The Poor Man's ZX Trans

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Wheelman-111
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The Poor Man's ZX Trans

Post by Wheelman-111 »

Greetings

If all you're swapping is the Vario, the Ruckus model is a good option. The longer-belt thing (with or without bigger rear pulleys) is mainly about take-off.

I have heard of no problems with stock Ruck-sized variators. With a very big aftermarket Ruck variator you may encounter an issue with the stock-length belt "bottoming out" betwixt the rear pulleys - and possible breakage if prolonged stress. A slightly-longer Polini 284-006 is a good choice for stock pulleys with a carefully-selected shim between the front pulley boss and the ramp plate ~0.7mm thick.
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Most of my money is spent on scooterparts. The rest is just wasted.
"ISO": '03 Vespa ET4 Malossi187 74MPH
Flash 9: 2001 Elite SR Contesta 72 ZX Tran, 9:1 Gears, Stock Airbox/Carb/Pipe 58.8 MPH
Punkin: 2010 Vespa/Malossi S78, 61MPH
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akskoot
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Re: Ruckus Vari needs belt to benefit?

Post by akskoot »

Thanx for the replies. But I still fail to see how if my belt doesn't reach the outside of a stock vari at top speed, why would a few more unreachable millimeters of diameter on a Ruck vari be usable. I would love to believe that the Ruckus vari alone improves top speed, but I need someone to help me wrap my head around how and why. Wheelman were you saying that the Polini belt is a good choice for stockish sized variators coupled with a ZX trans?
1985 Aero 50--'87 AF05 motor, ported and polished, Ruckus Vari, 1.5K torque spring, 1K clutch springs, drilled exhaust/airbox,#85 jet, Pirelli 3.0-10s= 45mph flat
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trains420
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Re: Ruckus Vari needs belt to benefit?

Post by trains420 »

depending. on if stock actually makes the rear pulley, the smalles, as in the clutch pulleys spread all the way out.
since the ruckus variator has the same 30 degree angle, 651-15.5-30. something like that, the belt won't go up any higher on the front, just will be squeezed up higher. your drive boss will make the belt width, which is what would get squeezed out, is the belt width you use. the drive boss, the cylinder in the middle of the variator, it goes back to the ramp plate on the variator, pushing it out and the variator back and forth, and you got your starter gear, or the front half of the front, or variator pulley. pushing it off, i don't think can happen, but it could be pushed up high, and it squeezes the clutch apart in the back, and get to the bottom and still not be at teh top of the variator, and it would squeeze the belt, and may break it if it's not stretched.
when you get a belt, there's three measurements. or you buy honda. length, width, and angle. width is from drive boss, length from size of middle of variator, and middle of the clutch when the belts around it. angle is angle of both pulleys going in. what there angled at.
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Wheelman-111
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Poor Man's ZX Trans

Post by Wheelman-111 »

Greetings:

The ZX pullies must use an 18mm belt - either 654 or 669 mm length. (That figure is nominal: the actual tape measurement around the outside is considerably more than the stated sizes...)

The Polini 248-006 is about 15 mm longer than stock, and about 16.2 wide. It won't work with a ZX rear pulley. It's too narrow to be forced up to the rims when the contra spring squeezes the sheaves together.
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Used with stock pulleys, the -006 helps take-off because it can be made to ride closer to the edge of that REAR assembly. In order for that to occur, the pulley boss in FRONT must be shimmed to let the wider belt down all the way to center in FRONT. about 0.7mm will do it with a new one. Thinning the shim as the belt wears down will maintain good contact, if you're a bit OCD.
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If that's all you do, the -006 will hurt top speed a little because once underway the belt is now too long. When it reaches the rim of the front pulley, it won't be pulled as far down to center out back. The remedy for this is the larger-diameter Ruckus variator. I call these combined mods the "Poor Man's ZX Trans." The only hard part is sourcing the belt number from Polini - it fits no scooter ever sold in the US, AFAIK.

[Edit: I guess it's not as hard as I thought: Polini 248.006]
Last edited by Wheelman-111 on Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Wheelman-111
Most of my money is spent on scooterparts. The rest is just wasted.
"ISO": '03 Vespa ET4 Malossi187 74MPH
Flash 9: 2001 Elite SR Contesta 72 ZX Tran, 9:1 Gears, Stock Airbox/Carb/Pipe 58.8 MPH
Punkin: 2010 Vespa/Malossi S78, 61MPH
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