In a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin.
The religious right is motivated by the suspicion that someone, somewhere,
is having fun -- and that this must be stopped.
Okay, so it's a little bit ugly. But this Piaggio hybrid scooter supposedly gets 141mpg out of its 125cc engine plus electric motor hybrid setup -- or, if you're doing short distances, serves as a plug-in hybrid. Hmm, makes my Wee-strom's 50mpg look lame, but then I have to ride a three-wheeled scooter? Erk!
-- Badtux the Two-wheelin' Penguin
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I recently had the misfortune of being talked into working on my nieces scooter.
ReplyDeleteShe had talked to some idiot and then relayed that info to my brother who promptly started bugging me to work on it, it is her primary transportation.
What a piece of work that thing is.
They handed me an ignition coil and told me the idiot said the starter relay was bad and that is what he sold them.
After much dicking around getting to the motor, something like 24 bolts and screws, I came to the conclusion the starter was locked up.
Long story short, even after replacing the coil, fixing the starter and replacing the spark plug, it would not start cold.
I told them to find a reputable repair outfit, there is no choke!
I did take it for a spin after I got it started and I only have one word to say about those things,they are
UNSAFE.
Shit for brakes (disc) .
High center of gravity, hit a bump and hold on for life! Squirrely as hell steering too.
No thanks, three wheels or no, this critter is the same thing.
Sounds like you worked on one of those cheap-ass Chinese scooters, 'Nucks. The Italian jobbers are quite a bit better built than that. Though you still gotta remove 24 bolts and screws to get to the motor...
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Motorcycle Wrenchin' Penguin
Bingo. Chinese POS.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the top end on that thing?
ReplyDeleteNo idea. A typical 125cc scooter tops out at around 50mph, I'd figure about the same for this thing. I.e., fine for puttering around in the city, but don't try to hit the freeways with it.
ReplyDeleteThey are, however, talking about a 250cc version. Those can go 75mph pretty easily. I saw a short fat lady riding a 250cc Vespa (that's made by Piaggio, BTW) through Death Valley a couple of weeks ago, and on my way back home I ran into her again in a rest area on I-5. She didn't seem to have any problem keeping up with freeway traffic even though she had a bunch of luggage strapped to the back.
That said, a 125cc scooter will get 60-70mpg to begin with, and the hybrid stuff takes up the under-seat storage compartment and will add a lot of weight, so why? Other than I suppose the fact that you can go 30mph on just the electric motor for 15 miles, which is great if you are within 15 miles of work on city streets and have a place to plug it in there...
- Badtux the Scooterista Penguin
Update to the mystery no start problem.
ReplyDeleteThe pro's rebuilt the carb and it still won't start cold. They are going to pitch it and install one from a Honda 125 that has a manual choke.
I feel better now!
A lot of scooters have an electric choke, 'nucks. Just like a lot of old cars did.
ReplyDeleteThat said, given that the most common Chinese scooter engine is a direct clone of the most common Honda scooter engine, the Japanese carb ought to do the trick too...