Junior
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Post by yoster on Jul 18, 2012 11:54:00 GMT -6
Remind me which engine you have. The 244cc honda clone or the 257cc yamaha clone?
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jul 18, 2012 10:07:49 GMT -6
Assuming your roller weights are pushing to their maximum position, then ultimately what limits top speed is max RPM.
It's like in a car, in your top gear. If you're going 90mph at 5k rpm and you need to go 100mph, you need to increase your max RPM. You need to first find out what's preventing your RPM's from climbing.
Could be a simple lack of horsepower, or it could be something like a rev limiter.
For our scooters, I'd start with your RPM band i.e., power.
The first and easiest place to start is with variator tuning. Go with some Slider weights, about 2-4 grams lighter than stock. Now what this is going to do is give you more pull off the line. It also inherintly gives you slightly higher top-end because of the slider design - they're said to 'push out' the variator a tad more than roller weights (effectively causing a slightly higher final gear ratio.)
Now, in my opinion, the next place to start is with air and fuel. If you go to "kidnmeparts" they have some kits that come with larger carb jets, a fancy CDI (automatically adjusts engine timing,) and a better air breather.
Upjetting and the airbreather - you're going to see a good improvement there. It's going to allow you to make more power at top speed, pushing you higher in the RPM band, resulting in a few more MPH's. CDI will also help out there.
No matter what you do, exhaust or intake-wise, you need to rejet. This is important. You could potentially get LESS performance if you simply change intake or exhaust without doing that. These are not fuel injected machines, so there's no computer to automatically compensate for more or less air - you need to do that yourself.
Have fun! I think if you start with those slider-weights, you'll already see enough of an impact to put a smile on your face.
And remember.. these are not speed machines. If you're looking to really get some serious speed, you might be better off looking for a different scooter.
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 26, 2012 17:41:54 GMT -6
nicpaige - try running a 20/80 (coolant/water) combination; i.e.: more water, less coolant (unless you get into below freezing weather.) I just did that to my scooter (plus hyper-lube/water wetter) and have already seen an improvement. I'm guessing in the 8-12degree range (enough to keep it about 1/10th of the way lower on the gauge. Not much but every bit counts!)
The china gauges are off, but I haven't seen the china temp gauge be THAT far off. I'd be somewhat concerned.
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 25, 2012 17:30:43 GMT -6
It comes in many other designs, but I think the 'flying tiger' version is WAY too 'fun' looking to pass up (hey I'm a scooter rider - I do this to have fun, not to look cool!)
Will be curious how noisy it is. I've heard polar opposite reviews about that. Hopefully someone on here owns it and can chime-in.
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 25, 2012 16:49:56 GMT -6
So, my beloved Bell Apex had an issue.. sent it in for warranty and they can't fix it and have no more in stock  I really liked the helmet because it fit well, was QUIET (very quiet,) and was a kevlar shell. They're offering to send me a new Vortex helmet (I think I'd choose the "fyling tiger" design haha.) Anyone own this lid? |
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 23, 2012 8:15:46 GMT -6
Just a quick tip. When you're test-riding, be sure not to do so with the CVT cover off. I did that a few times and it lead me in the wrong direction. I thought it was stumbling on takeoff, but what happens is the center stand rubber stop comes in contact with the belt (rather than sitting against the CVT cover) giving it a 'bucking' feeling.
I know that's not what's going on with you, but just wanted to mention that for when the 'test ride' comes.
