More troubles

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MrGrumpy
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Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

More troubles

Post by MrGrumpy »

Eh...I'm getting sick & tired of this scooter lark - it seems an acheivement to go for more than a week without some reliability issue!

Latest snag is that the Bev is loosing all its coolant. As soon as I got the Tmax back from its radiator troubles, I was on the Bev and noticed the temp gauge was high and the cooling fan was on (very rare occurrence). I happened to be near the workshop, so called in but it then seemed Ok, --- they put some coolant in (quite a lot actually) and then everything was fine. Now I've got the same thing and if I top up the coollant, you can hear it draining down to the depths of the radiator - ie there's probably no coolant at all!

I'm not seeing ANY leaks or driibbles or damp patches under the scoot, so it must be being pumped out when the engine's running somewhere. Another trip to the workshop.....

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Globs
Posts: 1557
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:13 pm
Current Ride: Piaggio X10 350

Re: More troubles

Post by Globs »

Not good :(

It must be going somewhere, any marks of dried coolant anywhere?
Is the oil clear?
Does the inside of the exhaust look normal?

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Funkycowie
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Posts: 4600
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:23 am
Current Ride: Honda NC750x
Location: Essex, UK.

Re: More troubles

Post by Funkycowie »

Seems weird that both have similar issues...
ImageImageImageImage
Past Bikes: Piaggio B125, Gilera Nexus 500, TMax MK3 in White, TMax MK3 in Yellow, TMax MK3 in Yellow, Honda NC750x in Blue...

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2wheelover51
Posts: 1132
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:12 pm
Current Ride: 2012 Burgman 400 Limited
Location: Poole, Dorset

Re: More troubles

Post by 2wheelover51 »

You've certainly had a few problems recently. Sounds like head gasket or a surreptitious leak somewhere. :?

MrGrumpy
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Posts: 7109
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: More troubles

Post by MrGrumpy »

Nothing obvious. What worries me is that its either something easy like a leaky pipe or joint, or something very expensive, like head gasket, water pump, radiator. If one of the latter, could be too expensive to be worth fixing! On the bright side, I just topped it up, and its only lost half its coolant, rather than all of it!

Dave Weller
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Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:25 pm
Current Ride: VespaGTS250 Wave110i

Re: More troubles

Post by Dave Weller »

They used some very silly one fit hose clips, good idea to look around them and replace dodgy ones with better quality ones.
Honda NC750 Manual
VESPA GTS250
Royal Enfield HNTR 350
Honda Wave 110i

Sylar
Posts: 683
Joined: Sat May 14, 2011 8:46 am
Current Ride: Forza 350-Cruisym300i
Location: Bolton Lancashire

Re: More troubles

Post by Sylar »

I don't think you and that Scooter were meant for each other, if it were me I'd "Give it a damn good thrashing" and if it still misbehaved, I'd get rid.

MrGrumpy
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Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: More troubles

Post by MrGrumpy »

Sylar wrote:I don't think you and that Scooter were meant for each other.
I've had it for quite a long time now...I haven't had many major problems, but a series of little weird things! It was my commuter scooter, but I don't actually need such a thing anymore. Therefore I don't really want to replace it, but with the Tmax playing silly buggers a lot, its nice to have a back up scoot when needed!

MrGrumpy
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Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: More troubles

Post by MrGrumpy »

Well, I must have seriously offended the scootering Gods!

Diagnosis of the Bev's water coolant leak is that its coming from the cylinder barrel, not at the head gasket end, but the lower end, probably due to corrosion. The leaking water is then hitting the exhaust or other hot parts of the engine and boiling away (not going into the oil). Snag is of course that a new cylinder barrel effectively means a complete engine rebuild which would cost £x00, and probably more than the scoot is worth! Put bluntly, its knackered.

No idea how to proceed at the moment. At the moment, its running fine, and adding a few quids worth of antifreeze & water every few weeks will keep it mobile, but of course, the leak will get worse not better. Workshop did say you could try something like Radweld - it probably won't work, but if it doesn't you've only wasted a few quid. They also say I should trade it in for something (ie without telling dealer its knackered), but I'm too honest for that! Anyway, its only probably worth a grand tops as a PX even if it was fine.

As I've said before, I don't really NEED a second scoot, but one is very handy to minimise the mileage on the Tmax, keeping it from too much salt exposure, and having something handy in case the other one fails!

Any ideas? Anyone wants a Bev project to hone their engine building skills???

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horobags
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Current Ride: RE 350 classic vision 110
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Re: More troubles

Post by horobags »

there must be someone able to do a repair, assuming its not near the bore, still not a simple job but as it is with the leak its value will be slashed.
Im not a gynecologist, but I dont mind taking a look.

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