This is a detailed guide that will illustrate the proper preparation of your new 50cc scooter for it's first use.

In this article I will go over properly preparing your scooter for first use. We will start from the carton, and work our way from there.

Prepping a scooter is pretty easy, but getting it uncrated is a lot easier if you have someone to help out. Getting it unloaded, even without a liftgate is possible without doing damage, I had to do it on a fedex freight truck. Liftgate service is the way to go though, you will have a box in the end of your driveway that looks something like this:

Obviously the first step is to unwrap it
There should be a line in the cardboard where it is stapled together, peel it apart there, then peel the cardboard off the outside.

You will either get a scooter with the front wheel attached in a reinforced carboard crate (you pretty much just roll it out of the base of the box), or you will have a scooter with or without the wheel attached in a metal frame wrapped in cardboard. The latter is the most complex, and we will cover it here (ignore what obviously doesn't apply to you, as far as uncrating).

You should now have something like this (metal framed crate):

Peel all the plastic, foam, etc off and throw it out, and take all the metal and plastic ties off of everything. Remove the front tire from the floorboard. 

If you inspect the top of the metal frame, you will see bolts (phillips on one side, nuts on the other in my case) at all the top posts. First we need to remove all of the nuts and bolts at the top, and remove the top frame: 

Next, you need to remove the strip going across the floorboard. 

There should be a large eye hook on either side with a nut at the top (going through the piece that holds the base of the scoot down). Remove the nut from one side and then you should be able to get the other side off by just manuvering it around.

Now remove the middle support.
Remove the bolts/nuts at the bottom on each middle support, both should come off attached by the bar in the middle.

The next step is to unbolt the front forks from the base of the metal frame. The front axle should be going through the base if the wheel is not attached. You will need to remove the nut, and the rest of the assembly will slide out. It may be helpful to have a second person to lift the scoot a little so it's easier. You can tap it with a mallet or gently with a hammer to get it started. You should have the axle, a metal sleeve, and the nut when you're done. 

Now comes the fun part, and where a second person is really going to come in handy. You need to keep the front forks lifted, and drag the scooter off of the metal frame. If you don't have a second person handy, you will need to have something to prop the front forks on, because after you get it off, the first thing you want to do is put it on the main stand.

You need either weight on the rear of the scoot, or a person sitting on it, so you can put on the front wheel. Attaching the front wheel is pretty easy. First remove the zip tie from the speedometer sensor (hanging there, opposite the brake caliper). Now, you should see a small notch/gap in the speedo sensor, and a little peg that matches it on the fork on that side. The speedo sensor goes on first, line the peg in the notch on the sensor, then slide the wheel into place. On the brake caliper, you should see a small piece of plastic holding the brake pads apart, don't remove it, just slide it back so you can get the brake rotor on the front wheel between the pads first. Slide the wheel on, remove the plastic seperator from the brake pads, then slide the axle in from the same side as the speedo sensor. As you slide it through to the other side, you will need to fit the metal bushing between the wheel/brake rotor and the fork (on the same side as the brake caliper). Tighten the front wheel down, as much as possible, but don't overdo it and break the bolt.

Now you can remove the key from the ignition, and open up the trunk. There you should find a few goodies 

If you have purchased a Vento, you probably also have a scooter cover, a restrictor kit, and a medium sized helmet.

You need to prep the battery, you see the bottle of acid and the battery pictured above. You should get one of two versions, either you will have a large bottle with a hose and a battery, or you will have a little cartridge looking thing, a lid, and the battery.

If you have the bottle/hose:

1) Pull the red cap off the side of the battery
2) Pull the foil off of the end of the bottle (WARNING: ACID!)
3) Connect the hose to the bottle, then connect the other end to the side of the battery (where you removed the red cap)
4) Squeeze the acid into the battery, then let off and let the air escape
5) After the bottle is pretty empty, CAREFULLY remove the hose, pressure will have built up and it may spray a little acid when you remove it.
6) Leave the red cap off 15 minutes, then put it back on.

