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Post by earlwb on Sept 8, 2007 16:06:11 GMT -5
No adverse conditions really from running a little on the rich side. But too rich and the spark plug might foul out on you. With old gasolines one could expect excess carbonization inside the combustion chambers, but nowadays our gasolines are very clean buring and don't yeild up a lot of carbon crud when burned. There is some optimum air fuel mixture ratio, that if one can achieve it, they get max power for that particular engine configuration. but it is extremely difficult to get that perfect ratio and maintain it. Modern computerized fuel injection systems come the closest to staying at the optimum fuel air mixture ratios. it varies with engine speed as well.
Mainly fuel economy is affected from running on the rich side.
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Post by barretdm on Sept 8, 2007 21:28:19 GMT -5
Earl,
Nice pictures and description. I didn't realize changing the rear tire is such a process.
Where did you get your tire? What tire did you purchase?
I'm curious if you could get a larger tire to increase your top end speed.
-DB
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Post by earlwb on Sept 8, 2007 21:55:43 GMT -5
I bought mine a while back from someone on Ebay. The same Chinese tire as came on the scooter.
I don't think a larger tire would clear all the parts on the scooter. The regular 130/60x13" tire just fits. There isn't a lot of extra space there for something larger.
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Post by jusdoit on Sept 11, 2007 15:44:11 GMT -5
Hey Earl; Got fuel line changed & working good. Pulled baggage bucket to change the Vacuum line now. I'm puzzled ? What purpose, if any, does the one vacuum line going to the manifold serve ?? Seems logical to me to take a single line to the carb & plug the spout in the manifold. Can I do that  BTW, I put a chrome exhaust pipe extention on my muffler...7 " long & 21/2 inch diameter. gave me a "Putt-Putt" sound I never had before...kinda neat...got at Pep Boys..$5 bucks. Have a Good One, Pardner..........just "Bob" in NC |
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Post by earlwb on Sept 11, 2007 21:14:06 GMT -5
That one vaccuum line off of the intake manifold is the originator of all the engine vaccuum for all the other devices.
Originally on my scooter, the OEM intake manifold had two vaccuum lines coming off of it. But when the rubber deteriorated too much, I had to replace it. The replacement only had one tap on it, so I used a Tee connector to hook up the other second vaccuum line too.
There is a vaccuum valve on the secondary air filter for the PAIR system. There is the vaccuum valve on the fuel petock. There is the vaccuum diaphram on top of the the carb. Then there is a vaccuum swtich on the carbon canister for the fuel tank.
All of those vaccuum operated devices get their vaccuum off of the intake manifold.
That is pretty cool on the chrome muffler extension.
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Post by sicily150 on Sept 12, 2007 1:03:08 GMT -5
Mr. Earl...great article with excellent details, good job!!!!
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Post by gamedad on Sept 14, 2007 18:56:41 GMT -5
Update: Still running very well, she`ll do 'indicated' 45+ with plenty of throttle to spare. 320 indicated miles, so far. Cash spent on fuel: $5  Inspected under the seat, put standoffs on any place that a fuel line looked like it might rub. Replaced the engine oil, with 10w30 Pennzoil. I haven't got any transmission oil, at the moment, but I hope to do that this weekend. The mirror is still mis-alligned, but looking closely, I see that the brake lever looks a little out of place, so I'll try that. Yesterday, while riding to work, I wasn't careful enough as I approached a Traffic light just as it began to turn yellow. I said, "Ok, brake-test time" and began to brake more aggressively than I usually do. Just then, I come up on a wet spot in the road from some sprinklers. The rear brake began to lock, I released, and although it wasn't pretty, I came to a safe stop. Now I leave a few minutes earlier, and ride slower, and more aware. Well, I'll keep in touch as developments occur. Stay Safe! Gamedad |
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Post by earlwb on Sept 18, 2007 22:11:10 GMT -5
Today, after work, I fired up the scooter and proceeded to head on home when I noticed a extra loud carb sucking sound, and as I tried to accellerate, once again i couldn't go much over 30mph again. I was thinking rats, the ignition coild is going bad again. Darn it. Although I had a spare coil with me, I had to hurry home as i was late for another family function, so I opted to limp home at 30mph.
