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Got a scooter recently which I leave parked on the street while at work. A couple of days ago I was about to ride it home when I noticed a note saying that this person tried to parallel park near it and tipped it over.

I know very little about scooters and what kind of damage is possible when something like this happens. Do you have any advice on what to check to make sure it's safe to ride both short and long term?

I did basic things: minor cosmetic scratches, it starts fine, rode it slowly on residential street back home etc -- everything looks ok on the surface. But I would like to understand whether it's possible that there's some not obvious damage.

SteveRacer
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Nikita R.
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2 Answers2

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A scooter is quite rigid for its weight and size, and there shouldn't happen much more than some scratches, broken mirrors etc.

There are just two issues I can think of:

  • If the scooter fell hard on a brake lever, this could have damaged the lever itself or for example one of the gaskets inside, when it's a hydraulic brake. Obvious signs would be a brake fluid leakage, usually at the lever or at the brake, or when you can just pull the lever onto the grip. At least, you should be able to say if the scooter acually did fell on the lever from the scratches. If not, don't worry.
  • Liquids. It's clear that oil and fuel could have leaked out, which is a mess, but usually not really a problem, except it got on the brakes. This can also lead to some starting problems, but that's it. But most scooters still have an old style, not sealed battery, which could have leaked. The acid is typically dumped to the street through a hose, so no problem for the scooter. But it's now missing in the battery, and you can't simply top it up with distilled water. I'd suggest you inspect the battery and the acid levels.
    However, liquids leak out slowly, so if the scooter was tipped over and put up directly after, this shouldn't be an issue.

Your last question is a legal one and can't be answered without knowing the country, and this is also not the right place for it. But in general, an inspection is the first step of an repair, so it sounds reasonable that the guy has to pay for it.

sweber
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Only thing you have to worry about is just make sure there’s no oil in your airbox if the bike wasn’t running then you don’t have much to worry about except top it off with some gas don’t start it immediately be patient most likely it will start like I said if it fell over when it wasn’t running shouldn’t be too bad except the damage otherwise be patient it will start again check oil in the airbox.

If it fell over for a long period of time most likely the oil has drained into the head and into the air filter system so most likely you’re gonna need to change the oil and like I said in the beginning do not start the bike immediately be patient go over all the checking most important is the oil obviously you’re gonna need gas it will be all over the ground so you’ll notice it check your battery if it was drained out don’t try to fill it just get a new battery it’s not worth your eye damage or loss of your fingers and just be patient

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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B..radd
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