1) Remove the cap from the battery (if it's attached)
2) Line up the cartridge and press down, let the acid drain in
3) Leave the lid off 15 minutes, then put it back on.

While your battery is airing, go back to the stuff that was in the trunk and grab the mirrors. On Vento scooters (and some others) one of the mirrors is REVERSE THREADED (meaning you screw it in the wrong way (left = tight)). Slide the lock nuts down a bit on the mirrors, then screw the mirrors in. Use an adjustable wrench to lock them into place after you've adjusted them. You don't have to screw the mirrors all the way down. Now is as good a time as any to also throw the little black rectangular piece of plastic shown above into the hole that is on the inside front of the scooter (the same side the ignition (key) is attached).

Now go back, cap your battery, and drop it in the spot in the floorboard and attach the wires. Red goes to positive (+), black to negative (-). The lid was also in the trunk, the screws for the lid are probably already screwed in the scoot (for safe keeping). Remove the screws, put the lid on, and put the screws back in. You need to charge this battery on a smart charger (not a "manual charger") before use, but it won't hurt anything as long as you do it in a reasonable amount of time after initial prep of the battery.


It's time to check all the fuel/oil lines, and make sure all the little nuts and bolts we can find are secure.

You can check out the fuel lines in two places, you should have a fuel tap in the rear of the scoot (underneath) with two hoses coming out, make sure they are attached (one out the bottom, one out the side). Next, pop your trunk and remove the panel in the bottom. You should see three hoses going into the carburetor, two large rubber hoses and a smaller hose. There is another hose coming off the bottom of the carb, it should not be attached to anything -- it's for draining water/debris out of the carburetor bowl.

Check your oil line, look underneath the scoot at the bottom of the oil reservoir (behind the panel in the floorboard), make sure the hose is running into the scoot and appears to be attached. DO NOT pull on it, you could easily pop it off of the oil pump, and it will be a headache to reattach it this early on.

Now, nuts and bolts.. Everything you see, check.
Make sure you check both wheels and especially the exhaust bolts. Don't overtighten the exhaust bolts (or any other bolts in the engine casing), but they shouldn't be easy to turn either. You can blow an engine if there is an exhaust leak here.

Make sure you at least open up the transmission fill plug and see that there is oil on it or inside. Optionally, and recommended, is to go ahead and change the gear oil before using the scooter. This is because the oil that ships isn't usually the best quality, and if you drain it and refill you are 100% sure that the correct amount is in there.

Finally, you're ready to throw in fluids and start her up.
Your scooter may or may not have two stroke oil already in it from the factory/dealer. If you do not have any, add some and fill it just below the rim if you can. Make sure it is not synthetic two stroke oil, it won't work well for break-in. Multipurpose (weedeater) oil is not acceptable for use in a scooter. Mark where the oil level is, use a pencil. This will let you see if the oil is being used, and that will mean that the oil pump is primed and you can stop premixing your fuel.

Premix your first 1-2 tanks of gas, because your oil pump might not be primed and may not pump any oil at all to the engine to begin with. So premix a gallon at a ratio of 32:1, once again with non-synthetic, non-multipurpose oil. Mix it well, and add it to the tank.

If you have an air pump, make sure the tires are at the proper pressure (see the sidewall of the tire). On a Triton R4 / Strada RX8 it's 30-32psi front and back I believe. If you don't have a pump, make a gas station with an air pump your first destination.


You are now ready to start up your new scooter!
Use the kickstarter if possible, especially on an uncharged battery. Remember that it will take several kicks or several seconds of starting to get it going, as fuel will need to get pulled through the system. Don't use the throttle, let the scooter start itself.

Once it's started, let it idle, don't rev it up.
You need to warm it up for 10 minutes or so to get everything to operating temperatures so you can properly break it in.

The next step is to properly break in your scooter. 

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