Two scooters, one can of gas

[Miker the Biker]

I have a Key West and a Honda.
Was having problems with the Key West.

Cleaned the  carb on the Key West, replaced the fuel & vacuum lines and spark plug.

Got the highest octane gas in the can, put in the recommended additives.

Did an 82 mile round trip, very pleasant ride.

Two days later, dang thing is NOT running smoothly. Cannot get it going as fast as it used to. About ten MPH slower!

Wants to stall out if the throttle is full open.

I put the SAME gas in  the OTHER scooter, the Honda metropolitan, and it hums along like a little champ.

So, what's the Forum's advice on this Key West situation?

[harry]

drain the fuel bowl  see if any junk comes out
use a hose and jar .
always use non ethanol fuel 90 octane if possible.
 btw; additives make the fuel mix lean
adding extra oil to the fuel really leans out your mix
fuel line cleaners can loosen crud in your tank and
that can foul your carb jets.

you checked that everything is still buttoned up tight ?
check or replace spark plug cap and wire
and you did clean the air filter?
how about the fuel filter?

oliyhans



 

[Miker the Biker]

The photos in the online Owner's Manual are not photos of the carb that's IN the scooter.

There's a knurled knob, which does not appear in the photos.
MIGHT be the idle speed screw.

Might be something else.

I bookmarked ( or thought I did) the owner's manual page, but can't seem to find it again.

Dang, doing it this way is difficult.

[Miker the Biker]

OK, I found the manual.

The picture of the carb is kind of blurry.

Would it make sense to purchase a manual for this specific year of the Key West?

I appreciate your efforts on my behalf.

[harry]

no manuals available that i know of.....

 yes that is the knurled idle screw .
usually idle screws are on the bottom of the  'tower' of the carb
screwing them in or out raises or lowers the barrel slide

 oilyhans

[Miker the Biker]

Imagine, if you will, a handsaw.
Sharp side up.

With the teeth looking sort of    /l/l/l/l

That's what I'm getting now, if I give it some throttle.

A bit of a spurt of speed, and a rapid drop, and a spurt, and a drop.

The local motorsports place doesn't want to work on a Chinese bike, curse their elitist hides! 

Which way should I crank the knob, if cranking the knob will make a difference?

[harry]

idle screws(low speed) just how far the carb is open

you adjust the amount of air/fuel  by the mix screw
start  about 3/4 turn out  ( +/-)  1/2 turn

 lots of how to's for 2 stroke carbs on the net

 oilyhans

[Miker the Biker]

Thank you, Harry.
I see there's a HERO designation on your avatar.
In this case, well deserved.
I tweaked the screws as advised.

Dang thing's running as fast and sure as ever.

[harry]