Everything Two Wheels

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Who says that having your scooter serviced at a non-franchised dealer will void your warranty? The rider of this Yamaha Bee wee wasn’t aware that the rider has a choice when it comes to having your scooter serviced and no matter what a dealer may say new vehicle warranties can not be voided if you decided not to use the dealer you bought it from for your servicing requirements. Initially this rider rang me up for some advice about her new scooter. It was during this conversation that I revealed to her that she was free to take the scooter to any workshop she liked. A few days later the scooter was here for its first 1000k service. After a complete check over and a few minor adjustments as recommended by the Yamaha service schedule the rider was back on her way and safe with the knowledge that her new scooter warranty is still intact.

A TGB R50X was in the workshop today for a minor electrical fault to be fixed. This is the first R50X I’d ever seen. I thought these were a new model only just released but after talking to the owner he informed me that the R50X has been around for a couple of years. For a scooter that isn’t new to the market place these really haven’t dated at all. The sharp angels give it a real sport aggressive look and the doubled over exhaust with the added chamber add to the sporty looks as well. The thing rode pretty good as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that some one may have derestricted this one?

I think its drive belt week at Everything Two Wheels this week. Once again a rider rang me stranded on the side of the road and once again it was out in the van to collect the motionless scooter. This time it was an Italijet Torpedo with drive issues. More and more dealers are stating to shy away from repairing anything in the Italijet range due to the fact spare parts are becoming harder and harder to source ever since Italijet Australia went bust a few years back. Luckily enough the guys at GPS Imports in Melbourne are gurus with this kind of stuff. A quick phone call to Steve to confirm they had a belt in stock and the scooter was repaired and back on its way the very same day. If you’re chasing Italian spare parts GPS have to be your first point of call. Check out their website. www.gpsimports.com.au/

The owner of a Kawasaki KLR650 rang me and said the rear brake was pretty much non-affective and hopeless at stopping the bike so I booked it in for a check over. Once here the reason for the fading brake was very obvious. The rear wheel bearing were so worn that the wheel was twisting on its axel and pushing the brake pads apart. Every time you went to use the back brake you would first have to get the brake pads back to where they would have been if the wheel bearing were ok and only then would you be starting to brake. This made the rear brake feel very spongy and the rear brake lever would have to travel twice as far and do half the braking. The only option was to replace the rear wheel bearings. I removed the rear wheels and fitted some high quality shielded bearings. Once bolted back together I also decided to change the brake fluid just for good measure. A quick ride around the block and the rear brake was razor sharp and felt like new again.

I thought I give a positive plug to the guys at Stoney Creek Power Sports regarding their warranty and spare parts back up. Many owners when buying a new scooter never take into account the spare parts supply of the brand they are buying. I’ve seen cases with some of the smaller brands were a scooter has been off the road for weeks, sometimes even months due to poor spares supply. That’s not the case with Stoney Creek Power Sports the importers of TGB scooters. After a TGB Delivery 50 had a starter motor fail all it took was a quick phone call to SCP followed up by a fax listing the required spare parts and the bike was all but back on the road. The next day after the order was placed the new starter motor was with me and ready to be fitted. Once fitted the scooter was back to the Domino’s pizza store and delivering pizzas once more. In total the scooter was only off the road for three days and all repaired under warranty.

Rob is a customer whose KTM Superduke is a bike I’ve serviced since he bought it new last year. He’s originally from the UK and has been living here in Melbourne for the past couple of years. He rang me up and said his visa was coming to an end and it was time to head back home. I was expecting him to ask me to do a roadworthy on his bike so he could sell it on. What I wasn’t expecting was him to say “can you build me a bike that I can ride back to the UK on”. Spending lots of someone else’s money to build a one off bike is something I haven’t done in a while and how could I refuse such a request. Rob already had the idea of riding a BMW back but after some gentle persuasion I managed to convince him that it wasn’t such a good move. Being fuel injected and having a limited spare parts supply once in some of the Asian and Indian territories could prove to be a headache if the bike broke down in a remote location. We definitely need a Japanese bike but which one. We sat down with a blank sheet of paper a six pack of beer and our friend ‘Google’. It wasn’t long before we’d come up with a short list of a Suzuki DL650 a Kawasaki KLR650 and a Honda Transalp. The DL650 although a nice bike was eliminated because it runs tubeless tyres and if you’ve ever tried to change a tubeless tyre on the side of the road you’ll know why this one was struck off the list. The Kawasaki was ruled out due to the fact it is a single cylinder and although capable of doing the trip the long freeway stretches that Rob will encounter will have his hands going numb with the vibration. The standout winner was the Transalp. That was the easy bit. Now, the hard part is to find a good quality used Honda Transalp that we can kit out and modify for the long journey home. I’ll keep you posted how it goes.

