KymcoForum.com

First off, I've read and re-read all the sincere "keep your clutch and rollers stock or you'll regret it" posts on the forum and I respect those warnings.  But I'm on my second 2009 Xciting 500 and after a year riding a Majesty without any clutch chatter or take-off issues whatsoever, I'd love to get my clutch-slipping, chattering Xciting to behave like that off the line (16k on my current 500) - so question:

Is there anyone out there who has installed a Dr. Pulley Hit clutch (and sliders preferably) on their Xciting 500 with good long term results - say 5,000 miles or more without incident but with noticeable non-chatter, performance gains?

On my first 500 I CORRECTLY installed Dr. Pulley 30gr sliders with 20k of fantastic results but never tried the Hit Clutch. A lot of European 500 owners have the Hit and love it but I would like to hear from members of this forum.

Thanks in advance!

Just posted my new Tucano Urbano Leg Cover for Kymco 250/300/500  in the for sale section for $175 if anyone is interested.  It's a great accessory I shipped in from Europe that I never had a chance to use as I sold my bike. 


Check out the post: http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=12316.0

Or the Craigslist ad as I don't check here often: http://ventura.craigslist.org/mpo/4581526506.html

A year ago, idiot that I was, I was practicing on the very tight circle that California DMV makes you navigate to pass your motorcycle license test.  I dare say it's impossible to do on a 500, at least it was for me, but before I figured that out I must have done about an hour's worth of circling intermittently applying the rear brake.  Of course, that heated up the clutch bell something fierce and the second I left the lot I heard some squealing and felt the belt slipping on takeoff. For a year I 've been disassembling the CVT, using Emory cloth to scuff the pads and the bell, only to have the squealing/ slipping disappear for 4-5 days at most.  I noticed the bell was bluish in tint, knew that was bad but didn't change the bell.  Well, sick of the squealing, I got my new clutch bell in today and it's a whole new bike!  Much faster, smoother on takeoff, no more juddering and thank God - no more Squealing. 

I don't think it was the glazing so much as that I overheated it so bad that the metal broke down and the bell probably was out of round.  Regardless, if any of you have squealing, slipping issues, obviously 1) Clean your variator, check your rollers/ sliders. 2) Check that your belt is good and within wear spec. 3) Inspect your clutch pads and scuff the glaze off them making sure they are more than 1mm in thickness. Mine were 3.1mm. If yours are less than 1mm you need new pads and if all this doesn't help then inspect your bell. If it's blue or highly discolored go ahead and replace it. It's a $60 part and it will save you a ton of aggravation.

Pics of old and new bell attached.  I made a video of the whole CVT assembly reassembly that I will post later on You Tube as there aren't too many around showing the intricacies of that job on our scoots.  FWIW: 5,000 miles on my Dr. Pulley Sliders and they look brand new.  Sliders were the best $50 investment I ever made (besides the $60 for the bell)

I was just trolling for some info on the European Xciting 500ri and I see that they have been delisted from the Kymco Germany, Luxemburg, Spain and UK websites.  Appears the Xciting 400i has taken its place over there. Sad. Wonder how long before they are discontinued here and in Canada?

My clutch bell is blue from overheating (don't ask) and my clutch pads are a bit low, and now that I've read the 500 variators aren't hardened aluminum and also aren't the highest quality in the world, I'm looking at alternatives.  I'm loathe to mix and match, i.e. Hit Clutch and Kymco variator and belt or Malossi vario with Kymco clutch and Malossi belt.  I'm thinking the safest way to go is an all Malossi system or an all Dr. pulley system.  On the Italian forum they do this a lot but I want feedback from anyone on this forum who's modded their EFI Xciting 500 this way as I am sure it will respond differently than the carbed 500s.  Any advice and performance experiences from someone who's done it would be appreciated.  The video that always makes me think this is a good way to go is here:

The guy's running a Malossi vario, malossi belt and Malossi clutch spring presumably in a Kymco clutch.  But he's got a carbed version with a Leo Vince. He's getting 180km (111mph)+ indicated (probably 165 actual) at 8k and hits 150km (93mph) at 7k . Pretty impressive. There's no way my stock 09 Ri will do that.   

