. By rosiemoto (Read 11,524 times)

[monte]

have you had any experience with the KNM variator that runs two different rollers? one set of rollers are light and the other set are heavy and the roller ramps are different so you run three heavy and three light rollers at the same time?

[Alleyoop]

Yes, do not waste your money they are good for DUNE BUGGYS but not for scooters.
I bought one to try and paid a lot of money for it and sold it actually here on this forum to a guy for half the price I paid for it GARBAGE for scoots.

I even wrote a review about it on here It was a DR2 Variator.
Alleyoop

[monte]

rosiemoto. Try going to kidnme scooters web site or you tube.the info they have there on these scooters is amazing.you can also call there tech line and tom will tell you anything you want.the amount of tech info they have and share is great

[Alleyoop]

Feb 10, 2016 21:29:14 GMT -6 monte said:

rosiemoto. Try going to kidnme scooters web site or you tube.the info they have there on these scooters is amazing.you can also call there tech line and tom will tell you anything you want.the amount of tech info they have and share is great

That is who I bought it from they do not work good with scooters, like I said I wrote up a review on the DR2 Paid $116.00 sold it for half.
Alleyoop

[monte]

how about the so called racing variators that are 115 or 117 centemeters verses the stock i believe 97 cm variator.

[Alleyoop]

Those are different the 150s use the 115mm they do have some around 90 or so for the 50s.

[Alleyoop]

scooterdoc.proboards.com/thread/8397/dr2-variator

[monte]

thanks.I am new to the forum so I haven't quite mastered getting around in it yet.know a lot about harley but have never messed with variations.After your reply yesterday I read a lot of other posts and I read your post from 2010 I believe about the knm setup.From what I have been reading it seems that the koso variator with about 13 gram weights is a good place to start? In the future I will try to read more before I open my mouth. thanks.Monte.

[rosiemoto]

Okay just retested the full set of 11g Dr Pulley sliders with Koso variator... they're too light so my first test was right. Acceleration is nice at higher throttle, but low-mid throttle feels weak/revvy/slippy. I don't think it's pushing the belt all the way out either, so loss of top speed probably.

My 12g cheap $9 sliders just keep spinning in and out of place when they feel like it. Literally one could be flipped at one stop sign, then the next stop sign it'll flip itself back into place. So I guess it's true, if you're gonna get sliders, don't cheap out on them unless you only wanna use them for testing...these cheap ones I have are consistently good for maybe 30 miles each time I re-put them in lol. They don't appear worn, it's just they're flipping around one at a time. I haven't seen more than one flipped at once though, but I've had 2 different ones do it already.

I'm going to try the 13g rollers with Koso variator now, since it's something I haven't tried yet. I'm expecting it to be too heavy, but who knows... might be interesting.

[Alleyoop]

So from your experimenting so far it may be 12g is what you may wind up with. Which by the way is what I found on mine works the best on my setup. I have 12g DR. Pulley Sliders have had them in for over 2 years now.
Alleyoop

[rosiemoto]

Yeah I think the 12g sliders is what it wants on mine too.

SURPRISING RESULTS for me: I just tested 13g rollers (actually they all weigh 12.7-12.8g) inside the Koso variator... worked pretty well actually, and it surprised me that it felt nearly identical to the 12g sliders up until 45mph or so. Low throttle 5k rpm cruise was still there, and acceleration had same exact RPMs (6.1k WOT), BUT the difference was I ran out of gearing a bit sooner and it started doing a very obvious climb in RPM. My speedometer is out at the moment but by feel I'd guess around 45 is where it ran out of gearing with the 13g rollers.

I'm surprised the 13g rollers are giving me the same RPMs as 12g sliders?? I was thinking with sliders you had to go heavier to get same RPMs as rollers... in other words I thought rollers "acted heavier" than sliders. Is it the other way around then?

What's confusing me even more, in the K&S variator I got a big difference between 12g sliders and 13g rollers... the 12g sliders were too light and lost top speed, but the 13g rollers were slightly light/revvy but still gave me top speed.

