Faster acceleration at lower speeds

[MikeP]

No issues with water in relation to the tach placement. Also I fed the wire thru the steering column. There was no need to drill any holes.

[nzmike]

@MikeP - Many thanks for your posts on this.... very educational for a PCX noob like me.

I am picking up my brand new Siena Red 2015 PCX150 tomorrow and was planning to fit the Malossi Multivar 2000 and the kevlar belt as you have (probably at the first service which I'm guessing is 1000km/600m) but I saw from your post on page 1 that you also got the Maxi Delta clutch set.... is this a requirement when doing this mod? If not, is there a danger the stock clutch will fail over time with the faster acceleration and potential increase in top speed? Did you also put stiffer clutch springs in (I've read this is advisable)?

I have read a lot about the Malossi Multivar 2000 and they seem excellent (in Europe they seem to be the number one choice of variator) but just a bit confused about *exactly* what I need to buy to get everything I need to do the upgrade properly so the engine and clutch are not wearing prematurely... any further advice you (or anyone else) could give would be much appreciated.

Also what size rollers did you use? I am mainly wanting a little better acceleration from standstill and at low to medium speeds... not looking so much for top speed increase as I'm likely almost never the bike on a freeway for any more than 15 minutes.... though I wouldn't complain if I did get a bit more top-end :-)

[sendler2112]

I am picking up my brand new Siena Red 2015 PCX150 tomorrow

Just ride it for a while to see what it can do before you start ordering parts.

[nzmike]

Yeah, I think you have a valid point - I'm probably being a bit hasty.
Besides, I just spoke to my dealer about getting the variator fitted and they told me that replacing any engine or gearbox components within the warranty period (12 months) will void it so it looks like I will have to wait a year anyway. :-(
However, at least by that time I will know a lot more about the bike and therefore what mods I need and also what to buy, how to fit them etc.
In the meantime I'll have to settle for cosmetic things like footplate covers, alloy brake levers etc. :-)

[Valiant]

@MikeP - Many thanks for your posts on this.... very educational for a PCX noob like me.

I am picking up my brand new Siena Red 2015 PCX150 tomorrow and was planning to fit the Malossi Multivar 2000 and the kevlar belt as you have (probably at the first service which I'm guessing is 1000km/600m) but I saw from your post on page 1 that you also got the Maxi Delta clutch set.... is this a requirement when doing this mod? If not, is there a danger the stock clutch will fail over time with the faster acceleration and potential increase in top speed? Did you also put stiffer clutch springs in (I've read this is advisable)?

The clutch doesn't need to be touched for the most part. If anything, lighter rollers mean higher rpms at low speeds, which should cut down a lot on the lag before the clutch engages. The belt would actually wear faster from the faster acceleration, I'm just not sure how much faster. I'd expect you could still go a few thousand miles before that becomes an issue, and that only affects top speed by maybe 2-3 mph.

Clutch shouldn't need to be touched unless you seriously screw with the gearing like I did. That ended up dropping the pulling rpm to the point where I had significant lag before the clutch engaged.

I have read a lot about the Malossi Multivar 2000 and they seem excellent (in Europe they seem to be the number one choice of variator) but just a bit confused about *exactly* what I need to buy to get everything I need to do the upgrade properly so the engine and clutch are not wearing prematurely... any further advice you (or anyone else) could give would be much appreciated.

It's doubtful anything you do to the transmission would cause the engine to "wear" prematurely. You could get a tachometer and play with the weights until you get close to 8500 pulling rpm(the number you get at full throttle when accelerating).

Also what size rollers did you use? I am mainly wanting a little better acceleration from standstill and at low to medium speeds... not looking so much for top speed increase as I'm likely almost never the bike on a freeway for any more than 15 minutes.... though I wouldn't complain if I did get a bit more top-end :-)

Popular choices are 12-13g. I used 13g myself.

[nzmike]

Thanks valiant, very useful info re the clutch - so when I do the upgrade I think I'd just get the variator kit and the Kevlar belt... but I really don't want to risk my warranty so it will have to wait 12 months.

In the meantime I will probably put a custom pipe on it instead as I don't believe that would affect the warranty of the engine or gearbox. I really like the Takegawa oval silver one and it's a pretty reasonable price too. The Leo Vince or Arrow would be my first choice but they're both way too expensive to justify at this stage.

Anyway, until the warranty is up I'm just going to enjoy riding her and not think too much about engine or gearing improvements for a while.

BTW, how do you install a tachometer on the PCX150? I did google it but I couldn't find anything - I'd quite like to add one as I'm always wondering what the revs are.

[Valiant]

Thanks valiant, very useful info re the clutch - so when I do the upgrade I think I'd just get the variator kit and the Kevlar belt... but I really don't want to risk my warranty so it will have to wait 12 months.

