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- Joined
- Oct 19, 2006
- Messages
- 8,250
- Reaction score
- 36
- Location
- Big sky country; Ronan, MT
- First Name
- Bruce
- Last Name
- Taylor
I finally got around to working on the 1985 FA50 2-stoke moped that has been sitting in the corner of my garage for over a year now. It was originally purchased by my FIL. He used it as a campground runaround bike for a few years then stuck it in the back of his garage. It was uncovered last year when they were packing up to move. It had been left full of fluids, just parked and left for over 20 years. a good bit of the engine oil had leaked out of the tank and of course the gasoline had long since evaporated.
I had pulled the foot peg bracket before I thought to take any pictures and document the attempt to bring it back to life.
Low mileage, check it out. ^
I knew the carb was going to be a mess as the throttle did not move at all. So I started dis-assembly with the air cleaner. The filter had broken down and was a loosely held together powder that fell apart as soon as I touched it.
Twenty five years of collecting dust had not done it any favors. The leaking oil made for a nice sticky surface for the dust to cling to. I'm thinking it was leaking oil for a while before being parked.
First I took the petcock apart for cleaning. Not too bad and it seems like the diaphragm on the vacuum shut off still works. The carb came off easy but the throttle cable was definitely stuck in the top. It would not budge. I had to pull the throttle cable out through the frame to get the carb to the bench for cleaning. I took apart as much as I could and stuck the parts in a dish of carb cleaner to soak overnight. The gold colored part is the one that is stuck. It slides up and down with the needle. Oh, and it's not gold either, that's the varnish from the evaporated gasoline.
The next day I was able to move the slide back and forth slowly at first but it eventually came loose and the rest of the parts came out. The jets and the bowl were cleaned. And all the parts went back just like they were. The carb was bolted back in place and cables were fed back through the frame.
And today I used some engine degreaser on the crud and she cleaned up pretty nicely.
I picked up a new 6 volt battery today and have order a new filter element and fuel tank cap gasket. I aired up the tires and am amazed that the inner tubes still hold air. As soon as the parts arrive I'll see if she will fire.
I had pulled the foot peg bracket before I thought to take any pictures and document the attempt to bring it back to life.
Low mileage, check it out. ^
I knew the carb was going to be a mess as the throttle did not move at all. So I started dis-assembly with the air cleaner. The filter had broken down and was a loosely held together powder that fell apart as soon as I touched it.
Twenty five years of collecting dust had not done it any favors. The leaking oil made for a nice sticky surface for the dust to cling to. I'm thinking it was leaking oil for a while before being parked.
First I took the petcock apart for cleaning. Not too bad and it seems like the diaphragm on the vacuum shut off still works. The carb came off easy but the throttle cable was definitely stuck in the top. It would not budge. I had to pull the throttle cable out through the frame to get the carb to the bench for cleaning. I took apart as much as I could and stuck the parts in a dish of carb cleaner to soak overnight. The gold colored part is the one that is stuck. It slides up and down with the needle. Oh, and it's not gold either, that's the varnish from the evaporated gasoline.
The next day I was able to move the slide back and forth slowly at first but it eventually came loose and the rest of the parts came out. The jets and the bowl were cleaned. And all the parts went back just like they were. The carb was bolted back in place and cables were fed back through the frame.
And today I used some engine degreaser on the crud and she cleaned up pretty nicely.
I picked up a new 6 volt battery today and have order a new filter element and fuel tank cap gasket. I aired up the tires and am amazed that the inner tubes still hold air. As soon as the parts arrive I'll see if she will fire.
And here we go. 
