Maintenance requirement- valve adjustments, and checking for

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Drumwoulf
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Maintenance requirement- valve adjustments, and checking for

Post by Drumwoulf »

Looking at the Yamaha Vino 125 as a possible scoot for myself, I didn't
like it's valve checking scheduled for every 2K miles! But some Vino
owners say they have gone for 12K miles without any real adjustments
actually required, so it just sounds like some sort of bonanza Yamaha
has set up for the dealers' profit!

So what are the maintenance requirements for the Buddy? What are the
valve check and/or adjustment intervals? How about belt adjustments and
replacement?

Thanks,
drummer

PS- I looked at the downloadable instructions available here for how to check and adjust the Buddy's valves, and IMO they greatly suck! The total lack of detail is stunning! Instructions that give the first step as "remove the cylinder head"? Are they kidding here or what?! -Give me a break..!! :P
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louie
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Post by louie »

For valve gap the owner's manual says "adjust it when necessary".
For the V belt it says to check 3106 mile (that's 6 months/5000K) 6200 miles (12 months/10000K) and 9300 miles (18 months/15000K). It also says if "performance reduces significantlly" to check the v belt at 9 and 15 months.

I think, the downloadable instructions available are the instructions for the dealership who uses certified machanics. so they should already know what they're doing, plus if it is translated by the same machine that translated the manual...well it could be confusing for any english speaker.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

The official policy on maintenance intervals from Genuine. The '06 manuals were a bit confusing/vague. Don't know if the '07s are updated.
Originally posted here.
Blackeyes24 wrote:Below is the email I received from Genuine today:
Sarah:

The optimum schedule is this for Buddy 125 and Blur is the following:

Change oil and perform first service at 200 miles. This includes a valve clearance inspection. Scooter people aren't typically familiar with valves, but people who are experienced with motorcycles (and four stroke engines in general) know this is a part of regular maintenance.

After the first oil change, you can go 1,000-1,500 miles (I recommend 1,000) if you use regular oil. If you use synthetic, you can go 1,500-2,000 miles between oil changes (I recommend 1,500).

Inspect the valve clearance every 4,000 miles, adjust if necessary.
-The standard valve spacing is between 0.06 – 0.10mm with engine off.
-When the spacing is too small, idle speed will become unstable and you can burn up the valves.

-When the spacing is too large, loud noise will occur and the scooter will run poorly.


This is all in miles, and straight from the factory.

Thanks!!!

Brett Ratner
Genuine Scooters Dealer Development
877.MY.STELLA
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
weebl
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Re: Maintenance requirement- valve adjustments, and checking

Post by weebl »

Drumwoulf wrote: PS- I looked at the downloadable instructions available here for how to check and adjust the Buddy's valves, and IMO they greatly suck! The total lack of detail is stunning! Instructions that give the first step as "remove the cylinder head"? Are they kidding here or what?! -Give me a break..!! :P
That may be why it's called a "Service Manual" and not "The DIY Scooter Tuning Guide" :P
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Drumwoulf
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Re: Maintenance requirements, and poor info!

Post by Drumwoulf »

weebl wrote:
Drumwoulf wrote: PS- I looked at the downloadable instructions available here for how to check and adjust the Buddy's valves, and IMO they greatly suck! The total lack of detail is stunning! Instructions that give the first step as "remove the cylinder head"? Are they kidding here or what?! -Give me a break..!! :P
That may be why it's called a "Service Manual" and not "The DIY Scooter Tuning Guide" :P
I don't apologize for scooter companys that do not put out good understandable service manuals. Sorry, but IMO there's really no excuse for that other than trying to promote dealer dependency! My Honda Reflex has a great service manual, one that is usable...

This lack of shared knowledge on how to maintain the Buddy might well cause me to change my mind about buying one, as the closest dealer is some 65 miles away, in Philly, and I don't see myself loading up my scoot in a minivan and transporting it down there alla time for minor maintenance requirements that I can't find out about how to do myself! :x

The Yamaha Vino 125, OTOH, has a website with lots of understandable knowledge about maintaining that scoot, and a Yamaha dealer who is only about 7 miles away from me! I'm starting to think that while very good speed in a small scoot is good, it isn't everything... Having less maintenance problems is far more important to me! And besides, when I wanna go real fast onna hiways, I have my Reflex for that don't I? :lol:

drummer :P
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Post by jgalar »

I'm with Drumwoulf on this one. I currently ride a sportbike, but am looking at scooters. I am a former mechanic and do all my own maintenance and repairs. A generic scooter manual for everything out there doesn't cut it.
Also as a former mechanic I am not impressed with what I have seen at the service depts at the scooter shops I have visited.

