Tao Tao ATM-50A1
 

Hi there,
So I recently came into possession of a scooter my friend didn't want to drag back home with him after graduation. It's a 2011 Tao Tao (I believe ATM-50A1 but I'm not sure, there's no real identification I can find.) Anyways I really want to try my hand at getting the most performance I can out of it without doing a big bore kit as I've read those have a high chance of causing damage to the engine. I've found some information here and there but not really a concise guide of everything that should be done. I don't have any experience with scooters and honestly don't even know how their engines work as I'm used to only working with cars and even then I haven't messed around in their engines that much either. Basically I need to learn how a scooter's engine works and also what can be done to maximize it's performance without major changes to the engine itself. Thanks for your time!

Those "kit" are in different price
1:100% Taiwanese
2:Barrel (as bike's OEM)+ piston (BiG player of the industry ) + rings (BiG player of the industry) https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=35542063530
3:Barrel (OKish)+ piston (BiG player of the industry ) + rings (BiG player of the industry) https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=39034191868
4:Barrel (???) + piston (???) + rings (???) *Often on fleabay ...

Chinese mechanic loves #2&3 cuz it won't F***ed their praise among customers ...

Could you elaborate a bit more? I don't know what you're trying to say about the big bore kits you listed. I also don't know why you listed those in that order either, is #1 the best and #4 the worst?

Yes, I think the order is from best to worst. I'd focus on #2.

Open the link in Google Chrome, and allow it to translate. You'll be pleasantly shocked by the prices.

I wouldn't hesitate to poke out a 50 to 70 with a big bore kit. I haven't actually tried it yet. Read about my adventures with a 50 here: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=9421

Buy from reputable seller that recommend in scooter forums since most don't show marks clearly on their picture ...
Rings also cames in different grade: regular [as stock]/ CID http://www.dongya.cn/en/intro.asp?aic=9 [~1.5x the cost of regular] | PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) [~2x the cost of CID]

The prices are nice, but I only see kits for 60 and 80, not 70. Also using translate is still difficult to tell which options to pick and where to check out. I did read your thread before, where did you get your muffler/exhaust from? Also I have no idea what the exhaust valve is and why you had to modify it to 0.004" (how do you measure this anyways, caliper?). Also what does the variator do? There's too many terms being used that I just don't know yet when it comes to scooters and their engines.

Oh also forgot to mention but the speedometer and odometer don't work either.

Those are chinese marketing terms
GY60:44mm ie.63cc | GY80: 47mm ie. 72cc

Oh okay, so I guess the GY80 sounds good, now where do I get the rings? I'd rather spend a bit more for higher quality if it'll reduce the risk of damage.

Fantastic, can you confirm which options I want to select when purchasing for each of the items?

For the big bore kit should I get the "80 sets of cylinder combination" or "80 modified 100 sets of cylinder"?

For the rings should I get the "GY6-60 Φ44"or a different one?

Both of those I used the English translation function of google so it's almost definitely not accurate.

That 100 means Honda "GCC" family (SCR100...) 50.0*52.0 ie. 81cc in GY6 (Stroke: 41.4) . Better ring is difficult to get in China.
72cc Φ47 1.0*1.0*2.0 Tons horizontal (pit bike/ cub...) also this size...
Φ44 http://www.dongya.cn/prodlist.asp?page=1&tp=4&keywords=
Generic GY60 is 1.0*1.0*2.0 BUT that shop IS using CB125T/CM125 (ie. those 125 twins): 1.0*1.0*2.5 instead (it MAY work...)

I think I'm more confused now lol my lack of knowledge is making the language barrier even more difficult

The muffler came from a 200cc quad; it was perfectly sized for a 50cc engine, which is exactly why it's no longer on the quad.

Go to Youtube, and search for setting valves on a 50cc scooter. While you're at it, search for scooter CVT and variator, so you can see how they work.

Like any other engine, it is an air pump. They respond well to opening up the intake and exhaust. The "high performance" CDIs and coils don't really seem to do much. I just changed the main jet on a 50CC and it runs so much better. They are way lean from the factory.

Could you possibly go into more detail about what is entailed with opening up the intake and exhaust?

You can ditch the stock airbox and replace it with a pod filter. You'd need to remove the airbox and measure the OD of the carb inlet to determine the pod filter size. One reason to replace the stock airbox is that the boot that connects the airbox to the carb necks down quite a bit.

You can also do an eBay search for a performance GY6 50cc exhaust. That will help, because the stock muffler is likely quite restrictive, like the one in my scooter thread.

Once you make those mods, you'll need to change the slow and main jets in the carb to compensate. That's super easy.

I would play with the carb and exhaust and leave the engine alone; that is assuming you want some kind of utility with the scooter. However, it sounds like you got the bike for free or close to free, so perhaps a bore kit might be fun to play with? I had suggested to rich_e on his thread to not bore his wife's scooter out mainly because he bought it brand new for her to learn on, and boring it out might make the engine go south. But a $100 or less scooter might be the perfect Guinea pig to play with. Otherwise, play with the carb and exhaust, or simply look around for a 150cc engine from another discarded scooter as some of TaoTao's scooters came in both 50 and 150 forms.

