Are there any reliable Chinese scooters and dealers?

Five steps to transforming a Chinese scooter from an unreliable toy to a reliable piece of equipment with a practical purpose:
1) Use of synthetic oil (Mobil 1 10W-30 works fine) both in the engine crankcase and in the axle as a solution to remedy the engine overheating after sort distances at or near wide open throttle, and remedy the foaming and burning of the axle oil, and to dramatically reduce the rate of frictional wear.
2) If the ground strap is grounded over a painted surface at the chassis end, and, at the engine end, over a plastic fan cover through which runs a metal bushing that does not quite extend completely through the length of the bore in the plastic cover which houses it, thus both ends relying mainly upon the metal to metal contact of the threads of the bolts which hold them in place through the chassis and engine, respectively; not an adequate ground, then the solution is to strip a small area of paint from the chassis where the ground wire attaches to the chassis and coat it with silicon ignition grease to prevent arcing and corrosion at the chassis end, and to reroute the end at the engine between the metal engine cover and the plastic fan cover, once again using silicon ignition grease to prevent arcing, thus making positive contact with metal surfaces rather that rely on thread flanks alone. This should prove a valuable key in resolving issues with the battery gradually (about every two or three weeks) losing charge until it will no longer start the scooter, and also prevent coils, notably the secondary of the ignition coil, but possibly also the alternator source coil, from developing faults. Also, though I'm not sure it plays a significant roll, the back of the stator assembly may be coated with paint, and, other than the attachment bolts, this is the surface through which the stator is ultimately grounded.
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3) The stock wire connectors are of poor quality, either breaking easily at single wire connectors such as bullet and spade types or not making proper contact at the multiple wire connectors, which can lead to various puzzling “gremlins,” the source of which may seem a baffling mystery, but with luck of jiggling the right wire reveals them to be caused simply by a poor contact between mating ends of wires at a connector. If not to preclude such problems in the first place, then at least as they arise, all or most (the critical ones, as a minimum) of these connectors should be replaced with ones of better quality, even if it means replacing multiple wire connectors with single wire connectors. If a component which previously was connected by a multiple wire connector needs to be replaced it should still be obvious which ends connect to each other as the individual wires are likely grouped together inside a plastic sleeve, and like colors will mate together.
4) Be aware that some ignition coils may develop a problem with the resistance of the cap (the cap is the portion of the ignition coil into which the spark plug plugs, and can be unthreaded from the plug wire and replaced separately from the ignition coil and plug wire) gradually increasing till it no longer works due to a little metal dowel (resistor?), located clamped between the brass connector which threads into the bottom of the cap and engages the spark plug, and the contact which engages the end of the plug wire, becoming coated over time with what may be an oxide of some sort, thus increasing the resistance through it; packing the void which this dowel occupies with silicon ignition grease would stop any arcing thus keeping it from becoming oxidized in the first place, assuming that the coating is indeed oxidation caused by arcing, or a compatible replacement cap of a different design can be used.
5) The gas line can be rerouted in a manner which places the full length of it at a height near the bottom of the gas tank or below it, thus allowing a positive gravity feed of fuel when the siphon is broken rather than necessitating engine vacuum to overcome the "potential well" created by looping the line over the top of the intake manifold as seems to be commonly done.

Five steps to transforming a Chinese scooter from an unreliable toy to a reliable piece of equipment with a practical purpose:
1) Use of synthetic oil (Mobil 1 10W-30 works fine) both in the engine crankcase and in the axle as a solution to remedy the engine overheating after sort distances at or near wide open throttle, and remedy the foaming and burning of the axle oil, and to dramatically reduce the rate of frictional wear.
2) If the ground strap is grounded over a painted surface at the chassis end, and, at the engine end, over a plastic fan cover through which runs a metal bushing that does not quite extend completely through the length of the bore in the plastic cover which houses it, thus both ends relying mainly upon the metal to metal contact of the threads of the bolts which hold them in place through the chassis and engine, respectively; not an adequate ground, then the solution is to strip a small area of paint from the chassis where the ground wire attaches to the chassis and coat it with silicon ignition grease to prevent arcing and corrosion at the chassis end, and to reroute the end at the engine between the metal engine cover and the plastic fan cover, once again using silicon ignition grease to prevent arcing, thus making positive contact with metal surfaces rather that rely on thread flanks alone. This should prove a valuable key in resolving issues with the battery gradually (about every two or three weeks) losing charge until it will no longer start the scooter, and also prevent coils, notably the secondary of the ignition coil, but possibly also the alternator source coil, from developing faults. Also, though I'm not sure it plays a significant roll, the back of the stator assembly may be coated with paint, and, other than the attachment bolts, this is the surface through which the stator is ultimately grounded.

