New 50cc project

[merrykoala]

Won on Ebay yesterday
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/gillera-dna-50-spare-or-repair/321629722676?_trksid=p3693.c100102.m2452&_trkparms=aid%3D333008%26algo%3DRIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140212121249%26meid%3D5682c85ee9a4489e9eb739def2607fbc%26pid%3D100102%26prg%3D20140212121249%26rkt%3D4%26

A project for me and my daughter. Was a bit of a challenge to fit into the back of BMW 3 series estate but for £130 it's an absolute bargain.

Cosmetically needs the following.

All panels to be removed and prepped for paint.
New left side seat panel (about £20-£25)
Fork Legs to be blasted and painted.
Wheels need tidying up, probably paint gold (might send for powder coating)
New Mirrors (about £15-£20)
New footpegs
Tidy up frame, swing arm covers etc
New Seat (£50 incl postage, mix of colours)
New brake levers (though far from a priority, grinding and polishing and a bit of paint will do for now)

Mechanically, so far needs the followin

Listed as a non-starter, guy was really honest and said his son had tried installing a 70cc kit and now not working. Comes with the original 50cc piston, cylinder and head and a load of carb jets and a spare reed block. He said it has spark and there is a spare CDI/coil unit and stator anyway. Pushed down on the kickstart and it turns over ok but was planning on a full strip down and rebuild anyway. Piston kits and gasket sets go gor pennies for these bikes also.
The Fork dust seals look really ratty so will probably just replace all the fork seals and the oil.
I took the rear shock off to help me get the bike into the car easier, it was here that I noticed the bottom linkage had no bushes or washers whatsoever, don't know if this is normal for these bikes but the top seemed to have them.
Similar story with the swingarm linkage bolt, just a locking nut on the end, no washers or bushes, this must all translate to a lot of slop in the back end.
The brakes will more than likely need a going over while I'm at it.
The instrument cluster has condensation inside, I'm sure there's a known fix on t'internet.


So I'm going to start by putting the battery on charge, removing all the plastics to get started on the paint prep (reckon 1 panel every 1 or 2 nights) and also to see what's going on underneath, next will be getting the rear swingarm completely disconnected to see what's going on with the engine and get it back to standard(ish), bit of cosmetics while I'm at it.

Only extra tools I'll need are:

Flywheel puller
Piston Stop


This will all be documented as a project for Sophie's college course so there will be regular updates (with pics). I've never attempted anything like this before and don't know much about two strokes either so will be quite a learning curve.

Wish me luck

[johndc]

Good luck.

Look forward to seeing your progress.

[M-L-C]

Sounds like a fair bit of graft

Good luck

Looking forward to some pics as you go

[Lee]

That's quite a job you've got there Sean!
Looking forward to seeing the job progress!

[merrykoala]

Not much to photograph yet but bit of an update.

All panels have been removed and decals taken off. I've also prepped for primer with some wet and dry.

Battery charged but ignition still wasn't coming on. Bit of digging around turned out to be a missing fuse.

Turns over strongly. Can see the fuel moving through the line, plenty of compression but no spark.

Quick check on t'interweb. Should be around 80 volts AC on the charge side of the coil with it cranking over. Check with a multimeter shows 45/6 Volts AC.

So new stator and/or coil required. Need that flywheel puller to change the stator also.

I'm working away for the week so I'll be carrying on again next weekend. Fine surface filler and primer on the panels followed by a bit more wet and drying.

[Lee]

Hi Sean, how are you getting on with the ped? are you keeping the big bore kit on or going back to 49cc?

[merrykoala]

Sorry about the lack of updates. Been waiting on tools and some spare time.

Bike is now running on the 70cc kit.

No spark and piss poor low tension voltage pointed to a dodgy stator. I couldn't change it until I got a flywheel puller. That arrived last week.

I pulled off the flywheel and removed a very shiny stator and replaced it with the somewhat older spare unit. I was a bit dubious but I now had a pretty healthy looking spark.

Bike still wouldn't start though so I had a look at the carb. The throttle had been badly assembled and was stuck fully open. Blasted with a bit of carb cleaner and reassembled. I could now see fuel pumping nut still not starting.

