[kawiman]

So, it has been a while but the Benelli is doing fine.

Yes, it has been a while, glad to hear of you.

I recently changed a lot of parts:

• Revision front shockabsorbers

May I ask what does it mean exactly and what did it cost?

• Revision carburateur

The question is the same as above.

The scooter won't start properly, only with a nice full battery and it needs a long time, like 30 seconds of starting. After that the engine stops and i have to start again and again untill it runs properly.
If i leave the scooter for a couple of days it won't start at all due to a dead battery. (wich is a brand spankin' new VARTA)

It looks like my battery doesn't get charged en my carb might leak some petrol? I noticed the gasket wasn't really good but it didn't leak and also it was pretty expensive to change.

Any toughts?

First of all, if the battery is discharging during a few days without riding the scooter, then either something may cause (weak) short circuit to the battery overcoming the ignition switch or the battery has an internal cell short circuit (literally dead) even if it was new.

Regarding the leakage of the carbs: it should be visible (petrol stains under the bike) or you should notice pregnant smell of petrol near the bike. My idea would rather a problem of the fuel pump.
Accidentally, I had pretty similar problem three days ago: the vacuum duct of the fuel pump (which connects to the intake port of the engine) has been broken and thus no (or at least much less) fuel got into the carb. The result was first long starting procedures, later heavy backfiring, loss of power and finally no starting at all. The repair was simple cutting the duct shorter, but it also had the downside that the shorter line broke more often ever after, so I replaced the vacuum duct and no problem since then.

So I would look into the battery area for short circuits. You can use a simple handheld multimeter to measure the current on one of the battery poles with the ignition switch off.
The other consideration would be to check the fuel pump and its lines.
Check the correct setting of the carburettor (in case it had been changed during the carb revision).
Also check the rubber duct which connects the carburettor to the intake port (it can burst and let additional air in).
The foruth thing I would take a look at would be the spark plug (it may cause strange errors, however it is less likely the root cause).
This is a really simple engine so luckily there are not too much things to cover .

Anyway, beside this small issue with the vacuum duct (which still did not hinder the bike to take me home, so I am quite grateful for it ) my bike just runs and runs. It is quite a commuting workhorse, since I do not have too much time to take care of it. I still consider buying a cam chain tensioner set sometimes, but not decided it so far. Additionally, a revision of the suspension elements, bearings, etc. is also due. Maybe next year.

 

[Namleppa]

Hi,

Thanks for your pretty fast response.
I've looked it up and the right word is "overhaul". So the front shockabsorbers and carburator have been taking apart en rebuild/cleaned. The carburator i did myself. The front shocks only costs me around 50 euros.

About the battery, if I drive with any electrical device on it will consume electricity from the battery. For intstance my headlights. So after a couple runs the battery will be almost dead, I will measure this with my multimeter.
Also i will check my "vlotterbak", I don't know how to call it in English but it's the part on the bottom of your carburator wich holds all the petrol. If that one is empty I know what kind of problem I have.

Fuelpump is a good one, haven't tought of that yet. I have replaced my fuel-lines en vacuum-lines with really nice ones. (i will search for a picture later)

I have also a lot of backfiring so maybe I have a similair problem.

I will keep you up to date. Untill then, here's a picture i made last summer. (Rear shocks are black now, too bad though)

Regards,

Namleppa / Jeroen

 

[kawiman]

Well, from the draining battery it looks like either a faulty regulator or a shorted battery for me.
Do you have a service manual by any chance? I use the one of the Malaguti Madison 400, since they have identical engines.
However the voltage regulator is different, but you still can use the manual to figure out how to measure the voltage. the voltage should be around 12V with the ignition switch off and 14,4V (+/- 2-3V) with the engine running but with no headlights on. Is it not the case, you may have a regulator problem or the charging coil is defect. If you have a spare battery (even if it is not new), try with it. Let me know the outcome.
If you would not have the manual, just search for it on the internet or if you cannot find it, I will send the file to you somehow.
The vlotterbak should be the float chamber I think. Yes you can check it for leakages or the correct level of the float/valve (the process is also mentioned in the service manual).
The bike looks awesome, really. I am going to try to make a photo of mine.

