[Jay]

The Winter, 2005 issue of Scoot! magazine has an article "Tuning Your Automatic Scooter" which features the Majesty 400 as the test subject.

The article discusses the effect on performance of changing the variator and/or roller weights, and reports the quarter mile and 0-60 mph times before and after switching from the stock 15g roller weights to 10g weights.

Before (stock):
1/4 mile - 17.03 sec @ 69 mph [110 km/h]
0-60 mph - 9.74 sec

After (modified):
1/4 mile - 16.01 sec @ 79 mph [126 km/h]
0-60 mph - 7.37 sec

The author says "All of our numbers were downloaded from a GPS calibrated Data logger. The runs were made in the same direction and on the same straight track minutes apart. The best run of three was used for each example."

I would be cautious about taking the "before" data as indicting absolute results, since the accuracy of the measurement device is unknown. The test results are best viewed as showing relative differences between a stock and a modified Maj.

 

[Willy Mo]

Great info! Thanks a million!!!

 

[Rubble]

Before (stock):
1/4 mile - 17.03 sec @ 69 mph [110 km/h]
0-60 mph - 9.74 sec

After (modified):
1/4 mile - 16.01 sec @ 79 mph [126 km/h]
0-60 mph - 7.37 sec

I would be cautious about taking the "before" data as indicting absolute results, since the accuracy of the measurement device is unknown. The test results are best viewed as showing relative differences between a stock and a modified Maj.

Regardless of how accurate the before data is, a difference of more than 2 seconds in 0-60 times is nothing to be sneezed at. It would be interesting to find out what you give up in fuel mileage for the faster accelleration.

Dave

 

[HRHQMaj]

Dang! I was about to post this info; then decided to do a search first.
Interesting, eh, this quest for more power/speed.

Good thing I realized in the long past that I gotta purge myself of this man's trait; hence rode a Hayabusa for 3 years and finally got tired of scaring myself shatless everytime.

It's nice to ride relaxed and not wondering if this is your last day on earth.

 

[JeffR]

Hi,

I just went out today to test my 0-60 time. I did 2 runs at the same location in opposite directions and the first time was 10.51 and the second time was 10-53. I had a digital stopwatch and as soon as I punched the throttle I hit the start button. My time is about 3/4 of a second slower but I have the Givi Windshield with the Laminar Lip and a Givi V46 top case on it too. And I weigh about 215lbs too. I'm going to get the Malossi variator in about 3-4 weeks and then I will go out to the same place and test it again and then post it. I would say my time was very accurate since I hit the start button the same time I hit the throttle. When I hit 60 (indicated) I hit the stop button. I thought maybe my time would have been faster than it was though. But it was fun to do it.

Jeff

 

[Ishabaka]

This may be a dumb question but where can you get the 10g roller weights?

 

[Rubble]

This may be a dumb question but where can you get the 10g roller weights?

Check out http://www.battlescooterstore.com

In the product overview section you will find weights for the Majesty.

Dave

 

[Ishabaka]

Rubble - thanks for the help, ordered the weights!
I might be able to help other members trying to get Japanese parts.
I speak enough Japanese to get into trouble, have visited Japan (where is seems like half the population rides maxi-scooters - couple of reasons are lane-splitting is legal and Japan is one big traffic jam, and to own a car you MUST have a parking space which may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars at Japanese real estate prices - you DON'T need to have a parking space to own a scooter or motorcycle - and parking lots are incredibly expensive but motorcycles and scooters can park on the sidewalk anywhere - even in the Ginza in Tokyo).
Anyways, I CAN'T read Japanese characters but can write Japanese in Roman letters (called Romaji). Most Japanese folks speak some English (it used to be a mandatory subject in middle and high school, now it is mandatory in elementary school as well).
Couple of important things - you must use the PINK U.S. Postal service international money orders. This way your Japanese vendor will get 100% of the money you send. If you try to pay by credit card the Japanese bank will impose a $40-$50 transaction fee on the vendor!
The money orders are only denominated in dollars so be sure to agree on the dollar/yen exchange rate with the vendor before borrowing. Make sure your parts are sent air-mail. The Japanese Postal Service is very efficient and you will get your parts in 7-8 days. Surface mail is sent by ship and takes 3 months!
Politeness is VERY important in Japanese culture so be sure to be extremely polite in all your communications.
I'd be happy to try and help out any members trying to order parts from Japan - John Foster - (hen na gaijin) jya mata!
P.S. - you will make a lifelong friend of the vendor if after you get your order you send a small gift. ANYTHING American is ultra cool in JP - a t-shirt, pin, whatever. Just don't send Disney stuff because they have Tokyo Disneyland so they can get all the Disney stuff they want.
I am into music and have ordered a lot of music stuff from Japan. Sending gifts when I got my order has resulted in super service and a lot of "freebies" along with my orders - gift exchanging is another essential part of Japanese culture. Of yeah, and THE most polite way to say thank you is "Domo arigatou gozaimashita".
Also ALWAYS add -san to the person's name you are communicating with - this means "honorable" example: Dear Mr. Suzuki-san, I would like to order.....
But NEVER add -san to YOUR name - this is called "sanning yourself" and is extremely rude.

