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Post by miamistyle1 on Mar 7, 2012 22:13:42 GMT -5
Well there was not much information on the Tao Tao 150 so I wanted to start a thread so any other owners could find one place to get info.
I purchased mine from GS Motorworks online, it came within 10 days and in good condition. From the advice I got here I changed the fuel and vacuum lines, spark plug, fuel filter, engine and trans. oil. The only inherent problems I found was one vacuum line connection that was not secure, so I had to silicone it. I changed the small fuel filter for a normal inline fuel filter from Autozone.
The new fuel filter was so much longer than the original that the fuel lines had to bend more than 90 degrees causing the fuel flow to be restricted and not let the engine idle. I fiddled around with this and as of now it seems to be working ok. In the mean time I ordered a 90 degree fuel filter on the internet that is only about an inch and a half long. Looks really small, but if my current one does not work I will try this one.
I got my tag and passed my Motorcycle course and should get my license in two weeks. I have still found time to ride my scoot around the neighborhood to try and get used to it a little. It is peppy and rides well.
My scoot seems to be well built. I don't know a lot about motorcycle engines but plan on keeping this thread updated with my experience and progress with this machine.
Any body I tell that I purchased a Chinese scooter, usually makes a face and some derogatory comment. I don't care. For the difference in price I think a little work now and then more than makes up for it. And with the help and advise of this forum, I think I can overcome any problem. I now hope to contribute the the knowledge base.
Keeping the muddy side down in sunny Miami...
Jorge
MiamiStyle1
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Post by orphansoul on Mar 7, 2012 22:28:14 GMT -5
I have a Tao Tao PowerMax 150, and it is a good scooter.
Tao Tao has a pretty good rep around where I live as well. I wouldn't be worried about it letting you down.
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Post by skuttadawg on Mar 7, 2012 23:54:41 GMT -5
With the China scooters brands may be on needed for body parts as most are the exact same underneath . The 150 engine is called a GY6 and thats all you need to know when looking up parts . You are wise to replace the fuel filter and line , TaoTaos have been known to have the filter on backwards . The vacuum lines could also be replaced as cheap one collapse . Maybe a real fuel pump will help you like here www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10/178-9862451-9989442?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mikuni+fuel+pump&sprefix=mikuni+fue%2Caps%2C188 Mikuni is the best brand of fuel systems for small engines Being a newbie you need to practice panic braking since so many cars pull out in front of scooters . The trick is never pull in the levers real fast since it can lock up the rear wheel and cause you to skid and wreck . Simply pull in slowly but firmly and get a feel of how they work so you will be prepared when it happens to you . Tires should be replaced with premium ones as China tires do not do well when the road is wet www.motorcycletire.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc? the easiest to look up tire selection by size and see brands offered . Pirelli, Avon and Michelin are the best and yes its worth the extra price over a generic brand |
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Post by dkaudio on Mar 8, 2012 13:13:00 GMT -5
I'm looking at getting a 150 and was interested in the SSR Pacifica, Interceptor, BMS Partriot or Pathfinder. I went to gsmotorworks to look at the one you got and only found the Powermax or ATM150. Anyways, I've never heard of Tao Tao. Seems like most of these Chinese scooters use the GY6 which seems to be a pretty good engine with many parts available.
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Post by miamistyle1 on Mar 9, 2012 9:12:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the good info. I just went and ordered the fuel pump.
Yes, the tires worry me a little. They seem a little too slick. Down here it does rain a lot in the summer, so I should start planning on replacing them in the next few months.
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Post by hollipl on Mar 9, 2012 9:20:31 GMT -5
Hello there,
I just bought the powermax 150 as well.
I am completely new to scooters, but I look at this as a good way to start learning about engines. You said you replaced a few things on the engine, like the fuel line vacuum hose. Can any one tell me what the first things I should do to/change on the scooter, where I can get them? Or if I can get the Parts at autozone, what should I ask the guy at the counter for? I am completely new to scooters, and if you guys could let me know what the first Things I need to do are, I would really appreciate it. I don't mean to steal your thread, But I have the exact same bike and it seems like you could really help me.
Thanks in advance,
Patrick
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Post by inuyasha on Mar 9, 2012 9:25:06 GMT -5
Hello there, I just bought the powermax 150 as well. I am completely new to scooters, but I look at this as a good way to start learning about engines. You said you replaced a few things on the engine, like the fuel line vacuum hose. Can any one tell me what the first things I should do to/change on the scooter, where I can get them? Or if I can get the Parts at autozone, what should I ask the guy at the counter for? I am completely new to scooters, and if you guys could let me know what the first Things I need to do are, I would really appreciate it. I don't mean to steal your thread, But I have the exact same bike and it seems like you could really help me. Thanks in advance, Patrick Hi Patrick Welcome aboard Pleased to meet you  Congratulations on the new scoot  ;D Give her a PDI asap, that will get her off to a great start x1scooters.com/pdi.htmlTake care and drive safely Yours Hank |
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Post by hollipl on Mar 9, 2012 11:00:08 GMT -5
I was also wondering, what are some simple and or cheap upgrades I can do to get a little perfomance boost?
