Getting the 50cc scooter up to snuff

[Roscoe]

I've been working on the 50 cc .... 2008 Jonway .... I have no idea what the history of this thing is... it shows less than 500 miles on the odometer. From the looks of the tires and condition it probably quit working a month after someone bought it and never ran again. I got it going a bit and it seemed good enough to see what I could do with it. I put a big bore kit on it yesterday and that helped a lot with the acceleration. I was going to give it test drive today but the front tire started going down, when I tried airing it up the valve stem fell off. So thus far maybe 8 blocks after installing the BBK. I'll run down to the "we got everything" store which carries a lot of tire repair supplies and see if they have a valve stem that will work. By the way the 100cc big bore kit for 50cc is only 50mm and if you do the math and it comes out to 80cc's not 100. I did check the ring gaps and they were right where it should be for a 50mm cylinder.
I guess I'd better go to the store and see what I can find for a valve stem.

[rks]

At most places, the valve stems come in a two pack. Considering the condition of the front one....I'd be replacing the rear one also. It can be done without removing the wheel, if you have a large C-clamp.

[Roscoe]

I've got another stem for the back wheel but the old one seemed pretty solid.
I finally made a rather long test ride... for me it's a long ride.. to Dollar Tree for ice cream cones for me and zip ties for the scooters. A 20 mile per hour cross wind most of the way. 6.9 miles ! I could hit 35 pretty easy and that's good enough for what intend to do. I got up to almost 40 where that was the speed limit. Those little scooters are LITTLE. My knees can bump the front and it's not nearly as stable as the 150 especially in that cross wind, it got up to 35 against the wind. I smelled something like burning rubber when I parked in the parking lot and again when I got home, probably the CVT belt. It's got to be the original belt from 2008. Odometer is showing 506 miles now... it's not new anymore. I know I'm just reinventing the wheel doing this but I'm learning and having fun as I go along. I suppose I better take the cover off and look to see what the CVT belt looks like now and probably order a new one.

[rks]

" I suppose I better take the cover off and look to see what the CVT belt looks like now and probably order a new one."

Probably a good idea. 9 or 10 year old rubber is a gamble....be it a tire, belt, valve stem, fuel or vac line, or anything else.

Learning and having fun.....that's what life is all about, or at least it should be.