I thought I'd share some of my Top Tips with you, please add to the list if they could be of help to other members. 1. 4t leader engine oil filters, fit them hand tight then fit a jubilee clip round the filter butting the screw up to the engine case so it can't unscrew. ( Belt n braises) 2. When removing 2t oil tanks when running pre-mix, be sure to remove sender unit from tank, plug it back into the loom, if not thing's like elec start won't work as the scoot think's there's no oil in the tank!. 3. Always use copper slip on all frame fittings when working on scooters. 4. Never use a rattle gun to tighten variator nuts, torque wrenches are far better. If your taking variator on/off for roller tuning then mark nut and the end of the crank so it's always the same assuming it was once torqued up in the first place. 5. Mixture setting- warm up the scooter so the choke is off, let it idle then adjust mixture screw so it tick's over at it's fastest/ smoothest position, crack open the throttle and it should pick up without hesitation, adjust until it does then reset tickover to suit. 6. BT cordless baby monitors make great workshop alarms, you can hear sparrows fart in the mornings! 7. If you only have a rattle gun (air or battery), and no torque wrench then mark the variator/flywheel nut before you undo it then tighten it back up to the same mark position! 8. Do not buy second hand items like drive/oil belts/reed petals/ tires off auction sites, they are consumable items and need putting in the bin! They often ask for more than they cost new!!
when your hands are covered in grease, dont touch your face? that bit of hose you cut, you cut it too short. if in doubt give it a clout (thats actually good advice, try hitting screws with a hammer before you try and undo them, they often come undone easier) WD40 is your friend cardboard and metal polish work VERY well together on alloy/soft metal. if it doesnt start, change your spark plug first.
ok some serious ones today: the mixture screw, if it is on the engine side of the carb, it is counter clockwise to richen, if it is on the air filter side of the carb, it is clockwise to richen buy a big syringe from a pharmacy, they are very usefull for lots of stuff, from filling oil, to lubricating hard to reach places, plus a fuel hose will fit on the end! if you suspect an air leak, spray some carb cleaner/wd40 around the area, the idle will drop/pickup if there is a leak. the easy way to get grips on and off is to use an airline and force air around the grip when you are taking it on/off. check your tyre pressures regularly!
2t water cooled engines like Gilera runner, nrg, zip do not need the engine cases separated to replace water pump seal and shaft. If the shop say's it doe's, take it somewhere else who can do it!
dreadlocks dont take hairdye like normal hair, use 2 bottles... also hairdye makes oil smell go out of dreadlocks, nothing else does though...
Use penetrating oil, not WD40 before you tackle those rusty fasteners, it'll save you a lot of time and arse ache. Hairspray X loads into the grips before you slide them onto your bars. It dries out pretty quickly and they stick really well. Easy to remove and reposition or replace as well. Never buy used tyres or cheap tyres, or cheap ebay brake pads. Quality stuff is only a bit more but actually works and lasts longer.
to get grips on in 2 seconds, use compressed air, it makes an air pocket between the grip and the bar and you just slide them on. also, cheap tyres last a long time, but have very poor grip (my winter tyres are cheapy ones and have lasted 2-3 years, they have spit the studs now so time to change)
You still need something to keep the grips in place, which is why most people use glue. I use hairspray because I don't always have a can of compressed air, which is more expensive and not sticky anyway. Studded tyres are illegal in Britain. I was generalising about cheap tyres, but certainly you get what you pay for. Please be aware that I'm not a teenager making comments backed up by 4 days of moped ownership. :-D
you would be surprised how well grips stick without glue, i always use a bit of glue on the throttle one, but rarely do on the other side. studded tyres can be used in the uk, providing they are retractable studs (ei cast in the tyre during manufacture and not the screw in type) and providing the condition are necessary for them (frozen roads) where i live, we dont get so much ice and snow, pretty much the same as uk really, studless winter tyres are well worth a buy though, they work well on snow and pretty good on ice. thats my top tip i guess, use winter tyres
We don't get enough snow and ice coverage here to make studded tyres feasible. Construction and use regs state that tyres must not cause damage to the road surface, which pretty much makes studs 99.9% illegal, but have your point.
like i said, retractable studs, i used those screw in ones for the first time this year, on my bmw, its an odd experience screwing something into a tyre.... and they are sketcy as hell to ride on at first because they are so solid in the tyre, it feels like riding on a flat tyre almost.
