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Post by rubicontx on Apr 8, 2011 8:57:01 GMT -5
The bike was dumped and now has a broken drive belt and will not turn over or even click even with a freshly charged battery although the dash does light up when you turn the key. My fear was an engine seizure from the oil pump issue led to the dumping. The crash bars on this Atlantic with 27,000 miles on it protected the body very well however it has sat over a year without starting. Do I roll the dice that the engine is not toast or walk away like most people already have is the big question. First thing to check is to make sure the kill switch is not on. Also does the EFI light come on when you turn the key? If the kill switch is off, the EFI light should come on for a couple of seconds then turn off. It might also be the side stand switch, the scooter will not start if the side stand is down or if the switch is not working. There is a light on the dash that will light up when the side stand is down. It should turn off when the side stand is tucked back up. The main and secondary ignition relays are up front, hidden behind the knee panel - near the ignition key switch. They will hard to get to without removing some plastic. Not sure about gambling on a dead scooter especially when you dont know if the engine will even turn. Unless the price is really good.
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Post by rubicontx on May 20, 2011 10:54:57 GMT -5
Update on the scooter. Its been running great these past couple of weeks. I am trying to drive it more since the price of gas keeps going up. Lately its been a little overcast so I have to keep an eye on the weather each day. Yesterday they said it would not rain and if we got some rain it would only be some sprinkles. Well they got it wrong! I drove the scoot to work and just the like the day before it was overcast but no rain in the morning. At about 10:00am it started to sprinkle then some heavy rain. No problem I thought, I don't get out till 3:30 it should be dry by then. Well at 3:00 it was still sprinkling on and off. Since I am still working at the IRS in the evenings I decided to leave a little early to avoid the rain. As soon as I get to my scoot it starts to sprinkle. No problem I thought, I can handle this. I put on my TourMaster Jacket and get going. As soon as I get on the road it starts to rain. A steady mid to heavy rain. By this point my pants are getting all wet but the jacket is keeping my upper body dry. Now I do have a set of frog tog pants but they are safely stored at home (nice and dry). The normal 20 minute drive becomes a 45 minute heavy traffic commute. People in Austin are just weird, a little rain and everyone slows down to a crawl. I take the back roads because I35 is totally stopped. Even at these slow speeds I passed a car that had flipped on its roof on someones front yard (not sure how that happened). The drive is not too bad. Besides the heavy traffic the rain was not much of a problem. I had to keep my shield down to avoid water hitting my face. I need to put some rain x on the front of the shield because the water was not clearing as quick as I would like. I got to the IRS office and the whole front side of my pants was soaked, the rear side was all dry. It took an hour for the pants to dry. Lesson learned, always carry your wet weather gear no matter what the weather man says. I did not feel too bad while on the road. I saw two other motorcycle enthusiast on the road with no rain gear at all.
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Post by rockynv on May 20, 2011 22:34:19 GMT -5
The bike was dumped and now has a broken drive belt and will not turn over or even click even with a freshly charged battery although the dash does light up when you turn the key. My fear was an engine seizure from the oil pump issue led to the dumping. The crash bars on this Atlantic with 27,000 miles on it protected the body very well however it has sat over a year without starting. Do I roll the dice that the engine is not toast or walk away like most people already have is the big question. First thing to check is to make sure the kill switch is not on. Also does the EFI light come on when you turn the key? If the kill switch is off, the EFI light sh.... Not sure about gambling on a dead scooter especially when you dont know if the engine will even turn. Unless the price is really good. I ended up passing on the Atlantic and got a new (3 miles on it) 2009 Sport City Cube 250 i.e. It is a great little fuel injected bike for the $3500 I got it for.
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Post by rubicontx on May 25, 2011 10:26:11 GMT -5
I looked at some pictures of the sport city cube and it looks just like the new scarabeos 500 ie's. Very nice looking scooter.
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Post by rockynv on May 25, 2011 18:27:01 GMT -5
It is deceptively quick also. At 330 lbs with 22 1/4 hp it pulls hard and fast. On a 75 mph road it has about 15 mph to spare unless there is a 20+ mph headwind. GPS verified it at 90 mph. In my normal commuting below 65 mph I am getting 80 mpg.
