Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Sage advice. Always new circlips and I always swapped gudgeon pin and little end bearings too because they're cheap. A doddle and most satisfying to execute at high speed.

I think I got under an hour on my RS 125 back when....mind you had a lot of practice...

Vacuum or manual fuel cock?

Can't get my scooter to run at all beyond idle. Both jets and carb is spot on. It pulls enough vacuum at idle to open the cock, and toy get a few seconds of full throttle action before it bogs and returns to idle.

Suspect either fuel cock failing or dodgy auto choke. Or just some really persistent dirt in there! Already dropped and cleaned the tank thoroughly. Auto choke gets hot after 5-7 minutes and seems to move but not sure it's got enough beef to move the carb pin.
Also changed plug back to what it should be, a cooler plug but also went iridium, because iridium. Will try old plug again to eliminate that, though 100% feels like regular fuel starvation.

So now I see why previous owner did not use this thing for 3-4 years. Its a total PITA to get it running right.

Essentially I've got fuel starvation once I go beyond the idle/pilot jet. Starts and idle's like a champ, will idle forever without bother. Runs up from idle fine, then after 1-3 seconds die's off and returns to idle.

So....
cleaned tank, fuel cock, pipe work (vacuum pulls the cock open fine), cleaned carb out twice, cleaned out jets and orificies of carb very thoroughly, float works fine, checked operation of auto choke (does eventually push out and do something*), ignition all fine, oil level, valve clearance and compression all sweet as can be, air filter + oil filter all new and fresh.

It only improves to the point you can actually ride it above 3mph once its been idling for at least 10 minutes. Doesn't matter if the engine is already fully warm, therego I'm assuming its a problem with the autochoke, as its operation goes along the lines of '5-10 minutes to turn fully off after each period of ignition turned off'.
And then when it is choke off (or as off as it will go) you can ride it, but still epic bogging until throttle is pumped a few times or backed off to idle then back on it.

Next step? New auto choke or might even go for manual/cable conversion so then at least have control over that aspect. Fit another fuel cock, could still be an issue as they are renowned for fail. New carb**? Bike has only covered 3k miles but its all essentially cheap eastern parts that hold it together

This is the offender, a 20-26mm KeiHin carb. Only adjustment is idle speed and idle/pilot mixture. The needle and slide move freely, but as freely as a quality carb on a bigger bike, and would assume for a smaller engine if anything it needs to be able to move MORE freely?

What CC is it?

96cc 4 stroke 4 valve, 19/20mm carb with stock 35/.72 jets
Hi-per4 is the engine family

Yes that main jet size is way undersized, they are built for economy. Got a. 78/80/82 to try out but it should work properly before I start messing

Might be worthwhile to squirt some easy start/carb cleaner/brake cleaner in to the carb and see if it picks up hence diagnosing fuel starvation.

.

Yup it does. While was at it sprayed plenty on inlet manifold and around to check for vacuum leaks, again all OK.
New carb(one that has a manual choke already) is about £40 so might just do that as proving to be more of a headache than it really should be . Could be previous owner/garage has swapped needle / shims about and totally balls'd it. Other thing could be diaphragm (it's a cv type carb) could have a tiny split in it or not sealing right, again easier to replace whole thing than mess about with ordering parts

FIXED IT!

Two issues remedied, slow jet was infact blocked, fuel had lacquered itself in there so light was just about passing through its tiny .35 jet but not fuel, poked the hell out of it with a strand from a gear cable and boom, fuel delivery!
Second was an air leak around the auto choke mechnism, the original o-ring was starting to split, letting tiny bit of air in and causing havoc, new o ring and bit of grease to fill any gaps. Autochoke works fine, it moves about 80% of the way to 'off' within 20 seconds so will leave it on there for winter.

Now starts cold/warm/hot like a boss and run's right through full rev range (apart from stone cold as expected) like it should, no smoke, no smell, no popping = perfect.

Last tasks to get this thing on the road, rebuild forks and rebuild front disc caliper as both pistons a bit sticky.

I can now see why most scooters are for the bin before 5,000 miles, they are built like utter shit.

Can anybody recommend a decent (ie sensitive and loud) alarmed lock?

Disk lock or chain lock?

The Abus Detecto is supposed to be great. A guy at our office has one and it's pretty loud / sensitive when i've brushed his wing mirror etc.

I bought an Oxford alarmed disc lock - it's too sensitive, even the rain is enough to set it off - plus it's not very loud to be honest

the philip island round of motogp ( the most recent race ) was a cracker,

did anyone see it ? exciting right from lap 2 where ducati's ianonni headbutted a seagull and sent it off to that big garbage heap in the sky
down to the last two laps where the leader board didn't stay the same for more than 2 corners
amazing race

Only seen highlights but definitely some of the most exciting racing I've seen in a long time.

oof!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOW3byd0I84

I saw it, easily the most exciting race of the season.

Did you see the hole that seagull left in Iannones fairing?

Poor seagull:(, but yeah, not much choice.

How?

didn't actually see that it came off his fairing - thought it was just off his helmet - must be the angle

Same , I'm only going off the BT Sport commentators saying the seagull caused the damage, it was there as he pulled in at the end of the race because the camera zoomed in on it.

Does anybody have experience with making an insurance claim for a collision whilst filtering (as in a vehicle pulled out of a side road)?

Yes, want to discuss on thread or by PM.

I'll PM.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrsYFvUhzFY

I believe I've just solved my large bike/small garage conundrum.