As anyone who is a regular to the blog knows I have affection for Sachs City’s. As a scooter they are great value for money and go pretty good too. It’s a shame about the niggling electrical issues that these scooters seem to suffer from. Once again I had a Sachs City here today that had stopped dead due to electrical connectors coming undone. This time it was the bullet connector from the pulsar coil that had undone itself. After a quick squeeze with a pair of pliers to make the female side of the bullet connector go tight again it was a simple case of plug it back in and away it went. What a shame that such a great scooter gets let down by such a simple issue.

Spring is most definitely underway. Today was one of the warmest sunny days I can remember in a long time and with it tyre sales are starting to increase. The rider of this Aprilia RS250 opted to try some Continental Sport Attack tyres. I wasn’t too sure if I’d be able to get them in the correct sizes due the rear wheel being a 150 section but a quick call to Continental confirmed that Sport Attacks did come in a 150. Once the courier had delivered them it was a quick job to fit them on the wheels and the rider was on his way.

Brent is the owner of a Bolwell Shark which has featured in the blog once before when it stripped its spark plug thread. Today he rang me on the side of the freeway and told me “the scooter just stopped going forwards”. I asked did the engine run ok and he replied “yes”. I instantly knew that it had snapped a drive belt. So, it was out in the van to collect the stricken scooter and bring it back to the workshop. After removing the final drive cover my suspicions were confirmed. I’ve never understood why people refer to failed scooter drive belts as ‘snapped’. When a scooter drive belt fails it doesn’t just snap at one point and come undone they literally explode and reduce themselves to shredded bits of wire and small blocks of rubber. As you can see by the photo it’s totally destroyed. The only fix for this one is a new belt from Bolwell.

What can I say about my Peugeot Ludix Blaster! This is the funest 50cc scooter I’ve ever ridden. It looks ultra sporty and goes like a rocket. The power output this is on par with any 125cc four stroke scooter that I’ve ever ridden and opening the throttle soon has the needle going off the dial speed wise. The Leo Vince expansion chamber adds character to the scooter too. It’s noisy without being too over the top and makes the engine sound like it’s angry as you pull away. Blasting away from the lights has you leaving all the cars behind and pedestrians turning to look and stare. It’s strange the way this thing has me smiling when I ride it as much as riding a big cc sports bike would when being pushed hard on a ride out. If your looking to buy any of the 50’s on the market at the moment I recommend you put the ‘Blaster’ on your list. The ride to the office will never be the same again.

I think the winter quiet period has well and truly come to an end and spring is here bringing riders out of hibernation. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing all week with riders asking about tyres. I sold a set of Michelin Road 2 to a guy with an R1 who after having the tyres put on the bike headed straight up the Black Spur for a ride. He’d never had Michelin’s fitted before but after a quick chat with him about the use of the bike he opted for the Michelin Road 2. A few hours after leaving me I received a call from him telling me the tyres felt great and he was happily dragging his knee on the ground with plenty of confidence.

A rider rang me a few weeks ago and told me “the front of the bike looks wet”. I told him if he swung by I’d take a look but chances were that it had blown a fork seal. When the bike turned up I couldn’t believe the amount of oil that had leaked out of both forks. The fork seals were well and truly burst and oil had run down the fork legs on to the brake pads and was starting to cover the side wall of the front tyre. This riders so so lucky not to have had an accident due to loosing his brakes or slipping on the oil soaked front tyre. The only option was to remove the front forks and do a full rebuild. Once the forks were off they were stripped down to there individual components, degreased and washed. The inner fork leg needed some work due being very stone chipped. The stone chips are probably what caused the seals to fail but after smoothing the chips down with a mild grind stone the leg was ready to go back together. The reassembly was pretty simple and as always I used genuine Honda fork seals and even used genuine Honda fork oil as well. Once rebuilt they were put back in the bike and the rider was on his way.

