2017 Adly RT50

Quick review of a RT50. First things first, you will either love or hate the looks. I have always had a fascination with the Honda CT70 but dont wanna deal with a old bike from the 70's. Adly is built by Her Chee in Taiwan, and my friend had the Moto Roma version of the RT50 called the Bee back in the early 2000's and I loved riding it every chance I got. Now I have one, so here goes:
ERGONOMICS-The seat has a slight forward tilt and its not that comfy. Im 5'9" and 200 pounds and the reach to the bars is comfortable (they can be adjusted if needed) and the peg position is pretty good. Just that seat gets painful after awhile. Looking into getting it re-worked, more flat with better padding.
ENGINE/TRANS-Will hit 40mph top end (bone stock and not de-restricted) and is quick enough on take off. The stock exhaust has a catalytic converter in it and it is very quiet. I need to bring it back to the shop it came from and get them to mess with the carb. It has a weird flat spot at 30mph but it is not dangerous or anything terrible, just annoying. Engine and transmission are not as smooth as my past Zuma 2 strokes but that "might" get better with some miles. Im at 350 kilometers so will update if it gets better OR worse.
BUILD/RIDE QUALITY-Stock Kenda tires grip very well and the brakes work pretty good. Front will squeals sometimes though. Short wheelbase will buck you from the seat on big bumps. Headlight is good but you will outrun it if the scooter goes any faster. Tail light is nice and bright. Good fit and finish overall. Some exposed wires in strange places. Paint looks nice but Im debating removing the decals.
OTHER NOTES-Bintelli says a rear rack is in the works. Has NO native storage. Easy to fill with gas and the locking gas cap pops on/off with ease. The oil tank is under the seat. Thankfully you dont have to add 2 cycle oil all the time because the seats a pain to remove and re-install. Battery is also squeezed under there. I carry a small disc lock on the grab rail by the seat. The big 12" steel wheels make disc access very easy. Steering column lock is easy to use but do you really trust them? Front suspension is pretty good overall and the rear shock has a "click" adjust ring. Very easy to put on the center stand and sits low enough for short people to sit flat footed. Gets attention almost every time you are stopped. Harley guys at work teased me BUT they jumped at the chance to take it for a ride.
FINAL NOTES-Overall happy with it. Weird, ugly, fun and unique. Has a 2 year warranty but I will start modding it once I hit around 1000 kilometers (the tiny speedo favors KPH's) and the dash lights are kinda hard to see in daylight but the turn signal has a nice "beep" to it. Oh, and the front tire SOAKS your feet in the rain! Its my toy and nice weather commuter (16 miles each way to work). Will add/edit as things change. ALMOST forgot! No gas gauge! Has a old school pet cock that has off/on/reserve. It will stall on take off when the tank gets low. Then you hope you swapped it back to run from the prior fill up as you reach down to put it on reserve and start looking for a gas station. I have yet to test its range!

[sc00ter]

Okay, here we go. I have only found online service manuals. I prefer paper manuals (Im old) but have yet to check into getting one. Judging by the online ones, Im not to impressed with the service manuals though. The owners manual is just as vague. I have found EVERYTHING is crazy tight from the factory! Broke a strap wrench trying to get the variator off! Was trying to put a Multivar 2000 on. Cannot get the drain screw on the carb to come loose (gets boggy on idle sometimes). There was something else crazy tight but I forgot what it was..... The insects came out and made me quit before I could see if a Leo Vince ZXR exhaust from a Zuma bugeye fit the RT50. Also found that the rear shock is loooong, and an adjustable RRGS from a Zuma is not long enough. I think the 12" wheels are the cause for the looong rear shock. Found hand guards to but not feeling the look, plus its summer so they are not needed yet. Also found a great solution for a drink holder. Need to learn how to post pics. I have a tuned to the hilt Zuma motor, and I think the mounting points might line up....... Gonna enjoy the RT as is for awhile longer. Need to get the bucking suspension ironed out first.