Well I don't want to put in an engine that powerful because then I'd have to get a motorcycle license I believe. I want to try the big bore kit that the first to reply mentioned, but I'm not entirely sure which options I should pick on that site. Also would that require me to get a different carborator or is it cool just to use a stock one?

...

I ordered a new carb and gas tank for now to get the thing moving at least. After it's working stock I plan to do some actual performance parts. I'll update once I get it moving again.

Love the packaging!

I think they come with sardines?! :)

Hi there, reporting in. So I replaced the carb and cleaned out the gas tank and installed the exhausted and redid most of the gas and vacuum lines and much to my delight the scooter turned right on and doesn't seem to have any problems besides the brakes needing some maintenance. Idle seems solid and I think I'm getting somewhere around 40 MPH at top speed because I found out I've got a 1P39QMB which typically already comes a slightly larger cylinder supposedly. I'm still going to do the BBK upgrade as I want the experience doing it, and I still have to replace the variator and clutch eventually, as well install the new camshaft and final turn gears (I have to press these supposedly, don't know what that means).

There are two issues that are quite annoying, the only way I can get it to start is to use the kick starter, the electric doesn't work or exist at all. The other is a lot more serious for me as the oil filter drain plug is stripped to all hell and I can't get it out. I'm going to order another one but I have no idea how to get out the old one at this point.

On a minor note my speedometer does not work and I can't find one that fits my model scooter any where. Here's a picture of the dash and a picture of the front of the scooter.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dkd...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gAI...ew?usp=sharing

Short of finding an abandoned scooter that's the same model and happens to have one that works I'm not quite sure what I can do. Is there some sort of universal I could possible install?

Glad to hear it runs and rides for you. Can you show us a pic of the stripped drain plug?

So I had a mobile scooter repair guy come by and fix it. Cost 25, but the scooter needed the oil change desperately so I bit the bullet. Also the electric starter works too, I was just an idiot and didn't use it properly. Looking into the speedometer now, thanks for that link.

Glad to read the good news. $25 for a mobile mechanic is well worth it, considering you now have the new nut on it (I assume). I remember these scooters from Taotao being a little 'too' fast, as generic as they look (they don't 'look fast' lol) a few years ago. I am sure Taotao had to restrict the subsequent model years' bikes, since these are predominantly for states that recognize mopeds and/or unlicensed scooters and restrict them to 30 mph.

Yeah, the scooter easily reaches 30 and given enough time on flat ground I was keeping up with and even passing traffic on a 50 mph zone. It takes a bit to get there, but the scooter can fly and I'm very happy. I'm looking into buying a helmet (full face) because safety. One thing that I noticed that's going to be a problem is if it rains, do you guys have any recommendations for staying dry while driving in wet conditions? I wore a poncho and I stayed reasonably dry but it wasn't comfortable or practical at all.

First real problem with the scooter:

I noticed the scooter was having a slightly tougher time during the beginning of acceleration where it kind of hopped a bit before continuing to move forward sometimes. It was also having a tougher and tougher time getting started until recently it suddenly started dying while in idle and had a reduced power output at max throttle so I pulled it off to the side of the road. After letting it be off for a bit it would settle down and ride again pretty well. Today it started cutting out right in the middle of the street and I had to start it by using the ignition and throttling it a decent bit to get it going again from rest. After I left it off for awhile it just straight up would not start until I maxed the throttle and held the ignition for quite awhile and I had to keep it from idling or it would die on my way home. It was working fine at max throttle right until a was a block or two away from home and it died even with max throttle after it lossed a significant amount of power. It now no longer even turns on. From what I've read there are two things that could be causing the issue. One is the valves need adjustment after all this time or the piston/rings are shot and I'm no longer getting any compression in the engine and need to have it replaced. What are your thought on this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbH9yp2kwM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxzW9aYA_6U

If the spark plug electrode is wet or black, as compared to beige-brown, excessive fuel may be bypassing the carb via a deficient vacuum petcock diaphragm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnhSfgS0x4Y

The spark plug seemed to be fine when I took it out, a little darker than it probably should be but the carb is definitely running a bit rich.

Adjust the valves, and then evaluate.

So I know this is really late but I basically decided to rebuild the whole engine while I was dealing with this just to make sure it wasn't compression since I was planning on doing a big bore kit (47mm bore and head) anyways with A9 performance camshaft. I also replaced the final drive gears to a 49/17 ratio on top of putting in a new performance clutch and variator. I also replaced the the CDI and ignition coil with their performance models (the blue racing CDI and orange ignition coil.) I set the valves to .003 intake and .004 exhaust but the scooter still didn't work. After checking spark I was at a loss as I hadn't considered it to be a fuel problem but lo and behold the issue was the petcock going bad. Once that was figured out I replaced it with a new manual petcock that had less chance of failure (and was also easier to see fuel flow) and the scooter started running again. Now with all these mods I just need to get the carb and variator tuned properly and I should be seeing some decent speeds after. On a flat I was only getting 43 top speed but the acceleration is pretty solid. The scooter doesn't seem to quite be getting into its ideal RPM range but I won't be able to tune it properly until I'm able to get my new tach/speedometer installed which will be saved for another weekend project.

At least it's running. That's a good start.