Later this evening, I took a look at the scooter to see if something was amiss, before I went to swap out coils again. I jiggled the carb and saw that it was a lot more loose than it should have been, and while I was looking closely at the intake manifold to see if it went bad again, I saw the problem. A new problem too. The rubber intake tube leading from the air filter box to the carb had fallen off. You had to look close a couple of times before you could see it. But there it was a obvious as can be.
It wasn't easy getting that stupid intake tube back on the air filter box either. But I found that if I pulled the two 10mm side mount bolts off, I could pivot the air filter box back enough to get a 7mm socket wrench onto the clamp nut to tighten it back up. Since it is plastic you can't tighten it too much or something will squish and break on you.
So after getting it back together, I took it for a test ride and everything is back to normal again.
So the moral of the story is if you suddenly loose power and can't go fast, and you hear a louder than normal engine carb sucking noise, check your rubber air intake tube to the carb.
They run the stock GY6 engines pretty lean, so if the intake suddenly gets a lot less restricted the engine runs like crap and looses power all of a sudden.
Be safe and ride safe out there.
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Post by gamedad on Sept 20, 2007 20:20:40 GMT -5
Day 20 update: Now have 450 'miles' on her. 'Miles' because I'm nearly certain that the odometer measures Km, even though it says 'miles'. This seems strange, since the speedo reads in mph, not kph. The mirror was, in fact, mounted improperly, no fault of the dealer, though. The left brake lever housing is kept from rotating by a lug cast into it, which fits into a hole drilled in the handlebar. I filed most of the lug off, and it fit fine, but.... Due to the mis-allignment of the handle the dealer had cross-threaded the mirror mounting bolt. It was probably the only way he could get it to go on. Today I called him, explained the problem without putting any blame on him, and he's sending me a new brake lever housing via snail-mail. Then I called him back and said, "Oh, yeah, I'll need a bolt, too"  For now, its held on with gobs of silicone sealant (easy to remove). She seems less enthusiastic about starting from the electric starter, so I'll be adjusting the valves this weekend. Used the kick-start for the first time, when it was dead cold this afternoon, and she fired right up. No other problems to report. I'll be adding a mid-size windscreen and rain tires as soon as possible. Motor on! Gamedad |
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Post by jusdoit on Sept 21, 2007 11:26:57 GMT -5
hey Earl;
Got my vacuum hoses changed out per your directions...found brass 1/4" "T" connector at CarQuest...several other Auto Stores didn't have.
I had no idea how the "Vaccum Deal" worked on my engine until your Post...Thanks, and now I understand the function.
Read info about a "Carbon Canister" at the gas tank...can't find such a part on mine and have no idea if I have one....Please describe what thats all about.
HAVE A GOOD ONE...PARTNER.............just "Bob" in NC
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Post by earlwb on Sept 21, 2007 11:46:38 GMT -5
I usually get the 1/4" or 3/16" brass conenctors at Home depot or Lowes or Ace Hardware. Not all scooters may have these emissions control devices. The carbon canister absorbs excess fuel vapors from the fuel tank and releases those vapors into the air filter so it can be burned by the engine. The vaccuum valve controls whether the fuel tank is vented or not. So fumes don't get into the atmosphere so easily. A shot of what appears to be a carbon filter for the fuel tank. If you overfill the fuel tank, it overflows into this thing, and dribbles out the small air vent on the rear of it. So one needs to be careful not to try and top off the fuel tank, it might be a fire hazard. 1) This tube goes to the bottom of the air filter box on the left side. 2) This is the fuel tank vent tube. 3) this is the large diameter tube coming off that weird thingie in front of the engine under the floorboards. Since I figured out how the PAIR system works now, I have disconnected this tube and left it open like it originally was when I got the scooter.  It is a One way air vent valve for the fuel tank. It lets air in but tends to keep the fuel vapors in the tank. But it doesn't seem to work very well, as if you overfill the tank, it causes the valve to jam up as it fills up with fuel. So fuel overflow can still get into the carbon canister. Here is where the one way valve is located on my scoot. One the right side just in front of the fuel tank.   |
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Post by earlwb on Sept 22, 2007 14:13:58 GMT -5
In the on going saga of my scooter ownership, at about 3890 miles, yesterday the second ignition coil started to go bad on me. It was a Bando Racing coil unit. The spark plug cap didn't quite fit as well as I liked, it had come off or loose a couple of times while I was riding around. Finally I got it on to stay OK. But apparently it has slipped a little bit off and there was a gap inside the plug cap on top of the plug, maybe a 1/16" to 1/8". So that extra gap increased the high voltage a lot and the insulation in the coil or wire started to break down eventually.
