Is there such a thing as 2t oil gauge?

[Budinski]

Hi just seeing if anyone has tried this or is the indicator window a good enough measure? Thanx..... also how many tanks of gas will a full oil tank get yuh? Thanx so much

[az_slynch]

Hi just seeing if anyone has tried this or is the indicator window a good enough measure? Thanx..... also how many tanks of gas will a full oil tank get yuh? Thanx so much

You might be able to modify something from an old Honda Spree or Elite 50; they had a float switch in their oil tank that turned on a LED when the level got low. It would take a bit of modification to do this, though.

The traditional method is to check for an air bubble in the sight glass. If you see the bubble, or if the white center of the glass is exposed, time to add oil.

I figure I get about 400 miles on a tank of oil, you might do better on the Stella's oiler, as it pumps a slightly lower ratio.

[Robbie]

Truth be told, the indicator works out just fine.....when the indicator begins to turn white there is about a third of a quart remaining......

The capacity from empty is one quart, but you won't ever get it empty....or at least you certainly don't want that to happen.

Seems like the Stella, stock, consumes around a quart per 700 miles.
Most Stella operators keep a spare quart on board in case they get caught short...say on a trip somewhere.
I keep oil in my garage and add.....maybe a pint when the indicator begins to show white......I avoid filling the fill tube with oil....several operators had gravity overcome the check valve and had severly smoking Stella's in exchange.

Good luck!

Rob

[Budinski]

Thanx guys... It's a bit of a sharp learning curve at I appreciate the help....

[kmrcstintn]

It's a bit of a sharp learning curve at I appreciate the help....

boy that's the truth!!! coming from a 'twist-n-go' scooter background my transition has been painful and just when I get over another hump, another quirk, hiccup, burp, or problem develops! it's hard to enjoy my Stella, especially when several owners in the scooter club I know told me to expect my crank to break around 1200 miles, especially when the 3 of them have already replaced theirs...what the hell did I get myself into?!?

the bad part is I stretched myself financially on my last trade and that I am stuck with my Stella, so I've been painfully learning to like it (when I am actually able to ride it)

[Robbie]

It's a bit of a sharp learning curve at I appreciate the help....

boy that's the truth!!! coming from a 'twist-n-go' scooter background my transition has been painful and just when I get over another hump, another quirk, hiccup, burp, or problem develops! it's hard to enjoy my Stella, especially when several owners in the scooter club I know told me to expect my crank to break around 1200 miles, especially when the 3 of them have already replaced theirs...what the hell did I get myself into?!?

the bad part is I stretched myself financially on my last trade and that I am stuck with my Stella, so I've been painfully learning to like it (when I am actually able to ride it)

Although crankshaft main bearing failures have occurred I don't think you should you should fret too much over it.
Especially if you are going to leave the machine stock and avoid operating for long periods at WOT.

It seems the primary failure is the cage that seperates the balls on the flywheel side causes the actual event and I have seen cage failures on all ball bearings regardless of manufacturer......never much of a rhyme or reason.
The crank itself doesn't fail.....the cage bits and resultant ball stacking and heat from friction weld the bearing and lock the crank......insta-stop of rotating parts and resultant mayhem.

Again, this is not to say it can't happen on a stock, sensibly operated machine......just restating I have found very few reported failures on stock units.

The variable is trying to determine what came first, the chiken or the egg.
If the bearing was mishandled or subject to moisture prior to install.
Was the bearing mishandled during the install?
Was the machine shipped in a dry environment.....this is a tough one....it was in a box, in a container, on a ship.
If the shipping lube on the bearing was in any way compromised, the potential of a tiny rust spot developing is present and that will lead to a failure since the hardening has been damaged.
How long was the container sitting outside in weather before it was put in the ship and how long after it arrived in port.....more bearing rust dot potential......these are all salt water ports.

Once at a dealer, was it left crated and stored in a dry area or was it outdoors in a leanto or pole barn.
Any outside corrosion just can be polished off.....but we never know about the internals.

So, if a bearing fails, it'll always be the original Indian supplied bearing.
I propose that if they were assembled with any other brand bearing and exposed to the variables mentioned above, the percentage of failure could be the same.

Bottom line, enjoy your machine....once the little annoyances are worked out, just run it and have fun.
Some machines never have a failure, some have multiple failures....they are machines, assembled by humans.
Try to avoid letting the small percentage of folks who have had bad luck wreck your enjoyment of your purchass.

Sorry....got long winded,

Rob

[Howardr]

I had just over 12,000 miles on my '07 Stella before the first thing bad happened. It did happen to be the crank bearing. The bike had been on many long rides at WOT, too. Not everyone makes it that far, but ride it, enjoy and handle the breakdown IF/when it happens.

