Myrons Mopeds

Welcome to Myrons Service Department. Mopeds are easier to work on than cars. You don’t have to lay under them and get dirt in your eyes and oil in your hair.

Myrons Mopeds has stopped doing most moped service. That has made things difficult for many people. So here and throughout the website, plenty of useful information is provided, or is being planned, to help people repair mopeds and find parts. Shaun has been making moped lists and organizing information since the 1990’s. To start with, here is the “universal owners manual” he wrote in 1999. Read that and then read the actual owners manual for your model of moped. Some of the original manual info is obsolete, like oil types. Most of the Myrons Mopeds service information is intended to supplement the original service manuals.

Moped Owners Manual and Introduction 

by Shaun Strahm, Myrons Mopeds, 1879 W Commonwealth #L Fullerton CA   714-992-5592   Dec 1999

TWO-STROKE ENGINES:

Mopeds have two-stroke engines. Outboard boats, chain saws, weed wackers, and many small motorcycles also have two-stroke engines. It’s called “two-stroke because the spark plug fires every two strokes of the piston (down & up). Four-stroke engines, like cars & lawnmowers have, fire the spark plug every four strokes of the piston (down, up, down, up). This is why two-stroke engines sound more like buzzing insects, while four-strokes sound more like a drum roll.

Two-stroke engines run on gasoline with two-cycle oil mixed in, or have oil injection. A two-stroke engine does not have motor oil in the crankcase, like a four-stroke does. Instead the crankcase contains the gasoline and air mixture, with a little bit of two-stroke oil added in. After the two-stroke oil coats the crank bearings and piston it is burned along with the gasoline. The burning of oil makes a little bit of smoke in the exhaust, which is normally barely noticeable.

TWO-STROKE OIL:

The most important thing you can do to keep your moped healthy is to use a good quality two-stroke oil and mix it in the correct amount of 50 to 1 (2.5 ounces per gallon). This will make the engine stay strong and last a long time, and help prevent carbon build-up inside the exhaust. The oil we sell and recommend is called Champion 2-Cycle Oil and comes in small 2.5 oz bottles for $2, and large 12.5 oz bottles for $5. Some of the highest mileage mopeds I have seen over the years have used this oil, which is a petroleum based oil with expensive synthetic additives. Pure synthetic oils are also very good. You buy good quality two-cycle oil at motorcycle and lawnmower shops. Auto parts stores usually only carry ordinary less expensive blends. Grocery and drug stores also carry cheap two-cycle oil.

OIL INJECTION:

If your moped has oil injection, then you don’t have to mix oil in the gas. Instead you add two-stroke oil to an oil tank located usually under the seat. A small oil pump squirts about one drop of oil every few seconds into the intake port, where it is ultimately burned up. The oil gets used up as you go, and so the oil tank must be refilled every so often, usually about every 3 gas fill-ups (300 miles). If the oil tank is allowed to run out of oil after a few minutes the engine
will seize up and suffer piston damage.

OIL & GAS MIXING:

The best way to mix the oil and gas is with a gas can. If you have a small pill-bottle-size 2.5 ounce bottle of two-stroke oil, you just pour that into an empty one gallon gas can and then take the gas can to a gas station and put one gallon of gas in it. By adding the oil first you have eliminated the need to shake the gas can afterwards, because the force of the gas pump has already stirred up the mixture and dissolved all of the oil. If you add the oil last it will at first settle at the bottom, and the gas container must be sloshed around a few times. Two-stroke oil is usually colored green so that you can see the green tint of pre-mixed gasoline. Without shaking or stirring the gasoline would be dark green at the bottom and clear at the top. Once the oil dissolves the color becomes very light green throughout, and the oil will stay dissolved and never settle out so there’s no need to ever shake it up again.

You should carry with you a small 2.5 ounce bottle of Champion 2-Cycle Oil that’s enough for one whole gallon. Most mopeds have a compartment that holds a small bottle of oil, which you keep refilled from a big bottle you keep at home. That way you always have oil with the bike. You cannot add gasoline and then drive home and add the oil later because after about two minutes of running without oil the engine will seize-up and damage to the piston, rings, and cylinder walls will occur.

A lot of people ask if it’s better to use too much oil than not enough. The answer is yes but too much oil, say 5oz/gal, can foul the spark plug causing the engine to not run or start until a new spark plug is installed. Way too much oil in the gas, say 10oz/gal, will clog the carburetor and the engine won’t run until the carburetor is cleaned out. Too much oil causes excessive exhaust smoke and leads to premature muffler clogging. Not enough oil, say 1.5oz/gal, will not hurt a normal moped that’s driven slowly. For all these reasons its best to use 2.5oz/gal and never less than 2.0 or more than 3.0.

