|
|
Post by dixiegmcsm on May 5, 2012 21:43:49 GMT -5
Hello to everyone and thanks for your help! I just picked up my first scooter on the way to grocery store and pushed it home. The sign said $150.00 and I hit the brakes and turned around. As I did another buyer pulled up and was talking to owner. At this point I have no idea what I'm attempting to purchase but this little scoot seemed like a bargain and I figured I could at least double my money. The other buyer is asking questions as I pulled out my 150.00 and handed him the money. He took the money eagerly and the other buyer shared a dirty look with me and walked off mumbling at his hesitation. The scooter needed a charge according to owner but ran fine. So I pushed it three blocks home and the rest is history. I had a lot of questions as I went through the scooter to make it safe and running. Every question I googled came to Scooterdawg and I got so much help from the posts, thank you all! At this point I found out that my GMI scooter was Chinese made which seems to be a bad thing. But I didn't spend a lot and managed to clean the carb and freshen the fuel and got it running great. So I took my first ride on a scooter even though I've owned plenty motorcycles. OMG I'm frickin hooked! I had so much fun on this darn thing I found myself making places to go for a reason to ride. My wife is laughing and making fun of me on my little 50cc! I finally talked her into taking a ride on it and she loved it too! Needless to say the scooter is not for sale till we get a bigger replacement scooter! I'm so obsessed with these things I want to buy every one I see! So as this journey begins I start what will be a long relationship with Scooterdawg diehards like my self. Sorry about the lengthy post but where else would I find somebody who would care?
|
|
|
|
Post by shalomdawg on May 5, 2012 23:56:56 GMT -5
howdy and welcome to the forum. a little contagious enthusiasm---yeyeh. soon the 50cc will turn into a 150 and then to a 250 etc. where will it stop? i had three in graduated size and just sold the middle one last week.
lotsa miles and smiles to ya
|
|
|
|
Post by ltdhpp on May 6, 2012 8:41:16 GMT -5
yup yup... A buddy traded a non-running 50cc to me last season... I got hooked too. I bought a 150cc for this season and I'm sure I will progress as mentioned  |
|
|
|
Post by trailheadmike on May 6, 2012 8:44:30 GMT -5
welcome fellow midlife crisis-er. I took the plunge at 47 and haven't looked back. ride safely and wishing you many maintenance free years.
|
|
|
|
Post by dixiegmcsm on May 6, 2012 9:34:24 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! I am so excited to know that I'm not alone in my infatuation with these. They are so easy to get on and off and maneuverability, forget about it. Went to the Harley store and rode a couple new bikes and hated it. Decided I need a larger scooter that will at least get me 50mph. Has anyone heard about Schwann quality? I found a good deal on a shinhai 300 I think it's like an aero or close to that. They say it's a shirttail to Yamaha but quality looked under par for Yamaha. Can't wait to upgrade. Thought about upgrading my 50 but with shocks exhaust carb big bore kit seems like I'm halfway to a larger scoot. What do you think?
|
|
|
|
Post by dixiegmcsm on May 6, 2012 9:35:37 GMT -5
That's Schwinn damn spellcheck not Schwann ice cream lol
|
|
|
|
Post by ltdhpp on May 6, 2012 10:19:50 GMT -5
Definitely upgrade to a bigger scooter instead of winding out a 50cc... a 150cc does 50-55mph easily, right out of the box, has more room, more storage, stronger/larger frame, larger wheels (better ride), better brakes, you get the idea. 150's are easier to find, but if you find a deal on a 250, don't hesitate Especially if you know your way around some tools. |
|
|
|
Post by dixiegmcsm on May 6, 2012 11:17:31 GMT -5
My primary career was automotive service manager. Although I'm not fond of fixing cars I can if forced. That's why service managers become service managers they prefer to tell someone else to fix it. But these GY6 engines are so easy to work on that I actually enjoy it! I even managed to trace an idle and starting problem to a leaking vacumn operated fuel petcock before I found scooterdawg. I'm always happy to buy and sell scooters but are the Chinese scooters really that bad? I obviously would prefer a Yamaha, Suzuki, or Honda but quite frankly I'm not working right now and can't afford the big names. This Chinese scooter fires up instantly now and imnot afraid to drive it anywhere as long as I have a spare plug and a couple screwdrivers and a 10mm. I'm still trying to figure outgrowing can creat an income from the scooters so that my hobby could also be my job. How much better could that be! I live in SW Florida and the climate combined with fuel prices seem to be a great combination, but I have seen a couple local scooter shops come and go intone past ten years. I hope I'm not getting into topics I shouldn't be here on intro page I haven't had much time to search through the dawg yet but I will get it together soon. Thanks again for time and knowledge from the people who know almost everything about scooters!
