Very important note: I suggest you try to order this through your local dealer. I like Scooterworks just fine but I support my dealer first because if there's something wrong that I can't figure out or don't have the resources to fix, I want them to be around. Second note: Scooterworks [edit] had an error on their website. They have two kits, this one and the 1200-1047. The 1200-1047 is actually an NCY kit for the Yamaha Vino but it *was* listed incorrectly a GY6 kit. DO NOT get the 1200-1047 kit for your Buddy or Blur, you'll just be angry. You want the 1200-1048 kit. Now, back to the review.... [edited to clarify new part number]
If you just want the gist of the whole thing without reading through this then here it is:
If you're running a stock 125/150 Buddy/Blur CVT and you're thinking about upgrading the transmission this kit is a fantastic buy. It rebuilds the entire CVT system with really nice components that give brisker acceleration and a smoother ride to boot. Get it, you're done - have a lovely day.
IF you've already started upgrading the CVT (roller/slider weights DO NOT count), you're money could be better spent elsewhere. I do highly recommend the components, all of which you can buy piecemeal.
Now, the comparisons:
I took the parts down to the post office and weighed them all separately. Sadly, I don't have a scale at my house, so we have to make due with the Postal scales.
As you can see, the NCY stuff is considerably lighter than stock and has a slight edge on Dr Pulley in weight.
Now the Variator ramps:
As you can see the Dr Pulley and the NCY have less material hence the lighter weight. The pulley faces are a little harder to read, but the NCY allows the belt to ride slightly tighter (it's narrower in the middle) which gives it really good takeoff characteristics, a great option for launches (heavier shoe springs in the clutch).
Fan Pulley:
Here we see that the Stock and Dr Pulley are fairly similar and the NCY has the fan tips as part of the pulley surface. This helps to cool the belt at higher speeds. For some reason, I had a brain fart and didn't take a pic of the three on the fan side. I'll edit this later to include that. The stock fan is HUGE. I've no doubt that it moves air in the CVT without issue, which is a good thing. The Dr Pulley fans are minuscule at best... less air flow and less rotational drag - the jury's out on that one. The NCY has a low profile fan (compared to stock - still substantially larger than the Dr Pulley) but it's cooling fans make direct contact with the belt; that makes me think that it has the best properties of both the stock and Dr Pulley - less rotational drag but more direct cooling on the belt. Only time will tell, but I think that might extend the belt life. It's worth noting that the NCY is 3.2oz lighter than stock (that's almost half!!!) and .4oz lighter than the Dr Pulley. That's less power lost on inertia and more transferred to the rear wheel.
edit Here's the promised comparison pics of the fan faces.
Ramp measurements. I don't really have a method for measuring the curvature of the weight ramps so I just measured the total travel.
Both aftermarket variators provide an improvement over stock. The Dr Pulley gives the weights more room to travel (ramp length), whereas the NCY gives the belt more room to travel (Pulley face). What this comes down to is that the Dr Pulley adds more travel at the top end of the speed range but the NCY adds to both the top and the bottom.
When I did a comparison of the two (I put the variators on and left everything else the same between both runs using Dr Pulley 12g Slider weights) what I noticed was that the NCY gave considerably more bottom end and started loosing acceleration around 45-50mph where the Dr Pulley didn't launch quite as strong but kept it's acceleration up to about 50-55mph. Top speed was pretty much the same once the NCY had a few miles on it. Very nominal difference with an edge to Dr Pulley (3mph more). Given the way that the NCY variator handles, it feels like it wants slightly heavier weights, which would negate the marginal top speed.
Now the rest of the kit: Adjustable secondary sheeve (a.k.a. "Torque Driver"), lightened and vented clutch bell and performance clutch and spring bearing seat.
The Clutch:
The NCY hits harder (weight savings is in the body, not the shoes so less energy is expended on rotating the entire assembly), is more easily adjusted (the springs can be replaced without taking anything apart) and has a considerable amount more surface contact (less slipping). Versus stock, it's a hands down winner.
Lightened/Vented Clutch Bell:
Here's another nice touch. The NCY Clutch Bell is lightened by 1.3oz (less engine power lost by rotational inertia) and vented! That means it stays cooler so you can use higher rated springs for a harder launch with less chance of overheating the bell. The added pad size on the clutch helps a lot with slipping (the cause of overheating the Clutch Bell), but the vents add that much more to it. The fancy-pants "N" cutouts are not ever seen behind the CVT cover, so worry not if you're trying to keep that "sleeper" look. Seriously, it's differences are subtle but well thought out. The inner surface is nice and rough for maximum grip, but I don't want to focus on that too much since it's brand new and being compared to a stock clutch with about 5000 "spirited" Blur distance units on it. I suspect that the vents will help it keep that rough surface (that's a good thing - it gives better grip which means less slipping).
The Secondary Sliding Sheave:
The secondary sliding sheave has two grooves. One (right) is the same as stock: a straight line. The other (right) has a bend in the groove. Understanding exactly what this does was really tough to find out. Actually, it's tougher to explain... but I'll give it a go: What the bend does is once the rear driven pulley expands past that point, it sort of "locks in" the higher gear setting. In normal CVT operation, the pulleys are constantly variating (duh!) which means at any time if pressure is let off from the engine, the Contra spring pushes the rear pulley back together. What happens with this new design is that it's "held" into the higher gear range longer, allowing the engine to work a little less. Basically, it helps hold speed, such as in the instance of a lighter weight. Remember earlier when I said that the NCY variator feels like it might like heavier weights? This corrects that. It really is a balanced kit. I've used a "performance sheave" for a while now (before this one) and what I've noticed is that once I'm in my cruising speed, the RPMs dip down a bit and the engine doesn't have to work as hard. I've noticed a slight increase in fuel savings. But it still allows for the acceleration of a slightly lighter weight set.
Spring bearing seat:
This is simply a new cover for the sliding sheave but with an added bonus. It houses bearings in between the two halves. These allow the spring to rotate. It gives a MUCH smoother transfer of pressure in the driven pulley. The spring is allowed to rotate instead of binding. Basically it smooths out the ride at higher speeds quite noticeably. If you decide not to get this kit (already upgraded part of the CVT) you can buy this separately and I heartily recommend that you do. Smooth! Got it?
OK, so that's all the parts. Once I put them together, they performed really well compared to stock and the whole kit is just fantastic compared to the Dr Pulley variator alone. I even went back to the stock weights (they only had 1500 miles on them - practically new) and the ride was brisker and much smoother than stock. I still want to try running half stock half NCY 10g rollers (the size of the weights included). I suspect that they'll be damn near perfect - but weather is not being cooperative *at all* this week. That might have to take a back burner for the time being.
Overall, this is a fantastically priced (compared to the parts piecemeal or other performance parts) and extremely well balanced kit that can be installed and enjoyed. It improved both acceleration and top speed, but even better than that: it makes the ride so much smoother!
I hands down recommend this. If you're thinking about upgrading to a Dr Pulley, that's half the price of this kit but you get SO MUCH MORE for your money. If you've already got a Dr Pulley, the rear half of the kit can be bought individually and I suggest you go with them: Clutch, Bell, Spring Bearing, Performance sheave. I don't think you'd be disappointed at all.
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