Performance Improvements - Let's be Realistic
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 2:04 am
First off - a big Shout Out to list member az_slynch of Tucson for his unselfish guidance, advice and help towards improving my 2015 170i Hooligan's performance. I keep the scooter here in Tucson for when I'm a winter visitor. He even personally delivered performance parts to the local Genuine dealer, Scoot Over, for the Hooligan. Thanks again for this personal service. Thanks also for letting me test ride your Kymco Yager. It is indeed one fine scooter!
This is what has been done so far:
1. Removed stock muffler and replaced with Hooligan performance muffler purchased from Scooterworks. Reset the ECU to compensate for the improved air flow.
2. Replaced stock air filter with Simota performance air filter.
3. Replaced stock rollers with heavier 13g Dr. Pulley sliders.
4. Replaced original contra spring with heavier 1000 rpm contra spring.
My original objective was to improve top end speed by at least 5 mph with no loss in hill climbing or mid-range acceleration. In retrospect, this was not realistic. After doing the above improvements, my hill climbing, mid range acceleration as well as take off acceleration are still within acceptable limits but top speed is up only 2 mph. I think this is realistic. Let's not kid ourselves. If we want to go much faster, we need more horsepower. To get more horse power we need a bigger engine. And a bigger engine means a bigger scooter. It's that simple. Yes, you can make a smaller scooter noticeably faster than what its stock engine was originally designed for but there's trade-offs. If you gain big at one end you're going to lose big at another end. There's no getting away with it. Based on my experience to date, keeping everything in proper balance means modest improvements only. So, I'm satisfied with where I'm at. I'm OK with 62 mph top end GPS confirmed up from 60 mph top end with no loss of benefits on hills, acceleration and fuel mileage. If I want to go faster than 62 I'll get a bigger scooter designed to go faster than 62. It's that simple.
Bill in Seattle but wintering in Tucson (till 3/30)
'15 170i Hooligan Titanium (AZ scoot)
This is what has been done so far:
1. Removed stock muffler and replaced with Hooligan performance muffler purchased from Scooterworks. Reset the ECU to compensate for the improved air flow.
2. Replaced stock air filter with Simota performance air filter.
3. Replaced stock rollers with heavier 13g Dr. Pulley sliders.
4. Replaced original contra spring with heavier 1000 rpm contra spring.
My original objective was to improve top end speed by at least 5 mph with no loss in hill climbing or mid-range acceleration. In retrospect, this was not realistic. After doing the above improvements, my hill climbing, mid range acceleration as well as take off acceleration are still within acceptable limits but top speed is up only 2 mph. I think this is realistic. Let's not kid ourselves. If we want to go much faster, we need more horsepower. To get more horse power we need a bigger engine. And a bigger engine means a bigger scooter. It's that simple. Yes, you can make a smaller scooter noticeably faster than what its stock engine was originally designed for but there's trade-offs. If you gain big at one end you're going to lose big at another end. There's no getting away with it. Based on my experience to date, keeping everything in proper balance means modest improvements only. So, I'm satisfied with where I'm at. I'm OK with 62 mph top end GPS confirmed up from 60 mph top end with no loss of benefits on hills, acceleration and fuel mileage. If I want to go faster than 62 I'll get a bigger scooter designed to go faster than 62. It's that simple.
Bill in Seattle but wintering in Tucson (till 3/30)
'15 170i Hooligan Titanium (AZ scoot)