The spare reed block was brand new and had the gaskets, I pulled out the old one which was held in with T30 anti-tamper bolts. I can only guess the previous owner didn't have the right bit.

With that replaced I tried cranking over again but the battery was giving up the ghost, I started to kick it over and was rewarded with four little put-puts then nothing.

Smelling success I hooked it up to the car battery and cranked I over for a while. I was a little worried that the needle wasn't moving on the rev counter but persisted for a bit longer. I heard it try to catch and started twisting the throttle.
it was running soon after and I adjusted the idle speed screw til I was idling nicely.

I let it warm up a bit then revved I up on the centre stand. The back wheel started spinning.

I put it on it's wheels and sat on it, revved it up and off I went, no pocket rocket but then I'm no Lester Piggot,it runs, it goes I'm happy.

Titivation now, panels are all scrubbed up, need a new seat panel, seat cover and some new mirrors, pegs and straighten out the levers.

[Lee]

Good on you for sticking with it. What's the plans once it's got a ticket?

[merrykoala]

Well it's still taxed and tested. Emma needs wheels every now and then and she doesn't need a CBT to ride it, days when she needs to use her Dads car he could use the Ped as well. To insure the pair of them for the year costs the princely sum of (gasp) £66.

Sophie doesn't turn 16 til March next year so it might as well get some use, I might even build up the nerve to ride it myself at some point. Bit wary of all that power though.

[Lee]

Great stuff Sean, I love it when people get non runners back on the road. Sounds like you have got yourself a real bargain there. Real cheap motoring. Have you still got the Aprillia on the road ?

[merrykoala]

Yeah, parked up at the mo but taxes, tested and insured. Needs a new front tyre and a service for the coming spring.

Ped was definitely a bargain as the previous guy was sure the 70cc kit was shot, I just knew it'd be something stupid and the right tools and perseverance saw me through.
Panel is on the way, need to scrub up and paint the frame and fork stanchions with some silver hammerite. The old BBQ paint will be getting utilised here and there also.
Should be a smart little bit of kit when done.

[merrykoala]

Back into it today with the father in law (MOT tester) and we've identified and corrected a few bits.

Battery back on after a charge, starts first touch of the button, also goes on first kick.
Ran through all the electrics too, back brake lights dodgy so took the spade connectors off and gave them a little clean, problem solved.
Rev counter still not working but there's a good bit of corrosion on the multi-way connector block for the instrument cluster, some alcohol should clean that out and we'll see where we are.
Back brake lever has too much travel and back brakes squeak quite a bit, good service of both brakes including new fluid methinks.
Drill out the sheared bolt for the broken foot peg and replace.
Scrubbed off all the flaky, corroded paint on the forks and gave a quick blast with BBQ paint.
Have all the panels we need now, might be getting painted this week.
Anyone know any good, cheap guys who recover seats?

[Lee]

There's a place just down from tillstons in stockton. Send a teenager in with the seat for the best price.. Worked for me !

[merrykoala]

Been for my first proper ride out on the ped, what a blast!

Panels are all painted up and back on. Had a couple of issues with the mirrors, first set posted out had a crack in them. Free replacement set came pretty quick but don't fit due to the mounts having been drilled out a d pretty badly tapped in the past. Gonna try filling with liquid metal and drilling and tapping out to M10 again.

As for the ride, never rode a scooter before so wasn't sure what to expect. Started first kick but dies off if you don't keep the revs up from cold. Need to look into the choke and see what's going on.
Once I was happy it was running okay off I went.
The father in law lives on the hill in New Marske. The best idea was to start going upgill first, then if it cut out it would be a lot easier to get back. I'm six foot and weigh about 17 and a half stone but it didn't feel too feeble when pulling away, even uphill. As it went on and the cobwebs started blowing out it started getting into it's stride. Acceleration on the flats became fairly impressive, getting up to 30 pretty quickly and the brakes started working about half way through, tyre pressures were definitely way out and the centre of gravity issue made things worse in the corners.
The long uphill run back to the in-laws went smoothly also.
I haven't stopped smiling yet, this has turned into the bargain of the year.