I looked at a Bolwell LeGrande for a local dealer who was having trouble diagnosing what the issue was. It was really weird. The scooter wouldn’t run but did have a very weak spark. My initial thoughts were a faulty connection in the kill switch or ignition switch but after a quick check over of both switches they appeared to be in good working order and we also had continuity right through the ignition circuit. I hooked my peak volts meter into the ignition circuit and was getting voltages that fell within the specs of the workshop manual. I was now a bit confused. All the switches checked out ok all the components checked out ok and we had continuity right through the ignition circuit. In theory this scooter should run. I wondered if maybe there was some debris on the pickup coil inside the engine. I’d seen this a few times over the years where metal particles had magnetized themselves to the pick up coil and caused the engine not to run. I removed the stator cover on the engine and was amazed at the damage I saw inside. The stator had been overheating and had melted the wires to the point where they were now all bare, exposed and shorting out against each other. The really odd thing is the way even with the damage to the wiring of the stator and pick up I still managed to get inspection voltages that fell within Bolwell’s specs. The only way to repair this one is to fit a new stator.

The Jianshe is back together and up and running. But after riding this scoot I have to say Jianshe really is the lower end of the quality spectrum. The way nothing bolted together without a struggle and panels that had to be forced to meet each other showed that this really is a cheap scooter made from the cheapest materials. Needing a top end rebuild after just 3500 k’s is also an indication of the low quality materials used in buliding this scooter. On saying that this thing went ok for a 50. It took off without a drama and judging by the way it managed go off the dial speedo wise I’d say it had been unrestricted. It’s a shame the brakes were so wooden trying to pull the scooter up and the front leading link suspension bounced a fair bit. I think if I was in the market for a 50cc scooter I find the extra cash to get something with a better finish.

As a favor to an interstate dealer I did a minor warranty claim on a Daelim NS125. The rider had moved down from Queensland and brought the scooter with her and not knowing Melbourne rang the selling dealer for advice. The guys back up north recommended she come to me for help. This is the first Daelim I’ve ever seen and I have to say these things seem to be ok. The quality was on par with some of the other top end Chinese made scooters I’ve come across and it rode pretty nice too. All the bodywork of the scooter came off with ease and went back together all in place without leaving any gaps or screws not lining up. I think if I was in the market for a new scooter and I was on a budget I’d definitely consider buying one of these. I look forward to this one coming back for its next service so I can have a proper look over it.

Well, the parts for the Jianshe finally turned up. In total it took 8 days for the overnight bag to make its way from Jianshe in NSW to me in Melbourne. I think this is one of the drawbacks of dealing with smaller distributors of non-Japanese motorcycles and scooters. The bigger household brands do have the dollars behind them to stock almost every part needed to keep your motorcycle or scooter on the road and the staff to manage the whole ordering and shipping process so in all fairness to Jianshe they’ve done a good job at supplying spares for such a small volume scooter in the Australian market. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by working for the Jap’s over the past few years and I should just shut now and be greatfull the parts are here with me to be fitted to the scooter! Anyway, in the pack were piston rings, piston pin, circlips, gaskets and a few other odds and ends that were needed to put the engine back together. The only item Jianshe didn’t have stock of was a cylinder but after a quick wiz over with a medium stone hone the score marks came out and it looked like new plus it’s still within Jianshe’s service specifications.

WOW! This has to be one of the highest mileage scooters I’ve come across in a long time. This Bolwell Ariba is used by my local news agent to deliver his news papers of a morning. At present its speedo reads 59782 kilometers. Yes, that’s right. Not far off 60,000. Pretty much every panel is broken or scratched on this scooter plus the extra weight of the front rack made of solid steel doesn’t do the scooter any favors suspension wise, but due to regular servicing the scooter just keeps going and going and going. The owner told me he’s never really had any issues with the scooter since he bought it from new. The biggest drama is when it falls over due to over loading with news papers or being crashed by the rider. The only reason it was with me today is down to a snapped side stand. 60,000k’s and fully loaded with news papers. It’s no supprise the side stand gave in. Apart from that its 4am starts every morning seven days a week don’t seem to bother it at all.

