erich
10-04-2004, 11:34 AM
Hello all. It has come to my attention that there may be some performance to be gained in modifying the Tecnomoto Variator from the way it ships from the factory.
I will be doing a complete howto on this that I will post on the website, but I wanted to give the forum dogs a heads up first since it will be a day or two before I get the howto posted.
Basically, if you look at the back of your variator (the part the rollers are in when you put it together - not the silver ramp plate) you will see the three posts that the sliding vee bushings slide on (the plastic triangle bushings that go on the silver ramp plate). You will also notice that these extrude past the outside edge of the rest of the variator - they "stick up" (if you hold the variator level with your eye and look across the back of it, you will know what I am talking about).
These are preventing the variator from retracting all the way, which in turn does not allow the belt to get all the way down in between the front pulleys (where your lowest effective gear is located).
Now that you know whats going on, lets figure out how to take care of it. By removing those three "posts" you can gain a lot of low end due to the lower effective gear you will now have access to. You can remove them by many different means. The one I use is a bench grinder. Just grind the posts down until they are almost or all the way flush with the back round edge. If you use this method, remember to clean up the edges where you grinded away the posts with a screw driver or sandpaper as the grinder will leave a little hangover of material which can destroy your sliding vee bushings.
Another method for those of us without bench grinders is to use a hacksaw. Probably equally effective, but just requires a little more work. Still check those new edges to make sure they're smooth.
Now, why does the Tecnomoto variator come with these? I have no idea, but you better believe that I will be talking to the factory and I will either get them to fix it, sell them all pre-modded, or find another solution. Performance is the number one priority here, and I am commited to it.
When you do this mod, post your results in this thread and lets see how it works out. I did it over the weekend to my lab rat Zuma and it gained a lot of low end power, with more of a "jump" off the line.
Thanks everyone for making the forums a great place for constructive information, and thanks for making it a "non-flaming" forum, where all can post without fear of being lit up.
I will be doing a complete howto on this that I will post on the website, but I wanted to give the forum dogs a heads up first since it will be a day or two before I get the howto posted.
Basically, if you look at the back of your variator (the part the rollers are in when you put it together - not the silver ramp plate) you will see the three posts that the sliding vee bushings slide on (the plastic triangle bushings that go on the silver ramp plate). You will also notice that these extrude past the outside edge of the rest of the variator - they "stick up" (if you hold the variator level with your eye and look across the back of it, you will know what I am talking about).
These are preventing the variator from retracting all the way, which in turn does not allow the belt to get all the way down in between the front pulleys (where your lowest effective gear is located).
Now that you know whats going on, lets figure out how to take care of it. By removing those three "posts" you can gain a lot of low end due to the lower effective gear you will now have access to. You can remove them by many different means. The one I use is a bench grinder. Just grind the posts down until they are almost or all the way flush with the back round edge. If you use this method, remember to clean up the edges where you grinded away the posts with a screw driver or sandpaper as the grinder will leave a little hangover of material which can destroy your sliding vee bushings.
Another method for those of us without bench grinders is to use a hacksaw. Probably equally effective, but just requires a little more work. Still check those new edges to make sure they're smooth.
Now, why does the Tecnomoto variator come with these? I have no idea, but you better believe that I will be talking to the factory and I will either get them to fix it, sell them all pre-modded, or find another solution. Performance is the number one priority here, and I am commited to it.
When you do this mod, post your results in this thread and lets see how it works out. I did it over the weekend to my lab rat Zuma and it gained a lot of low end power, with more of a "jump" off the line.
Thanks everyone for making the forums a great place for constructive information, and thanks for making it a "non-flaming" forum, where all can post without fear of being lit up.