Be upfront. Go with her to pick a new scooter, ideally a 125cc or more (IMO they’ve shown the most improvement in class in 14 years). Tell her it’s hers. You’re not asking her to dump the old one, but for safety, she should ride the new one. Once she feels how the new one goes, stops, and handles, she will tell you the old one is taking up too much space.
[quote=“RobinTaiwan”]I think I will try water in the gas tank. A “natural” death seems appropriate for the old beast. How much water do I need to put in there as to not raise too much suspicion?
I think her scooter is beyond repair or rebuilding. After what sulavaca said, I wouldn’t even trust the frame on it. It’s just too old.
Go check Carrefour out. I ain’t joking. Sure, it ain’t no Yamaha, but it’s an SYM.
But yeah, your lady seems to be rooted in retarded scooter mysticism or something. Is it belching smoke everywhere? Then tell her I HATE people that are agitating my eyes and making my lungs worse than they already are. If that doesn’t work -which it won’t, right? :\ - then simply be a MAN, put your foot down, get her a new one, and say, “This is final, baby. Excecutive Order”.
Robin -
I face exactly the same dilemma. Wifes scooter is a rolling piece of crap that I have had rebuilt piece-by-piece so many times the scooter mechanic starts closing his doors when he sees me pushing towards his shop.
But the wife just refuses a new one.
weird… :loco:
Actually it may be some psycho-thing that she feels “safe” on her scooter. It has so little power that she feels “in control” of it. Maybe thats it.
Best spend all the money and fix the beast up. A beast you know is a better then a one you dont tah.
I like the idea of a blade slashing through the tyres. I am sure replacing tyres will be more expensive than buying a new machine! 
There is a program by government in place I’ve read. If someone takes a picture of smoking scooter + license plates and send it to a government that person will be awarded 600 NTD and owner of the scooter fined, I believe 5000 NT.
So for economical reason (that how you will reasoning with your wife) better get a new one.
I also found that taiwanese get overly attached to inanimate objects, my wife had the same, I assumed it was because she had to share everything with her sisters until she was in adolesense (sp?) - she kept the first shoebox of her “own shoes” for ages.
I think one of the first things to do it start junking other things. Does she also get attached to the 7-11 fridge magnets…? If so, I would suggest a spring clean, go through all the stuff in your house and things that are too moldy, especially the cheap tacky shit (ahh, the only time I love the mold) throw in a sack, always give her the choice so she is empowered to decide whether to keep or throw (no carrot or stick). Now do the best kick ass tidy you can and try to reclaim a room or make a nice clean space in your appartment. She will then begin to appreciate that the junk is junk and life is better without it.
Give it some time so she starts really appreciating more space and start ringing more precious items, this bit is more tricky. Maybe she has 16 mickey mouse teddy bears and ask her which is her favorite, find out the story that is behind the bear and if there is none, ask her why she keeps it… even if you only halve the mickey population you have her thinking now.
Then just wait, slowly declutter your house and always be willing to throw your precious items away or give to kids (oh way, the neighbors kids love those mickey’s you gave them, it’s better than xmas!)
I would guess that in time she will realise that the old scooter is junk and life moves on. you just gotta make sure it’s not a death trap until then.
Then, finally, bingo, you just forged another capitalist consumer 
Water in the fuel won’t damage too much since it’s most likely to just stop and will start again once it’s drained and got some new fuel in it.
If you just add a few ml water it would not stop it, but rather stick around in the bowl of the carb causing corrosion.
Tell her you will move out if she don’t get a mecanic you trust since you don’t want to know about it when she ride on it since it worry you to death.
If you know anything about fixing motorbikes start doing it yourself and refuse her to go to the mecanic in the first place since it’s wasting money.
I have a mecanic next door that will get me anything if I ask him for it. Gaskets, pistons and all that stuff.
I also know a parts outlet and I just found out that my mecanic did not charge me extra for the parts he got for me 
We have a sym jog 50cc two stroke and a 125larger sym. I have taken care of the 50cc for the past 5years, while my father in law has taken care of the 125 and the brakes suck, the engine reacts slow, the wheels are unbalanced and the bearing in the triple three is worn, but my wife think it’s more safe then the jog because it has less broken plastic parts 
a small amount (100 ml or so) of water in the tank will make the bike hard to start, will mean it will often stall at idle, and will be a pain in the arse to deal with, especially if you keep adding more water every time a mechanic gets it cleared. it is not unsafe, it is not damaging, and it will only make her frustrated with the current machine… ideal grounds for replacement.
My mom (taiwanese) and my dad (gringo) is/were genuine keep-o-maniacs. They wanted to keep practically everything.
Its not just a TW thing.
p.s. I am the polar opposite. I am a dump-o-maniac. I LOVE to junk things !! LOVE IT>
Or you could get it comprehensively overhauled, addressing all your safety and (optionally) aesthetic and environmental concerns. Then, instead of being a sneak (however well motivated) you’ll be a white knight.
I havn’t read the whole thread so I’m not sure if you mention the model, but I’ve never heard of an unrepairable (parts unobtainable) scooter in Taiwan, and with labour charges here it wont necessarily be very expensive either.
