valve adjust / spark plug / plastics

[k50]

hi all, i just picked up a used 2007 people 250.  bike rides great, has 8000 km on the odo.  prior owner never had it serviced.  so today, i changed the oil using 10w-40 synthetic.  changed the gear oil.  topped off the coolant.  and now i want to change the spark plug and check/set the valves.  problem is i am having trouble getting the plastics off.  i easily removed the seat and seat box.  but from there, i am a little lost. one would think the front plastic would come off easily to provide access to the valves and spark plug.  but no ... i removed most screws that i could see that connect to that front piece of plastic, but its still pretty tight.  everything seems to have snap connectors to the plastic next to it.  do you have to take all the plastic off the whole back of the scoot?  like remove the rack on the back and all that painted plastic?  the rear lights are connected and it seems like that would be such a task.

any suggestions?

thanks!

[Stig / Major Tom]

Don't know atall your scoot...but looking at the parts diagram on Kymcopartsmonster.com it sure looks like that centrr panel will come out after seat bucket is removed.
On the LIKE200i the battery lid comes off, then center panel clicks forward at top then up and out after removing the visible screws.
Surely a member will chime in here....
Stig

[hypophthalmus]

Yup, you have to remove ALL of the rear plastics as one big piece.

Going from memory, this means:
Remove some screws in the front near the floorboard
Remove the luggage rack
Disconnect the intake hose going to the airbox (and don't forget to reconnect it later).
There's some screws underneath the license plate.

I might be missing a few screws in my head...

But if not, you basically then just pull up on the plastics, starting from the front. Be prepared then to disconnect the turn signal wires.

Once you've done that, be aware that in order to remove the valve cover, you'll need to adjust the position of the engine relative to the frame in order to pull it through the frame. I always put it on the side stand and stepped on the engine on a sturdy part around the intake manifold to do this.

Edit:
It looks like 2-7 in the manual shows how to do it. "BODY COVER/CENTER COVER/REAR
FENDER A REMOVAL". The only odd thing about that section is they tell you to remove the screws on the air filter cover, which is entirely unnecessary.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Oh shoot. That is sad.
Stig

[k50]

So i was able to get to the engine without taking all the plastic off.  i started to take it all off by removing the seat, the bucket under the seat, the luggage rack, and all the screws to the floor. this gave enough wiggle room where i could remove the front panel to get to the valve cover. 

so to date, i did the following:
replaced engine oil with 10w-40
replaced gear oil
filled reservoir with coolant (was low)
adjusted the valves (top was fine, bottom was too tight)
replaced spark plug with iridium

before i put all the plastic back, i started the sccot and all worked great.  took it for a ride and it seemed to run better.  not sure if that was the valve or the spark plug.

but now i am having trouble starting the bike.  not sure if its something i did or something else.  i did fill the tank with premium gas so hoping its not bad gas.  yesterday, i tried starting it and it just cranked and then smelled of gas.  so i figured i flooded it.  then i tried 30 minutes later and it fired right up.  today i tried starting and same thing, it just cranks and doesnt catch.  sigh ...

any help would be appreciated.

thanks!

[k50]

Update, i just went now after trying to start the scoot all morning and it fired right up. 

i think i am not starting it correctly.  i dont give it any gas and it doesn't start. then i try to give it a little gas and it still doesn't start.  then i let it sit and then it starts right up. 

its seems that i flood it then let it sit for an hour, then it starts. 

so confused ...

any thoughts?

thanks!

[hypophthalmus]

Once it starts, the idle sounds good and it runs fine?

I hate to suggest you do all this again, but you might want to check your work. It'd be an odd coincidence for a unrelated problem to pop up at the same time.

Probably start with the plug, since that's less work. Check that there's a healthy spark by grounding it against the engine while you try to start it.

Did you gap the spark plug? Some people tell you not to, but as long as you respect the fact that the iridium tip is delicate and don't put pressure on it, it's fine.

If you somehow set the valve clearances incorrectly, this could contribute to hard starting.

[k50]

Twice it was hard to start.  Ever since then - maybe 6 starts, it fires right up.  Catches immediately.  I didn’t gap the spark, was careful not to touch the tip, I should have checked it ... one thing I didn’t replace was the fuel filter, I will replace this weekend.  Overall the scooter runs great.  I never had a 250 single cylinder so idle seems ok, She shakes a little while idling, but seems to be normal, never close to stalling.

Thanks for all the replies.