Variator work - had great difficulty removing the cover!

[iceman]

Having fitted new rollers and belt last year, I believed I had fitted the rollers correctly but alas no, they are supposed to be fitted plastic face pointing anti-clockwise all round.

All was going well until I found I could not remove the variator cover - all bolts out but it was not budging on the lhs. After over half and hour I thought I was going to snap it but with lots of prying and effort, it finally came off.

It seems the lhs dowel is now rusted in place - it will not budge and was causing the removal issues (aluminium or not, it shows mild rust around it where it fits in and is stuck). No idea what has happened as it has come out easily many times before and nothing else shows any sign of problems - all clean, no dust, no rust as expected. I could not move it with grips, so decided to drill it down to just flush from the inner surface. It's not that important and all is back together now and working fine.

One bonus is that since the roller replacement, I always had a slight wheeze once the clutch disengaged, nothing major but never had that before. Now that I have placed the rollers facing the other direction, that slight noise is gone! Took it for a long ride and no more wheeze.

[alx123]

If you haven't opened it for almost a year, expect it to be a little hard to open. Mine doesn't come off as easily every time that I have to use a screwdriver to help pry it open.

[iceman]

If you haven't opened it for almost a year, expect it to be a little hard to open. Mine doesn't come off as easily every time that I have to use a screwdriver to help pry it open.

The 1st time I tried the bike was over 4 years old and it was awquard to come off but it did come off fairly easily - and many times after as I had trouble undoing the variator nut (so tight) - now I have a home made plate and 10 bolts that works a treat with a breaker bar.

It was not just age, but something happened to the lhs dowel - still cannot believe it would not turn or pull out even after lots of drilling and charred dowel. But hey, for a '14 reg it runs great, still on original plug and front wheel (22K miles later) and never did the valve check or post 600 mile dealer service.

The meter shows over 140mpg but actual fuel in / trip is a bit lower but still 133-135mpg now summer is approaching - and that is with Asda 95 ron fuel!

[fish]

If you haven't opened it for almost a year, expect it to be a little hard to open. Mine doesn't come off as easily every time that I have to use a screwdriver to help pry it open.

The 1st time I tried the bike was over 4 years old and it was awquard to come off but it did come off fairly easily - and many times after as I had trouble undoing the variator nut (so tight) - now I have a home made plate and 10 bolts that works a treat with a breaker bar.

It was not just age, but something happened to the lhs dowel - still cannot believe it would not turn or pull out even after lots of drilling and charred dowel. But hey, for a '14 reg it runs great, still on original plug and front wheel (22K miles later) and never did the valve check or post 600 mile dealer service.

The meter shows over 140mpg but actual fuel in / trip is a bit lower but still 133-135mpg now summer is approaching - and that is with Asda 95 ron fuel!

I know the valves are a nightmare on the PCX - but is the spark plug not readily accessible?
Honda made it easy on the Forza.

Fish

[iceman]

I know the valves are a nightmare on the PCX - but is the spark plug not readily accessible?
Honda made it easy on the Forza.Fish

JUst never bothered as the bike starts 1st time and runs great - all year round. I'm a bit worried I may not be able to turn it now - have to check it sometime and the coolant too as that creeps down over time.

[alx123]

My plug never gave me trouble as well but i decided to change it after 3 years and keep the old plug as a reserve.

Never had my valves check at 60,000 kms now.

I always had trouble with the cover, even in putting it back, that I messed up a couple of its metal gasket already. Good thing that gasket is dirt cheap here.

With right tools though (clutch tool and torque wrench) I could remove both the variator and the clutch nut in a few minutes without any trouble.

[iceman]

The clutch tool I bought off Ebay and is shown in many youtube videos (red handle) was useless for the variator as the two prongs were too short and the other side too large, but ok for the clutch. So I made one and I can get the variator and clutch nuts off in seconds now.

I bought a Draper torque wrench same time as the breaker bar but only use it for the major nuts - hand tighten the smaller kind.

[alx123]

I bought this..

clutchtool.jpg (6.33 KiB) Viewed 3353 times

works fine for both the variator and the clutch.

[Conelite]

The meter shows over 140mpg but actual fuel in / trip is a bit lower but still 133-135mpg now summer is approaching - and that is with Asda 95 ron fuel!

That cant be correct can it? I thought PCX averaged under 100mpg

[iceman]

The meter shows over 140mpg but actual fuel in / trip is a bit lower but still 133-135mpg now summer is approaching - and that is with Asda 95 ron fuel!

That cant be correct can it? I thought PCX averaged under 100mpg

Nope, only if you full throttle or drive constantly 50-60mph and/or weigh alot - driving in town (max 30mph) and major A roads (40-50mph spots) and warmer weather allows the PCX to get near or supercede the 130mpg specs - and I do not use idle stop. I weigh around 80KG's, 6ft.
I used to update fuelly but stopped doing so, but my link shows past performance. Many others have reported 120-130mpg as the PCX is great for normal riding performance. My fuelly figures and claim is real - litres in and trip miles each fill up, hence I know the fuel gauge is just marginally higher than true figures.

[Fizzy Rascal]

The meter shows over 140mpg but actual fuel in / trip is a bit lower but still 133-135mpg now summer is approaching - and that is with Asda 95 ron fuel!

That cant be correct can it? I thought PCX averaged under 100mpg

Iceman is in the UK - I believe you might be in the USA... a USA 'gallon' is only 0.83 of a UK 'gallon'.

[Yorkie150]

mine is showing 133mpg average ......

[big bear]

im getting 118 miles per gallon