Irrational predjudice against the machine aside, the only issue might be if its a 2-stroke, (probable, I’d guess) where some predjudice is reasonable. A 2-stroke will be cheaper to restore to as-new condition, but it’ll still be a 2-stroke.
Maybe a dumb question… but… doesn’t your wife read English? Doesn’t she know about Forumosa? Won’t she get mad at you for writing stuff like that about her beloved piece of Junk? Or she just doesn’t know your nickname here?
I can feel with you, but somehow I wonder if the other Forumosan’s SOs never participate here, or even don’t look once in a while 
Mine doesn’t, that’s for sure. She simply has absolutely NO interest in what gets said here, any more than she’s even remotely interested in what rubbish people were spouting when I was down the pub.
Same. My wife actually spends very little time on the computer. This is a safe venue. 
The dirty deed is done. I put half a small bottle of coke worth of water in her tank this morning. I know she planned to go to her mother’s place this afternoon and she usually rides there because it’s quite close. 
:liar:
I have time to go scooter shopping this weekend so I had to make a move. As much as I hate that scooter, I feel somewhat guilty now. 
I’m pretty sure she will get over it pretty quick, though, once she gets to ride a shiny new scooter.
I think one other reason she doesn’t want me to buy her a scooter is because she feels that I already pay for most of what we need. Her job only brings in about 20k/month and she grew up in a very modest family. At least I know she didn’t tie the knot with me for the wrong reasons. 
Haha… nice. Considerate of you to pick a day when it’s not raining.
Hope it dies easy.
If you live around neihu/ donghu I can get yo to a great scooter shop. Friendly , honest and amazingly quick service.
If you live around neihu/ donghu I can get yo to a great scooter shop. Friendly , honest and amazingly quick service.
[quote=“RobinTaiwan”]Same. My wife actually spends very little time on the computer. This is a safe venue.
The dirty deed is done. I put half a small bottle of coke worth of water in her tank this morning. I know she planned to go to her mother’s place this afternoon and she usually rides there because it’s quite close. :liar:
I have time to go scooter shopping this weekend so I had to make a move. As much as I hate that scooter, I feel somewhat guilty now. I’m pretty sure she will get over it pretty quick, though, once she gets to ride a shiny new scooter.
I think one other reason she doesn’t want me to buy her a scooter is because she feels that I already pay for most of what we need. Her job only brings in about 20k/month and she grew up in a very modest family. At least I know she didn’t tie the knot with me for the wrong reasons. [/quote]
Believe me when I say that we all want to know what happens. Good luck.
I was also going to mention that there is probably more than a sentimental attachment to the scooter. She probably wants to be cheap like you say but doesn’t realize that an old scooter nickels and dimes you (at least cars that I’m more familiar with do). If the numbers are in your favor then you could show her how much she is wasting in repair money (include the safety upgrades you want if necessary). And you could get a newer used scooter so she feels better.
sounds like this guy 
b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=177576 (page 5 has a vid of him running the messed up engine) but you are doing it for better reason than that guy.
better to let the scooter die at house than to have it die in middle of road stranded
[quote=“Abacus”][quote=“RobinTaiwan”]Same. My wife actually spends very little time on the computer. This is a safe venue.
The dirty deed is done. I put half a small bottle of coke worth of water in her tank this morning. I know she planned to go to her mother’s place this afternoon and she usually rides there because it’s quite close. :liar:
I have time to go scooter shopping this weekend so I had to make a move. As much as I hate that scooter, I feel somewhat guilty now. I’m pretty sure she will get over it pretty quick, though, once she gets to ride a shiny new scooter.
I think one other reason she doesn’t want me to buy her a scooter is because she feels that I already pay for most of what we need. Her job only brings in about 20k/month and she grew up in a very modest family. At least I know she didn’t tie the knot with me for the wrong reasons. [/quote]
Believe me when I say that we all want to know what happens. Good luck.
I was also going to mention that there is probably more than a sentimental attachment to the scooter. She probably wants to be cheap like you say but doesn’t realize that an old scooter nickels and dimes you (at least cars that I’m more familiar with do). If the numbers are in your favor then you could show her how much she is wasting in repair money (include the safety upgrades you want if necessary). And you could get a newer used scooter so she feels better.[/quote]
Old cars that I’m more familiar with do not “nickel and dime you”, and I’m pretty sure that’s general. You’ve either been unlucky, or (more likely) you aren’t accounting for depreciation, which, along with cheaper fixes and insurance, puts an old car WAY ahead on any financial analysis I’ve ever seen.
(Edit: I suppose it depends to some extent on what you mean by old. I mean really old. A newer old car, with cat, computers, crap like that, might behave more as you describe, because its designed to, though it’ll probably still come out ahead financially.)
That’s probably less true of scooters/motorcycles, which don’t depreciate so much and seem to be a bit more maintenance-intensive. OTOH complete rebuilds of 2-stroke scooters are cheap.
OP:None of my business, of course, but since you ask: Tsk Tsk
And that sounds like quite a lot of water. Wouldn’t it have been better to wait for some more heavy rain as cover?