According to the experts at the Department of Moped and Scooter Safety, there are a whole lot of 80cc kits out there that are in the process of going boom.
Tom Read, of the DMSS, recently disassembled an 80cc kit that failed at less than 1000 miles.
What he found was that the kit was installed wrong. The cam timing, which is very important in 4 stroke mopeds, was off, and the intake valve was hitting the piston.
"A good mechanic would have caught this right away." said Martin Largent from the Department of Motorcycle and Scooter Safety, "That this moped was allowed to operate on the street ignores basic safety. Someone could have been seriously hurt."
According to Mr. Read, the faulty cam timing was just the straw that broke the moped's back.
"The jetting in the carb was wrong, the exhaust was wrong, the electronic timing was too slow. This was a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately it stranded the owner miles from home."
