DIY Chinese scooter variator repair

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of the variator of a Chinese scooter from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Image - DIY Chinese scooter variator repair

A scooter variator is like a gearbox for a car. In principle, this is the gearbox. The rear variator is a manually operated continuously variable transmission. As a rule, a V-belt variator is installed on all modern scooters. The peculiarity of its work is that it works depending on the engine speed and despite the number of loads. If the rear variator of the scooter is worn out, it is easy to feel it while driving. The scooter loses its smoothness, acceleration speed and top speed decrease. The scooter is not comfortable to ride for the reasons mentioned above.

The rear variator of a scooter is also called a centrifugal clutch. The principle of operation of the centrifugal clutch is quite simple. At certain engine speeds, the clutch automatically connects the output shaft of the variator to the gearbox, this ensures a smooth start of the scooter from a standstill. To ensure ride comfort, the rear variator must always be in good working order.

The scooter variator (centrifugal clutch) usually serves more than one season. In Japanese scooters, this can be 5 or more years. But even in spite of such excellent service, sooner or later he becomes unfit for service. To make it last longer, you need to disassemble the scooter variator and assess its condition before each season. Even for a small tuning of the variator, it must be completely disassembled.

To disassemble the variator, you need to remove the variator cover, it is screwed on with several bolts. For example, in a Honda dio scooter, the variator cover is screwed on with 6 bolts for which you need a 13 head.

Now that you have removed the variator cover, proceed to disassembly. It is not necessary to remove the variator belt.

That is why we disassembled the variator of the moped (scooter). Now you need to check the variator rollers for wear.

Replacing the variator rollers on a scooter is needed if:

  • Replacing production
  • If the plastic shirt has defects such as chips or scratches.
  • If the connection of the plastic jacket and the metal sleeve is poor
  • If the shape of the variator roller is not round, for example, as in the photo above.

The rollers of the rear variator are one of the main transmission parts of the scooter. The whole dynamics of the scooter is just the variator rollers and the driven pulley spring.
The main thing that characterizes the correctness of the rollers is roundness and mass.
Sometimes people are looking for an answer to the question “what is the weight of the variator rollers". But you need to understand that the weight of the variator rollers can vary significantly. It is necessary to choose the variator rollers exactly the same as those already installed on your scooter. If you cannot find the same rollers, then you need to replace the entire scooter variator kit, because:

Video (click to play).
  • It is unacceptable to use rollers of different weights.
  • Do not allow old videos to be used with new ones at the same time. If you change the variator rollers, then only with a set.
  • Also, you cannot use variator rollers from different kits, even if they are all brand new.

15. Now that we have dealt with the rollers, it is necessary to inspect the drive pulley and its surface. We check the surface for damage and workings. The surface should be flat and the output from the variator belt should not be more than 0.5 mm. If the output is less, then it can be polished.

Next, we check the surface for other mechanical damage.

Assembling the variator takes place in the reverse order, but before that it is necessary to check that the oil seal is not damaged or leaking.If there is dirt or swamp, then we remove it all. We check the variator chamber for oil ingress, this is absolutely impossible with tolerances. If the oil seal leaks in a two-stroke engine, it will result in loss of power and interruptions in operation. Image - DIY Chinese scooter variator repair

Before putting the rollers in place, it is necessary to lubricate them with a thin layer of grease or other grease on the variator rollers. It is also necessary to lubricate all the parts that rub. After that, we start assembling the scooter variator.