CF Moto Update Update

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart) 03/22/2019 at 11:42 • Filed to: Two Wheels Bad, wrenching

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Well, time for the Hail Mary pass..

Took another look at it this morning since it’s super bright and sunny outside. I’ve located where the CDI likely resides. It’s either on top of the fuel tank or in the dashboard. The coil’s wire disappears into a bundle that leads to the front. In fact, a whole slew of wires seem to go up front.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I do remember something that sounded like electrical arcing in the dashboard a few days (or on the day of) before the scooter died. I’m beginning to think that maybe the CDI is damaged and is getting worse and worse over time. So my next step from here is to take apart the dashboard and see if the CDI is chilling out in there.

Haven’t gotten around to compression testing but that’ll happen about at the same time I’m taking the dash apart. Why am I continuing to waste time on this? Because I’m not getting any offers, not even getting low ball offers. So I have nothing better to do than soldier on.

This scooter has two potential futures awaiting for it:

1. I figure out the issue and getting it running again...but it becomes my Gambler for May. I then send it as hard as I can to let out all my bottled up anguish over this darn piece of junk.

2. I don’t figure out the issue and it gets sold for a loss and a lesson about buying old Chinese motor vehicles..

The explained reason behind #1 is that I found out there’s a title loan lien (several months in default with an amazing balance) on the GMC Envoy XL I was supposed to take on the Gambler 500...so things may get a tad weird if it dies out there.

Plot twist, guess who is on the title of that Envoy? I haven’t checked to see if TitleMax put out a repo order for the thing, but in a worst case scenario I’ll have both a repo and a foreclosure on my credit before 2019 is done. Thanks, mum.

Original:

Alright, so I’m getting so close to just throwing in the towel on this thing.

Tonight I got myself some new tools to play with and attacked the scooter with them. First thing out was the plug. Well... this is the cleanest used plug I have ever seen. A quick wipe with a cloth had it looking like new.

The scooter started, ran rough, quit, then didn’t start again for the rest of the night without starting fluid. Pulling the plug again revealed it to already have carbon deposits and even a splatter of oil.

Next, I moved onto the tank and to make sure it didn’t have vapor lock, I took the cap off and tried starting with a splash of starting fluid. It actually ran worse with the cap off.

Next, I checked the wires to the spark plug coil and the coil itself. The coil looks undamaged, as does its wires. However, it could still be shot. Took everything apart and put it back together, no change.

Finally, I decided to check its oil. Oil appears to be thinned with some fuel (possible flooded cylinder?) and has the consistency of something between oil and water. Ugh..

Tonight’s session didn’t get me anywhere closer and honestly it’s made me even more reluctant to buy a new CDI, coil, and plug.

Worst yet, I’m getting absolutely no bites on Facebook, so it looks like I’m either going to end up selling it for a massive loss or stick it through to the end.

Alrighty kids...you’re going to hear it from probably the biggest Chinese bike fan on Oppo, but...don’t buy a Chinese bike unless it’s a Ruckus or Grom clone. At least those have a resale value. Better yet, don’t buy one at all unless it’s a cheap disposable pit bike.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 03/19/2019 at 23:01

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Better yet, don’t buy one period.

You may want to rent a compression tester from an auto parts store before you throw more parts at this thing.

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 03/19/2019 at 23:15

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Yeah...At least I only spent $400 on it, so it won’t hurt too much to lose some money on it. I’ll have to chalk it up as a lesson about not buying Chinese vehicles.

That’s also a decent idea! Ugh...I don’t like where this is going.

Future Heap Owner > Mercedes Streeter 03/19/2019 at 23:28

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 Fuel in the oil sounds bayad. Good luck!

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 03/19/2019 at 23:31

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Oooffff! I thought you paid $250 for some reason.

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 03/19/2019 at 23:44

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Possibly? Honestly I keep buying and selling enough of these things that I forget how much I pay for them lol.

I can't wait until this one is gone. No more China for me unless it's specifically for something stupid like a Gambler.

Mercedes Streeter > shop-teacher 03/20/2019 at 00:07

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Also, where is the CDI on a Helix? I know the CF Moto is based on the DC design, but I can't find the stupid box anywhere.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 03/20/2019 at 00:09

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Its next to the battery. Follow the wire from the coil.

oldmxer > Mercedes Streeter 03/20/2019 at 00:20

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if it’s a 2 stroke it could be the crank seals, if they are leaking it usually shows these kind of results, there is a way to check for this but you would have to research it. if it is it might require complete engine teardown, in which case you might decide to cut your losses, however being chinese a replacement engine might be available that might be cheap enough to consider, just did quick search and they are going for about $400, don’t know which one you have but saw several different models all in this general range. if it’s a 4 stroke you may be looking at the valve clearances causing low compression, these usually have a cover on top of cylinder that has the adjusters inside, i would check the clearances at top dead center and you might find at least one that has zero clearance, i have been working on engines for 50 years and i look here first when diagnosing these kind of problems

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher 03/20/2019 at 01:19

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This. Even pros make that mistake from time-to-time. My mechanical mentor ended up getting his wife a nice, older manual transmission Subaru Outback that way. A customer brought it in for an intermittent misfire CEL and it ran a touch rough . It had some past due maintenance due to go with original spark plugs at 130k , so he handed the timing belt job and tune up off to his hired help. It still had a miss, and a new coil and fuel injector later the compression tester revealed the helper was trowing parts at a 3 cylinder Subaru . It was one of those situations where the customer had no ability to pay for a rebuild or even used engine swap, so she signed the title over to the shop. Already being into it far enough for parts , he went all in and rebuilt the engine for it became the family truckster for a number of years.

bob and john > Mercedes Streeter 03/20/2019 at 09:42

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“Alrighty kids...you’re going to hear it from probably the biggest Chinese bike fan on Oppo, but...don’t buy a Chinese bike unless it’s a Ruckus or Grom clone. At least those have a resale value. Better yet, don’t buy one at all unless it’s a cheap disposable pit bike.”


this took you ENTIRELY too long to realize. the chinese stuff is shit, there is a VERY good reason its like 2 bills and a sad handjob for one.   

