belt riding too low on drive pulley

[Iahawk]

in my seemingly endless quest to tinker with my scoot...I ordered a set of Dr Pulley sliders to try. Since I had my plastics off (again) to start changing out some of my vacuum lines I thought I'd pull the cvt cover and check out the innards, since it's been a while.

Belt and rollers were replaced with new, OEM, 1000 miles and 5 years ago, as was the clutch (unnecessary preventative maintenance I thought it needed at the time I bought it).

I clearly see where the belt is not riding nearly high enough on the the driven pulley face (see pic). Internet search shows worn (too thin) belt to be major culprit...or wrong belt. It looks like this is robbing me of a few mph of top speed (I can't maintain 55 mph on highway going uphill). I am going to purchase a digital caliper today to measure belt width (manual says 19mm is limit).

Other possibilities are rear driven pulley not opening up enough to allow belt to ride all the way up in the front pulley.

I have my original clutch/driven pulley that I plan on opening up (ordered 39mm socket for impact gun) to clean and lube ( a la Stig, who did this last year?). Thought I'd play with my spare clutch in case I screw anything up. Then I might give opening up and cleaning and re lubing my current clutch a try.

Any other thoughts on getting the belt to ride all the way up on front pulley to attain max top speed? If my belt is worn below limit I'll order a new OEM Kymco belt to try again.

[Stig / Major Tom]

No expert here - but I don't see evidence that the belt was once riding higher....but is now riding lower on the face of that pulley.
So maybe belt is not worn - but was wrong size 1000 miles ago?

Or suspect wrong size (weight!) rollers were installed 5 yrs ago......either that or what you're seeing is normal markings....and 55 uphill is normal as well even after only the 3000 you have on this scooter?

Stig

[Ruffus]

@lahawk,
 pls see my "Malossi" post below, maybe there is something in to consider for you.
It took me a while until I was completely happy with, performance, speed, revvs at low speed and acceleration.
https://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=30655.msg214654#msg214654

[Ruffus]

@lahawk,
for me it was very interesting to see and do this testing of different types of rollers.
Pls see this pic, like that or even higher should our drivebelt move. Suspect from signing at your variator, that most probably a too small belt was installed last service.
My suggestion.
I would NOT do all at once (belt change, clutch spring coil, clutch boss lube, etc.) but one by one (testride between) to see which remedy ist improving speed, revvs, performance, riding-hight of belt, most. And maybe you note down all steps.

[Iahawk]

thanks for the input, guys. Ruffus, I went back and looked at your variator thread, good info...what has me somewhat confused is that my belt is the correct factory belt. It was ordered from a Kymco dealer and it is the exact same belt that was on the scoot originally. The replacement rollers were OEM Kymco as well as the clutch.

I bought a digital caliper and measured my current belt. it measures just over 19mm...and the manual states  that the minimum service limit is 19mm. Curious from a belt with 1000 miles. One possible explanation is that when I replaced the clutch the driven pulley was almost impossible to spread apart to initially get the belt in. My original clutch pulley was relatively easy to open...but the (OEM Kymco) replacement was almost impossible to open. This could explain why the belt couldn't ride as high on the drive pulley if the driven pulley wouldn't open completely. I'm also wondering if the tight driven pulley could have accelerated the belt wear?

Since belts are relatively inexpensive I'll go ahead and order a new one.

From the youtube videos I was watching last night regarding CVT tuning, the goal is to get the belt to ride all the way up the drive pulley, leaving basically zero shiny, unused area. The higher the belt rides the higher the top speed. Not that I need top speed very often..it's more of a theoretical wish at this point.

[Ruffus]

@lahawk,
maybe you see this link too.
There I was fooling around with my drivebelt.
Same story like yours, OEM belt and too small.
Ordered a new one and now fits.

https://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=30870.msg216394#msg216394

[Iahawk]

I'll keep an eye on the belt date..I called my local Kymco dealer / motorcycle superstore this afternoon and ordered a new belt. They said it should be in by next Wed or Thurs.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Interesting,  your remark about how hard it was to open your new clutch in order to install the belt.
A couple of us LIKE200I owners found the same. I disassembled my new (old stock) Kymco clutch and lubed and messaged the heck out of it to free up its movement. They seem to almost lock up or something when waiting on the shelf😊
Stig