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3) The stock wire connectors are of poor quality, either breaking easily at single wire connectors such as bullet and spade types or not making proper contact at the multiple wire connectors, which can lead to various puzzling “gremlins,” the source of which may seem a baffling mystery, but with luck of jiggling the right wire reveals them to be caused simply by a poor contact between mating ends of wires at a connector. If not to preclude such problems in the first place, then at least as they arise, all or most (the critical ones, as a minimum) of these connectors should be replaced with ones of better quality, even if it means replacing multiple wire connectors with single wire connectors. If a component which previously was connected by a multiple wire connector needs to be replaced it should still be obvious which ends connect to each other as the individual wires are likely grouped together inside a plastic sleeve, and like colors will mate together.
4) Be aware that some ignition coils may develop a problem with the resistance of the cap (the cap is the portion of the ignition coil into which the spark plug plugs, and can be unthreaded from the plug wire and replaced separately from the ignition coil and plug wire) gradually increasing till it no longer works due to a little metal dowel (resistor?), located clamped between the brass connector which threads into the bottom of the cap and engages the spark plug, and the contact which engages the end of the plug wire, becoming coated over time with what may be an oxide of some sort, thus increasing the resistance through it; packing the void which this dowel occupies with silicon ignition grease would stop any arcing thus keeping it from becoming oxidized in the first place, assuming that the coating is indeed oxidation caused by arcing, or a compatible replacement cap of a different design can be used.
5) The gas line can be rerouted in a manner which places the full length of it at a height near the bottom of the gas tank or below it, thus allowing a positive gravity feed of fuel when the siphon is broken rather than necessitating engine vacuum to overcome the "potential well" created by looping the line over the top of the intake manifold as seems to be commonly done.

Thanks for sharing that info.
I also have a couple of questions.
When my bike is warm, the "Clutch" seems to slip when going from a stop. It jerks, then finally rcovers and runs smoothly at about 10 MPH. It does not do this when the bike is cold and I noticed when I changed the gear oil that I could see where the belt was actually rubbing on the housing. Is there a way to tighten this?

Also, when the bike gets up to about 45-50 MPH, I get very noticable vibration in the front end?

Everything seems tight. I took it to a dealer and they said it was OK, that all of them tend to vibrate like that at higher speeds?

This is my first scooter, but I have driven many motorcycles and never had an issue like that.

Does that sound indeed normal?
Thanks

Suprised to already see a response;
The slipping sounds like it may be a dirty variator; these have weights which expand outwardly with increasing centrifical (or is it centripital, never can remember the differance) force and separate the pulley halves via ramped internal valleys and if they get dirty may tend to stick a little. This shouldn't happen until you've put about 2000 miles or more on the scooter, so if its less than maybe something else is the cause. Chances are if things a that dirty it close enough to the time to replace your drive belt anyway; my first stock belt lasted about 4000 miles when it broke, leaving me stranded but for the luck of being close to work and a coworker happening by in his pickup truck who gave me and the scoot a ride; replaced it with a kevlar reinforced one 3 x the cost, hope it lasts a lot longer.

Don't know if your the type who is sensitive to minor distractions, but assuming the vibration is significant doesn't sound normal, maybe even dangerous; passibly an out of balance wheel or worse. Mine doesn't do this to any extent which alarmed me, it is stable a top speed.

OK centripetal acceleration causes centrifucal force, but the words mean the opposite of each other.

HI,
Thanks for the response. My Scooter has 400 miles on it and the problems with the clutch have been happening almost since day one.
The belt looks in good shape to me, but I like your idea of upgrading it. As for the weights, That makes a lot of sense, but I have never tried to do that kind of repair, but I am sure it should not be that hard. I also read somewhere that the weights can be changed for higher performance weights that are supposedly more durable.

How major of a repair is this?
As far as the front end,, it is substancial to me, but then again, I have never had a scooter before.

It is freezing cold here right now, so I doubt I will be doing anything until spring, but wanted to start planning and learning about what to do.
My Bike has a trickle charger supplied by the vendor hooked up to it to keep the battery charged, plus it has a remote start that lets me start it once in a while.

One other question,,
When you were talking about synthetic oils, I remember the owners manual said no synthetics for the first 1000 miles, then OK, but strongly recommended a gear oil for the gearbox. I put the suggested gear oil in about 250 miles.
Did I understand you to say that you can use synthetic oil in the gearbox as well?

Thanks again.
Jim

Most of the scooters I know of, use syn in the tranny from day one, but not recommended in the engine until it is broken in. I went to syn engine oil around 1000 miles.

Not that it matters much, but just for the record I implied, actually pretty much said the weight seperate the pully halves as rpm increase; actually they force them together, causing the belt to hike up and more belt per rotation is pulled through.

If you only have 400 miles the variator should be OK. If you like to tinker its not especially diffucult but you should get a strap wrench, and don't attempt it in the cold weather. The worst time I had was puting the side cover back as I tried to sortcut and not remove all the panels for good clearance. It came off OK, but with the silicone in lieu of a new paper gasket it made a mess attempting t replace it. Haynes has a
Chinese scooter manual for about $30; can order online. If it were me I would bitch to the dealer and get them to pay for the service or do it for me; they should be able to pinpoint the exact problem, and it shouln''t be on a scoot that new.

The 10W-30 Mobil 1 synthetic works fine for me in the axle as well as the crankcase; but that is what the dealer recomended. And yes, you would want to use dinojuice for the initial breakin till the rings seated,I kind of assumed peaole would be aware of that but should have said so anyway; just lazy.

