Performance variator or CVT kit? Just need better acceleration.

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SpaceMonkey420
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Performance variator or CVT kit? Just need better acceleration.

Post by SpaceMonkey420 »

Have a 2013 Buddy 50 with a scooter works performance exhaust up jetted to 80 and added a Molossi CDI. Top speed 40 to 45 and that's all good. Trying to get a little better acceleration. Would a performance variator help or should I get a whole CVT kit? Have my eye on the NCY and Naraku CVT kits but feel like Molossi or Polini would have a better variator.

Big bore kit won't suit my purpose, I don't think. I use this scooter for daily transportation and in a lot of stop and go traffic on a island. Max speed on the road ways is 45 but 30 and under in most spots. I just need to be able to have that extra boost getting in and out of traffic. Pretty new to fixing up my scoot but have done good tuning the carburetor and all so far. Been researching on tuning the CVT now. All parts I added recently was to replace old broken ones just decided not use OEM. Now I can't stop 😂.
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DeeDee
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Re: Performance variator or CVT kit? Just need better acceleration.

Post by DeeDee »

Find out the rpm rating on the 3 little clutch springs. Try changing those to the next stiffest set, and replace your stock rollers with dr. pulley sliders that weigh 1 gram less. Better yet, use the awesome search function of this site, and see what others have succesfully done.
Less chit chat, more riding, Buddy 50, 125, 170i, RH50, Yamaha C3
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SpaceMonkey420
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Re: Performance variator or CVT kit? Just need better acceleration.

Post by SpaceMonkey420 »

Yeah searched alot here for awhile first time really posting something, I tried sliders didn't help acceleration. I have a few sets of rollers and have gone lighter already. Guess I'll just go with Molossi variator kit and swap out clutch springs. Recently found people that have had trouble with the CVT kits, especially the NCY one. Was just looking for a little direction and really didn't know if replacing the clutch would be over kill for my needs.
zino
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Re: Performance variator or CVT kit? Just need better acceleration.

Post by zino »

The scooterworks exhaust is just barely better than stock
I have it on my wifes roughhouse .
The ncy variator is a good up grade Provides noticeably different take off compared to stock
The top end is a a couple miles better than when I had her scoot stock.
40 now 42
She is running 6 gram sliders

On my roughhose
The Malossi Variator has comparable take off and a couple more miles top end
The malossi wild lion pipe is a much better pipe than the NCY pipe it provides more oomph on take off
I am up 4 mph over stock
6.5 gram sliders with the NCY torque driver
I like slider better than rollers
Therealslimshaggy
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Re: Performance variator or CVT kit? Just need better acceleration.

Post by Therealslimshaggy »

I’ll chime in on my experience with the rh50 cvt kit by ncy.
First off I’m 150lbs getting 43mph verified by gps on a bone stock rh50. Well got the sport exhaust which is just a more open stock exhaust but that’s it. When I’m going 43mph the indicated speed is 50-mph- or slightly past. Yeah the speedos off.

That being said I bought the ncy cvt kit sold on scooter swap shop and boy was it a mistake. But a learning process. If you want the short version keep reading. Detailed version in parentheses. Short. Ncy kit with bando oem belt. 44-45mph. Never snapped belt but didn’t run setup very long. Ncy kit mitsuboshi belt. 49mph. Belt life 500 miles. Just to very I put in 3 belts. Snapped 3 mitsuboshi belts around 500 miles. Ncy cvt kit with malossi Kevlar belt. This by far is the best belt for the ncy kit. Life 2000-3000 miles still extremely short. Top speed 48mph with decent but slower take off. All tests were done on a bone stock 50cc oem engine with sport exhaust.

(Long version). Number one mitsuboshi belts are garbage. Don’t use them. Even for a stock setup. Malossi aren’t bad but still to small and thin of a belt to use long term. I realized the extra 2-3mph top speed isn’t worth changing belts every 2000-3000 miles. In retrospect it makes perfect sense why the malossi belt took to the ncy kit the best. There is a complete cvt kit out there for old school Vespa 50 2t engines and the buddy roughhouse that comes with the malls so belt. The slide angles of the belt is probably better to go with the face angles of the ncy kit which might not be far off from the malossi kit. I bet if you bought the complete malossi kit including cvt and belt for the roughhouse/buddy it would last a little longer like 5000 miles. Meanwhile back in Taiwan friends are getting 10000-20000 miles out of oem bando belts on stock cvts with changes out final drive gears and liquid cooled 100cc 2t kits. Moral of the story go with the bigger thicker bando oem belt, don’t change the cvt. Do change the final gears if you go with a big bore kit. If you do go big bore go liquid cooled. This is the realible way to go unless you want to break down every 2000 miles. Some final interesting notes. The malossi belt made for the rh/buddy can slip on the cvt simply by compressing the rear clutch by hand and slipping it over. The mitsuboshi/gates/bando belt can’t do this and requires and impact wrench or a tow when you break down. So a malossi Kevlar belt is a nice little get me home emergency part you can put under the seat when you snap you belt with a cvt kit. And you will snap your belt with the ncy kit fast. If your dead set on the ncy kit use the bando belt. You’ll get shtty acceleration and a 2-3mph top speed gain but at least you won’t breakdown tomorrow but will next month. If you want ok acceleration and a 4mph top speed gain and feel ok spending 60 bucks on a new malossi Kevlar belt every 2 weeks then go that route. If you want to experiment and report back here get the malossi full cvt kit and tell us if you reached 5000 miles. As for me I scoot 40000-50000 miles a year doing food delivery. Before doing it here I did it in Taiwan 4 years where all the scooter tuning is down to a science. The ncy kit sold for the roughhouse and buddy is not designed for a roughhouse or buddy. It’s designed for a dio. Better off rolling the die and getting the malls so kit. Or even better if you care about reliability keep stock setup but swap in doctor pully sliders same weight as oem rollers. Change out final drive gears. Go 70cc bbk. Just my 2 cents.
Yamaha Aerox 155, Genuine Roughhouse 50, Genuine buddy 170i, Yamaha Cygnus 125, Honda grom 125, Suzuki address 110 (uk110), Yamaha cuxi 115, Yamaha BWS 100 2t, Yamaha R6, Honda CR125, Kawasaki KX 500
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