SUNL - Bitting the Bullet

[mplsscooteruser]

Wish I had found this sight 36 hours ago before I confirmed my new SUNL purchase from scooterdepot.us but it looks like I'll have to make the best out of a possible bad situation. From what I have read thus far I may aswell assume crash the crash position. bad reviews on SUNL and the BBB has the company listed as an F. All sales are final though.

However, going into this knowing there may be potential problems, I place myself at the mercy of the pound's experience to make sure this scooter can atleast get me through the next year or so.

The scooter (SUNL 150cc MC-SL26) should arrive by Friday or next Monday, and the paperwork the week after so I have time to make adjustments and tweek befor making it legal and putting it on the road. ( Yes, I bought it off line and ashamed. Chalked up the low prices to "buy in bulk" marketing not buy in cr@p marketing.

The delivery driver is going to hate me by time I'm done because there will be no signature until I'm sure it has arrived mint. Anyhow, aside from taking it strait to an open field and blowing it sky hi with C4, what preventative set up should perform. The obvious is checking all nuts, bolts, screws etc...

Please post some links or advise accordingly, from what I have read so far the longer I can go keeping stock parts intact the better so as to not deal with replacement parts.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[mplsscooteruser]

Spent a good part of the morning reading the posts on the sight and have a feeling the better parts of my weekend graveyard shifts will be spent here absorbing knowledge. Kudos to the admins on the quality of this forum.

I just thought of another question I have yet to see asked anywhere. What about recommended break in period. Any time you get a new vehicle, and engine rebuilt, or a new engine installed it is always recommended to give the new parts time to adjust to each other.

Most complaints I have read about with SUNL were posted in 2006 so I am hoping things have changed a bit. Anyone remember Harley-Davidson between 76 and 80. I grew up near in Austin Mn near I-90 and would sit on the bridges watching bikers make the yearly pilgrimage to and from Sturgis. A lot of them would ride rice burners to the Dakota border with their Harleys on trailers and then switch over because the bikes would throw parts left and right on long rides.

One of my buddies made the trek one year on a Crotch rocket and joked you had to ride 50 feet back from the hogs just to keep from getting hit by fly parts. I like the idea of giving all the nuts, bolts and screws a once over and adding lock tight everywhere possible though and will most likely spend the first week doing just that.

Thanks again and sorry this post went under the wrong catagory.

[tortoise]

mplsscooteruser said:

I just thought of another question I have yet to see asked anywhere.

How to find anything here!

[mplsscooteruser]

Thanks tortoise, Off work early tonight and started a new string in a more appropriate area. I did do a search on "break in period" but it didn't come up with a recommended time or mileage. All of my riding will be within 5 miles (either to work or the gym) so I am not too worried about stressing the engine too much.

From what I have read so far the GURUs suggest changing all fluids asap, tighten all bolts and screws securing with Lock Tight, and replace cheaply fabricated parts. Working on making a list from the posts so I can wrench on it while waiting for the paperwork.

[JiuJitsu]

Maybe lubricate the air filter?

I am new here too, putting the same list together...

That is a great looking ride and you are at the right place... Enjoy

[mplsscooteruser]

Sorry, lubricate the air filter? It has been 18 years since M.M.I. (Motorcycle Mechanics Institute) and I have forgotten more than I learned, but don't know what this is referring to. Is this one of those initiation jokes like shelf stretchers, blinker fluid, and ice mix?

[scooterollie]

No, not a joke. Some scoots have thick, flat foam air filter. It has been suggested that this be lubed with air filter oil (like K&N filter oil). If you have the traditional pleated filter, no need to lube it. Don't be too discouraged, your scoot will probably turn out OK.

[WarrenS]

Don't oil the filter for the CVT. That one should be kept dry otherwise the belt or cluch will slip.

[mplsscooteruser]

Wow, so much to learn. Looks like I'll be dropping down some coin for ScootDawg's manual to keep up with the acronyms. I work in the telecom industry on T1's so no big there. We can say entire sentences with nothing but acronyms. Now I'll have to look up CVT though.

[WarrenS]

The CVT is the transmission. It consists of a centrifical clutch. This has shoes similar to brake shoes that fly out to engage to start out. Then there are rollers that also use centrifical force as engine speed increases. These force the pulley halves together to make the belt ride higher in the front pulley and lower in the rear pulley. It uses a belt called a variable speed belt. Now here is the amazing part. To keep everything cool there is a fan built into the front pulley that pulls air though its own air filter and exhausts the hot air out the back. I hope this helps in your understanding of your scooter.

