Recently purchased a Lance Duke Touring 250cc scooter online from Family Motorsports in PA, via distributor Lance Powersports in Ontario California. Rec'd on Fri May 2nd, 2008. After some minor assembly, I attempted to start it. Nope. zero, natta. Now is it May 21, 2008 - 3 weeks later. Still not running and no specific shop manual for reference for this particular model.

Now I own a 391 lb boat achor that looks pretty and sits in my garage taking space but it is not very useful unless you want a chair. It is difficult to keep your balance and drink a few beers at the same time!!

After almost total disassembly (parts, screws, nuts, bolts and cowling strewn everywhere) and after receiving and installing all new ignition parts (coil, CDI, and part (heat sink) next to CDI) installing them - still nothing. I checked the cutoff switch for continuity. it is okay.

Just FYI, I do have formal training in internal combustion engines and former technical representative for a major auto mfg firm located in USA. I feel more than qualified to work on this darn thing.

Some diligent research on the net and talking with tech support, I performed several tests, nothing is showing up. I do know it is electrical in nature. the motor turns over, lights work, just no spark at the plug.

Tech help seems to be at a loss and so am I. My only remaining ideas are a faulty wiring harness or the magneto on the engine is somehow not set up correctly. I can say that the connections used at the junctions are poorly put together (wires not attached to plugs etc). A new fuse box assembly with pig tail are being sent - still waiting on it. I think this is the 10th day.

Calling the distributor tech support Lance Powersports - they are swamped. I just spoke with them and Brian told me there are backed up from yesterday. He said he will take my number and will "return my call in a few hours". Okay, I can understand that. so I wait.

I received the same promise from the service manager at Family Motor sports. Many promises. I will wait (what else can I do?) and see if any answers surface. Hopefully and just maybe I can use my scooter before fall.

Anyone with ideas out there? No, don't tell me I should buy a Honda. The Duke 250 will be just fine so long as I can get tech support and parts shipped to me pronto (more delay: have waited 10 days on several shipments of parts so far).

Oh, one more thing. The license plate holder on the back fender of the bike does not have conventional USA size or location of bolt holes. You will need to either fashion a new assembly or drill holes in your state plate. Also, the scooter was so new that the bmv had to have the name Lance/Duke added to their data base to issue my plate.

thanks for listening. If you have any potential answers, let me know. I'll keep you posted on the progress, if any. My advice, ya really got to like to tinker with this kind of bike. It is not the kind of put the key in and go.

signed, poorer and wiser

Steve, sorry to hear that your new Lance Duke Touring 250 is not operating. I recently took the chance on the relatively new Lance brand (at least in N. California). After assembling the trunk, mirrors and shield so far so good. Although, on my first pre-ride inspection I noticed that the wheels are not moving freely and there is some "growling". So, I'm having that checked out.
Your right about the license plate holder too.
Lance dealers....if you're reading our comments and feedback...please take note and immediate action.

[euromopeds]

Hi Steve,

If you are near the Philadelphia area, please contact me and I can give you a referral to a shop.

Heather

That is scary as hell. I just ordered a Lance Duke Touring 150 thru Scootersarecool. and you got me totally worried. I thought all Lance scoots are tested before shipment. So they say...

[hardd1]

Why don't you return it to the dealer you purchased the scooter from?...A new Lance Scooter does come with a 1 year warranty....simple solution..

I just received my Lance Duke 150 yesterday and had the same problem with with starting it. They said that they test it before shipping it out. Plus from the shipping I had major scratches. I refused the delivery. The scooter does look great, but I'm not sure if this company will last long if they keep having the same problems with the scooter not starting. Let me know if you find a solution. I'm just waiting for my return now, which might take 2 months. By then I might purchase a different scooter from a local dealer.

[MishiPowerSports]

It is a faulty wiring harness, change it or find it where it has been cut.

I purchased a Lance Duke 250 in May, started and run's fine...stopping poses a problem when using the front brake. From the factory they installed an oversized gasket, no brakes. Ordered a new unit from the ScooterFactory.com which was received within 5 days, installed and the new brake works, sort of...more times than not the handle pull's all the way in with no brake response, a quick pump gives you and exhilarating yet panicked approach to stopping...gives a new meaning to "ABS".

