Should I use unleaded gas or a higher grade to run my TaoTao 50cc scooter?

by Kyle
(Nashville, TN)

I actually have a simple questions to ask. I just purchased a new TaoTao 50 moped scooter and wanted to know if I should run it on unleaded gas or use a higher grade?


And will a higher grade improve the performance and longevity of the bike? Thank you for your time. P.S. It is a 49cc scooter.

Answer: My more mechanically inclined friends will probably weigh in here, Kyle, but I know premium grade gas is often recommended for scooters because of their relatively small engines, which can quickly become fouled by impurities in lesser grades.

Comments for Should I use unleaded gas or a higher grade to run my TaoTao 50cc scooter?

Click here to add your own comments

Nov 19, 2017
 Taotao50 scooter NEW
by: Dale

These comments try to be helpful by saying never use ethanol based fuel but doesn’t say what to do if your whole town has everything but ethanol based (10%) fuel? Higher grade or some type of additive for it? Those comments would be more helpful..mine has around 700 miles but you’d think it had 1mil it’s running so bad...and it’s only 6 months old
Dec 22, 2016
 My personal experience with Ethanol mixed fuel NEW
by: Anonymous

I know i am late to the conversation but wanted to add my two cents so it can help another person. I have put about 3000 miles on my 50cc Chinese made moped. For the first 2,500 miles i have been using premium 92 grade gasoline with up to 10% ethanol. I was told to use premium from the dealer but nothing ever about avoiding ethanol.

I bought this moped brand new and even from the first few weeks, it was rare, but it would have some troubles starting in the morning. move forward to 2,000 mile range and it started to get significantly worse. It started to get really hard to start EVERY single morning. Spark was good, fuel/air filter was good, etc. It wasn't until i did some research that I found out how ethanol can really gum up small engines.

LITERALLY when i filled my empty tank up with ethanol free fuel, ALL those problems went away. After the initial tank was gone i put in some Chemtool-b12 cleaner and keep running ethanol free gas and it is running great.

I can say from personal experience that fuel with ethanol in it is what appeared to have been clogging up my carb/jets and causing all sorts of performance issues.

The right thing to do would be to remove my carb and fully clean it but it seems like ethanol free gas did the trick.
Nov 13, 2015
 Thanks for the Ideas NEW
by: James Joseph

I'm really happy to have visited this website mainly for a reason that the discussions over here are all effective and contributing in a great level. Whether it's the question asked and provided answer there or the comments placed by other experienced members, everything contributing to have more useful ideas on how things work effectively. I do work for a firm where the professionals write essays cheap and help the customers to get their works done with expected quality. I'm sure the ideas that I grab from here will be effective in case of working with similar topic writing projects in future.

Regards,
James
Jun 13, 2015
 AGGRAVATED NEW
by: Anonymous

I HAVE A TAO TAO 50 CC MOPED, AND TOLD USE ONLY NON ETHANOL GAS, BUT MY WHOLE TOWN HAS NO NON ETHANOL GAS ANYMORE. I AM HAVING TO USE SUPREME UNLEADED. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO? I PRAY IT WILL BE OK BECAUSE I AM NOT LEAVING THE COUNTRY( LOL), TO FIND A PLACE THAT HAS IT. HARD TO FIND.
Jun 13, 2015
 AGGRAVATED NEW
by: Anonymous

I HAVE A TAO TAO 50 CC MOPED, AND TOLD USE ONLY NON ETHANOL GAS, BUT MY WHOLE TOWN HAS NO NON ETHANOL GAS ANYMORE. I AM HAVING TO USE SUPREME UNLEADED. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO? I PRAY IT WILL BE OK BECAUSE I AM NOT LEAVING THE COUNTRY( LOL), TO FIND A PLACE THAT HAS IT. HARD TO FIND.
Jun 13, 2015
 AGGRAVATED NEW
by: Anonymous

I HAVE A TAO TAO 50 CC MOPED, AND TOLD USE ONLY NON ETHANOL GAS, BUT MY WHOLE TOWN HAS NO NON ETHANOL GAS ANYMORE. I AM HAVING TO USE SUPREME UNLEADED. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO? I PRAY IT WILL BE OK BECAUSE I AM NOT LEAVING THE COUNTRY( LOL), TO FIND A PLACE THAT HAS IT. HARD TO FIND.
Aug 24, 2014
 NO ETHENOL NEW
by: Anonymous

Its critical to the motor and carburetor that you DO NOT use any grade of gas that include ethenol!! It'll cause major gunking and damage. So again never use gas that contains ethenol .
Dec 06, 2013
 "higher grade" gasoline NEW
by: Anonymous

higher grade gasoline does not mean it has fewer impurities. Higher octane does not mean more power, if you have a lower compression motor you do not need high octane

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Scooter Questions - Other.

When you're done here, you may also be interested in reading some of these popular pages:


If you like to talk scooters, check out our motor scooter forums!


Battery Tender Junior in package

A battery tender like the Battery Tender Jr. can make all the difference in whether your scooter will start right up each spring, after being stored for months.

Just about every scooter owner needs to have a battery tender, sometimes called a trickle charger. Unless you are lucky enough to live in a climate where you can ride all year long, chances are your scooter will be put on ice, figuratively-speaking, for at least a couple months every winter.

One of the key steps in winterizing a scooter is to protect your battery from draining during its "rest" period. This can – and will – happen if you leave your battery sitting untended in your cold scooter over the winter, even if it's in a garage or shed.

Read our review or go right to Amazon.com to buy this highly recommended Battery Tender Jr NOW...



Go to Motor Scooters Guide home page




Advertise on this Site
Advertising Disclosure


Attention!

ATTENTION! I have had to delete the Scooter Forum for this site, unfortunately. Despite my best efforts, I could not adequately prevent daily attacks by hackers and spammers. Even though most of their posts did not go public, they still cluttered up my website host's server space, jeopardizing my account. I appreciate everyone's contributions over the past few years and I apologize for having to do this.

Wondering why your scooter question never got posted?

Chances are, there is a good reason. Did you...

  • Type everything in ALL CAPS?
  • Type as though you were texting... all lower case?
  • Forget to proofread for glaring typos?
  • Omit punctuation?
  • Use curse words or insult other posters?
  • Asked a question that's already been answered?

If you "checked yes" on any of the points above, then I've deleted your post. Sorry, but I have standards. Feel free to re-submit, following the instructions I have everywhere on the site.

Also... all submissions have to be reviewed by me, and I am currently backlogged. Comments go live without approval, but still take 30 to 60 minutes to show up, so don't repost them, please.

This Week's Highlights

Share Your Scooter Blog Here
Your Help Needed!

We have lots of unanswered questions... can you help? Also, check out our newest eScooter Club members We are growing every week!


Keep Up to Date

Follow us on our Facebook Fan Page Follow our updates on Twitter
Subscribe to my motor scooter blog Subscribe to our RSS feed in your feed reader

Help Us Grow

scooter Review your scoot!
Answer (or ask) a scooter questionAsk/answer a question
Share your scooter adventures with us!Share your adventure!

Support This Site

I support this site by using affiliate marketing and running Google ads. I earn a small commission when you purchase items here, which helps to keep the site afloat. Thank you for your support.


Click to buy parts for scooters made in Asia and China

Browse the gorgeous scooter jackets at GoGo Gear!

Site Build It! Turn your hobby into $$$



XML RSSSubscribe To This Site

XML RSS
follow us in feedly
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines