i bought my daughter a taotao 250d yesterday.... we rode it around the house a little but not far at all. nit even long enough to get it warm.today it will not start for nothing. tried changing the spark plug but still nothing. i will check cpmression when i get a full charge on the quad. what makes me nervous is we boaught it used do you think it could loose compression so fast? is there a way to check the coil? is there a safety switch i should check? I will say when we ran it around that night it ran well but seemed a little gutless compared to my honda crf230 but i just thought that was normal. oh if it's not obvious it is cranking just not starting.

 

Hello - Can you give me a little more information regarding what it's doing when attempting to start it.. are you getting it to crank while pressing the start button?

if yes to cranking - then check that you are infact getting spark.. remove the spark plug from the casing keeping the shoe on the plug hold the plug up on the metal of the motor and crank it over. your looking for a steady stream of blue spark...

if you don't have spark make sure all safety switches are satisfied as you will not get any spark otherwise.. there should be one on the handlebar assembly and you could have a rear tether switch also ....

first and far most let me know what your geting when attempting to start it..

if your getting nothing at all... take a screw driver and jump the soilnoid by touching the metal against both post on the soilnoid.. this will tell us that we have most likley a safety switch not being satisfied..

 

what do you reckon the history of the quad was from the previous owner? abused? taken care of? there's no telling unless you knew the folks. as for compression, you will not lose it that fast. if compression is low, then the quad has been subjected to overheating, ether/starting fluid excursions, low oil levels. multiple abusive situations and a lot of hours on the quad. in one night of riding, you would not lose all compression. so get that off of your mind. as far as gutless performance, was it bogging down when you gave it throttle? has the quad been sitting outside or what was the recent history of the quad with the previous owners? i concur with desjardins2012, you need to check for spark, then we'll get you to check for a fuel delivery issue. report back soon.

 

update... i got it too start sort of.... it started and ran but when i let off the throttle it died so now i hve to wait for the battery to charge up before i do any more with it. and as far as the performance... no not bogging per say i just felt the 250 wouldbe a little more peppy then it was. it was not popping or backfireing and it seemed to idle well. so maybe it was just me. i will post more as i know more.

 

is that a semi automatic with a footshifter or a CVT automatic or a fully manual quad?? now you got me thinking.....the 250 is quite peppy, at least the chinese 250cc machines i've had. now if a CVT automatic it'll take a few feet to wind it up, but a semi auto ought to just take off. a fully manual should throw small rooster tails!

 

manual shifter and i don't think i could get a rooster tail out of this even if i towed it behind my truck. clutch is not slipping but i have not been able to ride it any real distance yet.