The scooterFactory carries a good volume of parts, but surfing the web shows the Lance Duke 250 will soon fall to the same fate of the Tank...hard to find, and parts/service are more scarce. Good news I'm only out $1,900, got it before the prices doubled.

It is a pleasure to ride, braking is of concern I just look for quick exit points...yamaha is looking really good these days. Would suggest buying extra drive belts, i have 4 spares just in case. We get what we pay for.

Heya,
thanks for the suggestions. Still waiting on parts. Replace the entire ignition system (coil, CDI, Voltage regulator and finally the stator and magnetic pickup coil). It ran.

--for only 5 miles then quit. Learned the critter does not have a regular type of fuel pump. Instead, it is a vacuum type. Never heard of that kind before. neither had a local repair shop. New one on order. Still waiting 2 weeks later.

Also discovered during the 5 mile ride, the trip odometer does not work. New one on order (2 weeks and waiting)

Also discovered a defective fuse block assembly with pigtail. New one on order 4+ weeks. On back order. temp solution, I bypassed the opaque/white quick junction block and wired directly to the wiring harness while I wait for the new part.

Ya gotta like working on these things. I hope they continue to make them and sell parts. Seems rather silly to be replacing so many parts on a NEW scooter. Makes me question the promised "tested before shipping" statement and whether the quality is high enough for dependability. Not sure I want to be sitting on the side of the road with a broken scooter anywhere except in front of my home.

re: warranty: is for parts only. Not labor. Unless you do it yourself, you pay (if you can find a shop who will work on it) for all labor from your own pocket. The exception is if you live near a dealer (I don't).

Take it back? The purchase contract says you can return it with 7 days after delivery. I'm screwed. I ordered the Duke Touring 250 last April, delivered in may and at the end of june,2008 it is still not running. And, I am still waiting on parts.

Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware. Would I buy another one? Probably not.

You gotta like to tinker and turn wrenches to buy these. I hope they continue to make the parts to repair them. At this rate, I'll end up replacing everything in the first year of ownership.

from Steve in Indiana

I just ordered a Lance Duke Touring 250, now I read these post... I think I made a mistake.

[sizzlechooch]

Yeah, I had fun with my Lance Duke Touring 150cc today. Just got it 2 days ago shipped all banged up. They sent the wrong mirrors also. I did get the license plate on tho. Just leave the bikes' rear bolts in place. Take 2 small nuts and bolts(1 for each top hole in the plate), then thread and tighten through the oblong(?) holes(slots). It's a tight fit but it worked. Good luck with your 250. I still haven't tried to start mine yet. I'm afraid. lol

I have had mine for eight days yet.. still no starting and havent been able to get support. I got the Lance GSR-150

I have a Lance Duke 250 and also have had front brake problems. The front caliper bracket does not center properly on the brake disc causing the disc to rub...scrape, scrape, scrape noise. Adding a washer between the caliper bracket and the mount on the fork positioned it correctly and solved that problem.

My front brake master cylinder also bypasses internally causing the brake handle to sink to the grip. I got a new master cylinder under warranty and the same problem exists. I disassembled the master cylinder and found that the inner bore had never been honed or polished to a fine surface. I can still see the original bore marks from the lathe that cut the bore. Today I will hone and polish the inner bore and this should solve the brake problem. I guess the Chinese reputation for poor quality control is well founded.

The scooter looks and runs great for me and I also got it under $2000 so I 'm satisfied with what I got.

I also have a Lance Duke 250. My would start fine but after running a while it would misfire and stall at idle. After much disassembly and testing I found that the spark plug connector was arcing internally and shorting to the metal shield on the connector. For a temporary solution I removed the connector and stripped about an inch of insulation from the spark plug wire and wrapped it around the spark plug stud. It starts and idle like a rock...no more misfire. I could envision your problem to be a more severe case and shorting all the time. Try it..its easy. If still no go then you have to test the ignition. Have you found Stan Jessups website? He has a post of a Honda Helix shop manual which is nearly identical to the Lance Duke 250. The ignition section should prove very helpful. Check it out.

You might want to check your ignition switch as well. Though I haven't had the problems with starting you have had, my thought is that the ignition switch is going to provide the magneto coils with the necessary current/voltage to create the charging circuit. Personally, I think they should provide a detailed schematic for the electrical, as well as a comprehensive manual.

