Why does my stock variator out perform my new Polini one?

[yajblackburn]

So my 1999 People50 already does 50mph with the derestrictions (exhaust, cdi, boss drive).  I only replaced the boss drive, not the entire variator, I left the stock ramp plate and weights in place.  I recently purchased a Polini variator kit, installed it and was instantly dissapointed.  For some reason my stock variator outperforms it 10 to 1.  With the Polini it goes to 30 pretty quick (not as fast as the stock one), hesitates at 30 for a good 5 seconds while the engine sounds as its revving up to hell, then slowly climbs to 40mph.  I havent had a chance to max it out, but in the distance it took me to get to 30mph,  the stock variator would have me past 40mph.  I was expecting different from the Polini, it's that long pause at 30mph that kills it.  The revs stay consistantly high from 30-40mph.  Strange.  Any ideas before I return this "performance" variator and go back to my stock one? 

[art]

You will need to go to a different roller they usually give you some with the kit can't remember the best weight 7.g or 7.5g i think. I personally liked the malossi better. The polinni was nice to 50 mph then seemed to fall off, some more tuneing may have changed this but i had a malossi to swap out and liked it better. running the palinni in a less tuned bike and seems fine,havn't got to realy tune it yet.

[wordslinger]

..yeah, and check the weight difference between the two variators' parts that you swapped..

..that'll give you a good idea of where to go with your rollers.....

 

..dude....wait a minute....weren't you here back in th' day??!!

..before my time, actually....

..zombie and shaka talked of you...

..where y' been??

 

[thebatman]

yeah, thats him!!! "stop that masked man"... he WAS here, i always wanted to ask him ? myself....lmao...good to see you back(it was before my time also...lmao)

[sidthesloth]

From your post it sounds like you are running the polini movable drive face with the stock ramp late and weights?

[yajblackburn]

Yeah I've been on here for a while, back in the day.  I love to help people with their Kymco's since I've had a long history working with them.  I haven't had that much experience with aftermarket parts besides variators.  It is not the stock plate with stock weights, all Polini.  Maybe I will try to put the stock weights with the Polini and see what happens.  On my 2004 ZX I purchased a Keli variator and saw a 10mph difference (40mph to 50mph).  I was expecting a slight improvement over stock, maybe 3mph, but nothing.  I opened the bike up yesteday and honestly I like the stock one better.  It accelerates all the way to 50mph with no flat spots.  Maybe I will just put this one in my Yup50 and see what happens.  Any advice will be great advice.  Thanks!

[thebatman]

Yeah I've been on here for a while, back in the day. I love to help people with their Kymco's since I've had a long history working with them. I haven't had that much experience with aftermarket parts besides variators. It is not the stock plate with stock weights, all Polini. Maybe I will try to put the stock weights with the Polini and see what happens. On my 2004 ZX I purchased a Keli variator and saw a 10mph difference (40mph to 50mph). I was expecting a slight improvement over stock, maybe 3mph, but nothing. I opened the bike up yesteday and honestly I like the stock one better. It accelerates all the way to 50mph with no flat spots. Maybe I will just put this one in my Yup50 and see what happens. Any advice will be great advice. Thanks!

            i have several ? for you dude..on a zx to boot...lmao   what variator?? i know you went to vt, is that the one.i want a diff on mine, way to heavy im thinking(from s.a)holla

[yajblackburn]

I purchased a Keli racing variator (boss drive, weights, ramp plate and pulley face) from vt cycles and I saw a 10mph gain.  The other derestrictions it had was just the cdi.  Maybe its because I'm like 170 lbs, who knows.  My 02 Yup50 has just been derestricted (boss drive and cdi mod) and it also gets up to 50mph.  As for other brands of variators for the ZX?  Not sure, I got my info from a dude who had pics and info on his ZX50 about 5 years ago.  His ZX did 50mph with the same setup, he told me where to go and what to get.  So thats what I did. 

[wordslinger]

..it's true that different variators will react differently..

..a lot of it is the roller ramp design..weight differences..drive face ramp height...

..experimenting with different roller weights may get it dialed in...

[thebatman]

i saw that setup at vtcycles but i had gotten just a ramp plate cuz i never ordered from them before...ended up with "race var" from s.a on ebay. ALOT heavier than oem...did get 1-2 on top..man, i still searching for that umph!!...........    that setup came with the outside pulley face where the kickstart gear is??? really now....   aluminum?? i saw that and went for the EVEN CHEAPER priced one elsewhere.....i CAN hit 49-51 right now,most of the time(surprisingly enuff).  ......  but that seems to be one hella jump mph wise. maybe that pulley face helped...

[yajblackburn]

So I took the Polini off the People and put it on the Yup.  I put it all back together to be greeted to a nice grinding noise coming from the kick starter engager.  It seemed the boss drive for the Polini is just a tad longer than stock and pushed the cranshaft kickstarter engager closer to the engager located on the engine case resulting in that great noise......hmm.  However the stock Kymco boss drive does not fit inside the Polini.  So I left the lighter weights from the Polini inside the stock variator on the Yup and saw the nice low end boost I was looking for and the top speed of 50mph (took a little while to get there).  I put the stock weights into the Polini variator and put it back on the People, I havent had a chance to take it out yet.  So, the lesson here is a Polini variator made for a People does not fit the Yup....duh.  Some good common sense right?

[art]

 Some minor case shaving may do the trick. I ran into the same thing trying to run a 4t drive face in the people 50 all lines up good and works till you put the cover on (after market drive face is a little thicker). The fins on the fan hit the kickstart gear. Most parts will interchange just not always perfectly 

[ianmac]

Wow...good thing I read this all the way thru, I was dead set against the polini until I realized you were having an interfearance issue.

[GM6969]

So my 1999 People50 already does 50mph with the derestrictions (exhaust, cdi, boss drive).  I only replaced the boss drive, not the entire variator, I left the stock ramp plate and weights in place.  I recently purchased a Polini variator kit, installed it and was instantly dissapointed.  For some reason my stock variator outperforms it 10 to 1.  With the Polini it goes to 30 pretty quick (not as fast as the stock one), hesitates at 30 for a good 5 seconds while the engine sounds as its revving up to hell, then slowly climbs to 40mph.  I havent had a chance to max it out, but in the distance it took me to get to 30mph,  the stock variator would have me past 40mph.  I was expecting different from the Polini, it's that long pause at 30mph that kills it.  The revs stay consistantly high from 30-40mph.  Strange.  Any ideas before I return this "performance" variator and go back to my stock one?  

Hi, I got my kymco 3month ago and only one week ago I got it running as it should.
It was modified soo much that perfomance was near to 0.
My suggestion is do not do any changes in the vario, it will get only worse.
Look my posting and try to do same small changes.
I have Kymco People S, maybe your is 2stroke model ?
Good luck

[ianmac]

GM6969
I checked some of your other posts and it sounds like your only getting 55km
Thats not very good.