|
|
|
|
Post by bullet on May 6, 2012 13:09:13 GMT -5
Don't feel bad, I was 58 when I got my first scooter. I had a Honda 50 Cub when I was 14 but a lot of people don't consider it a scooter. I have been riding motorcycles all these years with only a few short rides on old Vespas. Yeah, I too wonder what took me so long. They are soooooo much fun to ride and I don't mind working on them at all. I picked up my Jonway 150 for $100.00 as a non runner. The owner said it had no spark. I rebuilt the carb. cleaned out the gas tank borrowed a battery from my ATV fired it up and went riding. Now I look for such projects. My neighbor has a moped with a rusted gas tank. I have a new 1/2 gal. peanut tank and I am going to offer to fix it free if I can ride it from time to time. I have a very small shop in my house and can do minor fab. work. I also keep a supply of parts like fuel and vacuum lines, clamps, filters and assorted stuff. I am always on the look out for scooter with a blown engine but great body to transplant my engine in. It feels good, doesn't it? Oh yeah. My wife always knows where I am. In the shop or on the carport working (playing) on something. She knows where I am when I am out riding because she is riding her motorcycle with me.
|
|
|
|
Post by ltdhpp on May 6, 2012 14:54:08 GMT -5
Chinese scooters just seem to have more issues related to being part or a higher volume mass production using parts made as cheap as possible, assembled in what surely must be a sweatshop-like environment. Generally you want to replace all the cheap rubber, fuel filter, spark plug and change the oils any time you get one. People have found loose hardware, bearings with no grease, electrical connectors barley together, pinched wires and other surprises. Chinese scooters generally have little if any warranty, so quality takes a hit for low price. But, 3/4 of issues that a helpless rider would take the scooter back to a dealer to fix are so simple that even a novice can fix them with help.
Also, most Japanese/Italian scooter dealers won't touch a Chinese scooter because of this, and they think its impossible to get parts because you have to shop by engine family and body style instead of make/model.
|
|
|
|
Post by dixiegmcsm on May 6, 2012 15:49:32 GMT -5
I haven't had any problem finding parts so far even locally! I stripped the scooter when I got it and replaced fuel and vacuum lines as well as the generic spark plug. I took apart and cleaned carb and changed oil and greased or lubed things that moved or went around. I check most of the fasteners for tightness and it worked great. However I really didn't chase wiring much so I think I'll go back and check connections to be safe. Thanks for advise. What's a good running Chinese 50cc resale for with average miles and condition in SW Florida market? I really bought this to fix and sell but now that I have one I have to have a replacement before I can sell it cause god forbid I don't get my daily fix of riding lol. I would like to start buying, fixing and reselling with a moderate profit. I think I'll even offer 90 day limited warranty with them when I do. Didn't realize that would be a better warranty than the factory lol! That's what I get for being in the car business so long!
|
|
|
|
Post by ltdhpp on May 6, 2012 17:09:27 GMT -5
Don't forget the gear oil too... its easy to miss the tiny 10mm drain plug! Supposedly they come with an inferior mineral oil in them for shipping and should be changed out. Around here a well running, sharp looking chrome-still-shiny Chinese 50cc would sell for about 5-600 bucks. I'm sure scooting is more popular down there but a new Chinese 50cc is 8-900 bucks, so there's a cap on the used market anywhere you go. You'd have to get them pretty cheap to make money on a fix-and-sell because a "doesn't run" scooter could easily need a few hundred bucks in parts. You got lucky, I'd hang on to that one tight until you get another, and a good backup  |
|
|
|
Post by ericrockstar on May 6, 2012 19:25:29 GMT -5
At least $500 all day long. A scoot that runs is worth way more than one that don't.
