variator noises By axplayer (Read 1,946 times)

[axplayer]

Today I hit a pot hole (going about 10 mph) and soon notice a new sound. At first I thought maybe it was a loose bolt somewhere along the exhaust but as I got nearer to home the sound became a vibration. I think the sound is coming from the variator. I did notice the variator bolt had become loose so I use a impact wrench to tighten it back up and took it out for a ride. The sound is still there. It just changed from a very metallic sound to "thug-thug-thug" sound but no vibrations. I will pull the variator off tomorrow to see what's up with the rollers. Any chance that a roller(s) got disengaged by the pothole?I would be really surprised if this is the case. Any ideas guys?

[Alleyoop]

Yes, it could be a weight or weights are out of place, not so much because of the pophole but when the variator nut came loose that would move the variator out to far and even a weight or two could of actually come out and or bounceing around inside the cvt. So I would not ride it until you check the Variator and weights out.
Alleyoop

[axplayer]

thx Alley. I'll update after I remove the variator tomorrow.

[widehide]

axplayer, what are you riding? The variator has a nut on it not a bolt. Did you remove the cover to get to the variator nut to tighten it? You need to pull the cover off, remove the nut from the variator and pull off the variator and inspect the variator to see if the rollers/sliders are in the track. Hopefully you will find a minor problem here. good luck.

[axplayer]

I'm sorry I didn't say. It's a MC-250B with a cfmoto 244cc. I also meant Variator nut....not bolt. The scooter only has about 450 miles and I haven't been doing any hard riding since I'm still breaking it in. I did check the bolt during the PDI and it seemed tight and snug when I first got the scooter. I hope it's as easy as removing the variator and re-setting the rollers and nothing beyond that.

[axplayer]

doesn"t look so good . The teeth in the center of the variator fan plate has been stripped. The grooves in the main shaft inside the Boss seems ok but I can't get the variator assembly out. I'm waiting on a friend who says he may have a bearing puller that may work. Am I correct to think that no body sells just the fan plate for the 244cc cfmoto? It seems everywhere I've checked they force you to buy the whole Variator assembly. The cheapest I've found was $69.00 without shipping.

[daver]

Ax,
Here is a much better deal.. I have purchased from this seller and was quite happy.. I have also seen just the plate you need, but can't find it at the moment.. I will ad the link for it when I find it..
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400159657128&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AVRI
Good luck, and happy scooting.. Dave

[fairweasel2323]

cheaper set www.scrappydogscooters.com/CF250_Water_cooled_parts.html

[axplayer]

Thx for the link daver. Got the seller to sell me just the fan plate but haven't heard back from him yet

It's kinda of a pain to find the single piece. Everyone wants to sell you the assembly.

I will be returning the old variator fan plate and radio for warranty replacement, but that can take up too 2 weeks. I also removed the variator and cleaned out the grease with break cleaner and weight the rollers (24.6g). All looks good.

The belt is a Gate Powerlink 918 22.5. Still looks new.

Are these specs about normal for a cfmoto 244cc?

Other than lightly greasing the boss, is there any thing else I should be looking out for while reassembling the variator?

I'm using an impact wrench because it's here and it's easy. Should I be thinking of using thread lock also? I'm not bummed that this happened but it happened on the day I get the scooter tagged and legal...lol. I may have over done it a little on the throttle after I attached the plates and hit that pothole.

[Cruiser]

Hi axplayer. The belt and weights are the same that came with my scoot. Here is a link for the variator fan. It's a genuine Honda part, so you know it's good stuff:

www.cheapcycleparts.com/products/280436-honda-22102-km1-010-hard-parts-face-drive

Definitely use threadlok (blue). I also used a lock washer and a nylock nut. Using an impact wrench to tighten can work if you have a feel for how much you are tightening the nut. I use a strap wrench and torque wrench and tighten to 80 foot pounds. I recommend using a torque wrench.

[axplayer]

Oct 26, 2010 11:04:29 GMT -6 Cruiser said:

Hi axplayer. The belt and weights are the same that came with my scoot. Here is a link for the variator fan. It's a genuine Honda part, so you know it's good stuff:

www.cheapcycleparts.com/products/280436-honda-22102-km1-010-hard-parts-face-drive

Definitely use threadlok (blue). I also used a lock washer and a nylock nut. Using an impact wrench to tighten can work if you have a feel for how much you are tightening the nut. I use a strap wrench and torque wrench and tighten to 80 foot pounds. I recommend using a torque wrench.

Thx but I already purchased the face plate from the ebay vendor. I will bookmark the site for future use. As a point of reference, what model year would I look under or does it not mater as long as it's CN250?

[axplayer]

Update- I received the new variator face plate and installed it this afternoon. But the strange vibration and sound is still there. It's very funny because it only happens when the engine is engaged and while I'm riding it. There's no sound when the scooter is on the center stand. The sound starts as soon as I twist the throttle with a deep and low rattle (like a loose muffler on a car) and goes away as soon as the engine goes to idle. It's hard to determine where the sound is coming from since it needs to be driven in order to produce the sound. There's also seems to be a "bottoming out" effect now when I hit hard bumps. It feels like it's right underneath the the gas tank or in that area. Otherwise, I don't feel any slippage on the clutch or performance problems. If anything, before any of this started, she would do about 30mph (speedo) @3000rpm and now she does 35mph @3000rpm. I have a feeling that after I pull the bottom plates off I will find everything nice and secured. It would be nice to immediately see a missing nut or loose wire but I guess that would be too easy.

Any suggestions on where to start?

[Alleyoop]

Check by the rear wheel and see if anything is loose under the seat area. Could be something is rubbing, also just check around for any loose things under the seat area by the wheel. Could be your rear fender may be hitting the tire or frame.
Since you hit a pothole something could of got bent, rim, something broke by the muffler etc..
Hard to determine what it could be without hearing the sound itself.

[daver]

Ax,
Had a very similar sound from mine.. turned out that the air filter mounting screw had backed out.. you can't believe how much noise that filter bouncing around in there makes.. Be sure to check that out as well..
Good luck.. Dave