 

[Namleppa]

So wednesday I tried to start the Benelli but it wouldn't. It took like 30 seconds of starting before you heard something change in tune. (Hope you understand what i mean)
So I put my charger on it for a couple of hours (08:00-12:00)
Yesterday evening I measured it with my mutlimeter and it said 12,7V wich should be more then enough.
This morning also 12,7V but when I tried to start it it took another 30 seconds to drain the battery.
After that my multimeter said there was 12,4V in my battery, wich also should be enough.

So right now I'm a little frustrated because I don't have the time to fix this myself (I work 6,5 days per week..)
I have an appointment this monday for the dyno but I guess I have to cancel that one if it won't start.

This evening I'm free so I will take a chance to take a look at it allthough I have to get a haircut haha

If you do have some more information and knowledge please share!

Regards,

Jeroen

 

[kawiman]

So wednesday I tried to start the Benelli but it wouldn't. It took like 30 seconds of starting before you heard something change in tune. (Hope you understand what i mean)

Yes, yes..

So I put my charger on it for a couple of hours (08:00-12:00)
Yesterday evening I measured it with my mutlimeter and it said 12,7V wich should be more then enough.
This morning also 12,7V but when I tried to start it it took another 30 seconds to drain the battery.

The battery seems too weak for me. Unless you have a strong parasite consumer on the battery, it should last much more than 30 seconds. As far as I can remember, it already happened, that I used the starter for longer than 1-2 minutes (which is not recommended at all) and the battery was still OK for a new start.
Since we have identical bikes it is easy to compare them. I just got myself into the garage and did some measurements as crosscheck.
Battery voltage w/o ignition:

Battery voltage with ignition on:

After that my multimeter said there was 12,4V in my battery, wich also should be enough.

Normally yes, but I am now tending to think, that either of the following should be the reason:
- the battery has a cell short circuit (it usually means replacing it)
- something is draining the battery (other than the usual consumers, perhaps a short circuit)
- transient resistance in the cabling to the battery (that not enough current can flow through it)

--> in order to check whether something drains your battery, try to measure current (not voltage!) with your mutlimeter. Use the appropriate connector on your multimeter for the red test probe (it is called "A" like ampére on mine, but I am not sure if it is the same on your multimeter). Set the multimeter to current measurement and switch it on.
Now disconnect the battery shoe from the plus pole of the battery and interconnect your multimeter by putting the red test probe to the battery pole and the black test probe to the (now free) battery cable, like this:

With your ignition switch off the multimeter should indicate 0 Amper (with 2A measuring range).

Switch the ignition switch on (but do not try to start the engine, because it can damage your DMM!) and you should measure around 0,53 A.

If you measure currents higher than ~0A (w/o ignition) or higher than 0,6 A (w ignition) then something is draining your battery and we should go in this direction.

I have an appointment this monday for the dyno but I guess I have to cancel that one if it won't start.

Well then it should work until then, because I am also curious, what the Morini engine is capable of.

This evening I'm free so I will take a chance to take a look at it allthough I have to get a haircut haha

Today I am also free, so I took the opportunity to take care of the neglected family cars and my other bike.

If you do have some more information and knowledge please share!

OK, I'll do.
In case you would not have, I scanned the wiring diagram of the bike:

Keep up the good work!
Mark

 

[Namleppa]

So, I'm sorry for the long time between posts.

Monday I delivered de scooter to the local dealer. In the morning it wouldn't start on it's own.
So I had to connect the battery with the one in my car.
It started right away.

The dealer called me today, the wouldn't put the scooter on the dyno because my engine would make to much noise (Note: not my exhaust but the engine)
They were afraid to demolish the engine but putting it on the dyno.

I call bullocks. I have driven this scooter 130/140 kmh (on dashboard) with no problem.
So they didn't do anything and I have to pick it up this friday.

Wednesday (13th of may) I have an apointment for my scooter (50cc=90cc ) because it went too fast.
Maximum speed for scooters here in Holland is 50 kmh. Mine drove 55. Now I have to bring it to a station where they check every little thing.
After that I will look at the Benelli (I want to drive at least one 2-wheeler at any time)

I think I will remove the engine cover, so I can adjust the valves, wich may reduce some "engine noise"

I guess I can make a video so you can hear it yourself. It's really not that bad.

