Where should a newbie start?

[juice]

Try lightly tapping the brake fluid cap with a non metalic hammer . Good luck .

[Hoolander2]

I'd take a small piece of hard wood, put against the side of the brake reservoir and tap with a hammer from the side.  Go all around the top if you have to.  Or use a plastic head hammer/mallet.  I'd be careful though cause brake fluid could get splashed when it comes loose.  Maybe put a rag over the whole thing before you start. 

I tried to be SOOOOO careful when I had my reservoir caps off and still managed to drip brake fluid down my dash and on the floorboard.    I washed all that really good with a fairly strong mix of detergant and warm water as soon as the job I was doing was done.  Still made drip marks.  Only after several treatments with the plastic protectant I use did it look right again.  One drip mark is still there though. 

Next time I think I'll lay plastic over everything that lies under the handlebars. 

[superfevergurl]

Was able to get the lid off of the brake reservoir, so I will be flushing the brake system soon. However now my bike wants to act up and will not run beyond 5-10 mi/hr. This started all of a sudden and for no reason. I rode it home from work at 2:30AM and it ran just fine, went to leave the same day at 3PM and it was acting up. Since it was so sudden, I'm hoping it's the CDI box or a spark plug issue. However I have a feeling it could be the transmission or muffler (has clogged once before and been replaced, hopefully it's not clogged again). I will buy a new cdi and see if that helps. Do I have to buy a OEM cdi or can I buy an already derestricted CDI for my zx50?

Tested the voltage regulator and with the throttle all the way open I was getting readings of 14.56 on the red wire. This is on the higher end of what I should be getting, does this meaning that I will need to replace the voltage regulator?

[juice]

A good synthetic 2 stroke oil won't clog your exhaust as easily . Good luck .

[MaryK]

A Full throttle is a bit hard on the engine if the scooter is on the center stand. ?

But the good news is that 14.56 volts is A-OK for the max voltage reading.

Bad running for no reason sounds more like bad gasoline. 
Install a new sparkplug and drain the carb, catching the gasoline in a clear container to look for discolor or water or trash.
Remember that the engine won't run until the carb's float bowl refills with gasoline.
And check the gasoline filter to see if it is clogged.

If you have fuel injection, disregard the draining information and check the gasoline filter to see if it is clogged.

Keep us posted.

Happy New Year