Well the check is in the mail, as they say. The shipping company will contact me when the check clears, so that's what I'm waiting on. The pic at right shows what the bike is supposed to look like. We've all heard stories about these things not looking quite the same when they arrive. Of course I will post pics of the actual bike when it arrives.
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I purchased a brand new 50cc Chinese scooter this summer. Its a Jinlun aka CIXI Kingring JL50QT-5A (and it seems they are also sold under the name "Geely"). I couldn't stat it when I got it. They even test started it before shipping it to me. My problems are all solved, and I now use the scooter daily to drive 5 miles to work. I can do minor mechanical things, but am by no means a mechanic. I manually added fuel to the carburetor (priming), it would start and then conk out after about a minute, then it wouldn't start again until after a few hours the same way. I found no helpful information on the web, but eventually had somebody knowledgeable look at it. There were a number of problems that all needed to be fixed. I thought I'd share my experiences in case they are helpful for somebody else.
The battery they shipped to me was worthless, it was brand new...I even added the acid to it myself. It wouldn't turn over the engine until I bought a charger for it. But, after charging it, it barely had enough power to turn over the engine. I had to get a new battery.
The biggest problem is that the injector pin in the carburetor was corroded. This was fixed by removing the pin and brushing it on a sharpening block (yes, for knives). And, while the carburetor is open, I suggest adjusting the intake to increase speed by bending the metal tab at the bottom of the pin.
Next, there were spark plug problems. I tested the spark plug and it sparked, so this took a while to discover. It turns out that the person who assembled the scooter inserted the connector for the top of the spark plug so that it barely contacted the copper in the wire. So while there was a spark, it was weaker than it was supposed to be. I found this problem on other wires as well. I recommend checking to see there is good contact for all wire connectors.
Then, there was a fuel flow problem. The fuel line was clogged or something. I emptied the tank by connecting a vacuum cleaner to the vacuum line so that fuel would flow out of the intake line for the carburetor. Then I ran some fuel cleaner through the line a few times and it seemed to clean it out so that fuel flowed out much faster after being added back to the tank.
Even after fixing all these things, it took about 10 minutes of kickstarting (after manually priming it) to start it. But once it started, I never had a problem starting it again - always started on one or two kicks.
After driving it about 10 miles, the tail-lights stopped working. The connector for the wires simply loosened apart. I reconnected them, and again they fell apart. I had to tape them together so that they would not fall apart again. Then, after another 10 or so miles, the tail lights stopped working again. This time, it was the battery (I still had the old battery). It turns out that when the battery is low, none of the rear lights work, the headlight is fine though. A good battery eliminated this problem.
I've now driven it daily for 5 months with no problems and have put on nearly 1000 miles.
I think these Chinese scooters are a great bargain, but should be expected to have initial problems. I think anyone should have it shipped directly to a mechanic for a thorough inspection/tuneup. Make sure they check everything electrical. Even if you spend an extra $100 to fix initial problems, it is still way cheaper than buying name brand scooters. I've come to find mine reliable and even recommend chinese scooters; just don't go into it without expecting some early bumps. Good luck with yours.
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