Like 50, Improving Top Speed, Racing Variator Question

[Vintage MX]

2012 Like 50 2T, 400 Miles

The bike has the following mods:

Technigas Silent Pro
Correct jetting for 2700 feet
38mm shoulderless variator bushing
1000 RPM clutch torque spring
36 mph with a 5' 11" 215 pound rider

Just added the torque spring.  Did not increase top speed but did make the transition to "top gear" more linear.

Here's the Question: With this setup, is there any top speed benefit to installing a Malossi variator?

Thanks for your help.

Tom

[245luigi]

I wish I could answer your question but I changed my variator, exhaust, and torque spring all at the same time; so, I can not positively say that my top speed was attributed to soley the variator change.

Im really the only person on here who consistantly posts who has a Like 50(70 now!) 2t. Hopefully some of the guys who mod on here will be able to chime in on our inactive Like50 side of the forum.

However, in effort to help some bit, the Like 50 variator also works on the People 50, Agility 50, Super 8 50 and Super 9 50, so this question can apply to those parts of the forums as well.

Did you figure out what caused your drop in speed yet?

[Vintage MX]

Thanks for your answer.  I may post the question to the technical section and see what I get.  On the speed loss from my earlier post, I am guessing that I had a good prevailing tailwind on my test straight for a few days.  That happens in windy west Texas.  On another day recently with a strong tailwind and slight downhill, it hit 45.  But if it's flat and the wind is still, 36 is all she's got.

[245luigi]

Ah as I have said before I was able to get 42 mph gps verified with my mods pre 70cc kit. That was with the Tecnigas Next R exhaust. Im also 5'11" 190 lbs. Dont know if ~20lb difference should mean a 6mph difference

[Vintage MX]

Well, maybe 20 pounds and 2500 feet in altitude.  The engine runs well and the scooter is a lot of fun to ride so I might just have to live with things as they are.  Not much interested in a full expansion chamber exhaust but I may consider doing the 70cc cylinder and maybe a different final drive ratio some day.  For now, I think I'll just ride. 

Out here in the southwest, it would probably be suicidal to ride a 50 or even 70 cc scooter in the larger towns.  Traffic is too fast and the pickup drivers are too agressive.  But there are thousands of miles of scenic byways with a wide apron to the road where scooter touring beacons.  I did some touring years ago on the big bikes and am glad to have survived a serious accident.  Now I am happy to ride a scooter on a desert byway and enjoy the leisurely pace.  Thanks again.

[245luigi]

Sounds great. Have fun!

[ParaIndiana]

After all the mods I did, I had a great running 70cc scoot. I only gained a few MPH on top speed, but it got there a lot quicker. It handled 110% better in wind and on hills. My real gains did not come until I changed the gearing. Now I'm at 50+ MPH easy. The takeoffs are not as quick, but 15-40 MPH are like a rocket.

[245luigi]

Vintage

I ordered the Polini variator from RacingPlanetUSA but they gave me a holler and told me its out of stock!

Swapped my order with the Malossi for a $12 upcharge.

Im trying to get rid of my Naraku Sport Variator. The entire back of the variator is painted black. IMO after some wear, Im talking 200km wear, the ramps wear to the metal unevenly. So you have streaks in the black paint on the ramps where the rollers have worn a portion of the ramp to metal. The "stickiness" of the paint compared to the ramp causes rollers to stick and wear unevenly. 4/6 ramps on mine are currently like this. Not so smart engineering on Narakus part.

Now I see ParaIndiana has the same Naraku. Have you had this experience?

[ParaIndiana]

So far the only issue I have had with my Naraku variator is the three plastic guide bushings had to be replaced once. I have run this vari for almost 1200 miles(2000 km) and the wear on it seems even. I will say that it eats cheap rollers alive, but I think that is the nature of the rollers and not so much the variators fault. I've been using Dr Pulley sliders for over 500 miles (800 km) now, and just recently had it apart and got a look at them. They seem to be holding up great. I've thought about upgrading my variator at some point because I know that the Polini and Malossi have a little smoother transition characteristics than the Naraku has. For now, it works though.