Regards!

 

[kawiman]

So, I'm sorry for the long time between posts.

No problem at all

Monday I delivered de scooter to the local dealer. In the morning it wouldn't start on it's own.
So I had to connect the battery with the one in my car.
It started right away.

Hmm...smells like battery I guess...

The dealer called me today, the wouldn't put the scooter on the dyno because my engine would make to much noise (Note: not my exhaust but the engine)
They were afraid to demolish the engine but putting it on the dyno.

Where did they hear the noise from? I am regularly checking the cam chain noises on mine (you know, that's mandatory paranoia with this engine ), but what I could hear so far was some kind of rattling from the rear side of the engine (literally from the wheel area but from the right side), so I think this is normal, maybe the balance shaft drive causes it.

I call bullocks. I have driven this scooter 130/140 kmh (on dashboard) with no problem.
So they didn't do anything and I have to pick it up this friday.

Too bad.
That's a shame they did not do anything. Anyway I am really interested to get a real dyno chart for the bike, because it felt really torquey compared to other scooters. Most of the time (I use it mainly in city and suburban traffic) only about 10% of the throttle is used. I mounted an electronic tachometer and according to that the average engine rev stays below 4000 rpm which is more or less half of the rpm range. But in dense traffic the rpm is around 2800-3400 so that you can even hear the combustion
I also want to build an inertia dyno sometimes (now I have to finish the house around it, but I am still occasionally working on the drawings and on the electronic part in the meantime ).

Wednesday (13th of may) I have an apointment for my scooter (50cc=90cc ) because it went too fast.
Maximum speed for scooters here in Holland is 50 kmh. Mine drove 55. Now I have to bring it to a station where they check every little thing.
After that I will look at the Benelli (I want to drive at least one 2-wheeler at any time)

Did they use a mobile dyno for proving it? Well 50cc bikes/scooters are allowed to have a so called "design speed" of max. 40 kmh, but the cops have 5 kmh tolerance. I think this speed is simply dangerously low if you drive in everyday city traffic. (remark: I am quite relaxed with commuting anyway, I rather opt for closed tracks for speeding )

I think I will remove the engine cover, so I can adjust the valves, wich may reduce some "engine noise"

I also wanted to do it already last year, but I do not think it will happen before next season, because I also plan to grind the valves and eventually replace the cam chain (to be on the safe side). Since none of these is critical, I will postpone the whole thing. Only oil changes and other regular services are due for this year.

I guess I can make a video so you can hear it yourself. It's really not that bad.

OK, thanks. I will also try to do a video myself, but unfortunately not before Friday.

Let me know the outcome.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Namleppa]

Hmm...smells like battery I guess...

I think so too but it's a brand new one, even kept it inside during winter..

Where did they hear the noise from? I am regularly checking the cam chain noises on mine (you know, that's mandatory paranoia with this engine ), but what I could hear so far was some kind of rattling from the rear side of the engine (literally from the wheel area but from the right side), so I think this is normal, maybe the balance shaft drive causes it.

I guess you can hear the cam chain. As you may have seen on the previous pages my chain guider had broken in de middle and I had to screw it so keep it in place. Not really proud of this but it's functional. Note that a new chain+guiders costs around 250 euro's wich is a sh*tload of money. So i bought a used engine from Italy for 350 euro's.

That's a shame they did not do anything. Anyway I am really interested to get a real dyno chart for the bike, because it felt really torquey compared to other scooters. Most of the time (I use it mainly in city and suburban traffic) only about 10% of the throttle is used. I mounted an electronic tachometer and according to that the average engine rev stays below 4000 rpm which is more or less half of the rpm range. But in dense traffic the rpm is around 2800-3400 so that you can even hear the combustion
I also want to build an inertia dyno sometimes (now I have to finish the house around it, but I am still occasionally working on the drawings and on the electronic part in the meantime ).

