Nija

Ok, so I bought a scooter about two months ago. I ride it atleast once a week. About a month ago, it ran out of gas. So I went to the local Gas station and bought 4 gallons on 92 octane fuel. Brought it back home, and broke out the two stroke oil bought at the scooter shop. According to them I was to pour 3.2 oz of oil into every 1 gallon of gas I put into my scooter ( 40:1 ) so I think I measured it out correctly and poured it into my scooter until it was almost full. (yes I vigoursly shook it like advised). I rode it around for about half an hour and everything seemed fine.

Well the weekend before last, I wanted to see if I could make it up some moderate hills. Nothing too steep. I think the biggest one was maybe 5% grade incline. I get a good start on the flat part leading up to the hill, and I'm going about 10mph and I hit the hill and the engine starts sputtering. Crude. Maybe the hill is too steep for the new motor. I figure this has to be it.

I wait until today to ride it again, mainly because I've been out of town. So I ride it to walgreen's and pick up my prescriptions. No problems. I take a different route home. It takes me through the Del Amo mall. There is an area that was recently converted to a bus stop and so there is a large open area on a slight grade then a slightly steep walkway for peds. and then the large open public parking lot. Well as soon as I hit the lower slight incline the motor starts puttering bad, like it's choking. So I lay off the gas (I've been cruising along somewhere between 5 -10 mph). WTF. I keep it alive, and turn around so I'm going downhill, it's puttering nicely, as soon as I turn it up the same hill I was just on, it starts puttering again. Now the whole rest of the way is uphill slightly. The whole way the engine will idle nicely in neutral, and even in 3rd, but as soon as I put it in 2nd all the power immediately escapes it, and it starts to die, the only way to stop it from dying is to put it in neutral (basically pulling the motor and spindle off the rear tire) I've tried sprinting starts with it in 3rd to 2nd same thing. Dead starts, everything. Anytime it has to take me up a hill it starts wanting to die.

I don't think it's because I weigh too much. They are rated to carry up to like 400lbs and I'm about 250. The engine is entirely stock. Could it be the fuel? maybe I mixed it wrong? Could I be too heavy? Those are the only two things I can think of. Little help.

TIA

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"Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

Mike_N_Ike

Wow. My parents live (and I grew up) about a mile from Del Amo mall. I never knew we were neighbors.

Sorry, a bit off topic

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-Mike

Nija

yeah, I moved here about 2 years ago, I've been working in the area for the last 4

Nanotech9

COULD BE A DOZEN THINGS...

but, since its incline related, it MIGHT be the float bowls... if it has them.

I know the guys that wheelie the quads have to lean out the settings on teh float bowls in the carbs cause if not they'll flood the engine and it'll die in the middle of a wheelie...

i wouldnt think a 5 deg grade would cause it, unless they're really sensative and already too rich.

Make sure you're fuel is mixed right - mix up a new batch in a container, and then add it to the scooter - dont mix it IN the scooter...

if you have a real carb with adjustable needles, try lowering the needle a couple of "clicks" or one notch (depends on how its designed). That way it'll lean it out a bit.

adn for christs sake, dont use 92 octane in a scooter... the lower the grade the fuel, the better it combusts... unless the motor is pinging like a someofabitch, use 87 or 85 octane. It'll actually burn hotter.

Higher octane fuel is designed to be more stable, and decrease pinging and detonation - IT DOES NOT GIVE MORE POWER. The ONLY time using higher octane fuel helps is if you have a car with a knock sensor that is retarding the timing because it is trying to keep the engine from knocking because of low grade fuel. In that case, using a higher grade fuel that doesnt make the engine try to knock, and doesnt make the car retard the timing, will result in more power (retarding the timing kills power badly).

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Nija

well I noticed today that the carb was kind of sticking when I first started it. It turned on, and was HIGH revving. then it went down a little, and I pulled the gas, and it went WAYYYY HIGH, so I killed it. I started it up again and it was high revving again, and I looked down and it look like the carb was almost fully open, so I moved it to a more closed position, and that seemed to work for the second. So as I stared at it, I gave it gas, and it seemed to be sticking at it's 'apex'. Took a couple of minutes but it started working decent enough for me to get home.

About half the way home, i was cruising along, and it started pulling (like it was under a major load) so I let off the gas, even more, since I was coming to a light.

So weird. I cruised home at about 10mph (i'm guessing, it felt slow, but I was still moving decently).

So weird...

Thanks for the suggestions, Nano, once I figure out what you said, I'll try to apply it

ialsohaveadream

Yeah, I had trouble accelerating up hills before too. I advise increasing your weight on the leg press, then hitting some stairs after distance workouts.

Oh wait...on a scooter? I don't know.