2019 NCY Variator/Drive face upgrade - no improvement at all

[2019PCX150_PA_USA]

Hello, I installed an NYC Variator, drive face and 14g rollers in my scoot and saw 0 improvement in top speed and didnt appear to have any better acceleration. I took out the 14g rollers and installed the stock rollers which weighed in at 17 grams. My top speed was unaffected and remained at 66mph hitting the limiter. I only have 1,000 miles on the scooter so the belt should still be like new. When new I could hit 70mph completely stock. I'm baffled at why there was no change in the top speed with 14 and 17g rollers. Seems like some other limit not related to the variator.

Another thing I'm disappointed with is the coating on the variator is already failing at 20 miles as shown in the pic.




Side note, I've tried to register several times previously with a gmail account but never got the the activation email.

[iceman]

Not interested in any such mods myself, but I wonder if that is a fake NCY setup - the rollers look in dire condition as if they will stick with all that crud on them (paint and dirt).

[Gil]

The outer NCY variator pulley is the one that makes the difference, in regards to top speed. The ramps on the NCY are different and have a different feel. When I installed a new MFR variator kit to replace the NCY I lost the Top speed of my scooter. The outer variator is machined down .7mm. At the spot where the boss touches the outer variator pulley. The .7mm of removed aluminum allows for the variator to close up a bit closer and that pushes the belt out just a bit more. My top speed is now ~74 mph down a steep hill, LOL. Here are some pics.

[Mel46]

First and foremost, your bike only has 1,000 miles on it. It hasn't broken in yet. Don't expect it to really show you what it can do until around 2,000 miles.

Last, the rollers do NOT increase your topend. What rollers affect Is your acceleration from a stop. The lighter the rollers, the quicker your bike will accelerate. If you are just interested in top end, just change out your variator and drive face.

Oh, one more thing...what Gil said.

By the way, Gil, I am surprised that your 2013 model doesn't do 75 mph on a straight road. Honda changed the gearing after 2013, which affected top end. That means, essentially, that the 2013 model is the fastest PCX Honda made.

My belt has a few more miles on it now, but when the belt was new my bike could hit 75 mph on a straight road, and it would hold that speed, meaning that the limiter had not kicked in yet. (It probably would have if I had tried to go any higher though).

Just as a FYI, the PCX150 is really too light for extended runs at that speed, so I have used the extra umph to keep up with the speed limit on county roads when climbing hills.

[Gil]

My local area has a lot of hills, so there aren't that many flat roads where the scoot can slowly speed up to the rev limited speed. My scoot will manage to hit ~71 most days, since the weather also plays a role on the top speed. The few times that I have manages to hit 75 MPH with the NCY kit was with the wind on my back, LOL. Because of that my usual top speed varies from 66 MPH to ~71 MPH. Now that I think about it I think the top speed reported by the speedometer down a local steel Highway hill is ~76, but going up that hill I'm down to 55 MPH, LOL. I'll do a write up on what I found out later on.

[Conelite]

First and foremost, your bike only has 1,000 miles on it. It hasn't broken in yet. Don't expect it to really show you what it can do until around 2,000 miles.

I dont know if I would agree with this. I threw on my NCY with sliders and NCY Driveface on my 400mile PCX and it was smashing 70+ with ease.

For OP. You need to go much lighter than 14g to notice good acceleration IMO. Im down to I think 10.5G sliders with great performance.

Like Gil stated, the Dirveface helps with top end. You allow the Belt to ride much higher on the Pulleys. Run both NCY Variator + NCY Driveface.

[2019PCX150_PA_USA]

Thats the thing, I do have the outer drive face and no change in top speed if anything it has dropped to ~66mph. This is rev limited top speed too. I thought going too light on the rollers did impact top speed? Maybe the 2019 is different because it should have 15g stock if I'm recalling correctly but it has 17g rollers. The 14g rollers were too light and made it sound like it was screaming but need to verify with a tach. I'm currently running the 17g stock rollers in the NCY variator and drive face. Maybe a slight acceleration improvement but thats it. I was hoping for ~75mph even if it was flat and fully tucked since I'm 165# this should be realistic. I think the better option would be machining the stock variator and drive face if there is anyone out there doing that.

[Conelite]

Check your tire pressure. Also look into a tach. TTO is cheap enough and its a simple reference to see what the engine is actually doing.