4000 rpm sounds a bit low. On my scooter (Kymco New Dink 50cc) i bould a NCY 90cc with maximum torque around 7200 RPM. max RPM around 8000 (with rev limiter)
I agree though that with only 10-15% of trottle you can keep up with modern day traffic.

Did they use a mobile dyno for proving it? Well 50cc bikes/scooters are allowed to have a so called "design speed" of max. 40 kmh, but the cops have 5 kmh tolerance. I think this speed is simply dangerously low if you drive in everyday city traffic. (remark: I am quite relaxed with commuting anyway, I rather opt for closed tracks for speeding )

Yes they did. In Holland you can drive on a scooter max 45kmh with 5kmh construction speed deviation. So that makes 50 kmh. The dyno they use isn't accurate so, for instance, if you drive 57 kmh on the dyno they take away 7kmh wich makes it 50 wich makes it legal. I drove 62 on that little dyno. Wich makes it 55. 5kmh too fast. Really anoying.

I also wanted to do it already last year, but I do not think it will happen before next season, because I also plan to grind the valves and eventually replace the cam chain (to be on the safe side). Since none of these is critical, I will postpone the whole thing. Only oil changes and other regular services are due for this year.

Adjusting the valves isn't really hard to do on this bike allthough you have to take away al rear "covers". My maintanancebook said it was 0,10mm intake valves and 0,20mm exhaust valves. Is that correct?


I tried to quote too
Regards!

 

[kawiman]

Hi,

I was away for a while, but had a lot to do recently.
Today I brought the scoot to the road worthiness test (technical check), which she passed successfully
So roll on for another two years

I think so too but it's a brand new one, even kept it inside during winter..

I experienced the same with my other bike. It killed two brand batteries in two and a half years. I even checked the voltage regulator in the lab of the technical university (I was a student back then), but it was OK. So pretty frustrated I went to my favourite local bike shop and asked for something cheap. The guy suggested me a noname battery (which even had less capacity than the stock one) and it lasted for almost 6,5 years.

I guess you can hear the cam chain.

You should be right, I also slightly come to the idea that the cam chain is getting a bit more noisy than usual (it is really hard to distinguish from the other rattling and humming noises of the engine). Now I am thinking about the possible actions. It would be obvious to get an original replacement kit, but it costs around 300€. In the Malaguti webshop it costs a bit less (242€), but the webshop only ships inside Italy as I could figure out. The other way would be to get the bike to a local bike mechanic, who invented a conversion kit (he uses a Piaggio cam chain and tensioners). The third option is to delay the whole project to the winter.

As you may have seen on the previous pages my chain guider had broken in de middle and I had to screw it so keep it in place. Not really proud of this but it's functional.

Do you have more pictures on it by any chance?

Note that a new chain+guiders costs around 250 euro's wich is a sh*tload of money. So i bought a used engine from Italy for 350 euro's.

Yes, it is reasonable, but my fear is, that almost all engines (probably the AXR ones were not) were originally fitted with the fragile tensioner and chain guide. But the spare part is a redesigned kit which includes seemingly stronger components (these are recognisable by their light brown color instead of the black color of the original tensioner/guide). So I would like to have a long-term solution and it can only be the strengthened guide/tensioner.
Anyway, how did you get the spare engine?

4000 rpm sounds a bit low. On my scooter (Kymco New Dink 50cc) i bould a NCY 90cc with maximum torque around 7200 RPM. max RPM around 8000 (with rev limiter)
I agree though that with only 10-15% of trottle you can keep up with modern day traffic.

Well, I also think it is a bit too low. I made some dashcam (actually helmet cam) videos while commuting, but their quality is so sh*tty that I better did not insert them. But it seems, that the average rpm is in the 3000-4500 range.
As far as I know, the maximum torque rpm is around 5500 and the maximum hp kicks in at around 7000. Unfortunately I did not see a real dyno chart so far (it is also on my bucket list, though ), but I happen to feel a hesitation in the useable range mentioned before which may come from a downturn of the torque graph. It is normal with petrol engines, but it also means, that the efficiency in that range is not the best one, so some detuning would be good either in the driveline or in the intake/exhaust part.