Howard

[magnato1]

Is the crank bearing an issue with the 4T as well? Or just the 2T?

[Lokky]

I put 9k miles on my Stella (with auto+) before I decided to change the crank out with a mazzucchelli as a preventative measure. I could have kept going on the stock one but I was gonna be out of town for a while (free trip to Israel!) And I had begun to formulate my plan to ride to Amerivespa. I doubt that the stock crank could have survived doing 2k miles of WOT in four days.

It is my understanding however that the 2009 crank was not as subject to catastrophic failures as some older runs.

[fisher1]

Although crankshaft main bearing failures have occurred I don't think you should you should fret too much over it.
Especially if you are going to leave the machine stock and avoid operating for long periods at WOT

Since the automatic oiler is engineered to provide the correct oil mix with the stock carb setup, is it possible that scoots that are up-jetted are running too thin an oil mix?

Meaning if the stock jet and the AO provide a (whatever %) mix, a lower oil mix % must result when jetting is changed to allow more fuel flow at the same rpm & throttle setting. My stock main jet was (I think) a 92 and I'm now running a 105. That's a lot of added fuel that gets the same oil volume added to it as when stock.

I don't know if this has anything to do with bearing longevity. But in case it does, I premix 1 oz per every 2 gal of gas to offset the new jetting.

[Lokky]

Although crankshaft main bearing failures have occurred I don't think you should you should fret too much over it.
Especially if you are going to leave the machine stock and avoid operating for long periods at WOT

Since the automatic oiler is engineered to provide the correct oil mix with the stock carb setup, is it possible that scoots that are up-jetted are running too thin an oil mix?

Meaning if the stock jet and the AO provide a (whatever %) mix, a lower oil mix % must result when jetting is changed to allow more fuel flow at the same rpm & throttle setting. My stock main jet was (I think) a 92 and I'm now running a 105. That's a lot of added fuel that gets the same oil volume added to it as when stock.

I don't know if this has anything to do with bearing longevity. But in case it does, I premix 1 oz per every 2 gal of gas to offset the new jetting.

The gas would definitely have a little less oil but I doubt the difference is enough to affect things down below... unless you are running a kit that requires 3% mixture (I think this is the case with the 166 malossi?) In which case you should disconnect the pump and premix.

[Robbie]

Is the crank bearing an issue with the 4T as well? Or just the 2T?

This forum has one member that experienced a bearing failure on a 4T.....it was a 2012 model year.

There was no lockup and the engine ran but a lot of noise.
The failure occured around 2700 miles.
When a bearing becomes noisey it means there has been a case hardening failure and this will always be from moisture damage.

Makes a rather noticeable whirring noise and pitch changes with RPM.

Rob

[magnato1]

Thanks Rob, good to know that, at least so far, it's not a problem on the 4T.

[Stitch]

I blew the crank out at a little over 1200 miles. Stock motor, good synthetic oil, cruising along at 45mph. The leftover '09 Stella's seem to be a little more prone to bearing failure. We have had 3 2009 Stella's lose the crank this summer. All stock, all 2009, all at not much over 1000 miles. It's possible they were all exposed to the same conditions in the same container. Not sure.
Genuine hasn't batted an eye at the warranty work, so no hurt feelings. Fix it and hit the road again.

[JBenjimin]

I picked up a left over 09 Stella this spring and I am right around 2200 miles with no problems other than one I blame on the damn ethanol gunking up my carb when I had to run on reserve for the first time with 1200 miles on the clock. Pulled the jets, blew them out with some air and put 'em back in and it's been running like a champ since.

Why they insist on putting ethanol in gas is beyond me. It has less power than gasoline, it is hygroscopic, and it takes as much energy to make as you get out of it. Plus it is helping run the price of corn up which is running the price off almost all the other foods up. /rant

[Stitch]

Politics.

[Budinski]

Oh boy what did I start?

[fisher1]

The gas would definitely have a little less oil

I'm not sure how "little that is". Given that the main jet went from a 92 to a 105, there's a significant jump in fuel flow. Especially considering that the flow capacity in larger areas as compared to smaller is not a simplistic factor of " 105 is about 14% more than 92".

Hopefully there's an engineer on the forum, but I know that the actual % increase in flow is more than just 14%.

Even if it were just a simple calculation, is constantly running 14% less oil mix than specified for the entire life of a 2-stroke engine an insignificant matter?

[az_slynch]

Could just pop open the pump and swap out the pump gear for a P200 gear. The rest of the pump drives is identical. The difference is that a P200 can deliver more oil at WOT. (I've heard that it pumps 3% at max.)