[Alleyoop]

Yes the K&S is a variator for top end speed and it likes little heavier weights to get the belt to climb high.

ROLLERS 1 gram up or down will change the RPMS from 500-600.
SLIDERS 1 gram up or down will change the RPMS from 200-350.

Since the tachs are not very accurate you can hardly tell the difference between a couple hundred rpms.

and acceleration had same exact RPMs (6.1k WOT), BUT the difference was I ran out of gearing a bit sooner and it started doing a very obvious climb in RPM

PERFECT that is what is supposed to do, it will run out of variator ratio in other words that should happen around 40 or so mph at that time the BELT has climbed as high as it will go, BUT then after that the RPMS SHOULD CLIMB and it is picking up speed.
Alleyoop

[rosiemoto]

That's strange, with the Koso variator in, I switched from 12g sliders (cheap) to 11g sliders (Dr Pulley) and I got like 1,000 RPM higher... 

That's why I was wondering a couple posts ago and asked if Dr Pulley is any different for RPMs vs cheap sliders, because you and others say it should only be making ~200-350rpm difference, but going 1g lighter makes a drastic change for me. And then going 1g heavier to ROLLERS gave me the same RPM. Are the cheap sliders possibly just designed in a way that they not only flip themselves around, but give you inconsistent results too, even if they weigh the correct grams?

Because this is my results and it just seems strange:
11g Dr Pulley sliders: Way too light by like 1,000 RPM
12g cheap sliders: Just right
13g rollers (more like 12.8): Just right

[Alleyoop]

So looks like 12 gram Dr. pulley sliders will be your cup of tea. What I found is find the gram rollers you like then GO 1 GRAM heavier on your Sliders and the rpms should be close BUT you gain with the 1 gram heavier on the top end and the rpms should be very close to the rollers.
Now I do not know but it appears your cheap sliders are causing more problems than we can see while in the variator. I mean if some are flipping around what other things are happening that we do not know about causing the different results

Keep this in mind, from day to day or even on the same day a motor will produce less and or more rpms depending on the temp and air density during a single day. So do not expect a motor to perform the same all the time, run it during the hot time of the day and the motor will loose some power now run it after the sun goes down and a little breeze and you will say WOW, where did that power come from. Even if all of a sudden it gets overcast lots of clouds bloating out the sunshine cools things off enough that a motor runs different just like when it rains motors like COOL not HOT.
Alleyoop

[rosiemoto]

Interesting... I think I experienced exactly what you're talking about when it went from 80s to 50s outside. Also at night time, yep. Does that happen for all bikes or just air cooled ones?

I still have the 13g rollers in for now and I noticed its behavior changed a little since I first put them in. It seems like there's always a small "break-in period" after I mess with the variator and I forgot not to come to conclusions until a few rides! In my last post I said the 13g rollers seemed the same as the 12g sliders...well today different story! I've gone about 30 miles since, and now I can definitely feel the slight over-heaviness of the 13g rollers in the Koso variator; just in one day it's changed about 300 rpm lower overall, weaker acceleration, and developed a quick gear shift at 10-15mph. How come this "break-in" thing happens, or is it just me? Will be ordering the 12g Dr Pulley sliders soon!

By the way, a testimony from me about tire pressure! I think it just hit me how drastic of a change just a few psi of air can make! My bike was feeling kinda sluggish lately and like the tires were "pancaking" against the ground and engine braking was a bit strong (often having to accelerate to not stop so fast)... but when I measured the tires it was only 2-3 psi low on both, so I thought nothing really about it. Today I decided to fill them up (from 31r/30f to 34r/32f) and WOW the difference is big and it's like a new bike again. Turning, acceleration, cruise throttle position, engine braking, everything is just better.

TIP for some who might not know: if you're afraid of the air machines at gas stations like I am, you can use a bicycle pump to fill up scooter tires. Or at least I do and it's worked great. I use a foot operated one from Walmart. Mine's got a PSI dial on it but it's not totally accurate, so I set it roughly where I want it, then recheck with a standard tire gauge and adjust as needed.