Variator removal

[modified50ccdad]

I've got the out half of the variator off but cant seem to get the rear half off of the crank. What's the trick to it.

[LT80]

50 or 80?

[modified50ccdad]

Hello Jack,

I was hoping you'd pop in!

It's an LT80.

I had it off once already --> slid right off. I removed two rollers for the new pipe I put on it. Turns out the quad wouldn't shift so I need to add one roller back in.

The front half of the variator came right off. The washer and the sleeve came right off. The back half of the variator slide a little back and forth but appears to get hung up and will not slide off.

This Project was for my bosses son so I've got the added stress to deal with. LOL!

I appreciate any help you could give me.

Jim

[LT80]

What usually happens is when you put it back together, the keyway got mis aligned. When the nut is tightened, it squishs the keyway/plate. This causes it to bind on the crank.
Try equallly pulling/prying (If you haven't) with screwdrivers or such from behind it.
They usually will wiggle off, but is hard.
If all else fails, you must remove the cover. Yes it's very hard and tedious to get back there with a bent phillips head screwdriver. I use a screwdriver that looks like I\I,,hard to show..LOL
Once apart, the roller plate can usually be forced off w/o bending the crank.
Good luck :)

[modified50ccdad]

Thanks for the help. I didn't pry anything yet. Over the last six years of my kid racing I've learned to ask questions before prying LOL! It usually saves me money.

Now that I know it is ok I'll put some pressure behind it to see if I can get it off. Otherwise I'll struggle with the screws --> I replaced the phillips heads screws with allen head screws when I put it back together --> hopefully that may help. I can cut down an allen wrench to fit behind it.

[LT80]

I use Hex heads. :)
Good for you with the allen heads tho. The screws will make a sinner out of you. :D

[modified50ccdad]

Well, the removal went relatively smooth. I removed the variator cover and forced the roller plate off the crank. Luckily no damage to crank or roller plate. Thanks for the info.

To continue the story.

I proceeded with two trial runs bringinng the number of rollers up to 5 total. Lost to much top end speed with 3 and 4 rollers. However, I ended up with a delayed takeoff response.

Hetrick Pipe & associated jets
Hetrick recommended rear spring (Stiffer than stock)
Stock motor & airbox

I drilled three quarter inch holes in each of the three rear clutch weights in an attempt to adjust the stall. It worked some but not quite enough.

Should I try stiffer shoe springs and/or shave more weight off of the clutch shoes? I'd like to get the take off a bit more responsive from a dead stop.

Or should I take what we have now and think about some engine mods first? The LT80 is very water tight. We need to keep it that way with respect to the air box and such.

[LT80]

1st off you need to weigh the rear shoes. drop em to 180 grams to start.
I don't understand why the heavy torque spring works as I don't think there are many clutch mods that work with a stock motor.
That's why you need the roller weight.

Did you mark the front clutch to see how far the variator travels?

[modified50ccdad]

I used a marker to get on the face of variator to get to five rollers.

I'll check the shoe weights this weekend to see if I got them to 180 grams. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the help.