[sc00ter]

Quick notes update: So, Im coming home in pouring rain of death. Yes, my feet/legs are getting SOAKED! Im cruising along at 35mph and the scoot stalls for a second then starts running again. Im thinking Im outta fuel so I switch it to reserve. The owners manual does not even acknowledge the petcock. When in the OFF position, the long half of the lever covers the word OFF. When in ON does the lever cover the word ON or is the ON word supposed to be uncovered? When your'e on RESERVE, is it word RESERVE covered or exposed? Still have not found out officially, so back to my rain notes. I get to the gas station and fill it back up, but it only took a half gallon? That is not a reason to switch to RESERVE? The scoot starts back up and I continue home. I pull into the driveway and go between the houses to get to the garage and hear a strange "snapping" sound. Look around (still in the rain) and notice the spark plug cap popped off! Barely on enough to stay running. Upon closer inspection (next morning) it seems the inside of the spark plug cap was all rusty and corroded inside from water getting into it, thus rusting the retainer clip out making it fail. I tried to rebuild it but it stripped on the inside of the cap during reassembly so I just put a cap end off a Zuma on with AMPLE dielectric grease inside the boot and around the spark plug end. That should keep the water at bay (wheel sprays directly on it) and the corrosion/rust out of the inside of the boot. Currently @ just under 600 kilometers. Might alert my local dealer of this issue and see if they become pro-active or not, as Im trying to pull the RT50 owners together for rides and such.

[sc00ter]

New seat is $75 and my seat guy is sloooooow, so I may just take it off the road while the seat is being redone. It (seat) REALLY hurts my back and the jarring suspension is not helping either. So basically it has not been ridden in 2 weeks. If it gets pushed to the back of the garage thats a death sentence, as I will loose interest in it! Gotta do something soon. Other than the horrible ergonomics for my lower back I still like it. Guess Im just a glutton for punishment, but my back finally said NO! So its off the road till a solution is found. Lets see how corrected seat ergos work!

[sc00ter]

Just found out something interesting. It seems Adly sells a 70cc bbk (thru Bintelli) that if installed by the dealer you keep the remainder of your 2 year warranty! It keeps the stock exhaust, just has more noise AND speed. May look into it..... Curious to know if its a cast iron kit or a aluminum kit. Sure I will never find out who makes it either but it seems good quality. The shop Bullseye scoot MOVES with the kit installed and has a good number of miles on it with no issues.

[sc00ter]

So I pulled the trigger on the dealer installed 70cc kit that maintains the full factory warranty (I have around 1 year and 9 months left) and has been proven with their shop scoot that has the same kit. Will post the total price with the break-down when it gets done. Still gotta do something with the seat and the rear shock, but now I will be able to hit bumps going faster and get bucked/smacked harder! Going to be weird having someone else do the bbk because I have built/tuned many motors BUT it will be nice still having a warranty. Keep everyone posted. Oh, going to start collecting some data points from my stock motor first as the bbk will be around 2 weeks away. Operating temps, compression, rpm's and I might do a lambda check also just to have them. Also getting the old parts back. Always save the old stock parts if they are still good.

[sc00ter]

Bintelli got back to me and said that the short end of the switch points to what is FLOWING and whatever the long end covers is NOT flowing. Nice to know, just not willing to test it yet! Ordered the 70cc bbk. It's a street cast iron kit. Have crazy data points from a week of riding the stock set-up. Post results when done!

[sc00ter]

Oh boy, I hope they were messing with me! I dropped the RT50 off to get the bbk installed. If a dealer installs the Bintelli approved bbk the warranty does not void. The kit is a nice cast iron, plated cylinder walls with a matching head. Forgot the "brand" but its Taiwan made. Dealer told me they normally DONT HAVE TO RE-JET FOR A BBK!? What, it will lean seize! Again, I hope they are joking. I have about 2 weeks of deep data collecting on the stock motor so if something does go wrong I can prove it was their fault. I work in the emissions engineering field for a highly respected small engines company, so I have access to some very nice resources. Finally, the whole thing came up to $360ish. The bbk was around $250! and install labor was around $100. Fingers crossed they do it right and I dont have to get ugly. Only reason I didnt do it myself is I dont want to loose the warranty and the extra beast mode motor I was going to toss on the RT50 needs more work than Im willing to put into it right now.