Mercedes Streeter > bob and john 03/20/2019 at 12:53

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Yeah, it only took...oh god...like three scooters to figure this out. Lesson learned!

Decay buys too many beaters > Mercedes Streeter 03/22/2019 at 12:02

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Have you still not checked valve clearance ?

The other possibility I see here is a carb issue. If it starts on starting fluid that usually rules out ignition.

Mercedes Streeter > Decay buys too many beaters 03/22/2019 at 12:11

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I have a small collection of new and used but cleaned and working carburetors. None of them makes a difference. And as of lately, starting fluid doesn’t always get it started, either. That has me thinking the spark isn’t consistent.

Still looking up how to do the valves on this one. The section of the manual that I thought goes over valves actually goes over advancing the ignition.

GLiddy > Mercedes Streeter 03/22/2019 at 12:19

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Wait. What? Did your mother take a title loan in your name? If that’s the case, you need to file a police complaint alleging forgery and identity theft against her. Send that police report to the title loan place and forcefully assert to them that you are a victim of identity theft, and also contact all the credit bureaus and have all of them locked, so nobody can ever get credit in your name again. Ask them to put the police report into their files.

Decay buys too many beaters > Mercedes Streeter 03/22/2019 at 12:21

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oof, thats’s rough

You can still go in sans manual and look for a valve too tight. Basically at TDC of compression stroke you should have play you can feel. If there isn’t any play they are too tight.

Mercedes Streeter > GLiddy 03/22/2019 at 12:38

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She did roughly three years ago. Her and my dad blew through $300k on stuff they shouldn’t have spent it on (my family gets so many windfalls that we should be almost filthy rich) and got into a situation where they couldn’t even pay their rent. They couldn’t get a loan either because neither of them had a real job or good credit.

Ah, but I had a job. So they manipulated me (“if you don’t help us, we’ll be homeless!”) into letting them put the title in my name and using my income to get a title loan. Given the length of time ago this happened and the fact the SUV is still in our possession, I was under the impression that the title loan was the one thing they actually paid for in their lives. Nope!

The house is basically the same situation. After they blew through the money they got on the windfall and the title loan they were out of cash to finish remodeling their rental property and to pay their rent**. So get a mortgage, right? Well, they had garbage credit. Guess who had good credit at the time?

Fast forward to 2019 and they owe $50k in unpaid mortgage payments and late fees. At this point foreclosure is inevitable, we’re just delaying it for as long as the courts will allow.

It took me about 25 years to realize that helping my family only makes my own life significantly worse. I’ve put a hard stop on that nowadays. I don’t care if they end up homeless, I don’t care if they lose their cars. Not my problem anymore.

**Why did they decide to buy a rental property when they couldn’t even afford the rent on the house they were living in? ¯\_()_/¯

Future Heap Owner > Decay buys too many beaters 03/22/2019 at 13:24

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Pardon my ignorance, but w hich direction should the valve have play in? At TDC on compression , I’d think you’d want the cylinder to be sealed up real good, so do you mean there should be play between the valve and the piston head?

Decay buys too many beaters > Future Heap Owner 03/22/2019 at 13:35

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There is an arm (or in some cases the camshaft directly) that presses against the valve to open it in normal operation. I n order to ensure the combustion chamber is fully sealed during combustion there is a slight clearance between the valve stem and the machine that presses on the valve stem.

This needs to be set to a specific range. Too tight and the valve never closes, too loose and the impact forces on the valve stem can damage it. As a rule, they usually tighten up over time so adjusting to the loose edge of spec is where most people aim.

Future Heap Owner > Decay buys too many beaters 03/22/2019 at 16:13

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Ahhh, now I get it. This makes much more sense. I was completely wrong about what “valve lash/clearance” was referring to; I thought it meant seating. But of course the spring takes care of that, unless you have bigger problems.

Thank you for the great explanation & diagram!

GLiddy > Mercedes Streeter 03/22/2019 at 17:53

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I’m so sorry. I don’t need to butt into other people’s business, but I got the impression that you were wronged, and you were, but it sounds like they talked you into this. Still, with people like that entangled in your life, I still suggest you completely lock down your credit.  Best of luck in your life and with that CF Moto.

Mercedes Streeter > GLiddy 03/22/2019 at 18:03

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Ah it’s okay, I’m super open about my life! That was one of the requirements I made for myself when I started my transition diary back in 2014.

I’m basically an open book and at this point I really don’t care what would happen if family were to discover my entries. I mean, my mum tried to pitch a show about me to Andy Cohen . Oh, had that worked out the show she would have gotten wouldn’t have painted her in a good light. lol

As for credit, it’s been so trashed by my parents and by my dispute (resolved) with Mercedes-Benz that I can’t be manipulated even if I didn’t take this hard stance as of late.