Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I decided to play around with the springs and rollers on my 2001 elite s. When cold it will pull the front wheel on take off but when it would get warm the stall seem to change. Wide open throttle out the hole it would pull about 10 ft then spool up. I was thinking the spring was bad so I ordered a yellow main clutch spring and 9 g rollers. Just a guess from what I read on this forum might help. I did the rollers first and no difference. I tackled the clutch spring my first time. Kicked my butt but have a system now. The stock spring was red. And it felt stronger than the yellow one. I installed it anyway. No difference. Maybe a little slower out the hole. I was told this scooter was all stock but IÔÇÖm thinking it has an aftermarket clutch spring. Prob going to put the red spring back and order a performance variator. Any suggestions.

The compression strength of the center spring is progressive so the tighter you squueze it, the tougher it gets to squeeze. The benefit of a tighter-than-stock spring is that it delays the shift point until a higher rpm. This is only beneficial when you have modified your motor and the powerband has moved to much higher rpm than stock.

Example: stock motors peak at about 6500 rpmÔÇÖs so thats where youd want your CVT to be shifting at...depending on mods, the peak power may now become in the 9000 range, therefore, the optimal shift point has changed. The center spring and roller weight work together to govern on when a variator shift occurs. The stock combination chosen by Honda is best for a stock motor and should be left as such unless youve modified the motor. Tuning the CVT is equally fun and frustrating. Amazing how one subtle change can either make your scooter pull like a raped ape or an absolute dog.

The red spring you pulled is likely stock. Ive pulled many stock springs that were red and some with no paint at all. Its apparent that if your spring WAS an aftermartket Malossi Red spring, your stock motor with 9g rollers would not be able spin fast enough to fully shift the variator. Your top speed would be about 25-30mph and the tight red spring would be holding your belt and variator hostage. Stock motor spins at 7500-8000 rpmÔÇÖs tops...use the Malossi Red when youre in the 10,000+ range.

Thanks meatball. Do you think a performance variator would help with top speed and if so can you recommend one.

Chipofsc wrote:Thanks meatball. Do you think a performance variator would help with top speed and if so can you recommend one.

Get a Keli variator and an sef ramp plate (if you can find an sef). That combo is cheapest and best bang for your buck. Keli is a good quality also. You can spend for the polini vari and it comes with ramp and rollers but my experience is that the polini tends to ride the belt differently in the clutch pulley at idle. The Keli is a tad narrower which allows the belt to ride further out on the clutch pulley giving you a better take-off and better shift ability. I have both and I use a Keli on all my stock bikes.

Greetings:

You mentioned a performance change "when cold" and "when it would get warm". I don't know if you mean the engine temperature or the weather, but either way, it makes me think there's too rich of a jet for warmer conditions. That's a sure way to decrease power. Sometimes it's not a power Processing issue, but a fundamental lack of power. The Bones and the Meat are correct in their respective assertions, but jacking with the transmission won't make up for a too-rich engine that's simply not supplying the Motor-Vation in the first place. Try running a very dry (or briefly, No) filter to see if it improves?

I played with the jetting and 80 was the best at WOT. 78 it would run out of gas at top end. The motor sounds strong but when the engine warms up at a dead stop if you go to full throttle it bogs for a second then spools up and gos. Maybe I can put the 78 back and see if it cures the bog.

Chipofsc wrote:I played with the jetting and 80 was the best at WOT. 78 it would run out of gas at top end. The motor sounds strong but when the engine warms up at a dead stop if you go to full throttle it bogs for a second then spools up and gos. Maybe I can put the 78 back and see if it cures the bog.

Belt is riding too low in rear pulley. IMHO Shim the variator boss 1-2mm to allow belt to ride lower in variator and higher in the rear pulley. Keli variator solves this problem without shims. Scooter swap shop has the "13mm shims" on their website. https://scooterswapshop.com/collections ... ator-shims

I ordered one last night.