My idle's fluctuating on my 2009ri. When cold I'm up at 2k, as it warms it drops to 1400 where it should be. After an hour or so of driving it drops to about 1050. It's much  happier at 1400.  Plug is new, it does this with any grade of gas and I've added sea foam a couple of times - no change. I've only got 7k on the bike and haven't checked the valves but hate to tackle that when the manual doesn't call for a valve check until 16k.  I have overfilled it a couple times but when I checked the evap circuit the lines were dry.  Electrical is solid, new battery and it charges great. Is there anyway to adjust the idle on the injected 500s? Anyone else have an RI with a fluctuating idle problem or is it just a 'feature'?

With much trepidation, especially after reading about Sissy Mary's horrifying experience with Dr. Pulley sliders, I decided to install a set of 28x22 30 gram Dr. Pulley sliders into my 2009 Xciting RI ABS.  I have 3 words to describe the difference - "Night and Day".  The bike is much faster throughout the entire power band. I no longer have to 'gun' it to get out of a jam.  I have read things like "eats my belt", "loss of engine breaking" "decreases mpg" but weirdly enough I only read these things on this forum.  No negatives on the EU or Asian forums re: Dr Pulley sliders. So I wanted to post my experience as a counter to all the negative reviews.  Let me address the negatives one by one.

'Eats My Belt'

I have no doubt that it happened to Sissy Mary, twice apparently. But I am highly skeptical the mechanic put his variator on correctly. The Xciting's variator is a PITA.  There are three washers, each one has to be in exactly the right position. The bevel on the inner washer HAS to be facing the engine. The next washer slides on next to the belt, and you have to torque it down slowly and just right so that the belt rides up above that washer allowing it to get squeezed in between the two variator plates. Only then can you torque it to spec. And an impact wrench doesn't cut it. You should really use a torque wrench and a variator tool to torque it to 135 per the manual. The first two times I used the impact wrench it SPUN off at high rpm on the center stand.  So I learned my lesson, I hand wrench the variator nut while looking in between the variator plates with a flashlight so I can SEE that the center washer is compressed tightly between the plates and the belt is free. Then I torque down the nut.  No problems since.

'Loss of Engine Breaking'

I can imagine this happening more with the 26 gram sliders, but with the 30 gram sliders I noticed maybe 5% less engine breaking. Nothing that bugged me and certainly worth the sacrifice for the huge increase in quickness up to 6500 rpm.

'Decreases MPG'

The 30 gram weights do not decrease my MPG at all, if anything it increases MPG by 1 mpg or so. With the sliders, you just have to learn to drive it different. You only need to gently roll the throttle and it is much more responsive throughout the entire power band. No need to gun it, ever.

With the 30 gram sliders you will wind out about 300-500 rpm higher until you reach the highest gear ratio of the CVT then it will be exactly the same as stock for a given speed. At 70mph you will be exactly the same as stock rollers only you will get there much quicker without having to gun it.  Where it does get tricky is at 55mph. At 55 I used to run at about 5200 rpm. With the 30 grams sliders it runs at about 5800 because it hasn't moved up to the higher gearing yet. The trick to alleviate this is to rev up to 62mph or so and slowly back off the throttle till you get back down to 55mph. The CVT will stay at the higher gearing at that point and the revs will drop way down. It's another step and a bit annoying but it works and for me a fair tradeoff for the extra quickness.

Around town it's massively more responsive and safer as I can power out of a jam with just a miniscule amount of throttle.  At 65mph-75mph, rpms are the same as stock but you get there a lot quicker with smooth throttle response.  I now slowly roll the throttle to quickly get to 65mph rather than gunning the throttle to get to 65mph.  I also run a pair of Nelson Rigg soft saddle bags (CL-955s) and they're huge (27 liters). The added torque from the higher revving sliders really helps counter the wind resistance from those bags up to 65mph.

If you want more power from your 500 and feel confident getting your variator back on correctly, I would suggest giving the 30 gram (or even the 31 gram) Dr. Pulley sliders a try.  It's well worth the 55 bucks and a helluva lot cheaper than a pipe or an air box.

I know another member complained his sliders were shot after 8000 miles. For the kind of speed and fun factor increase I'm seeing, I'm happy to change my sliders every 4000 miles if necessary.  The newfound oomph on my 500 has stopped me from coveting the My Road 700 or the BMW 650, so I figure I saved a few thousand right there.

Just my 2 cents. I will report back when I have 4k on these sliders. 

Many thanks to all the great posters on this forum! I wouldn't have taken a chance on this scoot without the resources available here.