I don't wanna jump right into installing a bore kit, but theres gotta be some simpler and cheaper upgrades I can do to get a smaller performance boost. if you had just 100 extra bucks to throw into the stock Powermax 150, what would be the first thing you get? exclude all the things in the PDI,cause I've already factored buying the fuel line hose and fuses and small things, But I've got about a hundred extra I can toss in real quick, so what should I get?
Also, say what would help me out the most.
For example, if two smaller item upgrades that may be 25 or 50 bucks a piece items could in the long run really help me out more than one bigger 100 buck upgrade, then thats what I'd want to know
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Post by hollipl on Mar 9, 2012 11:34:03 GMT -5
I was thinking about getting a regulator. Like the one here : mpgmotors.com/catalog1/product_info.php?products_id=7746But there are 4 pin and 7 pin. With the taotao powermax 150, which one do I need? Or if your not familiar with the model, how do I find out which one. And just to clarify what I think is happening, This regulator is mean to charge the batter one the scooter as its running, correct? |
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Post by mainepeace on Mar 9, 2012 20:58:18 GMT -5
Quick question, but why not take a look? That's the only way to be sure. MFG's like to swap out parts in the middle of a production run so even two from the same year may have different parts in them.
The regulator is to "regulate" the power going through the electrical system. It's supposed to keep power spikes from happening when conditions change, like RPM's or turning on or off the lights. It may keep the battery from getting damaged, and keep bulbs from being blown.
Greg
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Post by hollipl on Mar 10, 2012 11:57:10 GMT -5
is a fuel filter and a fuel pump the same thing?
It says to replace the fuel filter on the Post Delivery Inspection link Hank gave me,
but on here you guys said replace the fuel pump.
these are one and the same right?
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Post by mainepeace on Mar 10, 2012 13:28:26 GMT -5
No, they are different. You always replace the fuel filter as the stock ones are crap.
The fuel pump needs to be replaced since many times it is not powerful enough for top speed fuel requirements and causes problems. Many people replace them and solve the issue.
Greg
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Post by hollipl on Mar 10, 2012 20:57:11 GMT -5
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Post by hollipl on Mar 11, 2012 1:16:36 GMT -5
Miamistyle1, does your powermax 150 have 1/4 fuel line or 3/16?
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Post by mainepeace on Mar 11, 2012 2:33:36 GMT -5
Short answer, yes, they both will work.
Greg
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Post by wile on Mar 11, 2012 2:42:00 GMT -5
Man oh man I cannot believe what people are telling you. It is just not right, You do not need a Fuel Pump for one thing they are pretty good with what they come with. Now FIRST of all your scoot MAY NOT have a Fuel Pump It may have a PETCOCK. If the GAS TANK is BELOW the CARB it is a FUEL PUMP if the TANK is ABOVE the CARB it is a PETCOCK(GRAVITY) FED). Good fuel filters are VISU fuel filters they are strong as heck and will not break. This is what I use, when you see the gold filter inside start to get black put a new one on. I would get at least a couple they are cheap enough. www.google.com/products/catalog?client=firefox-a&hl=en&q=visu+filter&cid=2970568250857031156&ei=AFNcT7XPA5bONNa3pPkC&ved=0CAcQ8wIwAA#pIf you do not have tools You should spend part of that hundred eating away in your pocket for an IMPACT wrench to be able to take off the Variator and Clutch. You will be taking off the Variator to experiment with weights to get a little more performance out of the CVT. If you have a Harbor Freight around they will have IMPACT WRENCHS get an Electric one that you can plug into a 120v wall socket. Once you get the scoot and break it in a little you can tell if it is slow excelerating or short on the top end etc.. You can tune the cvt to better handle your riding style or the terrain in your area hilly or flat with just changeing the Grams on the weights. Heavier weights will give you more top end lighter weights give you faster exceleration and you have to find the right mediam. If you go to light on the weights you will loose top end, if you to light you will loose the low end, so it is important to find the Gram Weights that give you good take off and get you up to speed but not loose top end. But after you get the scoot you will decide what you really need. Wile |
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Post by miamistyle1 on Mar 11, 2012 9:38:42 GMT -5
hollipl:
My fuel lines are 3/16. It is amazing how much thicker the ones I bought from Autozone are compared to the stock ones.