[sc00ter]

Ok, got it back from the shop. The 70cc is a cast iron kit. Adly (Bintelli) told them there is NO NEED TO UP-JET OR ADJUST ANYTHING! So far, idle/pilot temps look good, mid-range (needle) 25-35mph hits 300F, and WOT (main jet) 40-47mph (MAX speed with stock gearing) hits 280F. Going to do some plug chops just to make sure, and collect some current data points. Still being gentle on the break-in for the first 200 miles or so, but I have punched it a couple of times.... Keeps up with cars off the line now and is actually pretty fun to ride. Seat still hurts my booty, have to get off my butt and get it redone! Updates after I get more miles on the bbk. Oh, and $230ish for the kit and $100ish for labor. Keeps the remainder of my warranty-1 year and 9 months left. Cant find the receipt right now. So far worth the money spent.

[sc00ter]

Have just under 500 miles on the bbk and so far so good. Will hold a solid 45mph for as long as I care to hold the throttle pegged. After going on a group ride with way faster scoots I think the kit is good to go. My CHT ring broke and my tach started reading weird rpm's but I have been looking into a Vapor dash or Koso. Have yet to fix the seat padding but have got kinda used to it since I have made it my daily runner. Will look into a better rear shock, as getting bucked can get scary sometimes! Lets see, what else..... Bintelli said a rear rack is in the works, still waiting.

[sc00ter]

So I got tired of Adly/Bintelli dragging their feet with a rear rack option, and the more I think about it a rear rack would be really bulky so I think I found a good solution. A Kriega Drypack US5 (5 liter) that mounts to the rear fender. I wish I knew how to post photos. It looks good and stays put. I no longer fear getting caught in the rain while out joy riding now. Downside, the RT50 does not get ridden much anymore, so the $60 bag price is kinda a waste of money now. I just enjoy my 89 Zuma so much more. Trying to find a nice way to get rid of the Adly, but it was a birthday gift from my wife and I dont want to hurt her feelings. So this is the last post concerning my impressions with a Adly RT50. A much sexier older lady has taken its place, and she's named Zuma!

[sc00ter]

Finally got the blessing to get rid of the Adly RT50. My back cannot do the ergos for more than 50 miles so it has been sitting, taking up space. The shop that sold it to me is not interested in doing a consignment and offered me a cash offer fit for a crack addict. Don't wanna deal with selling it but would take $800 for it. Not sure if the warranty transfers over as I have a bit over a year left. Will probably donate it to a thrift store. No hassle of selling it and take the tax write-off instead.

[Irish]

ScOOter----Hope this helps----You said that you wanted a manual. I have a 2006 Sportster 1200 with a trike kit(bum leg) I got a manual thru Amazon. They might have what you're looking for. It's worth a try anyway! Irish

[sc00ter]

Donated the RT50 to the Salvation Army, gonna take the auction amount as a tax write-off. Irish, what kit do you have for you Harley? We had a horrible experience with Tow Pac. If a quality manufacturer comes out with a trike scooter (Genuine makes one for the overseas market) the wife would down size from her Spyder.

[sc00ter]

Wow! Got $1500 for a tax write-off on the Adly RT50. Not saying that it holds a resale value (dealer that sold it to me offered me like $400 for it, so that says something!) but overall I guess the right people were at the auction at the same time. Other updates. Wife traded the Can Am Spyder in on a new 2018 Crosstrek. So, down to 2 scooters and 2 cars. Now to clear out all the horizontal Minarelli stuff.