Taotao Lancer & Powermax w/ a tall person

[feartheclown]

Let me start off by saying I'm 6'5" w/ a 34" inseam & 210lbs. I was looking into buying a Taotao Powermax 150cc however the company, killermotorsports out of Dallas, recommended that I might consider the Taotao Lancer instead due to my height since it is a slightly larger scooter.

Could anyone please provide any insight into the ridability of either of these 2 for a person of my stature and naturally the level of comfort or discomfort I might experience?

Shouldn't be for any kind of heavy use, just to put around town and ride to work sometimes(20 minutes no highway) and slowly wean myself into the 2 wheel world. Thanks!

[feartheclown]

Also if anyone has a better recommendation than either of those 2 please feel free to recommend though I need something under $1200 with shipping included. I haven't been able to find many used options where I live(OKC) as this is pretty much a motorcycle town, not a lot of scooters.

[kz1000st]

You're a pretty big guy. Why not a bike? A 150cc Chinese anything will be working pretty hard and they won't last under the stress. Have you looked here? An older Japanese scooter might be a better bet.

www.craigslist.org

[feartheclown]

The reason why not a motorcycle? I really couldn't tell you, I don't have a lot of riding experience nor do I know anyone with a bike so there's a little bit of fear there for jumping on a bike haha. I figured this would be a fairly cheap way to ease myself into the 2 wheel world and gain some experience working on something that is cheap and not terribly difficult. The used route is a no go in OKC, CL is definitely somewhere where I looked.

Anyways, I did end up scooping up the Lancer, just waiting for it to arrive now. Figure I'll look pretty funny on just about anything with 2 wheels in the price range I'm looking at so we'll see how it goes, I'm pretty pumped regardless.

I could always go reverse-Gattica style and get my legs shortened rather than lengthened!

[rks]

I can understand the pumped feeling....felt the same way while waiting for mine to arrive from California. That was almost three years ago. Scoot is still going strong, even tho it has carried at least 10 lbs more than your weight, every mile of it's 5,800.

I might suggest that you familiarize yourself with a PDI, and take the time to perform a good one, before starting your new scooter. Very important if you want a dependable ride, or expect to get any kind of longevity out of it.

And finally feartheclown.....Welcome to the madness

[feartheclown]

Indeed thanks to this board i already have good intentions for the PDI. Thanks for the welcome. Hopefully things go great and i can become a scooter embassador for tall people, a mode of transportation most of us discount due to size. We'll see. Worst case scenario my wife just got a free scooter.

[rks]

I hope you keep us updated.

[feartheclown]

Naturally. Not much to update right now. Out of the country til Monday. I will say the shipping was crazy quick from killer motorsports. Ordered it Tuesday expecting it to arrive this upcoming week but it made its way to my garage yesterday. Based on pics from my buddy all appears to be in great condition from first glance. More to come Monday or Tuesday.

[feartheclown]

Completed uncrating and basic exterior inspection. Everything received in pretty good condition, only area of imperfection to exterior is on paint where the nuts were put in where the trunk will attach, though minor there is some paint chipped there.

Will say scooter is larger than I expected which is a good thing! From the normal riding position with my knees in it will definitely create some issues turning. However, seated from the passenger position it looks like it will be a perfect fit. There is plenty of clearance for my legs and my arms are plenty long enough to comfortably reach the handlebars without having to be hunched over. Seat is pretty comfortable just from initially sitting on it without riding it though a custom built seat that allows me to sit more in the middle may be something I look into in the future to allow for an ideal riding position for me but won't really be sure until I take it out for a spin.

On to the PDI!

[rlshepard]

You made a good choice with the Lancer, I got mine last summer (From killer also), just hit 1K miles. Just did the valve clearance adjustment and man she's running fantastic! I have to sit on the passenger seat as well (I'm 6ft) but it's a nice comfortable ride.

Enjoy and keep us updated.

[kz1000st]

The people at Tao Tao did it right when they decided to enter the scooter market. One of the first things they did was purchase the online dealer GS Motorworks. If you search the old site under "Vendors" you'd see that they got high marks selling various brands of 150cc scoots from the members.

I spoke to John Sanchez their head of the Parts Department on many occasions about their scooters, before Tao Tao owned them. He said that they didn't buy scooters that caused warranty headaches and knew which were the good ones. Tao Tao used their knowledge to build good scooters right off the bat. Most troubles you do hear about come from faulty prep or abuse. From what I see on the web most of the independent scooter dealers sell Tao Tao, a sure sign that all is well with the brand.

[feartheclown]

Here's a pic of my 6'5" frame on this scooter. Finally got the wheel on yesterday. Had to put everything else off til this weekend.

[feartheclown]

PDI nearly completed... Got it started today. Everything has been pretty smooth. Couple of issues we have run into...
Fuel filter replacement - Autozone couldn't find an exact match so ended up buying 1 that is slightly larger.
Plastic screw holes - In a couple of spots things are attached using a screw screwed entirely into a plastic fitting that we discovered was broken on arrival, 1 on the floor board and the other 1 on the side plastic fitting of the bike right above the taotao motors sticker in the above picture. Using some JB Weld to attempt to fix both, won't know how well it works til tomorrow after it dries.
Spark Plug - Mistakenly took the spark plug out without a magnetic socket, of course it got dropped. My buddy insisted he could get it out with his hand and knocked it back in the plastic housing on the side of the engine all the way to the back of the engine. Ended up having to take off the plastic housing on the side of it. Bought a magnetic socket when I got the new spark plug.
CVT Fill hole - The fill hole doesn't appear to have been properly created and there appears to be a thin layer of metal on it almost like a piece of skin giving it the appearance that its not actually a hole. Stuck a zip tie in there to determine if this was actually the fill hole which it was as the zip tie went straight through easily.
Hose Clamps - The hose clamps are by far the worst part of the assembly of the bike, way too many of them use these:

Luckily its an easy fix with zip ties.

Here's a vid of the scooter starting up:

[feartheclown]

FINALLY finished everything up tonight. Took a 5 minute drive in the 32 degrees here, adrenaline pumping! Didn't even realize how frozen my hands were til after I got off... finally realize why people love things on 2 wheels with motors.

My natural riding position puts me just on the front of the passenger portion of the seat and there is plenty of room. Ride was pretty damn comfortable. Now I just need to work on my driving and confidence.

After that first ride there is no doubt anymore that this will be my go to vehicle when I'm driving around the city or going to work and am alone.

[rks]

Uh-oh...sounds like someone else has caught the dreaded scooter fever

Only one treatment I know of to help reduce symptoms........more and more miles in the saddle......have fun, and be careful