You should be able to purchase the same technical manual that the mechanics use. Being none are available to owners I wonder if they are available to the technicians???
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Post by Keys »

My dealer is about 220 miles away. Hasn't been an issue yet, really. The only problem I've had is a bad ground wire to the coil. I've had it since mid-August and have just about 5000 miles on it. General CVT info would be useful. General CV carburetor info would also work. About the only thing you'd really need a specific service manual for would be electrical, the body and, I suppose, if you blew it up, you'd need to know the timing stuff when you put it back together...

Anyway, I do my own work on it and nothing yet has been black magic.

--Keys
"Life without music would Bb"
jgalar
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Post by jgalar »

OK, here is a simple maintenance question:
How often do you need to adjust the cam chain tensioner and what is the procedure for doing so? A timing chain that jumps can lead to valves contacting your piston and ruining your day.

A generic scooter manual doesn't tell you much about specific engines.
Keys
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Post by Keys »

Simple answer. If it needs to be adjusted and is NOT an automatically adjusted cam chain (which usually uses a teflon coated leaf spring type device) it will be an external unit with a lock nut and a screw. You loosen the lock-nut and back the screw out, allowing the tensioner to tighten. Then retighten the screw and lock-nut. However, I've yet to find a tensioner bolt on the Buddy engine.

As for frequency, it is done every time the valves are adjusted...prior to valve adjustment, since the cam chain adjustment would also "adjust" the valves.

How did I do? Did I pass your test?

--Keys 8)
"Life without music would Bb"
jgalar
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Post by jgalar »

You have snatched the pebble from my hand and passed the test grasshopper. The test was too easy for you, but we will forgo the walking on ricepaper without leaving a trace bit.

However, there are many items such as wear limits, adjustments, and torque specs that one can not get from a generic manual. I realize we are not talking about a Goldwing here, but I have suspicions about scooter companies not providing proper product support by having manuals available.
Keys
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Post by Keys »

I have to agree. Since my dealer is so far away, I had asked for a shop manual and of course, they ain't one. I would hesitate to have my dealer so far away if I didn't have extensive experience working on motorcycles and scooters. Plus, Scoot Over has a top-notch mechanic who is quite willing to spend time on the phone with me if I need the help. On the up-side, though, it looks like the dealer in Prescott (only 40 miles away) who sold me my Bajaj a couple years ago might become a Genuine dealer!!

--Keys 8)
"Life without music would Bb"
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mlstephens
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Post by mlstephens »

Has anyone found their valves out of spec in the first 500 miles?
lou76
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Post by lou76 »

mlstephens wrote:Has anyone found their valves out of spec in the first 500 miles?
now that would be highly irregular...
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Post by mlstephens »

lou76 wrote:
mlstephens wrote:Has anyone found their valves out of spec in the first 500 miles?
now that would be highly irregular...
It must not be, as it is recommended to measure valve clearance within the first 500 miles. I'm just wondering if anyone has found them out of the normal clearance range.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

mlstephens wrote:Has anyone found their valves out of spec in the first 500 miles?
You should ask your dealer or a technician about this; it's possible that riders may not know if their valves were adjusted as well as checked as part of the regular maintenance.

My local dealer (Mike @ NoHo) has told me that he has yet to see a mechanical problem with any of the many Buddys he's sold, but don't know if that would include valve clearance. It may just be one of those things that could use a little tweaking after break-in.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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mlstephens
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Post by mlstephens »

I checked my valve clearances today. Quite a job, bigger than the "manual" makes it out to be, mainly because of all the stuff that has to be removed to get at the vitals. The clearances were absolutely right on, 0.08mm, so that was reassuring. I also found that the brass cap nuts that hold the exhaust pipe to the head were quite loose, almost loose enough to remove without a wrench - I'd highly suggest checking these, and snug them up (not too tight, as they are brass). Most of the time spent was removing pieces, like the lower body plastic, then the exhaust pipe (in order to more easily get at the screws holding the stator cover), fan and stator cover, etc. Not all of this is necessary, but it makes it easier to see the TDC markings, rotate the motor by hand, and insure the job is done right.
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