As far as the casual motorcycle or ATV owner is
concerned, the fundamental difference between two-cycle engines and
four-strokes is that oil must be mixed with the gasoline on a
2-stroke since they have no crankcase lube to keep things sliding
nicely against each other.
The actual combination of fuel and lube is done in a
couple ways. The traditional simple method is to mix the lubricant
directly with the gas, which has the inconvenience of requiring a
separate container to store your "premix". The more modern,
technologically superior approach is to inject the oil directly
into the carburetor. This is done via a small engine driven oil
pump which changes its oil delivery rate based on engine speed and
throttle- the higher the speed and more open the throttle, the more
oil is injected. Great idea, given the convenience factor. But
there are some considerations to keep in mind...
Required Parts |
|
rubber vacuum port plug to cap the
carb's oil injection port |
available at local auto parts
stores |
|
single pull throttle
cable |
any mini-quad performance
shop |
First off, there's arguably no single more critical
engine system than the oil injection system (at least a close
second next to the carburetor). If the oil injection system goes
down, might as well scrap the motor. Not only will the piston and
cylinder be toast, but the crankshaft's condition should also be
questioned as well. A second consideration might be improved
control of the fuel/oil mixture. Of course, with premixed fuel the
doubt about the oil injection's system performance is eliminated,
and you can dial in the optimum mixture based on engine tune,
riding style, oil type, etc. And lastly, the real estate occupied
by the oil injection tank can be utilized to fit a tuned exhaust
with a sizeable expansion chamber on competition or modified
engines.
 |
|
With the fan shroud removed,
the oil injection pump can be seen near the bottom of the
engine. |
Having said all that, let's take a look at what it
takes to remove the oil injection system from the typical Asian
mini-quad. Fortunately, these machines are so nearly identical that
the process covers 50s, 70s, and 90s and encompasses all the
Chinese and Taiwanese machines such as Polaris, Eton, Kasea,
etc.
Step one is to remove the fan shroud from the right
side of the engine. Use a vise grip to clamp the line coming from
the oil injection tank, or pull the line from the injection pump
and quickly put a small screw in the end. Next, remove the oil
tank. This can be complicated by the rear bodywork which may need
to be removed.
The absolutely correct way to remove the oil pump is,
well, to actually remove the pump. But this can be a real
pain to accomplish since the pump is attached the case with a
couple small phillips head screws that are likely seized. You can,
however, leave the pump installed, but disconnected. Behind the fan
and flywheel the pump is driven by a nylon gear. Worst case
scenario is the pump eventually seizes and the nylon gear strips,
and the pump stops spinning. Problem solved. Otherwise, if you can
manage to remove the pump, then you'll need to pull the flywheel
and pull the nylon oil pump drive gear. Then, you'll need to plug
the hole left by the pump. The choice is yours.
If you choose to leave the pump in place, remove the
oil supply line from the tank (if not already done), the oil line
to the carburetor, and throttle cable. Replace the fan shroud.
You'll need to block the oil injection port at the
carb. To do this, purchase a vacuum plug from your local auto parts
store. Buy one that fits real tight, just to make sure it doesn't
come off.
The last part of the job is to replace the throttle
cable assembly. The throttle cable on these machines is
"Y"-ed. Pushing the thumb throttle lever has two effects: the
carburetor slide moves, and the oil injection pump cavity is
enlarged. Do not make the mistake of simply disconnecting the oil
injection pump end of the Y cable. This results in an asymmetric or
unbalanced cable pull tension at the Y, and the little piston
inside the connection point at the Y will cock and jamb. The
unfortunate consequence is a stuck OPEN throttle. Obviously an
absolutely undesirable situation for an unsuspecting rider, and
potentially extremely dangerous. A "single-pull" cable is available
from most of the mini-quad performance outlets that solves this
problem and has the advantage of easing the throttle tension, thus
relieving some of the thumb pump some riders experience.
To install the new cable you'll need to remove the
carburetor and remove the slide from the top of the carb. Compress
the slide spring and replace the old cable.
To finish up, drain your fuel tank and mix up a batch
of 32:1 fuel, and enjoy your new peace of mind.