(PT.8) The most HATED scooter on the internet breaks down on me AGAIN! (living with a tao tao)

In my experience working as a technician in independent motorcycle shops I worked on everything from CVO Harley Davidsons to Honda CT90s. But there was one bike that always stood out with exceptionally poor quality. The Tao Tao 50cc GY6 (139QMB) scooter. And now I'm going to put this scooter to the test and find out if they really are little money pits, or if the issues with the bike are a result of the people who buy these kinds of scooters.

So I purchased a Tao Tao "Pony" ATM 50 and my plan is to make it my main means of transportation for 6 months. Yes from June 1st to January 1st this little scooter is going to be my daily driver. I'll be logging all of the miles, issues and expenses of keeping this scooter running in a log. Doing this will allow me to present a true cost of ownership at the end of this experiment.

The Tao Tao Pony 50 is based on the generic GY6 139QMB platform. They were sold under many different "Brand" names like Wolf, Bintelli, Fly, Rocketa, MotoBravo, Italica, and Dongfang just to name a few. You may be riding one and not even know it!

This breakdown occurred on my way home from work one very rainy evening. I was about 7 or 8 miles into my commute home (about 1660 total kilometers on the scooter) when the engine shut down. The power shut off like a light switch. I was able to coast into a parking lot where I used the provided tool kit to remove the seat bucket and check for spark. There was no spark. I wondered if the CDI had gotten too wet and shorted out, but as I removed the connectors I found that the green ground wire did not look correct. In fact I believe it was installed in the connector backwards, making it easier to back out.

After re-installing the green wire into the connector I plugged the connector back into the CDI and re-tested for spark. Just like that the ignition system was functioning properly again and I was on my way home!

The parts I've used in this experiment are so far are:
Bel-Ray 10w40: https://amzn.to/3d623vR
Bel-Ray 80/90 Hypoid gear oil: https://amzn.to/2N3yFft
NGK CR7HSA spark plug: https://scooter911.com/shop/ngk-cr7hs...
Brake line: https://www.scooterworks.com/Blue-Lin...

I haven't had to replace my drive belt YET but when I do I'll be replacing it with this: https://amzn.to/3hC3rt2

Here is the carburetor jet kit I've ordered for my scooter: https://amzn.to/32UtBTu
I set the idle using this Digi Synch Manometer/Synchronizer: https://amzn.to/37B81nl

Follow my experiment in real time! Here is a link to my Tao Tao log/Health Report!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

If you want to keep up with this project between videos be sure to follow me on social media!

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#TaoTao #Gy6 #Scooter