Hi,, Thanks for the help.
I will look into getting that manual.
good info !

Just got my 250cc Shenke Ranger from Mishi this past Friday. Owner and Mechanic were very helpful in going over preventative maintenance. I have only driven it about 25 miles, so I can't comment on reliability at this point. It does handle very smooth and has excellent acceleration. Everyone loves the stylish look. The windshield is a big help. Drove it to Church this morning at 45 degrees and with a full face shield helmet, wasn't too cold. Mine is a 2009 model. I plan on taking the motorcycle safety course in a couple weeks to eliminate the need to take the driving portion of my license test. I will give update after I have driven it for a while.

Jim wrote:

HI all,
I just emailed Mishi motors again and got a nice response.
I am impressed that they do the prep work, and road test and ship it ready to ride.
Here is their response in regard to my questions:
Hi,
Our warranty will be 12 months on engine, and 6 months on parts, You send us whichever parts you need, we will ship new parts to you,
CLICK HERE FOR WARRANTY http://www.mishipowersports.com/category-s/58...
We Provide Free Prep., Tune-up and Road Test before we ship your Scooter
We ship Ready to Ride Scooter or Moped
We take the scooter/moped out of factory crate
Install a new fully charge battery
Fill-up gas
Start the Engine
Adjust the Carburetor for Air/Fuel mixture and set the idle speed
Completely inspect the scooter/moped for any non-working parts
Road-test the scooter/moped for 3-4 miles
Correct, if there is any problem
Repack it into the crate and then your scooter will be ship to you in READY TO RIDE condition
You just fill-up the Gas-n-Go.
**********
It sounds good to me.
I did look at more yamaha's and honda's and suzuki's,, I would love to have one, especially the Honda Silver Wing,, but it is just not in the cards for me. I don't have that kind of money to spend.
Anyway,
If anyone has comments or experiences with the scooter I am thinking of, or the dealership, please feel free to share your comments with me.
Thanks again,
Jim

Jim that is a Roketa 250 54-B model buy the Roketa I have heard and read lot of good things from owners and it has the Yamaha/Linhi clone engine in it.

Jim wrote:

HI all,
I just emailed Mishi motors again and got a nice response.
I am impressed that they do the prep work, and road test and ship it ready to ride.
Here is their response in regard to my questions:
Hi,
Our warranty will be 12 months on engine, and 6 months on parts, You send us whichever parts you need, we will ship new parts to you,
CLICK HERE FOR WARRANTY http://www.mishipowersports.com/category-s/58...
We Provide Free Prep., Tune-up and Road Test before we ship your Scooter
We ship Ready to Ride Scooter or Moped
We take the scooter/moped out of factory crate
Install a new fully charge battery
Fill-up gas
Start the Engine
Adjust the Carburetor for Air/Fuel mixture and set the idle speed
Completely inspect the scooter/moped for any non-working parts
Road-test the scooter/moped for 3-4 miles
Correct, if there is any problem
Repack it into the crate and then your scooter will be ship to you in READY TO RIDE condition
You just fill-up the Gas-n-Go.
**********
It sounds good to me.
I did look at more yamaha's and honda's and suzuki's,, I would love to have one, especially the Honda Silver Wing,, but it is just not in the cards for me. I don't have that kind of money to spend.
Anyway,
If anyone has comments or experiences with the scooter I am thinking of, or the dealership, please feel free to share your comments with me.
Thanks again,
Jim

Jim go to the Chinese scooter forums scootdawg and sccoter doc read info on the Roketa 250 54B that you are looking at you will see it is a good reliable bike and there quality has greatly improved since 2005-2007

Hi all
THanks for all the responses.
Last year, after spending 400 + dollars to have the scooter repaired by a guy who obviously did not know what he was doing to remove the carb and clean it and then charged me 12 hours labor , convinced me it was going to be too hard to keep that scooter maintained so I traded it in on a Kawsaki ZG1000 2005.
I have since replaced both tires and front and back brakes, had the valves adjusted, carbs synced, changed oil using Amsoil Oil, and K&N filters as well as irridium plugs.
I added fork brace, handle bar risers and a stereo and GPS.
It is running great. The only real issue is that because it has a HUGE gas tank, it is very top heavy and you have to be very careful at slow speed, especially when turning.

I added a GIVI tunk and a new smoked windshield as well. It looks and runs great.
I should have just gotten a bigger bike to start with , but live and learn.

Anyway, good luck to those of you who have scooters.
I know they can be fun around town.

I am going to stay with touring bikes and cruisers from now on.
Take care
Jim

I don't think anyone has noted that the Kymco scooters are made in Taiwan, are of higher quality than the Chinese scooters (although I think their 50cc is made in China under their supervision) and fall between the Japanese and Chinese scooters in price. You should be able to afford a late model used Kymco People 200 (actually 163cc) for what you have to spend, with money left over. New ones are about $3k.

A lot of U.S. Mfg's use Chinese parts. But as you stated, they hold the quality to a lot higher standard than the Chinese normally have. Japan was just like that after WWII, and Korea was samo samo not too many years ago. Taiwan is part of China but has it's own Government, economy, and quality standards.