So anyway, I put in my spare emergency coil unit.
I can tell when the coil is starting to go bad on my scooter as it starts to miss and sag and not want to run much over 6,000 rpm. Plus the tachometer starts reading off wild RPM's like 10,000 or 11,000 rpm for no apparent reason.
Fortunately replacing a ifnition coil unit is almost trivial, so it isn't a problem. But you have to have a spare one to use though.
I ordered a BMW "coil on plug" unit, that I plan to try and see if it works or not. it is a long skinny unit so it should have plenty of clearance and not hang up on something. I am hoping the Germans didn't make it in China as well. Everything seems to be made in China nowadays, hopefully for the price the BMW CAP ignition coil is better quality.
But with a coil on the plug, you have no high voltage spark plug wire to deal with the coil plugs right in on top of the spark plug. You just need to run wire extensions fron the old coil location to the new coil on the spark plug. So it will be a interesting experiment to see how it goes.
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Post by scooterollie on Sept 22, 2007 19:39:52 GMT -5
Earl;
I like the idea of a coil-on-plug. Be interesting to see how it works for you!
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Post by jusdoit on Sept 25, 2007 10:47:41 GMT -5
Hey Earl; you gave me a "heads-up" about the vacuum lines so I understand where the "Vacuum" is created. Like you, I always want to know "Why & How does it work". About 2 weeks ago, I changed the vacuum hoses...But... I used the same size hose that I used for the fuel line since I didn't have the "smaller" hose. Saw no reason that the same U.S. manufactured hose size would not be O.K...just a bit larger ID. Much to my surprise, the engine & the carb reacted very differently. Engine started just fine, but once the choke backed off of the initial start, the engine died. Adjusted Idle but only kept the engine running at Idle, very high, instead of shutting off. Once engine warmer up, it cycled...Up & Down...never got stable. I worked with it for 2 days and reinstalled the original hoses. It is now running great with the original size hoses (Chinese type). So, my question is...What is the "Physics" thing about the change in hose volume with the slightly larger hose I used for the vacuum "fuel Control Valve'..."Carb" & "Manifold" connectiions No big deal, but I always want to know "Why". Will install correct size hose later. Have a Good One ....just "Bob" in NC |
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Post by earlwb on Sept 25, 2007 10:50:44 GMT -5
it shouldn't make a difference, but if the hose is too large, it doesn't fit on the fittings well, so you probably had a vaccuum leak in there someplace, where a vaccuum line was loose on a fitting.
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Post by scooterollie on Sept 25, 2007 14:33:45 GMT -5
I second Earl's observation about vacuum hose size and poor fit on bibs.
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Post by earlwb on Sept 25, 2007 21:27:24 GMT -5
Well, there it was at about 3946 miles the turn signal flasher croaked on me. It makes a faint buzzing sound now. I doubt it is a light bulb as the 4 way flasher doesn't work either.
So that tends to imply the flasher died. I think I'll have to put in a automotive flasher and see what happens. It has to be of better quality than the OEM thing.
Of course I am not in a hurry, I'll wait until this weekend, as I don't have to have a safety inspection done until January 08.
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Post by earlwb on Sept 26, 2007 10:05:42 GMT -5
The plot thickens. The turn signal flasher appears to be just fine.
it turns out the fuse blew out with the engine running, and if you hadn't turned off the engine, it still runs though, but the turn signals quit working.
The next morning I went to start it up and the scooter was totally dead. So I checked and sure enough the fuse blew out. I replaced the fuse and found that the left turn signal is working but the right front turn signal bulbs aren't working. So I'll have to check to see if a wire shorted out or a wire came loose or a bulb went bad or something.
I guess I can't diss their turn signal flashers now.
