture adjustments.
The first thing I noted was that this STOCK Scoot was FAST! It had great accelleration off the line, and the top speed was appreciable at about 38 mph....maybe 40-42 downhill! I am 5'10", about 180 lbs. So all was great for about the first 600 miles.
After that time, I became interested in upgrading to the 72cc BBK. I shopped around and went with Enviromoto's Stage 4 Kit, which included 9g Roller Weights, the 72cc BBK, a #85 Main Jet and all the seals, etc.
I had a local mechanic install the Kit for me. It also came with the recommended UNI Foam Filter. The bike ran, but I came into some problems.
#1:
After the upgrade, the bike seemed difficult to tune. We drilled out the stock Carb EPA plugs so we could fiddle with the air/fuel mixture. In went the #85 Jet. No matter how we prepared the UNI filter, the TaoTao just didn't seem to like this. We tried spacing, altering the amount of Filter Oil, Eliminating the filter oil altogether....NOTHING seemed to help. The bike bogged and lost all TOP end, even though it took off ok. After several trials, I went back to a brand new STOCK airbox and everything went smoothly again, bike tuned nicely through WOT. I suspect that perhaps the stock exhaust is restricted and without modifying IT, we would not be able to run the UNI filter/intake. So, we didn't. On went the stock airbox.
The final result was a scoot with greatly improved Torque and Top end, but it took a LONG time to get there. I'm in a position now to suspect that the 9g weights in the variator are simply too heavy, so I've ordered an assortment of 3g-9g weights and will try 4g through 7 gram trials to try and maximize the accelleration without sacrificing too much of the top speed. In the end, if I can improve low end the bike will be perfect. The top speed is awesome with the 72cc kit, but its a dog on hills and needs the variator adjusted. I'll also consider adjusting the clutch spring too if needed.
I've ordered a Kevlar belt and will be switching it out with the stock one when the variator weights get changed. I can then keep the stock belt handy on the bike in the future should I have an on-the-road belt mishap.
The bottom line:
The TaoTao 50cc --- 72cc Upgrade is a great Scoot with great stability and power. I recommend a lower roller weight setup. Don't install the 9g weights on this model.
Replace the lines. Replace the fluids and invest in a good belt and plug. I have about 1900 miles on the bike so far and NO problems. I've managed to install a 12v Cig adapter for cell-phone charging which is awesome and handy. Valve adjustments on the TaoTao are easy, and I would be willing to walk someone through the process if need be.
I also replaced the stock carb with a new one WITHOUT the EPA plugs. The size is the same, its simply a better model with meatier parts.
Good luck - Happy scooting! Remember - avoid Intake/Airbox/Filter upgrades on this bike unless you're willing to explore/derestrict or upgrade the exhaust. I have a suspicion that unless you can get all that increased airflow OUT, you'll have tuning troubles.
Cooch Leicester MA 2011 TaoTao ATM50-1 Stock Airbox Stock Carb #88 Main Soon to be Kevlar Belt
