Suzuki FA50 Moped Teardown

ID: 1264

Description: My 1984 Suzuki FA50 was exhibiting some...

Steps:

1. There's no rage against this machine.
2. Looks great, except it doesn't run.
3. Its 50 cc engine lets me go downhill at almost 28 MPH when it does run. Uphills, not so much. Depending on the hill (and my head start), I may or may not have to walk it up.
4. The seat advertises "185 LB max." In the USA??
5. The above weight limit can be used in a "Yo mamma" joke. Note that I said can be, and not should be.

6. Safety first. Disconnect the battery and store it in a safe place.
7. The battery's readily accessible underneath the seat.

8. In retrospect I figured out i that I didn't need to remove the exhaust cover, but what the heck... When in Rome, right?

9. Took off the air intake box.
10. That's contractor-grade 3M packing tape holding the airbox together. Only the best for my moped.

11. I went to the other side of the bike and removed the carb/oil pump protective cover.

12. The foot rest came off next, in order to gain access to the engine and spark plug.

13. While down there, I unplugged the spark plug cover.

14. I then proceeded to access the wiring underneath the gas tank.
15. The wires needed to be disconnected in order to remove the frame away from the engine/crankshaft.
16. First I removed the protective brace on top of the oil/gas tanks using a 10 mm socket wrench.

17. I had to take off both oil and gas caps in order to remove the plastic protective cover.

18. I set aside the fuel tank and bam! -- the wires were ready to be disconnected.
19. The wires must have been minding their own business since '84... Separating them was quite a challenge. Thankfully they had those round connectors on them, so I didn't have to solder or crimp anything when reassembling the moped.

20. I then unplugged the emergency fuel valve .
21. The valve should remain in the "On" position while working on the moped.

22. I paused for a minute to enjoy a cold cup of Diet Coke, and to drain all the 2-cycle oil...
23. I got the Goliath "freezer" mug in Six Flags Magic Mountain about 6-7 years ago. Best investment I ever made, aside from marrying the wife. It's the gift that keeps on giving!
24. Ikea bowls come in quite handy. Turns out there was enough 2-cycle oil to fill the entire bowl to the brim!

25. I had a difficult time figuring out what I was doing in these pictures. According to the manual, I was removing the oil pump cover and oil hose.

26. Unscrewing the smaller valve, which I believe to be the carburetor choke cable.
27. My culprit resides beneath the carburetor top cover. Even though I reassembled the moped, I'll have to investigate the throttle cable going into the carburetor.

28. Rear brake gets disconnected next. The cable needs to be free since the brake lever will come off with the rest of the frame.

29. The rear spring gets unsprung using a 14 mm socket wrench.
30. Disconnecting the spring may be potentially dangerous, as it may be under tension.
31. Nothing crazy happened when I disconnected it, however.

32. Finally, the large frame screw can be removed. This is the last piece of hardware holding the frame to the rear wheel / engine.
33. I had to use two 17 mm wrenches -- a socket on one side, and a ratcheting wrench on the other.

34. And just like that, the frame comes off!

35. A 12 mm and 10 mm hex socket take care of the muffler.

36. Now on to the engine.
37. Spark plug comes out with a strong flick of the wrist.
38. The plug looked like it was the original one that came with the moped. Dirty dirty!

39. I continued by removing the front part of the engine using a 10 mm socket wrench. I found plenty of buildup inside.

40. I wanted to see what a "flywheel magneto" looked like, so I decided to remove this cover. I figured anything named after an X-Man is worth a look...
41. I stripped the Phillips originals while taking the cover off. I replaced them with appropriately-sized 20 mm hex-head screws.
42. This is a 65 mm replacement I ordered online, along with news seals and stuff.

43. Some shots of the engine...

44. The reed valve comes right off. You can see the engine internals from the hole -- cool!
45. I was careful not to accidentaly put any crap inside the engine. I figured the Shuttle wouldn't run well on dirt and Cheerios.

46. The reed valve is a very important part of the moped, according to the service manual. The metal bars have to be bent a certain way, and other stuff.

47. I had quite a difficult time shooting a "final layout" shot. I gave up after 5-10 pictures; this one was the best of the bunch.
48. That's it! Hope you enjoyed my teardown!