Another thing to consider is the Drive Boss. I never compared it on the PCX but I know on the Ruckus, different bosses are different length. That plays a huge roll on how much the Variator can move. Compare the 2 and see if there is any difference in length.

Screenshot_20200814-080202_Gallery.jpg (351.46 KiB) Viewed 19315 times

[2019PCX150_PA_USA]

The variator and drive face did not come with a drive boss - I'm using the Honda one. Should it have come with one?

[Conelite]

I'm sorry, to be completely honest, I don't remember if it did...

If that's the case NM on that part lol. I wonder if 2019 has a different gearing ( I Doubt).

[fish]

Check your tire pressure. Also look into a tach. TTO is cheap enough and its a simple reference to see what the engine is actually doing.

Another thing to consider is the Drive Boss. I never compared it on the PCX but I know on the Ruckus, different bosses are different length. That plays a huge roll on how much the Variator can move. Compare the 2 and see if there is any difference in length.

Screenshot_20200814-080202_Gallery.jpg

Tach also dispays your highest RPM achieved when you switch off.
Which is handy...after a run.
Fish

[Gil]

Some peeps here have mentioned that the newer PCX models have different final gearing. After the 2013, I believe that, the gearing was made shorter and that would limit the top speed that the scoot could achieve with the NCY kit. Not sure though. Does anyone here have any info on the gearing?

[springer1]

Check your tire pressure. Also look into a tach. TTO is cheap enough and its a simple reference to see what the engine is actually doing.

Another thing to consider is the Drive Boss. I never compared it on the PCX but I know on the Ruckus, different bosses are different length. That plays a huge roll on how much the Variator can move. Compare the 2 and see if there is any difference in length.

Screenshot_20200814-080202_Gallery.jpg

Tach also dispays your highest RPM achieved when you switch off.
Which is handy...after a run.
Fish

I believe they also have a tach with a CHT - Cylinder Bead Temperature gauge. Easy to install, just uses a thin ring that fits with the Spark Plug’s crush washer. Gives a real time reading of the plug / head temp.

[Mel46]

One final thing. When I installed my NCY setup nothing happened for the first few days. Then one day it just all came together nicely and started working. I am not certain that this will hold true for the 2019 model, but on mine I believe that it just took some time and distance for the variator to seat, if that makes sense. Some other members mentioned the same outcome on their bikes as well, though those were earlier bikes like mine. It would not hurt your system if you just left the setup in place and rode it a little longer to see if this happens on your bike as well. If it doesn't, I don't have another answer for you. Sorry.

[2019PCX150_PA_USA]

I appreciate all the feedback. Something must be different with the 2019 and I'm surprised there are not more posts about this. The rollers weighed 17g each so that's more than older models had at 15g. I've read nothing but positive comments on the upgrade by others.

[iceman]

I weigh 80kg's, so not too heavy I suppose. But, as per the 1st post, your variator bits are falling apart after not many miles (20!) so that in itself seems bad. Poor quality or fake goods?

[Conelite]

Here is the only thing i found comparing years. This is the gearing set from 2013 vs 2018. Definitly different. Hey look at that, the 2019 is even shorter of a gear.

Now we know. So what you can do is spend less than $100 for a full set of gears from a 2013-2018 bike and gain like 10mph.

13_18.png (204.75 KiB) Viewed 19208 times

19.png (204.87 KiB) Viewed 19208 times

[Gil]

Here is the only thing i found comparing years. This is the gearing set from 2013 vs 2018. Definitly different. Hey look at that, the 2019 is even shorter of a gear.

Nicely done, look at the final gear for the 2019, it's 43 tooth. So even shorter gearing.

The Kitaco gear kit might work with the 2019 PCX, It's 51T. I bought it for my PCX, but I haven't installed it. I bought it from webike.com .

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-PCX125-P ... 3464884278

[Gil]

Hello, I installed an NYC Variator, drive face and 14g rollers in my scoot and saw 0 improvement in top speed and didnt appear to have any better acceleration.

I didn't catch that you installed the drive face too on your PCX. I wonder if that means that the stock variator and drive face is better than the NCY variator kit. The yellow coating also fell of on the my old NCY variator.

[2019PCX150_PA_USA]

Would that be the output shaft for the rear pulley? Wouldn't there have to be another corresponding gear that needs changed as well? I've never taken a belt drive machine apart like this.