The 500cc Scarabeo is still tempting me. Only problem would be explaining that to my wife.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 2, 2011 11:39:49 GMT -5
I performed some much needed maintenance work on the scooter this past weekend. I replaced all 6 brake pads (4 in the front and 2 in the rear). I changed the motor oil and filter. While working on the scooter I noticed that the rear tire already needed to be replaced. The front one was still OK but since I am going to replace the rear tire, i might as well replace the front one. The tires should get in today by UPS so this weekend I will mount and balance the tires. Here are some steps in removing the front brake pads: First remove these two screws: Remove the brake assembly and remove the center screw: Slide the retainer up and out: Pull out the two pins: Remove the old brake pads: Push the two small pistons in to accept the new brake pads. You can use your hands, or a small screw driver. They are easy to move. Install the new pads, push in the pins and replace the retainer and the screw. Slid the brake caliper over the disk and tighten the two screws. Repeat on the other side. In the rear, its a little bit easier. First remove the cir-clip (#2) then remove the pin. In this picture they have taken the brake caliper assembly completely off but you don't have to remove it. Remove the spring. It has an arrow showing the location of travel. Remove the two pads (you slide them up and out). Make sure the direction arrows on the vibration dampers are facing direction of travel. You will have to put in one pad at a time. The brake caliper has one piston on each side. You will have to push one piston in, slide the brake pad, then push the other piston in and slide the second pad. After that just replace the spring and reinstall the pin and cir-clip.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 6, 2011 10:24:21 GMT -5
I received the Pirelli tires on Thursday. On Saturday morning I removed the old tires from the rims, both front and back and mounted the new tires. I used some Dyna beads to balance the wheels. I mounted both tires and replaced the brakes. I used just basic equipment to remove and mount the tires. If your going to do this just buy two good quality tire irons. You can also buy some door protectors (the plastic covers that slip on the side of the doors) and slip them on the rim to avoid scratching the rims. I did not try this but have read that it prevents scratching the rims. For the Scarabeo 500, here are the steps to remove the rear tire:Remove the three screws holding the muffler (#2). You can take the chrome guard off to make it easier to remove the top screw. I removed the smaller chrome guard to make it easier to unscrew the clamp (#3) that needs to be loosened to remove the muffler. After that just slide the muffler off. Remove the two screws holding the rear caliper. and slide the caliper off the disk. Remove the two screws holding the shock. You don't have to remove the top screws of the shock. The wheel will slide off with the shock in place. Remove the two bolts holding the mounting plate: Remove the wheel spindle nut. Remove the mounting plate: There is a spacer that might remain with the wheel or be stuck behind the mounting plate. Just make sure you notice it and remove it before removing the wheel. Remove the wheel. You might have to move the shock to one side but it will come out. Steps to remove the front tire: Remove both front calipers. Remove the two screws that hold each caliper: Loosen the screw that holds the wheel spindle: Remove(unscrew) the spindle (3) and look for two spacers at each end of the wheel (4): As you remove the the spindle the wheel will come off. When I was done with the wheels I wanted to look at the belt because I was hearing some belt slap while decelerating. I removed the CVT covers and noticed some tooth pieces in the covers. I looked at the belt and it was missing some teeth and it looked like it was about to go. Today I ordered a new belt. Here are some steps on how to get to the belt: To get to the variator you have to remove some body panels. Open the seat cover and remove the top 3 screws: There are two screws that reside inside the rear wheel opening. You have to remove both. Move the top plastic cover to one side. The one that has the Scarabeo label on it. So you can reach the next set of screws. Remove the philips screw: Remove this lower screw: Remove four screws (6). After that the side step piece should come off and that will give you better access to the variator cover. The variator has two covers. On the first cover you remove 5 philips scres and the cover will come off. The second cover has about 7 screws that hold it in place. (These next pictures are not mine, got them from the aprilia board). Once you remove the covers you should be able to see the variator, belt and cluch assembly. Removing the variator: Variator outside parts: Variator inside parts. This is a 8 roller variator found on the newer 2005 and 2006 scarabeo. Mine has the older 6 roller variator.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 8, 2011 8:43:54 GMT -5
I got the CVT belt yesterday. I will be replacing it today. I will take some pics of the installation to post tomorrow. It should be an easy installation (i think).
Its been almost 2 weeks since I have ridden the scooter. Its been sitting in the garage awaiting parts. Hopefully tomorrow I can drive it to work.
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Post by tconick on Jun 8, 2011 21:39:33 GMT -5
nice ride and looks really comfy congrats
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 11, 2011 11:06:58 GMT -5
nice ride and looks really comfy congrats Thanks Its really a nice scooter. I finally had the time to install the belt on Friday afternoon. So here is the picture of the scooter the way I left it the other day. I first removed the variator. I then removed the center clutch nut (yellow) then removed the 4 bots (red). I then tapped the center bolt with a plastic mallet until the clutch pack came out. Here are the clutch parts after I separated them. These pictures were taken before I cleaned them up. Still plenty of material left on the clutch pads but you can see some wear on the left side: The bell also looks good: Scooter without the clutch installed: I cleaned up the clutch and installed the new belt. I used the rubber mallet to push the belt inside the disks. I then reinstalled the clutch pack back on the scooter. After that I installed the clutch bracket and tightened all the bolts and nuts. I installed the variator and tightened the nut. I started the scooter and made sure everything was working fine before I closed it up and put all the parts back on the scooter. After I cleaned up a bit it was time for a test drive. New belt, new tires, balance beads and an oil change. Well the scooter ran great! ;D I would guess it rode like a brand new scooter. Nice and smooth on the road. I took it up to 60 and I was impressed. The big improvement was the tires but the belt added a little get up and go power I would guess.