Yes they did. In Holland you can drive on a scooter max 45kmh with 5kmh construction speed deviation. So that makes 50 kmh. The dyno they use isn't accurate so, for instance, if you drive 57 kmh on the dyno they take away 7kmh wich makes it 50 wich makes it legal. I drove 62 on that little dyno. Wich makes it 55. 5kmh too fast. Really anoying.

Did you get a fine for that?

Adjusting the valves isn't really hard to do on this bike allthough you have to take away al rear "covers".

Well, this is why I want to do it together with the other maintenance actions

My maintanancebook said it was 0,10mm intake valves and 0,20mm exhaust valves. Is that correct?

I have the same information and it seems to be palusible.

I tried to quote too
Regards!

Regards,
Mark

 

[Namleppa]

Hi Mark, (and maybe other, I highly doubt it)

So today i decided to take the engine apart.
Worst nightmare. De chain-guider had snapped in the middle, luckely it was still intact and not destroyed by the chain or something.
Also i found a lot of oil underneath the carburator and underneath the airbox. It did't look like leaking, more like sweating.
I think it's the base gasket of the cilinder but i'm not sure.

I'm really in doubt what i should do.

I need a new chain-guider. I can only find a chain-guider + chain wich costs 250 euros.
I can also buy a used engine (AGAIN) and swap the parts. This costs 350 euros and takes a lot less time.

What would you do?

Regards,

Jeroen

 

[kawiman]

Hello Jeroen,

Worst nightmare. De chain-guider had snapped in the middle, luckely it was still intact and not destroyed by the chain or something.

Gosh, it's really a small consoliation in the trouble then.
An acquaintance of mine who used to own a Malaguti Madison 400 had the same situation, so the trouble has been caught in the last minute.

Also i found a lot of oil underneath the carburator and underneath the airbox. It did't look like leaking, more like sweating.
I think it's the base gasket of the cilinder but i'm not sure.

Well, if you dismantle the whole thing anyway, it may worth to take a look at it and make a repair with the help of some silicon instant gasket.

I'm really in doubt what i should do.

I need a new chain-guider. I can only find a chain-guider + chain wich costs 250 euros.
I can also buy a used engine (AGAIN) and swap the parts. This costs 350 euros and takes a lot less time.

What would you do?

If you ask me, for me it is quite obvious: go for the spare part (or alternatively for a conversion if you know somebody who does such things).
Of course I don't want to persuade you but that's my two cents.

My pros and cons are the following:

- As far as I know, practically all stock engines have the original (weak) chan guide/tensioner in them. That means, even if you buy a replacement engine, there is a big chance that the guide will be this "underengineered" version.

- Add to that, since this is literally the weak point of this engine, almost all second hand parts are already broken or are about to break. (note: the one in your newly bought spare engine was also broken)

- The spare engine costs 100 EUR more which is pretty nice amount (even if your bike was cheap to buy you can spend this on some cans of beer )

- For my part I want to keep my scoot for a longer time, because I am really satisfied with it - beside this cam chain issue - and it is really fun to ride with its 150 kg dry. It is also quite a simple construction (even comparing it to some very popular Piaggio-powered scoots). To maintain the reliability, I will go for a safe solution which is in my opinion the spare part or the conversion, respectively.

- You already have a spare engine, so all other parts you have twice. Why would you want to get a third kit, which you will probably never need? (since the engine itself is quite robust anyway)

+1 If you replace the whole engine you may have some extra paperwork (do not know if you need this in the Netherlands or only the engine code should be the same in this case)

Not sure what did you mean under "...takes a lot less time" sourcing the spare engine? Certainly I do not know your sources (would be nice to know anyway, how to get a spare engine), but I would expect more or less the same delivery time for both the spare engine and the spare kit. From what you wrote I assume, you have the skills to do everything by yourself and you already started to disassemble the engine so the cam chain/sprocket replacement should not take too much time, either.

Mine is still running and currently I do not have the time/money for the replacement, but I surely will do this replacement some time. I hope it solve the tensioner/guide problem for all.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Namleppa]

Hi Mark,

I sure hope you never have to work with this kind of trouble.
I'm planning of taking the engine apart this week. It's already disassembled from the bike so i can work on it the easy way.
I'm very glad i've ordered 2 base cilinder gaskets and 2 upper cilinder gaskets.
I only have to order a new oil-filter wich costs around 3,50 euros.