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Post by earlwb on Sept 26, 2007 12:28:49 GMT -5
Well surprise surprise. I troubleshot the problem and the right turnsignal light socket appears to have disintegrated and shorted out. I'll have to find some more light sockets like these (better quality hopefully) to replace them. On the inside they have a cheap round disc of plastic that falls apart if it gets slightly hot which lets the wires touch making things worse, of course. Of course the light bulb may have gone bad, but the cheap voltmeter I keep with the scooter doesn't seem to read ohms correctly. I think I'll have to upgrade the multimeter soon.
I also found the flasher unit, it is a small black cylindrical thing mounted behind the instrument cluster with wires coming out of it. It has three (or is it four?) wires coming out of it terminating in a connector plug. So it is not a simple two prong flasher like you see everyone else using.
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Post by earlwb on Sept 26, 2007 20:33:41 GMT -5
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Post by earlwb on Sept 27, 2007 11:34:30 GMT -5
Oh well, as far as I can tell these Made in China Ignition Coils are pretty much useless.
The third coil just went bad on me.
I am going to have to find something not made in China.
Sigh.
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Post by djmarc on Sept 27, 2007 13:34:11 GMT -5
Little question for you Earl, just got my Fiji yesterday, and everything is working fine BUT
I'm wondering do you have a light switch on the right of the bike above the kill switch & starter button?
on the left of the panel i have headlight high beam switch but shouldnt i have a switch on the right too?
or are they always supposed to be on and then maybe my bulbs arent working?
cheers
marc
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Post by swampsniper on Sept 27, 2007 13:55:42 GMT -5
Little question for you Earl, just got my Fiji yesterday, and everything is working fine BUT I'm wondering do you have a light switch on the right of the bike above the kill switch & starter button? on the left of the panel i have headlight high beam switch but shouldnt i have a switch on the right too? or are they always supposed to be on and then maybe my bulbs arent working? cheers marc The headlight will only work when the engine is running. There is no way to turn the headlight off. The other lights will work from the battery if the ignition is on. |
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Post by djmarc on Sept 27, 2007 14:05:09 GMT -5
Thanks bob, so the headlights should always be on when the bike is running cool.
So if they arent running and all the other lights are, could it be because the battery is new? the bulbs dont look blown
cheers
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Post by earlwb on Sept 27, 2007 14:09:56 GMT -5
Yeah the headlights only work when the engine is running. They are running directly off the alternator and use AC current and not DC. The tailight also only works when the engine is running as well. The turn signals are still DC, so if the engine is off you can use the hazard switch and have them blink off and on. The headlights and tailight are both on the same AC circuit.
Actually that method of running the lights is pretty nice as you get all the battery power for starting the engine. On my Harley if the battery is weak, you are SOL.
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Post by djmarc on Sept 27, 2007 14:15:13 GMT -5
taillight is working, just not the headlights....so guess the circuit is fine, funny the blubs dont look blown
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Post by earlwb on Sept 27, 2007 15:10:16 GMT -5
Well heck, if the headlights are not on when the bike is running, and you tried both the hi and low beam switch; then you'll have to take the front panel off to get to the headlights, so you can check the wireing out. it is probably a loose plug or connection someplace under there.
Somebody at the factory, being in a hurry because of their time contraints probably put the connector together but it didn't lock.
Fortunately it isn't bad to get under the plastic front panel. it just takes a little time to find all the mounting screws.
You have two ways to trace the problem, from the alternator or from the headlights, one way or the other. Buit I'd bet something isn't plugged in someplace.
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Post by djmarc on Sept 27, 2007 16:31:09 GMT -5
Thanks, i just checked all the wiring and it seems connected fine.
Could it be a fuse??
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Post by djmarc on Sept 27, 2007 17:39:55 GMT -5
or maybe the regulator?
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Post by earlwb on Sept 27, 2007 21:19:28 GMT -5
Did you pull the front panel loose and check behind it as well?
Plus the handlebar front panel to ensure the headlight switch is connected?
You may have to use a multimeter set for AC volts and check the voltage at the headlight connectors with the engine running. You can remove the light bulb sockets and carefully place them someplace so they don't burn anything without the front cover on, and then start checking back to the alternator.
Sometimes there have been a wire that isn't crimped onto the connector pin correctly or a pin that slipped back out of place, or a connector that isn't plugged in all the way.
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