People 150 Mods thus far...

[John in PA]

Here's what I've accomplished so far in modifying my 2009 People 150, recently purchased as a brand-new leftover from a discontinued Kymco dealer.

NHRC carbon fiber exhaust.  Fine fit and finish, nice exhaust note, manufacturing oils inside have to burn off during the first few rides, making rather foul odor.  No big deal.

Cannisterectomy with plumbing removed and/or re-routed appropriately, allowing air intake mods.

Cone-shaped UNI air filter attached to NCY chromed metal air intake.  Stock airbox modified by eliminating air tube from carb, Dremeled out lower front corner to admit larger air intake.  New filter hidden inside stock airbox.  Stock airbox intake opening enlarged about 50%

Carb rejetting (3rd variation) is close to spot-on now.  Keihin carb, Original slow jet #35, now #40. Original main jet #110, now 117.5 Pilot air screw currently at 2 turns out

CDI swapped out for NCY derestricted model, allows modest increase in top RPM's assuming adequate fueling, as well as adequate air and exhaust flow.

Front tire replaced with Avon Viper Stryke 100/80-16F.  Rear tire replaced with Michelin City Grip 110/80-16F.  Mounted with direction of roptation reversed, as was customary with motorcycle tires before they actually came in "fronts and rears".  This is 100% OK if tires are not radial.  Improved handling, and larger front tire reduced speedo error from about 15%  optimistic at all speeds to an even +4 MPH across the board. (GPS measured)   Larger rear tire required slotting of holes in the rear hugger (sub-fender) to gain a bit of extra clearance for the tire.  2 minutes work with a Dremel.  Larger circumference of rear tire should allow modest increase in to speed in engine power is adequate.  (Rear tire alternative is 110/70, which should not require modification of hugger IF* tire profile ratios meet normal specs.  However, there would be no top-speed increase with this tire.)  120's are definitely too wide on the People 150, as confirmed by other forum members.

Added Hepco Becker universal mount to the stock tail rack to allow quick-detach mounting of a H-B 40L topcase that I use on some of my Moto Guzzi motorcycles.  (I use the scooter to do grocery, etc.  runs from my truck camper)

I haul the scooter on a front-mounted VersaHaul rack made for scooters under 300#, modded to center the scooter between the headlights.

Next, I'm going to tackle the variator/clutch upgrades...  Still shopping, and looking for advice.

Here's the rig in travel mode, going to the Annual Historic Artillery Match in Grayling Michigan. That's a whole 'nother story...

[juice]

What do you hope to be able to accomplish after the modifications that you could not do previously ? Just curious , thanks .

[John in PA]

Mainly, another 5-10 mph top speed.  I'd like to be able to out-run traffic!!

[juice]

Thanks , I Have a people 50 . I had heard the 150 would do 60-65 mph and keep up with traffic pretty well . How fast was yours stock ? Good luck with the mods .

[John in PA]

Stock, it would do an INDICATED 63 mph or so on a flat.  Unfortunately, that's about 15% speedo error, so translates to something over 50.  I'd really like to see an actual 60-65, and even then, I wouldn't take it on a 4-lane.
I have a daughter and son-in-law that lived in Taiwan for 9 years.  They rode mine, and said the Kymco 150's over there were considerably more spunky. 

[mrmike]

John  Thanks for starting this topic. It's nice to know the baseline specs for jetting, variator weights etc. It helps me get a starting point for mods on my people.

[John in PA]

Follow-up:  Carb jetting, intake and exhaust mods seem to be playing well together, though I can't honestly say I can measure any significant performance enhancement yet.  Just installed a Dr Pulley variator with 13 gm sliders.  Possible modest loss of top speed, though I haven't finished testing.  Noticeable increased responsiveness on low and mid-speed throttle inputs. 

I would say so far that I've had fun tinkering with the machine, but honestly can't say that performance changes justify several hundred dollars and a number of hours of my time.  The best thing I've done so far was to put enlarged tires on.  THAT made a significant improvement in handlling, and was worth the effort and expense.  If I knew what I know now, I'd probably have stopped right there.

But, instead, I'll put the Malossi Kevlar belt in when it comes, and maybe later tinker with clutch springs and torque spring.  I wish there were more dependable published mod details for the People 150. 

People 200 is in the same weight class, but seems a rip-off, as actual displacement is only 162cc, against the People 150 152 cc actual.  All the 250's weigh at least 100 lbs more, makes additional performance somewhat dubious(??)  I have weight constraints for the Versa-Haul hitch carrier of 300 lb, and I like the 50 lb cushion that the P150's 245 lb gives me.  That's why I've put the time and effort into trying to tweak the extra performance out of the current scoot.

[John in PA]

Follow-up on belt and overall assessment.

OK.  I can verify that the Malossi Kevlar belt  sized 795-19.8-30 is a direct replacement for the factory belt in the People 150.  Also, the Dr Pulley variator for the GY6 150 works well.  With 13 gm sliders installed, I could notice a seat-of-the-pants improvement in take-off acceleration, but lost a couple mph maximum speed.  I put in a set of 15 gm sliders and I would say acceleration was similar to stock and that, in combination with the Malossi belt, I might have picked up 3-4 mph top end.

I would say that, so far, the performance gains over stock vs. time and money spent achieving them are not worth the money.  I think the 50cc scooters can be changed dramatically with modding, but the People 150 performance is apparently nearly optimized at the factory, at least with the stock carburetor.  Whether a larger intake manifold and a couple mm larger carb would change much is a question I don't think I'll bother to investigate.  And the CVT drive ratios with the 16" wheels don't allow sustained top speeds even on mild hills at WOT. 

