Chinas 200 cc scooter test.

[Picollo]

Hi Community,
Happy New Year btw.

Over the holidays we had the opportunity to test 5 different GY6 scooters with the 168.9cc EFI engine. 161 QMK motor. All 5 scooters were stock, meaning absolutely no changes on motor, injection, clutch and transmission were made.
The results, regarding the performance of these OM scooters, were amazing. The only add on was on Mikel Vitacchi Tank 200 – with an amazon 13" windshield.

The route was the 5.6 mile Lake Drive. The asphalt surface was recently renewed and the street itself has no real up and downs (+/- =0). Start level is 166.4 ft over sea level, and the end was 164.9 ft above sea level.
I assume that the scooters are all made in the same manufactury and only the dealers choose self invented names for the products they sell. However. For the test we used the same driver. All scooters were serviced, no tools or any additional load, a full tank, and the tire pressure was set on 30/32 psi.
Clear day, 58 degrees Fahrenheit no wind.
Driver. 5.8” 171 pounds + Helmet, Motorcycle Jacket, and heavier hiking boots. All measurements are made with GPS HUD.

Marlies Dongfang Eagle 168.9 cc EFI Scooter. Main use = commute
Oktober 2024 and 2512 miles.
Top speed 62 mph

Michael Vitacci Spider 168.9cc EFI + Amazon windshield. Main use commute
September 2024 and 1912 miles
Top speed 54 mph

Sophia Vitacci Spider 168.9cc EFI. Main use = commute
July 2024 and 3011miles. Main use = fun (retiree)
Top speed 49 mph

Pattrik Vitacci Tank Pro 200 EFI, 169.9cc. Main use = commute
September 2024 and 2243 miles
Top speed 53 mph

Iris, HHH Spider 200 EFI Deluxe, 169.9cc. Main use = commute
October 2024 and 1871 miles
Top speed 51 mph.

Why are they so different in performance? Is this depending on the ECU or is it just quality control?
Something else? I mean they are all the same scooters.

[Mudflap]

It would be interesting to know the RPM at top speed on the various machines and also the engine numbers. There are probably several companies making the 169cc engines. Quite a difference between 49 mph and 62 mph. My 2021 Vitacci Clash will do a bit more than 62 wih a largish windshield at 4000' with me at 215 lb 6'1", 12g rollers. Engine is a LF161QMK (Lifan).

[ProDigit]

Bike's aerodynamics,
Oil used,
Wind direction or strength,
Outside temperatures,
Uphill or downhill,
Jetting and tuned or not,
Choke still on,
Different transmission, gearing, belt thickness or CVT ratios,
Dragging brakes,
Exhaust or air intake

[krat]

There is probably more variation in those scooters than you suspect. Each has different mileage and age meaning they were not assembled on the same day by the same individuals.

From what I understand in the stampede to push scooters out the door of the plant they gather subcontracted parts and turn them into a scooter as fast as possible and using whatever is placed in the basket beside them. Today's carbs or FI units may not be produced by the same people that furnished the last 10,000 units as used yesterday. If they are carbureted the people that assembled the carbs might have run out of 110 jets and substituted 90 jets. Or perhaps the guy setting the needles in the throttle control decided to put everything in the top groove rather than the middle groove when he came back from lunch. The people furnishing the CVT units might have used belts from a different mfg, or whatever roller weights were available at the lowest bid price. They might have changed suppliers of the clutch springs on Wednesday.

That is why we never consider the performance of a stock China-bike unit as a "standard" performance. These machines all need to be tuned to reach their full potential.

Just changing the exhaust and airbox on my 150cc scooter increased the top speed by 10mph. Changing out the baffles on the new exhaust increased the acceleration but did nothing for the top speed.

In turn, changing the jetting, exhaust and airbox on my 50cc scooter increased top speed from 30mph to 50mph.

BTW, my 150 is faster than any of the "200cc" bikes on your list.

[Picollo]

It would be interesting to know the RPM at top speed on the various machines and also the engine numbers. There are probably several companies making the 169cc engines. Quite a difference between 49 mph and 62 mph. My 2021 Vitacci Clash will do a bit more than 62 wih a largish windshield at 4000' with me at 215 lb 6'1", 12g rollers. Engine is a LF161QMK (Lifan).
These scooters are all base, standards as they come from the manufacturer.
These scooters have all the 161 QMP EFI motors. These girls have absolutely no knowledge of what to do on a scooter, they wouldn't even know where to start.
I learned that the Tak-Meter is not reliable. Especially the ones on the Trunk scooters. It showing may be the moon phases and are not related to the rpm. I did not include my Vitacci Tank 200 EFI because I have already altered some stuff.
We were just talking on New Year's Eve about the scooters and realized that everyone has a different top speed. So we compared it 2 days later on a pancake-flat road along the lake. The conditions were all the same, weather, and wind the same, and even the driver was the same for the test. The test was done between 2PM and 3PM.
I really think that has something to do with the ECU.

[Picollo]

I am now convinced that the performance differences measured in our small test (all no carburetors, only OM-EFI engines) are rarely motor-related. For me, it was the clutch assembly. I bought a new clutch from GIXAL (nothing special, just basic equipment) and my scooter was suddenly 10mph faster than before. By then we had disassembled and reassembled this clutch assembly several times and could not find anything unusual. Still, a simple swap showed a dramatic change in performance.
We now think that things like this should be taken into account with these scooters. Grinding brakes, CVT's not working correctly, a loose injector that we found after the test, etc... should be checked first.

[Mudflap]

I am now convinced that the performance differences measured in our small test (all no carburetors, only OM-EFI engines) are rarely motor-related. For me, it was the clutch assembly. I bought a new clutch from GIXAL (nothing special, just basic equipment) and my scooter was suddenly 10mph faster than before. By then we had disassembled and reassembled this clutch assembly several times and could not find anything unusual. Still, a simple swap showed a dramatic change in performance.
We now think that things like this should be taken into account with these scooters. Grinding brakes, CVT's not working correctly, a loose injector that we found after the test, etc... should be checked first.
Do you think the clutch was slipping, glazed shoes? Belt slipping from contra spring being weak? After the clutch change were the engine RPMs the same at the same MPH?

[Picollo]

Do you think the clutch was slipping, glazed shoes? Belt slipping from contra spring being weak? After the clutch change were the engine RPMs the same at the same MPH?

I don't know what is wrong with that Clutch assembly that came with the scooter. It looks normal to me. Everything looks normal when I take that ding apart. The old Clutch assembly has no grinding marks, it slides up and down as it is supposed to do, The clutch shoes are not glazed, but the difference still speaks for itself.
Sorry, but the Tachometer doesn't show the RPMs. It stops at 6500rpm. It shows 6500rpm regardless if I have 40mph or 60mph on the clock, sometimes every other Sunday maybe it shows 7000rpm. I think I will call Powersport to see if I get myself a new one.

[Mark Mead]

Except the Eagle 200, Boss or DongFang, is carburetored, not EFI.

[Picollo]

Except the Eagle 200, Boss or DongFang, is carbureted, not EFI.
Well, we didn't take the scooters apart for this test since they were all stock and those girls are not in tinkering with that stuff at all. They wouldn't know where to start at the first place. But Interesting. So the Dongfang was carbureted and performed best. That is very interesting.