The fuel filter you found looks like it might work, the problem I had was not the type as much as the overall length. The space you have to work in causes the hoses to bend too much causing a restricted fuel flow. I am now using an inline fuel filter about 3 inches long. I may replace this with a smaller one like the one "wile" recommends. So far though, it's working ok.
I replaced the engine oil after about 3 miles of running up and down the block. You could see the shine of lots of metal shavings floating around in it. I'm glad I replaced it now and plan on replacing it in 100 miles.
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Post by hollipl on Mar 12, 2012 5:32:57 GMT -5
Miamistyle1, This fuel filter I found on amazon may be able to help you with your space issues. Check it out. it is 3/16 size and says it fits mopeds www.amazon.com/Visu-Filter-Mini-Fuel-Line-Filter/dp/B0045LGDISAlso, I was wondering, if your having trouble fitting it in, why not snip off another inch or two of the fuel line to make some room? Could you post a pic of the situation? Now you said you already ordered the fuel pump, so your sure the Powermax 150 uses a fuel pump instead of a petcock? |
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Post by silverfox96 on Mar 12, 2012 11:33:27 GMT -5
Fellas! Do not ago out and purchase ANYTHING for your scooter until you have it sitting in your garage/shed/yard/living room! Especially if you are newbies and don't actually know what you are doing, yet! Wait until it gets there! Order some good quality tygon fuel/vac line for replacement during the pdi and a filter. Get a good quality rear end oil and motor oil and change both right away. Make sure to warm up the engine or maybe do a short ride around the block so the oil will flow out. If you don't have a decent set of metric wrenches and socket set, spend part of the $100. on tools, so you will be able to do the pdi and maintainence on your scoot.
One of the most important things we can advise you on is:
DO NOT DO A TON OF UPGRADES ON YOUR SCOOTER UNTIL YOU HAVE PUT A FEW HUNDRED MILES ON IT! THEN ONLY DO 1 AT A TIME! Otherwise you just might wind up with a scooter that performs worse that it did when it was stock! Forget about all those performance CDI's, Coils, exhausts, and most especially the performance breathers as the stock ones perform so much better!
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Post by terrilee on Mar 12, 2012 11:42:12 GMT -5
u guys are getting good advice from greg, wilie & silverfox
the one thing i wanna add is.........
ON THE HOME PAGE
THERE ARE THREADS JUST FOR U
WHAT TO DO BEFORE UR SCOOT ARRIVES
HOW TO DO A PDI ETC ETC
GO READ THEM
THEN 'BREAK IN' UR SCOOTS
takes 400-1000 miles { people disagree on how long}
then u can start thinking about mods etc
but u really shouldnt even think of mods
till its broken in
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Post by miamistyle1 on Mar 12, 2012 16:09:37 GMT -5
Regards the fuel filter: The nipple from the gas tank points north and the nipple going into the petcock points south, thus making the fuel filter lines make kind of an "S" curve. If the filter is too long the hoses crimp and limit the gas flow. I did snip off a little of the line on one side and it is working ok for now. I purchased a smaller filter with 90 degree intake/outake so if I continue to have problems I will change it out.
Re: fuel pump... bad choice of words. Yes I do have a petcock (gas tank above the carb, vacuum driven).
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Post by mainepeace on Mar 12, 2012 18:46:19 GMT -5
Petcocks do go bad frequently, so it's always good to have a spare. They are cheap. Just make sure you get the right one.
Wile is right in saying not to replace the fuel pump prematurely. Most of the time its not necessary. Just a handful of people have come on the board with that issue.
Greg
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Post by hollipl on Mar 18, 2012 0:19:36 GMT -5
miamistyle1, can you post a pic of where the fuel and vacuum lines that you changed out are? also, where is the cvt oil drain bolt? Is it on the outside of the cvt, or did you have to take off the cvt cover to change the gear oil?
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Post by hollipl on Mar 18, 2012 2:14:05 GMT -5
How hard was it to get off your seat and plastics so you could get to the fuel and vacuum lines? did it all come off in one or multiple pieces.
Pics would be great, if you have any. I really need to know about where the drain and fill bolts are at for changing the cvt\gear oil for Powermax 150
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Post by gidusko on Mar 21, 2012 22:45:42 GMT -5
Hello!
I just had a powermax 150 delivered to my door yesterday. I was pretty stoked and per the pdi went over all the nuts and bolts etc.
Mine came with some damage on the headlight panel where the paint was rubbed off and the F on the fuel gauge was poorly miss applied. I was missing some screws and recieved the wrong manual but both of those are no big deal. Over all it looks pretty cool for just 950 dollars
I changed the oils, plug and fuse adapter.
I added fuel for the first start up and cranked it over. the carb was leaking fuel out vent! I checked the vacume petcock but it was working fine, I then figured it was some float bowl issue but I couldnt fix it. I removed the carb and found that the float bowl screws were all broken off at the heads!
I called Proven Power Sports where i ordered the scoot and the guy told me to send pics and he would send replacement parts. Im waiting for the replacement front panel and carb to come in the mail. I hope SOON!
Since new parts were coming and he said i didnt need to send these back i figured i would file slots in the broken bolts and take off the float bowl. I have experience adjusting carb floats on my honda 1976 cb500t and figured i could tackle this. I have the bowl off but cant seem to get the float adjusted to stop flowing fuel out the vent but have fuel in the bowl. when I look at the vent hole and floats i dont see how the float could ever see enough gas to shut off the flow with a level that would be below the vent. the vent looks like its practally at the bottom of the bowl?! Does anybody have an idea if this is even fixable problem.
I dont mean to thread jack but this seemd a good place to talk about my powermax
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Post by gidusko on Mar 25, 2012 13:46:40 GMT -5
Just wanted to update in case anybody reads the above post,
After a a while of tinkering I found the screw in the drain was leaking, fixed that. It I ran for a bit and it ran ok, then it died. wouldnt keep running. its seemed like fuel starvation/lean because i found that if i covered the intake a bit it would run. I took off the carb and cleaned all the jets several times and kept having the same problem.
I didn't think i could adjust the low speed mix because there was just a brass plug where it should be. I was getting pretty fed up so i figured id drill it and see what was under it.... To my surprise it was just a cap. The idle mix screw was there under it.
I put it all back together and started it up. It was set waaaaaaaay lean. I set it to 2000 and richen up and the rpm raised 1100 rpm. I leaned to max rpm and richend up a bit more 125 rpm. (I used R/C model theory lol)
It runs like a champ now!! I can idle at 900 rpm and give it full throttle and no stumble or hesitation what so ever! after taking this thing apart so many times i feel like i finally beat it.
Super excited to start scootin!
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Post by chromestarhustler on Mar 25, 2012 13:56:44 GMT -5
Tires should be replaced with premium ones as China tires do not do well when the road is wet www.motorcycletire.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc? the easiest to look up tire selection by size and see brands offered . Pirelli, Avon and Michelin are the best and yes its worth the extra price over a generic brand really? i would take kenda over all those especially in 13 inch, 6100 miles on mine and only half worn. go to motorcycle super store and read the reviews, kenda and shinko reviews are equal to all the "premium brands." |
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Post by miamistyle1 on Mar 26, 2012 13:24:32 GMT -5
Here's an update on my scoot. Have ridden it about 50km so far and it runs great. Starts quickly, good acceleration, feels sturdy. Have only taken it to about 42 mph as I'm still breaking it in.
As far as the fuel filter, seems to be running on now. I have the replacement fuel pump and smaller fuel filter just in case. But don't see a need to change them now. No pics of the fuel filter and taking off the plastics is a bit of work. Maybe next time I'll take a picture. But if you haven't bought a filter yet, go with the smaller one.
I haven't driven around in the wet so I can't comment on the tires. They seem to grip well although they felt a little funny going over the metal grate on the bridge the other day. I'll have to keep an eye on that.
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Post by miamistyle1 on Mar 26, 2012 13:28:29 GMT -5
I forgot to respond to the cvt question.
When you look at the side of the transmission, you will find two bolts with metal washers. The lower one is to drain it, and the upper one is the fill hole. They are very close together and don't take much oil.
When filling the gear box I've been told not to overfill. So what I did was pump oil in there until it started leaking out. Then I waited a while for it all to finish draining (from the top fill hole) because the oil is very thick and takes a while to level out.
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kebema
New Puppy Dawg
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Post by kebema on May 14, 2012 18:58:52 GMT -5
I have the TaoTao Powermax 150 as well, and so far it has been a great, fast scooter with very little problems! So far i have put 760 miles on it. I have a couple of brief questions though. Has anyone had any experience with the TaoTao brand synthetic motor oil? Its a synthetic motor oil by TaoTao made specifically for 4 stroke chinese scooters and I was thinking of making the switch to it at my next oil change. Secondly, I can't seem to find the replacement for the second, smaller headlight bulb up front; the one beneath the main one. Would anyone have any info on its size and where I can find the proper replacement for it? Thanks.
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;D