Because my chain-guider is for 80% in tact, i think i adjust the chain-tensioner a bit. This way it cost basicly nothing and i think it will work. I also guess that this explains some of the earlier troubles i had for starting the bike.

I'm glad i have 2 cilinders, pistons etc. because if anything ever breaks, i have a sparepart for it.

If you would like some pictures let me know.

Regards,

Jeroen

 

[kawiman]

I sure hope you never have to work with this kind of trouble.

Thanks Well, I am prepared for this at least

Because my chain-guider is for 80% in tact, i think i adjust the chain-tensioner a bit. This way it cost basicly nothing and i think it will work. I also guess that this compains some of the earlier troubles i had for starting the bike.

OK, cross the fingers for a good solution, I hope it'll work.

I'm glad i have 2 cilinders, pistons etc. because if anything ever breaks, i have a sparepart for it.

This is what I also would like to have (maybe also a third one for trying out crazy ideas )

If you would like some pictures let me know.

That would be excellent to have some detailed pics about the current state and your repair steps! (if it does not cause you much trouble) Thanks!
And if you have some good sources for parts/used engines let me know.

Regards
Mark

 

[Namleppa]

Hi Mark,

I will take some photos.
For now I only have really crappy quality shots.

So my finger is point to the broken guider. It slipped right to the front of the chain and it god stuck.

As you can see, there is a lot of oil "sweat".

I also made a fantastic drawing with my awesome skills of the idea, just so i could explain it a bit more easy.
I hope you understand.

For now, this is al I will post but later on this week i will post more!
Regards,

Jeroen

 

[kawiman]

Hi Jeroen,

So my finger is point to the broken guider. It slipped right to the front of the chain and it god stuck.

I see now, previously I thought that the chain guide rail

is broken (that has happened to the guy I mentioned), but in this case it is really the tensioner rail that gave up.

As you can see, there is a lot of oil "sweat".

I also made a fantastic drawing with my awesome skills of the idea, just so i could explain it a bit more easy.
I hope you understand.

Exactly, thanks for the explanation, the drawings were pretty good

For now, this is al I will post but later on this week i will post more!

Thanks again, that was cool.

One more thing
Last Saturday I made an oil change and also checked the driveline. Since the clutch generated creaking noise while rolling on, I buffed its surface with a sandpaper (also considered sandblasting, but had no time for it). For now, no noise, but peace and tranquility
However I was surprised, that the CVT keeps the rpm extremely low. I already mentioned, that in the city the rpm almost never exceed 4000-4500, well in fact the rpms now usually in the 2800-3400 range. I feel like on an old-school XR600R or even on a Harley
I am fine with it, but this has of course an impact on the dynamics and probably the engine does not feel comfortable either, so I will check the rollers, the movability of the inner variator plate and the torque spring some times. Luckily, the bike has the same CVT as the Burgman 400 so it is easy to find cheap parts for it. No stress at the moment.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Namleppa]

Hi Mark,

I'm glad you could fix the problem about your clutch.
2800-3500 sounds really REALLY low haha.

How heavy are your rollers? Mine are 16,0 grams if i'm correct. Maybe 17,0 grams.

Have you ever thought about the J. Costa variator? (I don't know how you call it in English but it's the front part of your CVT)
It's pretty expensive though.

I think i will take the cilinder off this weekend. Maybe also an oil change. I need a filter though.
And i want to check the timing on the belt zo i have to take the whole ingintioncover off. (the coverpart with the glass in it to see the oil level)
Fingers crossed I don't find anything wrong.

I will try to make some pictures. Maybe you haven't seen the inside of the engine before?
I also have a PDF off the whole malaguti engine taken apart and with all the specific torques and stuff (for cilinder replacement)
Will try to post that too.

For now, have a nice day!

Regards,

Jeroen

 

[Namleppa]

Allright,

So yesterday i took off the cilinder to check everything.
But what i say was something i would have never guessed.

