The starting issue I mentioned in my Sept 6 post got much worse. So the scooter has only been on the road a couple of times in the last 2 weeks. I spent some time going over everything - checking fuel lines, vacuum line, carburetor, electrical connections, even readjusted the valves. Nothing seemed wrong. Everything seemed to point back to the battery. So just replaced it. That turned out to be the problem all along. It now starts and runs great. I got a high quality sealed battery that cost $45. This is the first repair money I've spent on the bike. Not too bad.
However, the extra loud rattle from the front end appears to be caused by a broken tab that holds the front cowl in place. I have not taken it apart yet to see if it's repairable but that is my next project.
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Rakatak 150
Chinese motor scooters are the hottest commodity on two wheels. This blog is the account of my experience with a Chinese scooter purchased on Ebay. It's created in the spirit of contributing information for the benefit of the scooter community.
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Rakatak 150
The Scooter
The scooter is a Rakatak 150 sold by a company of the same name in Lorain Ohio. It is a clone bike; that is, there are many bikes made in China that look identical and have the same engine design but are assembled by different manufacurers.
About Me
- Morewithless
- Columbus, Ohio, United States
- I enjoy motorcycle riding, but wanted somthing more practical, with storage space so I could go shopping or whatever, and leave my car at home more. I reseached scooters but was reluctant to spend much money on one because I was unsure if I'd really like it. I am no professional mechanic but working on cars and motorcycles has been my hobby for 30 years.
6 comments:
I found your comments interesting including the attached photos. I also have a Chinese scooter and although it's not a Vespa or Honda - it gets me from point A to B. My plan was to have it for approximately 2 years, learn the mechanics of it, and basically figure out if I'd like to get a different model. I'm interested in reading about the possible challenges that'll arise.
I'm a first time scooter owner and found that it was cheap to insure/register, perfect size for storage in small shed, cheap on gas, and of course fun to ride. I happened to get it on sale and when I picked it up I was surprised to find that it included a windshield, storage box, alarm, and remote starter. The model I picked up was a Retro Saga Scooter - I think formerly known as Volano by Benzhou.
Thanks for posting your issues and resolutions. I'll be keeping a maintenance journal for my model as well.
Observation: out of the 4 Volano/Saga scooters purchased at approx the same time, only one has had problems so far. It was also in "starting" and we suspected it would be either the fuel line or filter and brought it back to the mechanics to sort it out since it's still on warranty.
w00t!
Thanks for the link to TheScooterScoop!
Ride safe!
steve
Love the blog...eager to hear some more about how things are working out as the weather warms up. Pleas keep posting!
Did you ever get the problem fixed. I just bought my first Chinese import scooter. It came in yesterday. Your posts and links were a big help in putting it together. Thanks!
I've just purchased what looks to be the same scooter but under the Geely badge. Considering the generally negative comments I've read about Chinese bikes, it's refreshing to come across someone prepared to comment on the ownership of one and to give me good advice for its maintenance! As your last post was almost a year ago, I assume you've sold the bike? I paid a fraction for this scoot of what a better known model would have cost me. It's quite flimsy, has a poor disc brake that I'll need to adjust (just like you experienced) but it goes quite well. I'm rather dismayed by what seems to be an over ambitious running in period of 1500km!! I'll keep you posted on how I get on with it. So great blog!!
I have the same model and the starter was not working. It turns out it was the battery was dead because it was driven enough. But there are newer technology out for the batteries and now I use that and it starts up like a charm.
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