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Post by rockynv on Jun 13, 2011 5:22:25 GMT -5
I really like the clutch bracket with the bearing at the outer end of the clutch shaft. It probably eliminates the shaft wobble that you get on the 150cc and 250cc clone bikes and provides much better support against the belt tension.
I know that on my 150cc Lance the clutch shaft even with a new bearing had way to much wobble in it and a outer cover on the clutch with a bearing like the Aprilia has would have made it much smoother running and longer lasting.
The cooling fan blades on the clutch and drive faces are also such a simple touch yet would seem to greatly enhance reliability.
Good work and great shots.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 13, 2011 7:34:15 GMT -5
Thanks,
The scooter ran great this morning. I drove it to work and got it up to 75 on the highway. All in the name of science of course. I needed to test the dyna beads at higher higher speeds. Well they work just fine! The scooter was smooth as it never has been. It was just a fantastic ride in to work.
The ride home should be a different story since the temps should be hovering around 100 degrees.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 17, 2011 8:53:01 GMT -5
I have been using the scooter all this week. So far its been running great.
From my experience changing the belt made a big difference in the way the scooter handles. It accelerates better, drives at higher speeds better. Accelerates faster at higher speeds when I need to pass. I have also noticed that at 75 mph its running with lower RPM then before. It just feels like a new scooter.
I will keep an eye on the mpg i get on this next full tank. I filled up the scooter on Tuesday morning. I reset the trip counter and will see how many miles I can get out of this tank.
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Post by rubicontx on Jun 23, 2011 14:37:25 GMT -5
Current mileage on the scooter is 17,998.
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Post by rubicontx on Jul 12, 2011 8:36:42 GMT -5
After driving without a motorcycle license for 3 years I finally decided get my motorcycle license. I figured I had pushed the limit of my luck enough.
I signed up for the class that meets at our local high school here in Hutto. We met Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The first day was all classroom. We spent 5 hours reviewing a workbook and looking at videos. After the class we took a test to gauge our understanding of the material. The next two days we spent 5 hours a day going through some driving exercises using some 250 MCs. Not bad little motorcycles.
I was a little nervous because of my lack of experience with the clutch but the after the first day I had the shifting and clutch action down to a science. I had ridden MC back in the early 90's so it was not foreign to me but it had just been a long while.
The class thought some basic but important emergency maneuvers. Most of them I had already read about but had never practice. After spending the two days practicing different maneuvers we took our individual riding exams. Even thou we had just practiced the same steps, when it came to taking the test you get a little nervous. Luckily I was able to control my nerves and passed the driving exam.
That same week that I took my MC class my daughter was studding for her student driving permit. On Friday of that week we both went to our local DMV and took our test. Well I am glad to report that we both passed our tests.
One of the negatives of the class was that it introduced me again to the joys of shifting an MC. After pondering that for a couple of weeks I decided to put my scooter for sale. I put it on Craigslist on Wednesday of last week and it was sold yesterday.
So now my Aprilia Scarabeo 500 GT Experience has come to an end. It was a happy and enjoyable journey.
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Post by rowdyc on Jul 12, 2011 14:43:46 GMT -5
I hate to see you go Rubi. I was hoping you would come to the Austin Scooter Ralley in September and maybe we could have met at AF1 racing. I'm still bringing my Atlantic 500 down so I can maybe get some cheap discontinued, dealer buy back parts/accessories from AF1. I will be riding the twisted sister soon but I'm sure you've done that before. Good luck and safe riding.
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Post by josetann on Jul 12, 2011 15:46:09 GMT -5
Well, crap. Now who will I turn to for help in September?
Thanks for the info you posted. Helped when I was changing brake pads and getting the wheels on/off (actually getting the tires off/on was too much for my cheapo tools).
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Post by rubicontx on Jul 15, 2011 13:31:17 GMT -5
I will still be around. I like to checkup on this board from time to time. I had the scooter for almost 3 years so I got to learn a little bit about the scarabeo. If you have any questions just post here and I will try to answer if I have gone thru that problem.
