Gio 50 cc...Help!

[rodball]

I wish I knew about this site before I assembled my 50 cc Gio. I had to tighten chain. It was really loose and fell off a few times. But managed to do it! Someone as "mechanically stupid as me."

The front brakes are posing a problem though. They don't work. I'm assuming I must tighten them somehow. Also, the cable coating is worn through after a couple of rides as the cable rubs against the rim and tire.

Any help on these two issues - front brake tightening and the wearing of the cables on the rims would be greatly appreciated. Did I mess up somewhere. Unfortunately, turbo, it's the one picture you don't show. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[TurboT]

Hi Rodball,

I will answer here for all your posts:

Rattles in the Tubes:
This is an issue we all seem to face with the Gio Mini Atv's. I've yet to find a great solution. Some have suggested getting a large washer and putting it between the tube and the wheel on the inside, however I have not myself tried this. I don't feel like I can tighten up my wheel much more without the risk of stripping the axel threads. There has been some discussion about this in some other posts, as some theorizing why it is happening. I personally think that because under power or load, the back axel has a minute amount of 'travel' or 'action' back and forth, and at this point with the wheels spinning, the wheel is pull away from the tube slightly, causing it to occasionally move and make noise. Since I've experienced this on my own quads, and stopped to check it and I can not move the tube by hand, even though knowing I've heard it making noise while under load.

Brakes
I did not take photos of setting up the front brakes for two reasons. Number 1 there is a sheet that comes with the unit describing the front brake assembly and how it goes on. Number 2 is I haven't had much success with them myself and thought perhaps I had been doing something wrong myself trying to get them to work.

The best suggestion I can give you would be to lube the cables with some sort of cable lube or WD-40, don't be shy squirting that down there. Then, take the end of the cable and loop it under and back of the lever on the brake drum. Take a vice grip and squeeze it on the cable and reef back hard on the cable to get as much tension as you can, and tighten the nut to hold the cable in that position. This might be easier with two people. From this point, you can adjust the brake tension from the adjustor nut on the brake lever and those up by the handlebars. I did manage to get this one 110cc working with the front brakes somewhat, but I wouldn't rely on them, which is partially why I don't offer much support or instruction in the forums. I'm just not comfortable with them working that well, and I think they might be better not on there, as then the rider would only focus on the one brake lever to stop the quad, as the back disc brake works sufficiently to stop the quad.

I have looped the cables around the frame quite a bit to avoid them rubbing on the tires, use zap straps to hold them. If you have to much cable by the tire you will have to find another way to route them to shorten them up. More tension on the cable will help as well.

Chain

Since you figured out how to tighten your chain that is good. The chain quality on chinese ATV's is crappy. Good thing to check that before every ride. Mine seem to have stabilized somewhat now.

-TT

[rodball]

Thanks, Turbo. Your suggestions will be a great help. Greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Rod