GAS VALVE:

All mopeds have a gas shut off valve at the bottom of the gas tank. The valve knob has three positions, OFF (closed), ON (open), and RES (reserve). You should always keep the gas valve OFF when you’re not using the moped, or else gas can leak out of the carburetor. If the gas is left on, it’s up to the float valve inside the carburetor to stop the gas from leaking. On a new bike or one that has a good working carburetor float the gas valve can be left on for days without any
leaking. Moped carburetors hold about 5 spoonfuls of gasoline, enough to go about a half a block. So if you forget to turn the gas valve on the bike will start and run for about one minute and then stop running. Turning the gas valve OFF and running the engine until it uses up the 5 spoonfuls of gas in the carburetor is what you should always do before transporting or storing the moped.

The RES (reserve) position is for when the tank is very low or getting near empty. The bottom two inches of the gas tank does not come out when the gas valve is ON. So if youre going along and the gas gets too low it will “hit reserve” and run out of gas. Then you can switch the gas valve to RES and start heading towards a gas station. On most mopeds the reserve is enough to go a few miles. You can run on RES all of the time, but its recommended to use ON instead because it does not draw gas from the very bottom of the tank where rust powder and water tend to settle at. Most gas valves are marked or labeled. In case yours is not, OFF is almost always to the right as your facing the valve, ON is always down, and RES is either to the left or up.

BACKWARDS KICK STARTING (TOMOS ONLY):

Tomos mopeds since 1976 have always had way of starting that’s different from all other mopeds. On a Tomos you kick either pedal backwards to start the engine. On all other mopeds you kick either pedal forward while pulling a lever. Also unlike all other mopeds, a Tomos does not need to be on the center stand when doing a stationary kick start. You should always have your left hand on the rear brake lever when stationary starting off the center stand. On a normal Tomos you don’t need to give it any throttle at all, but if you do give it throttle, when it starts it will immediately lurch forward. Holding the left (rear) brake on prevents the bike from moving forward before you’re ready. 

KICK STARTING:

Put the moped on the center stand so that the rear tire is off the ground. If the bike has a bent or worn out center stand or if there’s too much weight on the back it will not be able to start this way, because the rear tire must kept from touching the ground. Stand on either side of the bike with both hands on the handlebars. Turn the pedals backwards until the one on your side is almost straight up.

A. LEFT START LEVER ENGAGES MANUAL STARTING CLUTCH, used on the following mopeds:

Puch, Sachs engine, Minarelli engine, Morini engine, Garelli, Batavus, Trac, Foxi, and others: Pull start lever on the left handlebar and push the pedal down while holding the start lever. When the engine starts let go of the start lever.

B. LEFT START LEVER IS DECOMPRESSION, AUTOMATIC STARTING CLUTCH:

Derbi, Vespa, Honda PA50 Hobbit, Kinetic, Trac (Dai Lim engine), Angel, and others: On these mopeds there is also an engage lever either on the engine (Derbi only), or rear wheel, that disengages the rear wheel from the motor, so the bike can be pedaled or pushed without the automatic starting clutch trying to start the engine. Pull the decompression lever and push the pedal down. As your foot is going down, let go of the lever. The engine will start the moment you let go of the decomp lever.

C. RIGHT START LEVER IS DECOMPRESSION, AUTOMATIC STARTING CLUTCH:

Motobecane & Peugeot only. Same as Type B, except decomp lever is on the right side handlebar. The left lever is a choke on these French made mopeds. These mopeds have an engage switch on the belt pulley that disengages the rear wheel from the motor, so the bike can be pedaled or pushed without the automatic starting clutch trying to start the engine.

In all 3 types A, B, & C, you should always have your left hand ready to squeeze the left (rear) brake lever in case the rear tire touches the ground while its turning fast.

PEDAL STARTING:

If you are already on the bike and it’s off the center stand you can start it by pedaling up to about 5mph and then pulling the start lever while continuing to pedal. If your moped has a decomp lever then you pull it first, then pedal, then let go of the decomp lever. Pedal starting is the only way to start a bike that has a bent center stand or too much weight on the back. If the pedals are not working the moped can be push started by walking it forward instead of pedaling.