If you can do the install yourself, it wouldn't be too hard to switch the stock part back in if you ever have to bring it in for warranty work. As well, the actual service of your dealer or whoever is authorized to perform warranty service also matters. My dealer charged me nearly $600 to install a Takegawa exhaust, an NCY variator, and to do an oil change. They also took 2 days to actually do it.

Needless to say, if something breaks down, I'd eat the cost and use my scooter shop instead of my dealer.

In the meantime I will probably put a custom pipe on it instead as I don't believe that would affect the warranty of the engine or gearbox. I really like the Takegawa oval silver one and it's a pretty reasonable price too. The Leo Vince or Arrow would be my first choice but they're both way too expensive to justify at this stage.

Would they even give enough of a performance difference over the Takegawa for the cost? I always figured you'd need a big bore kit and a performance camshaft in order to get the most out of a derestricted intake/exhaust.

I personally had my exhaust installed along with the variator, so I can't say for sure how much power, if any, the exhaust contributed.

Anyway, until the warranty is up I'm just going to enjoy riding her and not think too much about engine or gearing improvements for a while.

I suppose it's better to actually remember how your bike ran in stock form .

BTW, how do you install a tachometer on the PCX150? I did google it but I couldn't find anything - I'd quite like to add one as I'm always wondering what the revs are.

The how for me would probably be to bring it into my scooter shop, though they forgot to install it the last time I had them stick a big bore kit in there .

http://kosonorthamerica.com/instructions/BA005015.pdf

Regarding that model, it should tie into the spark plug wire. Which makes sense(and would make it accurate), every time the spark plug fires off, it reads that. The device itself is usually strung through the handlebar post so it sits either on your handlebars or your dash. Installation itself can be labor intensive because you have to remove one panel to take off another and so on.

[wingz]

I only had to remove the spark plug access cover to install my tach.
Once you have the tach fitted, you can do some measurements and calculate the optimum slider mass.
For your application I would get sliders only. No other mods necessary.

I installed 11.5g sliders and they are close enough for now (a bit on the heavy side) long before I had a tach.

[Valiant]

I only had to remove the spark plug access cover to install my tach.
Once you have the tach fitted, you can do some measurements and calculate the optimum slider mass.
For your application I would get sliders only. No other mods necessary.

I installed 11.5g sliders and they are close enough for now (a bit on the heavy side) long before I had a tach.

That access cover is in front of the left foot peg right?

How'd you manage to string the wires all the way down there without removing the rest of the panels?

[wingz]

Yes on the left, right.
I poked wire through with a stick and secured with cable ties where i could reach.
Perhaps not the best way, but I was lazy.

[tbln930]

I did the same thing. Used two hangers straightened to fish them through. Took about ten minutes. I even have photos on here posted of how to do it. I put the wire through the existing bike cable/wire hangers and a few extra ties.

[Pcxdemon]

When you usually buy a tach you would get supplied two option for connecting for the signal. One will be a wire to coil/wrap around ignition coil or a another wire that has a male/female loop conector so you can plug it directly in to the ignition coil to obtail a signal,its the best and most solid way to get the signal for the tacho. You have to loop plug it on to the right side of the two coil connector plugs looking from the airbox side of the scooter.

[nzmike]

Thanks for the info re the tacho everyone - will put that on the list of simple mods I can make :-)

[Scoot_FIN]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have a question related to the Malossi Multivar 2000 that has been discussed in this thread.

The original belt's dimensions are 22x10x816, right? But on Malossi store the PCX 125/150 belt (ie. Malossi X K belt item number 6114895) has listed dimensions of 22x10x835 mm 30°. Those of you who have this variator installed, have you also replaced the original shorter belt with this recommended longer belt? Furhermore, if I replace the original belt with this longer one, what will happen? Better acceleration? Higher top speed? I really don't know, but I suppose more top speed is the right answer.

BR from Finland, where summer is just about to arrive.

[buddy1976]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have a question related to the Malossi Multivar 2000 that has been discussed in this thread.

The original belt's dimensions are 22x10x816, right? But on Malossi store the PCX 125/150 belt (ie. Malossi X K belt item number 6114895) has listed dimensions of 22x10x835 mm 30°. Those of you who have this variator installed, have you also replaced the original shorter belt with this recommended longer belt? Furhermore, if I replace the original belt with this longer one, what will happen? Better acceleration? Higher top speed? I really don't know, but I suppose more top speed is the right answer.

BR from Finland, where summer is just about to arrive.

Since i have installed my malossi belt i have noticed no improvements, in fact stock belt gave me a higher max speed, 78mph on the speedo with stock belt 75mph with the malossi kevlar belt

[Scoot_FIN]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I guess I'll better save my money and not order Malossi belt.

Just a moment ago I changed the clutch spring (yellow) that came with the kit, but have not had the time to test it yet. "One clutch spring does not PCX a rocket make", but every little bit helps! Thanks again!