Would it be the opinion of OP that OP's bad experience is a lemon of sorts, or could this simply be the result of buying a discount scooter thats not made in America or Japan?

I purchased my Lance Duke Touring 250 in April. I couldn't get it started but found the kill switch was on and it's been running ever since. I am having a problem with the headlights. can anyone tell me where I can get a service manual? I've already broken one clip and having a hell of a time replacing it

I purchased a Lance Duke 250 Touring in March from Scootersarecool and after it arrived and I assembled it (easy if you can make small modifications yourself... and yes, the license plate mounting was one of the problems). Registration was no problem, although Indiana did have to figure out who the manufacturer was.

The good news is... it fired right up and after several hundred miles it still runs great. No problems other than an annoying mounting of the rear-view mirrors that are not adjustable enough to see where I want to look. I am too lazy to mess with them or I am sure I could come up with a "fix". I have changed the oil but that is all. A great bike... and especially for under $2000 delivered!

I have been looking but $2,399 is the best I have found. If I am going to take a chance on something like this I want it to be cheap!

Purchased a Lance Duke Touring 250 on July 3 from Family Motor Sports outside of Pittsburgh. After one-hour 22-mile ride, featuring multiple stalls when stopping, the smell of gas was very pronounced. So after it cooled down I decided to look a little closer, only to find that fuel was leaking, and leaking a lot, from somewhere near carburetor. Been in touch with the dealer, and they have sent me suggestions on how I can repair the "leak." I am very disappointed in this scooter, would never buy it again, and hope to get this thing back on the road w/o spending hundreds more in labor costs (I don't have much mechanical aptitude). Any suggestions on how to get the panels off the scooter so that I can at least attempt to fix this problem would be appreciated. I guess I got what I paid for, huh?

Sounds like you could have a stuck float in the carb. so the gas would leak thru the over flow. hope you get it fixed.......

I have had my Lance Duke Touring for a week, I live in a town with a Lance dealer and it has been running great. I can see that parts may be an issue but, I think I'll by a belt and a few other things.

Does anyone else have any ideas about what parts I should keep handy?

I live in an area with a local Lance dealer. I really like the looks of the Lance Duke Touring 250 and the features it offers for the $$, but I am feeling a little hesitant. It sounds to me like, from all the forums, that the majority of the folks having issues with their Lance are people that purchased from the internet and had it dropped shipped. Has anyone that purchased from an authorized dealer had major issues? I'm 6 feet tall and 250 lbs so I really don't want one of the tiny scooters. Any info would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Purchased a Lance Duke Touring 250 on July 3 from Family Motor Sports outside of Pittsburgh. After one-hour 22-mile ride, featuring multiple stalls when stopping, the smell of gas was very pronounced. So after it cooled down I decided to look a little closer, only to find that fuel was leaking, and leaking a lot, from somewhere near carburetor. Been in touch with the dealer, and they have sent me suggestions on how I can repair the "leak." I am very disappointed in this scooter, would never buy it again, and hope to get this thing back on the road w/o spending hundreds more in labor costs (I don't have much mechanical aptitude). Any suggestions on how to get the panels off the scooter so that I can at least attempt to fix this problem would be appreciated. I guess I got what I paid for, huh?

SOLUTION:

When the factory test drive the scooter the technician carries a gallon of gas, puts it between his legs, unhook the gas hose that connects to the carburetor and connects his temprory hose. Many times the technician does not hook back the original hose to the carb. If you open the seat and unscrew one screw that is holding a cover, you will be able to see the hose that is leaking the gas. Just connect it to the carb and you are OK.

Hey! My new Lance Duke Touring 250 has been in the garage for a week,they said to take it somewhwere else! Cant get it started! Bill

Hi:
We bought two Lance Duke Touring 250 from a local dealer. My 150 is fine. I only have 200 miles on it. There is some scraping in the front brake, so I am tkaing it in to have the dealer fix it. My husband is having some issues with his 250. He really loves it, but he had to have the carburator adjusted and today we were riding along at 55mph and his stopped running in the middle of the rode. There is nothing; power, lights, zip. We told the dealer to replace it or give the money back. He is driving it back to the distributor to see if they can fix it. If not, he said he would get my husband a new one. We'll see.

