Free workshop printables
Diagnostic charts and fault-finding sheets
Structured diagnostic sheets that end at an observation you can make, not a part to buy.
Post a fault on a forum and within an hour you will have a dozen parts named and no method. These sheets are the method. Every branch ends at something you can establish standing over the machine — the plug is wet, the spark is orange, the belt is glazed — rather than at a component we have no way of knowing has failed.
Chinese scooter won't start: diagnostic chartA structured way through the four things an engine needs, ending at an observation you can make rather than a part you should buy.TSP-TS-01 · 3 pp
GY6 no spark diagnostic chartWorking back along the ignition circuit from the plug, one component at a time, without replacing anything on spec.TSP-TS-02 · 3 pp
Chinese scooter vacuum hose and fuel line worksheetDraw your own routing before you take it apart. There is no single correct diagram for these machines, and the only one that matters is yours.TSP-TS-03 · 3 pp
GY6 starts then dies, or will not idleIt fires, runs for a few seconds and stops. Or it only idles with the throttle cracked open. Four causes account for most of it.TSP-TS-04 · 3 pp
GY6 poor acceleration and no top speedIt runs, but it will not pull. The first question separates a transmission fault from an engine fault, and almost nobody asks it.TSP-TS-05 · 3 pp
GY6 CVT slipping, juddering and squealingThree different noises from the same case, and they mean different things. What to look at with the cover off, in order.TSP-TS-06 · 3 pp
Chinese scooter overheating and running hotAir-cooled engines depend on shrouding and oil more than owners expect. A relative test, because the published temperature figures contradict each other.TSP-TS-07 · 3 pp
GY6 belt keeps breaking — what is destroying itA belt that fails repeatedly is not a bad belt. Something is destroying it, and it is usually one of six things.TSP-TS-08 · 3 pp
Scooter smoking: what blue, white and black each meanThree colours, three quite different faults. And on a two-stroke, some smoke is meant to be there.TSP-TS-09 · 3 pp
Scooter fault log — the record that makes diagnosis possibleThe sheet that makes every other diagnostic better. What happened, under what conditions, and what had changed just before.TSP-TS-10 · 3 pp
Scooter brakes dragging or bindingA wheel that will not spin freely costs speed and fuel and makes heat. Six causes, each ending at something you can feel or see.TSP-TS-11 · 3 pp
Scooter runs then dies after a few minutesIt starts, runs beautifully, and stops. One free test finds the commonest cause, and almost nobody knows to do it.TSP-TS-12 · 3 pp
GY6 backfiring and popping on the overrunA pop in the exhaust and a bang through the carburettor are two different faults. Which one you have narrows it immediately.TSP-TS-13 · 3 pp
Other sections
- Identify your machineWork out what you actually own when the badge is meaningless and the paperwork has gone.
- Measure partsTrue-size gauges and record sheets for the measurements a seller will ask you for.
- Maintenance and recordsLogs and checklists that turn a machine with no history into one with a history.
- Electrical and wiringMeter readings, connector maps and wire traces, recorded on paper where they belong.
- Complete packsThe sheets that belong together, assembled into a single PDF for a job that takes a whole day.
- Buying and orderingWhat to check before you hand money over, and before you click buy on a part.