This is kinda long but hopefully it will inspire others of you to attempt your own repairs. I think a lot of time we women think we don't know enough to do these things. We end up at the mercy of dealers paying lots of money for things that are sometimes simple. I'm no mechanical genius, my husband is completely uninterested in this sort of thing so I'm working it out on my own. If I can, I am quite confident anyone can.

Here is how the front end of the scooter looked when I got it.

Turn signals smashed (none of them lit)
Mirrors hanging loose (glass gone from right side)
Front "handle cover" panel broken apart in 3 places the largest piece was hanging loose since most of the mount points were broken. Plus more cracks in it than I can count.
Brake levers broken and a severe case of road rash.

To get it home I tightened the mirror and used duct tape to keep the signals from swinging loose for the ride. Ugly but it was an hour and half ride and no way to get home it but ride it.

After getting home I found out that parts are currently almost impossible to get from SYM. I've tried 3 dealers and so far haven't even gotten prices let alone parts. The SYM forum doesn't seem to have lots of mod info either. I'm trying to take this as a positive sign that these scoots are built so well people don't need to do much to them.

First priority was to get some mirrors ordered. Mine are 8mm with a standard thread so it was easy enough to get some generics off EBay.

Next was to figure out my turn signal issue. I thought it was probably a fuse, which it was not. Since there are 6 bulbs on that circuit it didn't seem they would all be blown. Next thought was the flasher relay. I have no idea what a scooter flasher relay might look like. Removed the front panels searching for a likely candidate but came up empty handed. What I did notice was am empty plug. Over the next couple of days I kept coming back to that plug. No responses to forum posts asking what I was looking for. In desperation I decided to just go to an auto parts store and buy a turn signal relay with a matching pin pattern to the empty plug on the scoot. Plugged it in and all 6 signals worked! For $6 I had working signals.

While I was poking around in the electrical I noticed that the integrated front signals had dummy bulbs in them. Since the other front signals were smashed getting these working seemed the best option. Unfortunately the bulb size is some odd ball. The bulbs I was told would work had different locking pins and no one has anything in amber. Settle for buying clear bulbs of the proper size, painting them with a translucent, heat cured, craft paint and filing off one of the locking pins. So instead of the cost of some exotic bulbs, $1 standards and a few bucks for paint and I have new signals.

That left getting the handle cover repaired enough to mount back on the scoot. Choices were trying to find a plastic repair shop to weld it, buying a plastic weld kit and learn how to use it or choose some sort of epoxy or glue and hope it would hold.
I decided to go with Gorilla Glue. I've read mixed reviews on it but I liked that (unlike many epoxies) it swells to fill gaps. This panels had lots of gaps so I decided filling was a good option.
I glued pieces back together, mounting posts back on, and filled cracks from the inside to, hopefully, add strength. Sanded, refilled low areas, sanded again. Finished with a light skim of Bondo and more sanding.

Wiped the panel down with mineral spirits then sprayed it with Krylon Fusion satin black. Not sure what the life span of this fix will be but I rode it over some very rough roads, at high speed into some high winds and so far so good. It is far from perfect but presentable enough.

Wow!
That IS inspiring

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~~~~~ Linda ~~~~~

Alter good for you! My hub used some krylon fusion paint on my exhaust cover, the sun bleached the black out and it looked crappy until he did that. I am so impressed with your ingenuity!

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

Linda the final touch for the handle cover will be a decal from Harris. Thank you again for that reference!

ID, does Krylon Fusion work well for that? My muffler shield is thrashed. I was going to spray it with a flat black BBQ paint, figured I'd need something designed for high heat.... Getting the guard off was enough of a chore. The crash/slide had buffed the screw heads smooth. Only one of the screws could be removed with a screw driver, one with vice grips and the third I had to cut the head off the screw. Still have to get to the hardware store for replacements.

Biggest lesson so far is be willing to walk away and think about things. It is the toughest for me since I have no patience! Fortunately at this point there are so many things that need to be done I just move to another area while I'm sorting though a problem.

Alter - I will have to check to make certain, but I do seem to remember him talking about BBQ paint and that he didn't think would adhere to the plastic. I Just talked with hub and he did use a flat satin black krylon paint - he lightly sanded the exhaust plate and then gave it two coats. He was worried about it bursting into flame, but it hasn't happened and it looks great. I've gone for long rides where it could heat up and no flamage.

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

Ahh, you're talking about a plastic part. My muffler guard is chrome so maybe it heats up more than the part your talking about?

Kinda tough to really make out the damage from this shot but the lower part of it is really scarred. I will sand it then paint it and see what happens. I'm not as worried about the paint staying on (I can always sand it and paint again) but having it burst into flames would make for a really bad day.

Alter- my exhaust cover on the vino is all plastic. I wouldn't sand the chrome, I would check with the dealer to see if they can suggest something to clean the rust out of the scratches and shine it up a little. It don't think paint will stick to the chrome, it might look worse. I think it might be worth ordering a new one. The person who owned the scoot before how did they come out of the scooter owie? Is that why they sold it? To do that much damage they must have hit something pretty hard.

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

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New Rider in 2010
Grand Vista 250

Here is the beauty of Project Scoot, I don't think I can make anything look worse.
It is about learning so if I paint it and the paint comes off I know that isn't the way to go in the future.
I am hoping sanding might give the paint enough to grip to. I have some ideas on a couple of things to try.
I think first, I need to get an idea what sort of temperature I am dealing with.
I guess a meat thermometer is the highest temp thermometer I own, we'll see what it says.

I put on new grips yesterday. A 5 minute job and that was for someone that had never done it, just watched a Youtube video. Super easy upgrade if you want to customize your scoot a bit.

I guess you are right there you couldn't make it look worse. Maybe you will have another career of refurbing scooters.

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Dar ~ I was born to ride!

my blog: Princess Scooterpie http://scootermayhem.blogspot.com/

Had to cut two of the screw heads off to remove the muffler guard. The heads were buffed smooth so nothing for a screw driver to grab anymore.


Took a wire brush to the muffler and exhaust pipe to take off the rust then sprayed it with high heat barbeque paint.
Wired brushed the rust off the guard, sanded the entire thing then primed and painted it with the barbecue paint. Found I didn't care for the look flat look.
Tested the temperature of the muffler and it wasn't nearly as hot as I thought it would be so I sprayed the guard with a lighter color paint that I had lying around. Finished it with a faux finish of the black.
It kinda looks like it just re-entered the atmosphere from outer space , but I like it much more than what I had and it didn't cost me more than a can of spray paint.

What type of SYM is it??? I have a 2008 RV 250cc. I also do all of my own work so far. I learned to jump in,see what looks like I can fix and give it a try. I have never taken apart an engine or carb yet! So far i have been able to correct all troubles that my scooters give me on my own.
Congrats on all of your improvements.
Scootit

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When I look into my mirrors- I like what I see!

It's an '08 HD 200. So far I'm impressed with the quality of it and it has been easy enough to work on. I just wish they were easier to get parts for!

I admire you, Queen Diva! I can't imagine tackling that huge restoration job. You are an inspiration to all Divas! Good job.

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Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.

Thanks, I just hope I can show someone else that they can do this!