Let's Talk Popcycle

I really like my scooter - I really do. It was a nice perk for buying the loft. It's a great way to cruise around and see downtown on a few pennies worth of gas.

Some of you ride your scooters, and judging by the looks of a few of the scooters, it seems others haven't taken theirs out yet. Whatever your situation, you might want to follow a few maintenance checks to make sure your scooter stays running.

#1 - Burn off your old gasoline. Gas, believe it or not, goes bad after sitting in your tank for a while. If you have gas in your tank from last fall, you could encounter problems later on. There is an additive that will extend the life of your gasoline for about three months, and that might get you through winter. Also, when you fill up again, use 90 octane gas. The owner's manual recommends 90 octane, so pay the extra 10 cents.

#2 - Change your oil. The owner's manual suggests changing your engine oil and gearbox oil every 300 km (186 miles), but if it's been over a year, I'd recommend changing it anyway.

#3 - Misc. Maintenance - There's a wealth of information about adjusting throttle, idle, brakes etc. in the owner's manual. There's also a list of things to do if you will not be using your scooter for an extended period of time.

All this information is on the Popcycle website (owner's manual and parts list) but you might want to secure a copy of the information before the website goes down. If anybody has any questions, ask me.

#4 Parts - Popcycle Motor Co. is no longer in business, so you will have to find your own parts. Any shop you go to in the area might not be helpful.  Make sure you find one that will work on Chinese scooters.

Here's what you need to know about your Popcycle. It's a scooter made of Chinese parts. I'm still trying to find some sort of name for the type of scooter, so I can confidently give you a link in which to find the correct parts.

I'll put a link to a website I found that specializes in Chinese scooter parts. Like I said, until I can be certain of some sort of generic name for the Popcycle scooter, you will have to rely on descriptions from vendors and your parts list.

Perhaps a motorcycle shop might be able to help you, but remember, most of those places charge about $70 per hour and they will have to order your parts.

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Take care of your scooter, and it will give you a few hundred miles of cheap transportation. Remember to keep it in good running condition (this means charging the battery, changing the oil, storing it during winter) or you might run into difficulties that might prove to be very complex later on.


***Update***

After a little research today, I've found a few models that are similar to the Popcycle. The Verucci VC50fs-10a has a similar structure, but a different body molding.

One that is surprisingly similar, however, is the Tank Urban Classic 50. It looks almost exactly like the Popcycle, except for the speedometer.

This parts website might also be helpful

***Update #2***

Okay, I'm on the right trail. If you look on your VIN plate, you'll see that your scooter was made by CMSI. CMSI produces a line of scooters called TN'G (short for Twist n' Go). In the TN'G line, there is a model called the Venice.

There is the Venice 49cc and the Venice LX. In some ways, the Popcycle is very much like the 2006 Venice LX, especially when you look at the control panel. But other parts of the Venice LX are different (like the spark plug type, the look of the mirrors and the handlebars, and the model number)

Although our scooters are a 2006 model (according to the plate), the model number is surprisingly close to the 2007-2008 Venice 49 cc models. The Popcycle is model # VN494 and the Venice is model # VN492.

I'm 95% there, but I still cannot find a specific match for the Ppocycle. If you are looking for parts, however, rest assured knowing that your scooter is manufactured by CMSI and is very, very close to the Venice models of their TN'G branch.

I'll put a link for TN'G in the "Links" section too.