I just had to pass on buying a wrecked Honda Reflex. Body parts are stupid expensive.
|
|
|
|
Post by spandi on May 6, 2012 20:15:27 GMT -5
Welcome to the crew. 52 myself and got back into scootin' after being away for years. Started with a 125 Elite and went on to a bigger 250, which being "hooked" means a larger scoot in your future too.
|
|
|
|
Post by cruzmsl on May 7, 2012 0:04:19 GMT -5
Hello Dix, I guess now would be a good time to say that I just bought my first scooter, I'm turning 49 in the middle of May...
|
|
|
|
Post by GreenDawg on May 7, 2012 6:56:45 GMT -5
I have been scootering for about 10 years and am 57..
my only complaint is lack of storage. Any recommendations on tackling this ?
the milk crate on the rack is not entirely stable and looks like death warmed over
I ride a kymco agility 50..
Doing various searches thru posts ( and yes I'm a newbie here ) hasn't brought up much
Good luck mature scootererz
|
|
|
|
Post by ltdhpp on May 7, 2012 11:52:57 GMT -5
I'm glad I got into scooters 'early' at 31 years old |
|
|
|
Post by janstheman on May 7, 2012 12:00:49 GMT -5
I am 57 and thinking of buying my first scooter. Is there any brands of Chinese scooters that should be avoided? I would love to get a Honda PCX, 2013 model will be a 150cc, 2011 was a 125cc. Just thought I would say you aren't the only one new to scootering. I long to get out on the back roads and ride just for the fun of it. For me, it would be a hobby or something to do in my spare time. Just wondering if others felt the same way I do.
|
|
|
|
Post by ericrockstar on May 7, 2012 12:11:05 GMT -5
Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki are NOT Chinese.
If you can afford it, do yourself a favor and go for it. Even the most nameworthy Chinese is not as good as a Honda. That PCX looks like an awesome scoot. It's a 150cc, water cooled, fuel injected, rocket. The only thing it has in common with the myriad of Chinese scoots is engine displacement size.
|
|
|
|
Post by justdon on May 7, 2012 12:46:53 GMT -5
Well welcome to the crowd i just bought my linhai about 2 months ago.My first scoot and iam 62..Didn't know how much fun i was missing..
|
|
|
|
Post by rks on May 8, 2012 12:08:28 GMT -5
Welcome aboard dixiegmcsm,,,,better late than never,,,,, but you joined the party much sooner than I. Got my first scoot a couple of months ago, at age 64. Bought my first of 4 motorcycles in 1966, but had not ridden a two wheeler in over 30 years, until this new scooter arrived.
Had a couple of good laughs while reading your first post, seems a lot of us think and act alike, dreamin up something we need in town, just so we can start the scoot and take off down the road. Neighbors shake there heads as I go by, "look at that old geezer" I know they think I've lost my mind, ta hell with em, I'm enjoying myself.
Again, welcome.....scoot safely...Bob
|
|
|
|
Post by pearlygates on Jul 6, 2012 19:02:11 GMT -5
Turning the B I G 50 in September and have a 50cc scootie on order! Selling my car and scootin!
|
|
|
|
Post by katastroff on Jul 6, 2012 19:13:22 GMT -5
Welcome to scooter heaven!!
I sold my gas guzzling kia to buy a scooter and im 47. Could be something they put in water to make us all addicted to them little weezer bike!!!
About the quality of chinese scooter, i just drove 150km on one non-stop. Got me self a tough little bugger i think.
=D
|
|