The owner of this Bolwell LeGrand is someone who I’ve only ever seen when the bike has stopped and needs attention to get it going again. In the past 6 months I’ve seen this scooter four times. Three of them were to fix flat tyres and the fourth was to replace the fuel pump but apart from that it’s never ever been here for a service no matter the amount of persuasion I tried on the owner. Well, the lack of servicing has caught up with the owner. I got a panicked phone call asking could I take a look at the scooter asap. I told him to get over here and I’d take a look. A day later the rider finally turned up and the ‘rattle of death’ was very evident. Despite the noise the rider had carried on riding the scooter. The noise it was making was terrible but then suddenly there was no more noise. The engine had seized on the spot as I stood there looking at it pull up. It’s such a shame. This scooter chassis wise is in very good condition but at 22,000 kilometers with next to no servicing the engine stood no chance of lasting the distance. The moral of the story ‘stick to the recommended service intervals’. Servicing may cost but in the long run it will be well worth the out lay.

“….will you fix my scooter for me, no other scooter shop will help me” was the question I was asked by my 5 year olds school teacher last week. “Sure” I said, “what make is it?” “Jianshe” she answered. Up until that point I’d never heard of Jianshe scooters before. I collected the scooter later that day in the van and was met by a half dis-assembled scooter and a box of engine bits. After a closer look back at the workshop it didn’t seem like it would be that difficult a job to put it all back together. The bore of the cylinder was a bit marked up but apart from that the scooter looked ok. After a bit of research on the internet I located Jianshe’s Australian office and gave them a ring. The spare parts guy seem pretty helpful and after a few minutes talking to him he’d opened a spare parts account for me and my parts were on there way in an express bag. Hopefully it won’t take too long for the bits to turn up and I’ll come back and post the progress of the Jianshe’s rebuild.

Where are all the adventure bikes coming from? Last year I’d have never sold a set of Continental TKC80 in month yet this week I’ve sold 3 sets alone. I think I’ll have to start keeping a bigger selection of sizes on the shelf. They seem to be what adventure bike riders want at the moment. The rider of this Honda Varadaro was on a big 5000k trip into the outback over 3 weeks and wanted a tyre that would give good grip in loose ground. His best option was the TKC80. Not only do these tyres hold their own in the dirt they can also handle freeway work too.

As anyone who’s ever met me knows, Im not the tallest guy in the world. My shortness was something that made todays work a bit of a handfull. Trying to man handle the DL1000 on to my workbench backwards was hard going. These are one heavy mother of a bike. Once on the bench even the high of the bike made it a challenge to get any of my stands to lift the front wheel high enough to be able to jack the bike up in the air to take the forks off. Thank god I had a few bricks and wooden blocks in the corner of the workshop to make a makeshift stand. Once secured the rest was easy. Wip the front end off, install the new headrace bearings and put it all back together. Easy!

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What a busy Saturday it was today. It started with a 1st service and some tyres on a Kawasaki, recovery of a scooter with a flat tyre and finaly a rear tyre for a Vespa GT250ie. This is the first fuel injected Vespa I’ve seen. I didnt realise the Vespa was fuel injected until I was taking the exhaust off and saw an o2 sensor sticking out of the header pipe. The exhaust came off with ease and the quality of the Vespa compared to cheaper brands I’ve been working on of late was very evident. All the bolts of the swingarm and wheel came out with ease and re-assembling the scooter after fitting a new Continental Twist rear tyre was a breeze. It made me realise why you pay 2, 3 even 4 times more for a none Chinese branded scooter.

http://www.everythingtwowheels.com.au/tyre_store.html

Where are all the KLR650 owners coming from? Today I did another first service on a 2008 KLR650 and another set of Continental TKC80 tyres, the third is as many weeks. The Kawasaki seems to be the weapon of choice for guys who are going off road riding but still want a bike that can handle some freeway work as well. The owner of this bike lived up around The Black Spur on the out skirts of Melbourne and did some off road riding of a weekend as well as using the bike for his everyday ride to work during the week. The TKC 80 are perfect for this type of riding. For more info on the TKC 80 tyres ring Everything Two Wheels on 0434 920745 or check out the tyres store.