Hey, I just got the Lance Duke Touring 250cc, I know nothing about scooter, can anyone tell me what kind of coolent to use along with water and are the odometer distance in miles or Kilometers. Also, the book is saying to change the gear oil, where is that ? i can't find it. One more thing, with am I suppose to change the oil and the coolent?

thanks,

told you I didn't know anything about them

I bought the Lance TOURING 150--the seat has already ripped by the seam, the damn thing will only start after about 10 minutes of trying{very embarrassing} and the brakes are loud and rubbing and I have only had the bike 2 months--september 2008--i cant get a new seat because they have to get it from china---what a joke---beware of what you buy

Originally Posted by hardd1

Why don't you return it to the dealer you purchased the scooter from?...A new Lance Scooter does come with a 1 year warranty....simple solution..

That 1-year warranty only covers engine and drive train. Even then, they will take 3-4 months to repair it.

DON'T BUY LANCE or I guarantee you will be regretting not heeding this warning.

Bought Lance 250, arrived with scratches, shook and shudder after the first 10 miles I put on it, (oh, the dealer I bought it from was zero help...ZERO and so was Lance Power Sports in Ontario, CA) arrived with bent forks, I had to ride it with the right hand back about an inch further than the left hand to keep it going straight down the road.

It finally stopped working all together, took it to Ontario, CA for them to repair it. They changed the clutch 3 months later and sent me home on the bike with no engine coolant & black dirty oil (I had no idea until it broke down on me literally 2 weeks later.)

The repair shop who told me it had no coolant & dirty oil also noified me it had a bent rear wheel (just found this out and the mechaninc asked if it had been in a wreck!!lol) However, I question their findings because when the thing blew up on me on the freeway, some liquid was leaking everywhere...so if this wasn't coolant, what was it?!?

I'm done with LANCE and you should never start unless you enjoying problems and battles.

Hi Guys,
My name is Yung and I work at SF Motoretta. We sale and deal a lot of Lance scooters here in SF. I hope these will help solving your Lance scooter problemos there wherever you live.

Hard starting:
-Gas Treatment
We have couple Lance Venice brought in to us for hard starting problems recently. Now is winter time here in SF. They all have same issue; start fine during the day (warmer temperature) but hard to start at night (colder temperature). When you have that kind of weather is so easy to have condensation in your fuel system. When it's cold even 40 F it's possible that there is ice form in your fuel system because of the condensation. So the way it works is just like refrigerator system. The solution is "Gas Treatment" during winter season. We use "iso-heet" by Golden Eagle. You can get this at any auto part. I put 4 caps for 1.5 gallons tank. Please make sure you pour this solution every time you fill up the gas, I tested on all these scooters that have these problems and they are start right up during colder weather. Also, you wanna make sure that the gas tank is always at least 1/2 tank full or if possible always make sure it's full tank to reduce the condensation. Also make sure you throttle once or twice before you start the engine.

-Fuel Pump
Sadly to say occasionally we encounter faulty fuel pump. The valve is just stick and won't let the fuel goes into the carb. What i usually do is disconnect the hose FROM the engine to the fuel pump (Vacuum Line) and disconnect the hose from fuel pump TO the carb (the one with fuel filter). I'll suck the host that goes FROM the engine into the fuel pump and see if the fuel goes out from the other hose (the one that goes into the carb with fuel filter on it). If the fuel come out that means your fuel pump is fine. If fuel does not come out don't panic yet! Open your gas cap and check or disconnect the hose that is on top of the tank that goes in to a small round circle and that circle goes into a big cylinder plastic tubing. Let it air for a minute or two. If you suspect the hose is pinched or blocked you need to reroute it and make sure the air has free flowing. Now that you let it air connect all the hoses and start the engine. It should start. If not that you may have another problem and feel free to email me sf.motoretta@gmail.com


250cc issues
Yes...again sadly to say that Lance 250cc has lot more issues than 150cc. The problems are varies but what we found out here mostly is over heating problem. If you buy the scooter from online store please, please, please make sure that you drain all the fluids; engine oil, transmission oil, coolant, brake oil or any oil or liquid that you can find on the scooter. Make sure you follow the instruction manual specs.


If you have any question regarding your Lance scooter or any Chinese scooter please feel free to email me sf.motoretta@gmail.com Even if you need parts for your Lance let me know. If it's within a year of manufacture warranty, I'll be more than happy to do the warranty claim for you.

"just wanna help"
Yung