I will use this page to keep current with the latest developments.
Last Posted on 22 June 2007

March 31, 2007:
After the normal setup and initial maintenance I got the scooter up and running.  I enjoyed three days of riding (about 50 Tank miles) before the scooter lost engine power and would not go over 35 mph.

I worked on the scooter continuously with the helpful suggestions from Stan Jessup and other members of http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/tankscooters/  forum to no avail.

I followed Stan’s instructions for weeks and was unable locate much less solve the problem.
In the process of tracing problems, I stripped the scooter to its frame. 

By June 6th I finally gave up and had a friend take the scooter the 100 miles to the West Valley Motorsports Tank dealer in Phoenix, Arizona for repair. The shop's maintenance schedule was running 3 to 4 weeks behind. Three weeks went by and I received a call from the shop telling me they found a tear in some rubber diaphragm inside the carburetor that controls the automatic vacuum choke.

By the 22nd of June they could not get just the rubber diaphragm so they have to replace the entire carburetor. Since I did not buy the scooter from them it may cost me around $135 if Tank will not replace it under the shop’s parts warranty. 

I hope this was the 35 mph problem and a new carburetor will be the fix; meanwhile I am running up labor charges at the rate of $65 an hour.

Up date -- 27 July 2007

On July 20 I got a call from the shop telling me the scooter was ready, so my friend found time to drive me back to Phoenix to pick it up on the 26th. Phoenix is a miserable place to drive even without the 110 degree heat of that day.

The good news is the owner of West Valley Motorsports runs a highly reputable shop and got the carburetor from Tank under their warranty so my only cost was $129 for labor.

Now that I have the scooter back home in Clarkdale, AZ it appears to be operating properly.
I am however, hesitant in replacing the skirting until I can recheck all systems to avert any future breakdowns.

Click HERE for pictures.

I will up date this page if there are any more surprises.

I drove the scooter for several days without apparent problems so I replaced the faring. Several months later I began having more mechanical problems so I sold it before it quit running altogether. The last I heard, he also sole it to another unsuspecting person.