I had the same issues with the tires. I got some tire irons from harbor freight tools when I was removing my jeep tires so I used those on the scooter rims. You just have to protect the edge of the rims by placing some car door guards or protectors around the rim.
To break the beads I used my high lift jack attached to the bumper of the jeep. When I did the front tire I used some 4x4 blocks to keep from warping the rotors.
I had some problems installing the new tires. I was almost at a point of taking them in and paying a shop to install the new tires when I read this article online: "Once you get one side down over the rim, pushing it down towards the center well of the rim, this should help as it gives the opposite side of the tire (the part you're about to lever over the rim) more slack, making your job much easier."
Once I tried that approach it was so much easier to install the tires.
Just remember to use plenty of soapy water when removing or installing the tires.
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Post by rubicontx on Jul 27, 2011 10:23:21 GMT -5
A couple of weeks ago I sold my beloved Aprilia Scarabeo GT. Soon after I sold it I started to look for a small displacement motorcycle. Well after looking around for weeks for a good low priced MC and figuring that a low priced MC always turned up very well used or abused, I gave up and looked for something a little higher on the price range. I also did not want to go back to a carburetor and wanted to stick to fuel injection. I was getting about 55 mpg from the scooter so I wanted to stay within the 50 mpg range with the MC. After looking at some 500 ninjas that were very well priced but very used up and going to see a dual sport BMW I finally settled on the Kawasaki Versys. Its a used MC with 8,883 miles on the odometer. It does have some new tires and some extras parts that the previous owner put on so that should save me some $. The extras include: engine guard, luggage rack, rider foot peg lowering blocks, mirror extenders, highway foot pegs, handle bar extensions, corbin seat, and a taller windshield. This is a tall mc which is good for visibility but bad to get on and off. The seat height on the scooter was 31". This mc is in the 33" range. The corbin seat drops it one inch so its a little lower. I would like to bring it down a little more so that I can flat foot it. The one thing that I do miss is all the storage space that the Aprilia scooter had. Its one of the things that I have to get used to I guess. At some point I will be getting some side bags to add some storage space but for now it will stay like this. I filled the tank with gas last week so I will see how many miles I get with one tank full. I just have to learn to control my right hand. Some specs on the MC: Engine and Transmission Engine: Four-stroke, liquid cooled, DOHC, four-valve per cylinder, parallel twin Displacement: 649cc Bore x stroke: 83.0 x 60.0mm Compression ratio: 10.6:1 Maximum torque: 44.9 lb/ft @6,800 rpm Cooling: Liquid Fuel system: Digital fuel injection with two 38mm Keihin throttle bodies Ignition: Digital CDI Transmission: Six-speed Final drive: O-Ring chain Chassis and Dimensions Frame: Semi-double cradle, high-tensile steel Rake / trail: 25 degrees / 4.3 in. Wheelbase: 55.7 in. Front suspension / wheel travel: 41mm hydraulic telescopic fork with adjustable rebound and preload / 5.9 in. Rear suspension / wheel travel: Single offset laydown shock with adjustable rebound and spring preload / 5.7 in. Front tire: 120/70x17 Rear tire: 160/60x17 Front brake: Dual 300mm petal discs with two-piston caliper Rear brake: Single 220mm petal disc with single-piston caliper Overall length: 83.7 in. Overall width: 33.1 in. Overall height: 51.8 in. Seat height: 33.1 in. Curb weight: 454.1 lbs. Fuel capacity: 5.0 gal. I went outside last night and took some pictures but they are a little dark. I tried to fix some to make them better but they are still a little dark. Here you can see the engine guard and the highway pegs: The new-fangled shift lever thingy: The instrument cluster is very simple with an RPM gauge and digital speedometer. Cushion grips and mirror extenders: Windshield: Parking lights: I took these pictures this morning to show my fancy GPS holder: I needed to check how accurate the speedometer was on the Versys. Its about the same as the scooter, it shows 5 mph faster on the speedometer then the actual speed. The beige material under the GPS is some anti-slip sheet taped to the bottom. High tech stuff here.
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Post by rubicontx on Aug 2, 2011 7:42:59 GMT -5
I was cleaning up my garage and found a hiflo oil filter and a stock air filter that I had left over from the Beo days. If you want them just pay for shipping and their yours.
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Post by rockynv on Aug 2, 2011 12:09:46 GMT -5
The Aprilia Mana 850 GT is actually tempting me. Takes the same Givi top case as my Sport City and has storage for a full face helmet in the glove box which looks like a traditinal sport bikes gas tank.
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Post by rubicontx on Aug 2, 2011 12:17:06 GMT -5
The Mana was also my first choice I just could not come up with the cash to purchase one.
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