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 22, 2012 17:07:56 GMT -6
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 22, 2012 15:14:13 GMT -6
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 22, 2012 9:46:14 GMT -6
Strong winds can be crazy. When I was first learning to ride I literally got blown OFF the road. The winds weren't even that strong, I just didn't expect it. It never even crossed my mind that winds in-town could affect you. I've been blown around in the car before, but that's typically only on the freeway. Definitely sharpens your skills quickly though  So I put my coolant concoction in the scooter last night and rode to work this morning. So far so good! Already a definite improvement. It stays between the FIRST bar (dead cold) and the 1/4 bar now.. wow. But.. it was very cool out (low 60's). So that's not a real test in my book. It's going to be cool on the way home (88) but I'll be givin' it "the beans." Hopefully can find a stretch of road where I can hold WOT for awhile. Currently my mixture is as follows: 30% coolant, 70% water (I wanted less coolant but messed up), and 1/3 bottle of hyperlube. This was all mixed in a 1-gallon milk carton before being poured into the scooter (so the scooter itself doesn't have a 1/3 bottle of hyperlube - that would be way too much) |
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 20, 2012 20:48:08 GMT -6
And what are we supposed to run at, 180? So between 1/2 and 3/4 would be 'normal'?
Well then the fan definitely comes on wayyyy too soon. That's just the info I needed, thanks!
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 20, 2012 17:52:38 GMT -6
Is this the 244 or the 257? What scooter model?
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 20, 2012 17:49:51 GMT -6
Hey Todd,
So when it was running at 185 and 200, what was the chino meter reading?
Can you give us some information like - when scoot is at X-temp, Chino meter is at 1/4 mark. When scoot at Y-temp, Chino meter at 1/2 mark, etc?
Also, at what temp is that fan coming on? (always been curious about that one..)
Thanks!
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 20, 2012 17:35:31 GMT -6
Good stuff. I can see a lot of potential "how-to's" that could be written given the things some of you are doing.
Last weekend I took a nice 55 mile ride up to Auberry (a nice little town up in the hills) and back. Some good steep hills and VERY twisty. It was fun though - requires your constant attention. It was hot out, but the scooter did well. Luckily I was able to stay behind a horse trailer most of the way, so I wasn't the one holding up traffic LOL. Whenever he took the turnout to let people by, so did I.
On the way home I held WOT for about 5 miles straight. Temp got up to 3/4.. a hair more at times (as it would when pulling the steep hills as well.) Doing about 66mph flat out. Could definitely tell the Dr Pulley sliders were helping with the hill climbing, but they did dampen my top speed a tad on flat ground.
Which brings me to the mod I'll be doing this week or weekend. Picked up some 'universal' coolant and Hyperlube. Going to switch to a 25/75 (more water) mix and add Hyperlube. Hyperlube says you can go as low as 15% antifreeze in street use, or full water for race use - the product has it's own lubing properties that allows this. I don't want to risk boil-over so I'll be doing a 25/75 mixture (maybe 20/80.) I've got high hopes given what I've read and experiences with my cars. With any luck this will get me closer to 1/2 on the temp gauge while holding WOT, which would be perfectly fine for me.
I'll post results once I do it.
[EDIT] - oh and one more thing.. STRANGE thing. When I had the plastics off while installing the HIDS a few weeks ago, I screwed the speedo cable connector on the back of the speedometer in more. For SOME reason.. my speedometer is way more accurate now. When it says 70mph I'm doing 66mph. Previously, I had to do 80mph indicated to reach an actual 65mph. Strange but not complaining..
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 8, 2012 17:33:19 GMT -6
No prob.
The only thing I could imaging you'd have a hard time finding (maybe) is body parts. Anything engine related will be no problem at all.
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Junior
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Post by yoster on Jun 8, 2012 13:14:55 GMT -6
Does it really pay off? I'd imaging you'd need a HUGE garden to help out financially at all. I'd see gardening more as a fun hobby, unless you own like a farm or something. A fruit tree or something is a bit different I guess - I remember our old apricot tree would supply us for a long time. We couldn't eat OR give them away fast enough lol! I do need to plant some fruit trees in my backyard - I've got about 1/8 acre of grass back there - plenty of room for something else to grow. I've got a little girl (16 months) and another on the way - I'm sure they'd have fun eating fruit off a tree.
Fishing, now that's different. Used to eat salmon 5 nights a week during salmon season when I lived in Sacramento (fished the river.) Now I fish semi competitively for Bass.
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