Another NOOBIE just bought a scooter

[alexfleury]

I bought a 2001 with 173 miles yesterday !! Got it from a friend in Alabama and brought it home to Tennessee.



The local Honda shop told me that $500 was an excellent deal for such a low mileage bike. It started and ran immediately, but I was warned that it might need battery. As y'all can see it is on the charger now.

Right now it will only do about 25 mph. I've been reading here about the mods I need for a little more power.

"Not to worry, your SA50's Mighty AF16 block has everything it needs to run 42 in regular "SR" livery, 49 with SR-class power and the addition of gears, or up to 85MPH if you want to do all the possible mods. All you have to do to get started is remove Honda's thoughtfully-applied Party-Poopers."

I am familiar with motorcycle mechanics, but not with scooters.



Are there some links here or write-ups with good info about how to get just a little more umphhh out of my stock 50?

[bfowler]

Great find! What are you looking to get out of your stock scooter? Judging by your 25 mph max speed, I'm assuming you have the elite SA50p model which is the restricted version. Restrictions include a washer in the exhaust that needs to be drilled out, a restrictor behind the ramp plate that needs to be removed, and a second tab in the airbox that also needs to be removed. Once that is done you're going to need to do an upjet to a around 80-85 main jet. If it is in fact the SA50p model then you will also need to add some oil to your gas tank as the restricted model doesn't supply enough oil needed due to the derestrictions. That should get you running at about 35-40. From there if you want more speed but still stock, you're going to need an upgraded variator with a good ramp plate. You can get a Kelli variator from ebay for about $40 and an SEF ramp plate from VT cycles for about $15 or you can order a polini variator set which includes a ramp plate from forum member graphite9 for I believe about $90. You can also throw in some 9:1 gears and some 90/90-10 tires in the front and rear and you should be getting an easy 45 maybe 50 out of that. If after all these minor upgrades you are not satisfied, then it is time to enter big bore kit land.

Determine whether you have an SA50 model aka Elite SR or an SA50p aka Elite S because the oil is very very very important. If you have the SR then you don't need to worry as much about adding in extra oil but if you have the SA50p then you definitely need more oil. You might want to consider removing the oil mechanism as a whole, adding in an oil plug, and just running premix. And don't forget the UPJET which is very important as well.

[alexfleury]

The title says it is an Elite SA50P

I have done some research and read about the exhaust and the main jet. I haven't seen a mention of the airbox! I did see a someone talking about zip tie method of running the oil injector open all the time, and others talking about a dual throttle cable. I don't want to have to run pre-mix but if that is the best option I guess I can learn to deal with it.

What I want to do with the bike is just run local errands and be able to go up a hill without almost coming to a stop. 25 mph and getting down to 10 on a long hill doesn't work well for that

I just bought the bike yesterday and it is fun to ride, but I'll need a little more power if is going to be practical use very much.

Is there any power to be gained with exhaust systems and CDI boxes? Or is that just when big bore kits come in the picture?

Will I gain any ability to climb hills better with the variator modification. I'm new to world of CVT's and I understand it makes a gearing difference but does it affect the engine in any way? Is it difficult to do? I don't mind spending a little money on it so $45 in parts is doable.

If I can get to 40mph and climb hills better, I'll be really happy.

My goal is just to be able to ride the thing to the store on a 4 lane road with a 45mph speed limit and not get run over. But things like exhausts and other mods are within a possible budget. But I'll probably not go the big bore route. If I want to go that fast I'll just go get the keys to the Bandit !

Thank y'all for the advice.

[bfowler]

The dual throttle cable is found in the elite sr and is attainable for a price. And people have done the zip tie method of zip tying the pump wide open but you should still add a little to the tank.

Exhaust upgrade and CDI aren't needed. Honda elite CDI isn't restricted so dont fall for the "performance" CDI upgrades that sellers try to push, just stick with the stock one. And for exhausts, the stock unrestricted is fine for your needs. You'd only want to upgrade your exhaust if you install a bbk.

The variator modification is in my opinion the most cost effective method of increasing speed so you should definitely go with either the Kelli variator and SEF ramp or the polini set which are both bolt on mods. They only require an impact gun which just keeps the shaft from turning. However, installing the variator with an impact gun isn't recommended. You might want to make yourself a tool to hold the variator in place while you loosen the nut or you can buy one.

After that you're going to want some 9:1 gears which will also improve your speed as well as the 90/90-10 tires in the front and rear for small speed gains but added handling.

Here's a price list:
Kelli pulley is $48 shipped from ebay.
SEF ramp is $15 and 9:1 gears are about $50, both sold by VT cycles, probably about $8 shipping

Those alone will probably get you to about 45 mph and for a little over $100

I would suggest the tires which will cost around $50 so in total you'll spend $150 and you'll have a scooter that can climb hills as well as go 45-50 mph.

[alexfleury]

EXCELLENT !!! I have been doing a little more reading and I understand the variator mod a little more.

But first things first. I want to start wit the engine. I understand the exhaust mod. I think I saved the post about how to buy the main jet. Should I just go ahead and order the 88 and accept that it might be a little rich? Will that be OK in the engine?

What is the air box mod? I haven't run into that one yet.

I have no idea how to do the "zip tie" mod. Is there a link or a good post somewhere? TWO questions about that. HOW MUCH oil do I add to a tank of gas if I have done the zip tie"? If I am somewhere away from home and need gas, will the zip tie mod be ok by itself to get me 20 or 30 miles back home or to the nearest store?

How much gas will the tank hold? And how far can I get on a tank with a de-restricted bike? I have never owned a 2 stroke before so I'm just not all that familiar with the oil/gas deal.

I want to try the engine mods and see how I like it before I spend more money.

The BIG questions for me right now are these. Air box mod? Zip tie mod and how much oil do I still need to add to a tank? Good link for the main jet install?

Thanks guys, I'm finding that is a great site

[kingearwig]

EXCELLENT !!! I have been doing a little more reading and I understand the variator mod a little more.

But first things first. I want to start wit the engine. I understand the exhaust mod. I think I saved the post about how to buy the main jet. Should I just go ahead and order the 88 and accept that it might be a little rich? Will that be OK in the engine?

If you go with the 88 and it is too rich your scoot will be limping. Too rich is really bad for performance. However too lean is very very bad for the motor. If you run too lean you can very quickly melt your piston to the cylinder.
What kind of temperature variation will there be on your scooting trips? If there is a lot of temp variation you will inevitably have to have a warm weather and cool weather jet.
Either way I would get at least 5 jets of different sizes and start big and then test smaller ones until it runs the way you want it. If it is at the warm end of your driving temps then that is your warm weather jet. As the temps drop your scoot will run leaner and leaner. Then it will be time to test larger jets and find your cool weather jet.
But if you are a fair weather scooter then you wont have to worry about it. I scoot in temps from 100F to 0F so I do have to worry about this. The jet that performs well at 100F will melt my piston to the cylinder very quickly at temps as low as 30F.