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Messages - hypophthalmus

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1
General Discussion / Re: Dumbest things said to me as a scooter rider
« on: March 13, 2019, 06:38:26 PM »
I've wondered about the adventure bikes. I've never ridden one, so I can't judge them from experience, but they seem rather heavy and overpowered for off-road/dirt-road use.

I considered them because I need to go on ridiculous, poorly maintained dirt roads in the mountains. But I'm thankful for the 300 pounds and low center of gravity of the bike I went with instead.

2
Technical | How To / Re: Spark Plugs?
« on: February 22, 2019, 07:17:19 PM »
I don't know whether there's a benefit, but I think the Reddit thread might be confused? Copper is a better conductor than iridium, but the bigger problem is the conductivity of air. I think I heard the smaller iridium electrode is supposed to help with that.

3
Technical | How To / Re: Lost oil drain plug on highway. Now what?
« on: February 04, 2019, 05:10:49 PM »
I wish there were. I still have a sad People 250 sitting with a dead engine.

4
Technical | How To / Re: Lost oil drain plug on highway. Now what?
« on: February 04, 2019, 04:31:03 AM »
You turn the engine using a wrench after removing the small round cover on the right side of the engine.

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about rebuilding the engine just yet. Instead I'd see how the head gasket looks, and check the head and block for flatness. Also check for cracks.

5
General Discussion / Re: ABS, how primitive.......
« on: January 15, 2019, 04:44:03 AM »
I wonder if I would actually utilize the full braking potential of ABS. It would be unnatural to just hit the brakes as hard as I can.

I never use horns when I should either, it's just not second nature.

6
Technical | How To / Re: How does this temperature controller work?
« on: January 06, 2019, 04:07:22 AM »
A rambly update:

I got both of these, but never actually tried using the PWM.

The heating pads got pretty warm at a slow speed the first time I tried using them, but not after? Not sure exactly why. The last time I used them I got a random hot spot on the tip of my pinky.

They helped a lot compared to no pad, but they weren't a great solution -- they bunched up, felt odd, left lots of cold spots.

I got the Gerbing heated gloves that prompted this all for $37 from an overstock store. Everyone was saying that they really needed the temperature controller, but they're pleasantly warm when I'm sitting still, and perfectly neutral at speed. So I don't understand why you'd want to turn them down.

Now the same trip that would have had my hands painfully cold in 30 minutes at 30 degrees going 65mph feels entirely fine.

7
Kymco News / Re: Diagnosing problems without a dealer
« on: November 25, 2018, 11:40:47 PM »
Quote from: JJJoseph on November 25, 2018, 10:32:01 PM
I don't think we're getting anywhere.  A standard OBD2 output lists 4,000 universal diagnostic codes.  They're very precise in order to eliminate guesswork.  The codes are stored in memory and retrieved by the mechanic by plugging in the OBD tool. Are you suggesting that the diagnostics are unimportant, that guesswork (i.e looking it up in a service manual) is actually the correct method? That looks like what you're saying. Correct me if I'm wrong.


Understanding how the systems work comes first.

If you can't follow the flowcharts in the manual, the codes aren't going to be that helpful anyways. The codes and other ECU data are simply additional tools to make your life easier and help you decide what you're going to test.

And there's plenty of times where there will be no codes, or misleading codes. Or the code might tell you that there is a problem, but not suggest where to look for it.

And, as others have pointed out a few times, you don't need an external tool to read the codes on these bikes. You simply look at the blinks and cross-reference the manual.

Quote from: JJJoseph on November 25, 2018, 10:32:01 PM
Motorcycle mechanics won't touch an EFI machine without the matching diagnostic tool.  Absent a Kymco dealer, I'll need to have the Kymco diagnostic tool in order to get my Kymco serviced at a Triumph dealer, for example.  If the Kymco tool is  non-standard, I'll need to bring a "How-to" manual with the tool.



On the contrary, I've heard many motorcycle mechanics don't bother to get the diagnostic tool, when they really should.



8
Grandvista 250 / Re: Opinion?
« on: November 25, 2018, 07:07:26 PM »
11 volts is too low to be a useful warning in this case.

With the jacket plugged in, measure the voltage at the battery while you rev it a bit.

9
General Discussion / Re: Xmas Tree DipStick !
« on: November 25, 2018, 06:47:04 PM »
Would Christmas tree float valves be over-engineering?

10
General Discussion / Re: London police ramming "moped bandits"
« on: November 24, 2018, 01:29:52 AM »
Sounds like they aren't all wearing helmets. And even if they were, it wouldn't preclude them from injury.

I have mixed feelings about it. I'm quite wary about normalizing the police being violent. On the other hand, it sounds likely they're responding to violent crimes -- mugging. If it's non-violent theft, it's certainly unjustified.

Here's a video, with a comment section full of horrible people:

11
Technical | How To / Re: Are there any modern air cooled scoots over 150cc's?
« on: November 22, 2018, 09:28:35 PM »
Quote from: scooterfan on November 22, 2018, 06:39:36 PM
Trust me, those old air cooled things were never as reliable as later water cooled models. Slow riding in heavy traffic killed many engines prematurely.

Scooters are typically forced air cooled, I wouldn't expect them to care much about being stopped in traffic.

I'd also heard it said that my (non-forced) air cooled 250 engine actually runs cooler at idle/slow speeds than it does running at highway speeds. As far as I can tell, that seems to be true.

Meanwhile, a water cooled bike has all sorts of additional avenues for catastrophic failure.

12
Kymco News / Re: Diagnosing problems without a dealer
« on: November 22, 2018, 05:46:27 PM »
There's a lot of extremely valuable information from the ECU that isn't trouble codes.

Fuel trims, especially. It'll instantly point you towards leaking injectors, vacuum leaks, non-fuel issues, fuel starvation.

Also, sensors values can be within spec while there's still some issue. For example, a dead spot on the TPS.

13
Technical | How To / Re: Lost oil drain plug on highway. Now what?
« on: November 22, 2018, 01:33:46 AM »
Complete engines are going to be basically impossible to find.

It's likely that there's a significant amount of interchangeability with different 250 parts, but I haven't confirmed this, and a complete engine swap from different models is out of the question due to differing transmission dimensions.

You'll need to figure out the cause of low compression. It could be that that the cylinder is scored or rings are damaged. Or it could be that the head gasket is blown.

There's a good chance that repair won't be prohibitively expensive.

14
Roadcraft / Re: How do you deal with driving at night?
« on: November 21, 2018, 10:44:45 AM »
It turns out that my problem was that every time I've been stuck driving at night, it's been in my minivan.

Tonight was the first that I've driven any real distance (not just in town) on my motorcycle in the dark... and it really wasn't bad at all. In fact, I dare say it was enjoyable.

Not sure if it's because the headlight is so much more effective, or my visor is clearer than my windshield, or because I'm much more comfortable on two wheels. Probably some combination of all of those.

15
Roadcraft / Re: Summer
« on: November 20, 2018, 12:07:59 AM »
Well the pants made a profound difference. After a 90 minute drive, 40 and overcast, I was still quite comfortable.

Thanks again, stuo!

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