 

[apb]

Not sure what to do... the Malossi kit comes with 12g weights. I do not want to throw my money away on the wrong weights.
Question, Would you:
1) Simply get the Malossi or Polini variator
2) Get the 12g weights (like the Malossi kit uses)
3) Get the 10g weights since the test suggests it

I need more info...
THanks !!

 

[Rubble]

Get the 10 gram wieghts. They are cheap, easy to install and as the article tells us, they work well. The Malossi variator will work very well too, but I'm not sure there's enough of a performance gain to justify the cost. If I needed to replace a worn variator I would go with the Malossi or other aftermarket brand.

Dave

 

[JeffR]

I will be installing my Malossi variator next week sometime. I am going to write it up here after I take it for a good ride. I am also going to check my time in the 0-60 mph run. My Majesty did 10.51 seconds in the 0-60 mph run so I will time it again when I have it installed. I heard from a few people that the performance gain is very substantial.

Jeff

 

[goodideadave]

OK, I followed the link to the variator, but I still don't understand what it does nor can I picture where it goes on the scooter.

Frankly, at first I thought it was an elaborate gag (framistan? orgasmatron?), but there are too many of you in on it. But if anyone tells me you install a variator with a left-handed monkey wrench, I'll know...

 

[gpsnut2003]

it's one of the parts of the transmission that controlls the gear ratio of the cvt. (it's the major one) the other is a similar device at the other end (rear) that acts as a slave. if the front pulley (variator) is small the rear will be large, and vice versa.

picture the gear system on a 10 speed push bike, and you will get the general idea, except that there are no "steps" in a cvt transmision, hence the name Constantly Variable Trasmision.

hope this helped you get a grip on what all the fuss is about.

im sure someone can post links to what a cvt looks like and how it works.

jason.

 

[apb]

Would someone post the Scoot! article?

 

[Jay]

Would someone post the Scoot! article?

It's not available online. You can order a copy through the Scoot! Magazine website.

 

[Burger Bob]

What Jay ommitted to mention in his first post regarding the Scoot! magazine's article on swapping rollers was that the authors of the article eventually settled on a combination of 10 gram and 13 gram rollers, to improve speed accross the board. I followed this advice, but found that the gearing was too low for my liking. I felt as though I was riding a dirt bike! This might be great if the scoot is only used around town, but most of my riding is on the open road and the higher revs up at highway speeds was unacceptable to me, so I switched to a combo of 15 and 13 gram rollers and this, along with a Leo Vince exhaust has really made a marked improvement to what I thought was a pretty sluggish stock setup. I really enjoy my Majesty now!

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Rubble]

What Jay ommitted to mention in his first post regarding the Scoot! magazine's article on swapping rollers was that the authors of the article eventually settled on a combination of 10 gram and 13 gram rollers, to improve speed accross the board. I followed this advice, but found that the gearing was too low for my liking. I felt as though I was riding a dirt bike! This might be great if the scoot is only used around town, but most of my riding is on the open road and the higher revs up at highway speeds was unacceptable to me, so I switched to a combo of 15 and 13 gram rollers and this, along with a Leo Vince exhaust has really made a marked improvement to what I thought was a pretty sluggish stock setup. I really enjoy my Majesty now!

Cheers,

Bob

Thanks for the info Bob.