What can a new variator do?

[Vishnuk]

Howdy folks,

My question is, what will installing battlescooter store's variator do for me? What sort of performance gains will I see with a stock scooter? What I would like to do is upgrade my air intake with the open air filter (What effects will the scooter suffer when it rains by the way with that open design?) and rejet the scoot to an 80 or 85. FYI, I live in Honolulu and see rain off and on every other day. This scoot is my only vehicle and I'm reliant upon it for everything. What my ultimate goal is is to allow me better performance up the mountain roads. I'm digressing here, but I have to admit I broke in my scoot driving up mountain switch-backs. ;D Any-hoo, I'm tired of seeing kids on hopped up 2-stroke mopeds flying by me with their blue smoke smothering me. I'd like to increase my acceleration and maintain my top speed of around 38 mph. I'd especially like to increase my climb rate from 23 mph to around 26+ mph. I'm a poor student with a limited budget so I need to conserve the money where I can. Help me out guys.

On a side note, I saw a guy cruising down Kuhio ave. on a ruckus with a surf-board on his side and an aftermarket pipe that sounded like a balloon popper. Please tell me that battlescooter's pipes don't bloody sound like a clown festival going through town.

[abe]

I'll let other people comment on the variators but the
exhaust I'll do.

All aftermarket exhausts for scooters are loud. We may start
selling a baffle to cut the noise. All the pipes we sell
meet the Japanese db requirement but it doesn't matter. The
noise readings are at a crazy 3,250rpm for the Ruckus. No
problem for something with a tranny but on a scooter 3,250
is like 2mph. If you don't like noise plan on making a baffle.
It will not hurt performance ;D

[Vishnuk]

Thanks for the info, I'll probably just end up leaving the exhaust stock. I don't really appreciate the hopped up scooter sound, best if I left it to a quiet muffle.

[abe]

I agree

[nicad]

I'm going to go against the flow and say the louder the scoot the better, ever hear a 2 stroke with a nice chamber pipe? thats like mozart to me.

I'm going to blow my student loan on a yoshimura abe.

-Ian

[abe]

Are you ordering it from Yosh?

[nicad]

they are not on the site anymore!?!?!?

i may just settle for one of the ones you have...

-Ian

[abe]

We took 'em off because they still are a no show. We ordered them ages ago

When they arrive we will post it on the forum. We did add the Moriwaki exhausts if you like those.

[peshkabz]

:(Hawaii?! HAWAII!!!

Foul!!!! NOT FAIR
you mean you get to ride in warm weather and tropical views?!?!

I hurt for you ;D ;D



Ok...oK!! I AM jealous!!

[id10t]

I'm pretty much as noob as it gets when it comes to scooters, but I have had a little experience with mini 4-stroke RC plane engines.

I thought one of the great advantages to a 4 stroke engine is the less backpressure the better. So wouldn't a straight pipe be the best possible exhaust system.

[Ruckass]

no

Ruckass

[id10t]

Why not? 4 stroke engires don't need backpressure right?

[chanito]

Supposelly yes, a 4 cycle engine does not need back pressure, but exhaust gases are way too hot to be dumped just outside the head (bear with me i used to build race car engine headers) so therefore you need a little pipe to take them away from the head, now here is where things get more interesting, the exhaust valve open and close, and that little phenomena generate pulses, plus the gases are getting cooled in the exhaust pipe, agravating the pulsing problem, becouse the hot gases contract when cooled, and they do it at different rates depending on pipe size, lenght and outside temp, and if you have to do any turns then you add more variables to the mix, i have read about ten diferent books about exhaust pipe design and gotten ten diferent opinions.
But get back to exhaust for the ruckus, having a freeflowing exaust will create a rich running condition becouse of the lieout of the ports in the heads, so in order to have a civilized ruckus you need a long and skinny primary pipe and a chambered muffler, even a muffler and resonator sounds like a good idea
Any ideas, will be nice to have an in depht discusion on this topic

[SuperJ]

Sorry to be off topic about the variator, but I though I'd chime in on the exhaust. A 4-stroke does NOT need backpressure. A 4-stroke DOES need to keep its exhaust flowing at a relatively high velocity. To large/short of pipe will cause the gases to slow down. Any change in velocity should occur gradually so as not to bog the high velocity gases down as they leave the chamber. A short straight pipe will flow well out of the cylinder but does not transition well because of its short length and lack of dampening. At lower rpms exhaust velocity will suffer and the you will lose bottom end power with perhaps a tiny gain up top if jetted properly. Also you'll get bleeding eardrums.

-SuperJ

[chanito]

:)Great contribution Super, i forgot about the smooth transition, but that is VERY hard to do on a single cyl engine so i keep it out of the equation, in theory the best solution is a chambered muffler, but i doubt anybody makes one that small and they are way too tricky to do a one off, some where else i posted my dream design of a flow thru with a buggle after and a resonator, i plan to fabricate one as soon as i can get my hands on a flow thru small enough

[jimthejet]

I just popped 6, 6 gram weights from Battlescooter into the stock variator, and got 5-6 mph more up hills. What was a 20 mph hill is now 25, and what was 25 is now 31. And, I weigh 260, so it was important for me to be able to keep up with my 125 pound wife on hers. All that for $20, the biggest bang for the buck. And, it still went the same 37 mph on top end.

I have since made more mods (see "How Fast.. " thread in Gen. Disc.), but this is the best $20 you'll ever spend with all your clothes on.

[abe]

Thanks for the laugh and trying a drive mod. By far it is the best bang for the buck. From here on out they get harder to come by.

The rear shock is the second best bang for the buck unless you factor in the bang for the buck the Ruckus gives ;D then well... drive mods second, shock 3rd