Any idea why I am having a hard time starting my 50cc Roketa scooter?

by Joe Tat
(East Hartford, CT)

My 50cc Roketa scooter is having a hard time starting... it has spark and fuel. I tried 3 new carburetors, a new coil, cdi, spark plugs from another new scooter.


The scooter will start after long cranking and working throttle. When it starts,scooter runs great.

It has new gas in it. The scooter has 680 miles on it. Customer did not change engine oil. We changed it and it was black.

We were thinking rings, but comp good and scooter runs good after finally getting started. We also checked for vacuum leaks... none found.

Please, any ideas? Thanks.

Comments for Any idea why I am having a hard time starting my 50cc Roketa scooter?

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Aug 24, 2012
 Scooter is having difficulity starting & low power. NEW
by: flyntrock

I had this problem.The scooter has 1200 miles on it. Bought it when it had 600 miles. I finally checked the valves. And sure enought the exhaust valve was completely closed. Adjusted to .003 on the intake as well as the exhaust. Now the scooter runs great.It starts running without any problems. And has better performance.
Feb 22, 2012
 hard starting
by: Jim

Make sure you don't have any trash in your tank, if it is clean, then replace the fuel diaphragm that bolts under the gas tank,A good test for that is to take the air breather off and shoot a little starting fluid in to the carburetor , and it should start right up.
Jul 07, 2011
 Recommend Valve Adjustment Check
by: Anonymous

I noticed Jim Z. recommends setting valve clearances in response to many of these trouble shooting questions and was beginning to think maybe he's a valve clearance zealot. In spite of my cynical opinion, conceded to the fact that in my case it was overdue.

Thinking it would be difficult to access the valve cover due to body panels, and also still having some reserve as to whether or not it would prove helpful in any way, put it on the back burner until the mood was just right for me to do it; several months. Turned out much easier than expected, no harder than changing spark plug, and while the intake required no adjustment, briefly supporting my cynical opinion, was surprised to find that the exhaust had no gap, was possibly even being held open a little, making me realize my efforts were not in vain, and that I should have done it much sooner.

Now, while the scooter was running before this was done, it was running with substandard performance and I did not realize until after riding it with the adjust made. It also seems to run cooler now. The only side effect which at first concerned me is that with rapid deceleration it pops out the exhaust much more noticeably than it had been. I found out that this is the way it should operate, and the fact that it had not been indicated a need for adjustment so am thinking the exhaust valve was misadjusted from when the scooter was new, perhaps intentionally to suppress the popping out the exhaust pipe upon rapid deceleration.

The popping is normal and should be controlled by using smooth deceleration whenever possible, I've read that the popping, while it may not sound healthy, is actually harmless. In any case the boost in performance far outweighs the slight embarrassment of a popping exhaust due to over rapid deceleration.

I highly recommend that regardless of the mileage on your scooter everyone should check their valve clearances for proper adjustment and correct them if needed.
Sep 05, 2010
 Brake switch
by: Anonymous

I don't know if this will help but I have the same bike and replaced the brake switch. This switch is located at the end of the brake handle. mine has 2 one at each handle. I bought them on E bay for $10.00
My bike gave me a lot of trouble starting then the switch didn't work at all. That fixed it.
Sep 05, 2010
 Valve adjustment
by: Jim Zeiser

At 680 miles it might be time for a valve adjustment. 50 cc scooters start out with .00197 inch clearance to start with and could have tightened up on the exhaust valve. My 50 cc mopeds were tight at 180 miles. Check and set both valves at .003 inch.
Sep 04, 2010
 Try this...
by: Anonymous

When you crank it, twist the throttle at the same time. What you are doing is injecting fuel into the engine. That will make it start immediately.

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