[mplsscooteruser]

Much better explination of how a CVT works. I'll post this to my other string as well. Thanks.

[griff10]

Actually from how I understand it there are two automatically adjusting pulleys, front one (I think) adjusts for speed changes,
the rear adjusts for changes in torque, like climbing a hill. Overall a pretty sophisticated yet simple system.

Bill H.

[mplsscooteruser]

The link I posted on my other string also as a video of how it is used to get fuel economy in the new hybrids by just running it off battery power until you get to a certain speed. Not sure if the same applies to the scoots.

[rureal]

I just order a SunL scooter 150cc. I have since heard and read so many bad things about the manufacturer. My question is, if I change oil, tighten all bolts with lock tight, let the bike idle for 30 min, and do all the other things people are suggesting on the front end, can I expect for things to work out, or am I going to be screwed no matter what I do. I would rather try and sell the darn thing when I get it if it's not going to be a good investment. Please advise!!!

[rerun2]

Just what I have gathered from member's various posts, SunL has a reputation of having horrible or NO customer service, no parts, and some other gripes... however, the scooters seem to be quite serviceable once they are 'tweaked' just as other Chicom scoots are if properly set up initially.

To be honest, I don't think any of the scooters have has enough mileage accumulated to get really definitive quality assessments on any particular model... Better data is found on DEALERS and how the machines are prepared and service supported. That seems to be the real pivot point of good or bad experiences.

So, it is just an opinion, but if a SunL is set up properly at the start, it should not present any more trouble than other 'brands'. There are some members here that seem to be quite satisfied with their SunL machines.

[mplsscooteruser]

Rureal, I had the same worries and at this point they were all for nothing. My scoot arrived in perfect condition and aside from attaching the trunk, the mirrors, and the battery it was no big deal. To summarized the verdict on these low end scoots they are bikes for people willing to roll up their sleeves and tinker. There are no way to make promises on anything you buy. Even Harley's have thier quirks when you first get them and those are generally worked out by the dealer before you take them home.

With SunL, Roketa, Tank ... the consumer IS the dealer in this case so the set up is completely on our heads. Check out the thread scooterdepot.us and isawhim's responces for a great read about this.

Ultimately, I don't think any of us on here can predict what kind of experience you'll have. Just take precautions and buy tools if you don't already have them. So far I have needed a flat blade and #2 Philips Head screw driver, a 10mm socketand ( 17mm to change oil), 10 mm open face wrech, and a pair of needle nose pliers to keep the nut inplace while installing the battery. Get familiar with your bike and how internal combustion engines work. I also used a baby medicine syringe and a length of hose to prime that carb. Milking the gas line works also.

Also, keep in contact with your sales rep and build a good relationship with them. Not sure who you went through but if you went through scooterdepot expect up to two weeks for delivery depending on your location and an additional week for paperwork.

Definetly change the oil though asap and read as many of these posts as you can between now and when you get your bike. As the old saying goes an ounce or prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[rureal]

Just to be clear, is the knock on the Sunl scooters primarily because of bad service, hard to get parts, and minor manufacture flaws like loose screws and dead batteries, or have you heard anything worse such as cheap motors, bad framing welds, suspension problems, etc. Also, I read on another site where someone said that Sunl's newer scoots are more reliable than the ones many people were complaining about in 2006. Can anyone tell me if there is any truth to this?

[mplsscooteruser]

Most of the posts i have read are directed at SunL itself and most are around 2006. My rep admitted SunL had some issue with batteries not holding a charge. Cheap motors appears to just be part of the territory with low end Chinese scoots. Know this gives a heads up to new owners like myself because we can take extra precautions i.e. changing all stock oil, checking hoses and vacuume lines on a regular basis, and keeping the filters clean. Also using the scoot how it was ment. Mid range on a 150cc bike is going to be about 35 to 40 mph. Running it at top speeds for long periods of time are going to burn out these low end parts.

I have yet to see anything regarding frame issues, and suspension is going to be determined by road usage. The shocks look fairly standard and should be fairly easy to replace. The vets on here should be able to provide better insight.