The enlarged tire size also was well worth doing as handling and stability were significantly improved.  Also speedometer accuracy is very much closer to actual speed as compared to a GPS (front tire circumference determines this as the speedo drive gear is on the front axle)

[roguewave]

Good info, thanks John.
  I just got one yesterday and was already thinking about how to get some more top end out of it. I think I'll just leave it alone, i'll jump on the Z1000 if the need for speed arises.

[Zimmerman]

Front tire replaced with Avon Viper Stryke 100/80-16F.  Rear tire replaced with Michelin City Grip 110/80-16F

Thanks John - I'll give these a try.

[MotoRandy123]

  Nice to see somebody making some mods. I'm tweaking my Yager right now too.
I'd be careful with the Kevlar belt. The racer's love them because they grip very
well but I have heard they don't stretch at all so after 2000 - 4000 miles they
explode!

  A scooter operates over a very narrow rev range so messing with the intake can
 actually lose performance! The Yager has a tuned intake that is 20" long, that's
about perfect for power at 6500 RPM's (measured from intake valve to the bell mouth
behind the air filter).

  A windshield can help, as with limited power aerodynamics can add speed. Get rid
of any excess weight (I removed the rear grips/seat back/rack and saved 10 pounds!).

  There's not a lot of extra power in Kymco's scoots. If you could add a 4 valve head
you would gain 1000 RPM's. I imagine lightening rotating mass would help too. The
Zuma guys shave weight off their flywheels and cam gears. I've seen a guy who
lighten's his rocker arms.

  You could always add displacement, 163cc's is easy, 175 is possible.

 Just riding it will gain you too. As it breaks in it will get faster (mainly from belt stretch)
so you could buy a 2mm longer belt and get there faster (pun intended!).

[John in PA]

It's pretty much power that it's lacking.   WOT on the flat, up to top speed, then a gentle grade will drop about 10% RPM and MPH.  Probably don't need RPM's so much as bigger gulps of fuel and air.  Certainly the 4-valve would do it, but I think I'd get a heavier front rack and a  People 300i before I'd dump any more money in the P150.  For what I want it for (grocery runs when camping), I'm guessing I'll keep it as is.  It WAS a fun exercise.  Just wanted others to avoid spending unnecessary funds on improvement that's not really achievable.  


Conclusion:   Want significantly more power and speed?  Get a bigger scoot, if you can afford it and don't have a need for minimal weight like I did.  Kymco pretty much has the 150's optimally tuned OEM.

 The larger tires WERE a significant improvement in handling and speedo accuracy.  I would do that all over again for sure.  

[MotoRandy123]

  Well careful tuning can gain you some oompfh! Each motor has a torque peak and
HP peak. On my scoot they are called out as 6500 and 8000. In stock tune the scooter
pulls at 7000, midway between them. If you use lighter rollers you can tune that RPM
closer to 8000 and gain some get up and go. From what I've read there is 30% difference
between tuning to torque peak and tuning to power peak so we might gain 15% but
the scooter will be reving like crazy all the time. That's why the OEM tunes it a bit lower.

  The airbox is tuned to the torque peak on my scoot. That can get you 15% improvement
in flow. A motorcycle needs a broad power band, a scooter's is much narrower so the
intake can be tuned for additional gains instead of smoothing dips as is usual.

 Here's some reading on airboxes;
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Airboxes.html

  You can gain some top end with some light mods to the variator as seen here;
http://www.scooterinvasion.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=477

 Just grooving the sides where the rollers hit can allow them to travel 1 mm further then
filing the front of the fixed pulley by 1/2 - 1 mm and you will gain some top end.

 We used to advance the timing on some bikes 5 degrees or so to get a little extra power.
It could be done on the Yager by slotting the pulser pickup inside the stator cover. I think
this mainly make power in the midrange and if you go too far you will need to use premium
fuel. It can be done in the CDI if you can find one that works and can verify that's what they
tweaked to make it a "race" one. The Yager has fuel injection so that's not an option.

 I chose the 170cc Yager because I knew the old Honda 150 I had was a bit slow. The
extra displacement all goes into additional torque so it's easier to pull two people and
stay at speed up hills and such. There's not much penalty just a little extra weight.

 

[ScooterTweaks]

Interesting that no one had mentioned that the bike should run faster than 50 bone stock.  My 2005 with 25K klm on the clock would indicate over 70 with stock warn belt and roller weights, just at 70 indicated with new belt and 11g Dr pulley sliders but with huge acceleration gains.  I find that slightly enlarging the main jet just a smidge made the bike perfect.  I have used GPS for true speed reading and I'm just about 10% off indicated.  I have been cruising this bike all over at true 55mph with this setup for a long time.  No I'll effects and faster than your 2009 with money thrown at it.  It's just weird that you went the other way, less with more.  I'm on board with you, free er flowing in/out of air, no restrictions, and taller tires.  However I think the stock 26mm carb is more than enough for the 150 engine and the stock exhaust is actually very free flowing.  The biggest advantage an aftermarket pipe has on this bike is less weight, great sound, and more flow if you needed it (big bore).

I will say this, my bike does amazing in traffic, in fact that's where it shines!  I run 55mph with other guys all over the hill country no prob.  For long hauls requiring more speed I have a bigger bike, not because it won't go faster but because I won't run it wide open for long anymore than I would my truck.  Especially on air cooled engines.  Usually taller tires and a performance variator is the key.  Non restricted CDI as well.  Anything else is just adding parts on an already well tuned bike until a larger bore our better flowing head.  I'm a little stumped as to why you didn't have more in stock form and why you didn't see greater changes with the work you did.  Great products by the way.  I put those on my customers bikes, love them!

Good luck with more dialing it in.  I'll put on my thinking cap with the work you've done so far and post back with anything that might be helpful.

[Zimmerman]

ST

In your 'tagline' are those the bikes you've had over the years, or is that your current collection?

KZ