http://www.everythingtwowheels.com.au/tyre_store.html

An owner of a Bug Hawk rang me today with a punctured front tyre stranded at the side of the road. The rider was at his wits end due to the fact his options of repairer were running out. After trying nearly every other motorcycle and scooter shop in the local area without any luck, Everything Two Wheels were the only workshop prepared to collect the scooter on a Saturday. After picking him and his scooter up it was a short trip back to the workshop. Getting the scooter up onto the bench it quickly became obvious why the tyre was flat. Smack bang in the center of the tyre was a builder’s nail. The only option was to fit a new tyre and it wasn’t long before a new Continental Twist scooter tyre was fitted and the rider was on his way again. If you ever find yourself stranded and it’s outside normal business hours feel free to ring Everything Two Wheels on 0434 920745 and we’ll try are best to help you out.

http://www.everythingtwowheels.com.au/scooters.html

An owner of a SCP Sienna rang me last week and asked if I could help! He said he was riding along and the scooter just stopped. I went out in the van to collect it and brought back to the workshop. To cut a long story short the scooters CDI had failed and replacment of the part was the only option. A quick phone call to Stoney Creek Powersports revealed that spare parts were no longer available for this scooter being as old as it is. The owner on hearing this news told me to dispose of the scooter at will as he was thinking it was time to buy a new Vespa anyway. The best option for this scooter is to be sent to Kangan Batman TAFE’s motorcycle training campus out in Coburg were the up and coming apprentices can practice their mechanical skills. After a quick phone call to the head of the automotive department, the scooter was loaded up in the van and on it’s way to it’s new home at the TAFE. If you have any motorcycles or scooters sitting around that are beyond repair or you just want rid of them ring Kanagan Batman TAFE on 03 9279 2222 and ask to speak to Rick in the motorcycle section. He will gladly take them off your hands and all for a good cause.

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The new shop is well on it’s way to it’s opening day. The landlord is great to deal with being an existing cutomer plus a motorcycle and scooter rider himself, Yarra city council are working together with me to cover all the legal issues regarding the use of the premisis, new suppliers are jumping on board on a daily basis and today I got the first mock up pictures of how the new shop will look. Im really excited about how it’s all stating to come together. Can’t wait to get in!

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I am a fan of the Sachs City. These have to be one of the best value for money scooters on the market within its price range. The only drawback with this scooter is that whoever designed it didn’t put any thought into the way they come apart at service time. The one in the workshop today was in for a service, a snapped throttle cable and replacement of most of the bodywork around the front of the scooter that got damaged after a crash. The biggest issue was replacing the under tray of the main body. To get the damaged section off and the new item fitted meant removing the front end of the scooter plus disconnecting the front brake hose off the master cylinder to thread the pipe through the hole in the under tray. It turned what should have been a quick straight forward job into a drawn out long winded repair. I could see plenty of these getting written off by insurance companies after a minor crash due to a combination of the cheap price of the scooter from new and the high labour cost of replacement of bodywork and panels.

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I pre-delivered a brand new TGB 303 for a NSW dealer who had sold this to a rider in the local area from interstate. When I unpacked the crate it came in I was taken aback by the very loud paint job. What a colour scheme. Bright blue with neon green and yellow graphics. The scooter looks really trick. After a full check over and bolting on a victorian number plate the TGB was ready to fly. The 303 runs the same engine as the TGB Delivery scooters I service for Domino’s Pizza and if that’s anything to go by this scoot should give the owner many trouble free miles to come.

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I serviced a 2007 Fireblade last week and while talking to the owner he told me how he didnt like the ’snatchy’ throttle feeling that the bike had. I told him I could fix it by making and installing an O2 eliminator. Basicly all I do is replace the O2 sensor with a set value resistor. The eliminator tricks the bikes ECU in to increasing fueling at closed throttle to make the bike more rider friendly when getting on and off the throttle. After plugging the 02 eliminator in and sending the owner for a quick ride, he returned very happy with how the bike now felt. If your having issues with snatchy throttle syndrome on your Honda give Everything Two Wheels a ring on 0434 920745 and we can install an O2 eliminator to your bike.

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