I "fixed" the guider by a screw conecting the 2 pieces together. It was a pretty big screw.
I thought i would have come off completly but also the screw (4/5mm thick) broke in half!

that's right, also the screw broke in half.

But, i took both parts out and now it's pretty clean.
Today i will sand all the pieces before placing the new base gasket back.
After that i will have to remove the part over the ingnition-coil? (it's the same cover in wich the glass is placed to see the oil level)
I might powdercoat that part in high gloss/matt black.

Only problem, i can't find a gasket for that. And using liquid gasket isn't my favourite.

My friend took the pictures so i'm very sorry they are so crappy. Next time I will make them myself haha!

Maybe it looks like I don't care about the engine by puting it in my ugly looking yard..
But I'm just a 22 year old student and I hadn't much choise in rental houses.
I'm a student mechanical engineering en before this study i have studied (and completed) to become a technical specialist (automotive industry)
So that's why i can do this all by myself. (and with my best friend who is an engineer now)
I think i've got it up and running in about 1,5 week.

Regards,

Jeroen

 

[City17]

Radiator

Hi guys!

I drove a Benelli Velvet 400 from 2007 and with pros and cons I'm sure to say that is still the fast scooter (and the best for me) for little moving, expecially in the city! Never today exsist a better one!! And it's for those meanings that I decide to repair it!

I broke the chain guide some week ago and I've already ordered the new one from Malaguti official store, a kit for 250 € !!! (f**ck!!) .

I've also ordered a complete gaskets kit for the engine on eBay, because i don't know if next week my mechanical will able to put it without open the head cylinder...I've make some photos, i will post them...


But the question is if anyone know a good radiator that can be a good substitute to the original one, or adaptable, because it's not possible to find it anyway on the web, i've also contact Benelli, they say me that it's out of stock from 2008...I understand now because on my scooter it's mounted the 150cc's one and i get from this too high temperature for the engine (the original one it's much more bigger, 30% plus minimum). For the moment i've done 15.000 km, and I want to drive for anothe 15.000 km without blow up my engine...


Thanks.

Marco

 

[kawiman]

2800-3500 sounds really REALLY low haha.

Yes, it seems, that the gear (CVT) ratio is increasing well, however it will not decrease enough if the rpm falls. Similar to the situation when you forget to downshift in a car with manual transmission after you had to brake for something.

How heavy are your rollers? Mine are 16,0 grams if i'm correct. Maybe 17,0 grams.

Hmmm... good question. So far I can remember they should be around 17 grams as you wrote. I have a set of older rollers, will check them on the kitchen scale

Have you ever thought about the J. Costa variator? (I don't know how you call it in English but it's the front part of your CVT)
It's pretty expensive though.

Yes, I seriously considered to buy it, but after having consulted with others and seeing some youtube videos I had the impression that it costs too much for the frequent replacement of rollers it needs due to their enormous wear (and there are no aftermarket rollers for it), so I backed down.

I am not sure if you have already run into this:
Malaguti Spidermax GT500: Spidermax Files: The Dr. Colt Conversion
This guy (he is residing in Gran Canaria I guess) is continuously experimenting with different CVT settings on his Malaguti Spidermax. One of the wildest configurations he tried was simply removing some 2-4 rollers from the variator (the opposite ones to keep the overall balance), thus keeping the initial gear ratio low - and the rpm high. There are of course many downsides of this but I had to admit, that it is probably the cheapest way to influence the characteristics of the variator.

I think i will take the cilinder off this weekend. Maybe also an oil change. I need a filter though.

You probably know, that the oil filter is compatible with the one of the Suzuki Burgman 400 (99-06). It is much cheaper than the original one (costs around 2,8€ here) and is almost always on stock.

And i want to check the timing on the belt zo i have to take the whole ingintioncover off. (the coverpart with the glass in it to see the oil level)

You mean the cam chain? Be sure to have a tube of liquid gasket at hand for the reassembly of the cover.

Fingers crossed I don't find anything wrong.

OK, I'll do cross the fingers

I will try to make some pictures. Maybe you haven't seen the inside of the engine before?
I also have a PDF off the whole malaguti engine taken apart and with all the specific torques and stuff (for cilinder replacement)
Will try to post that too

.

Thanks, I have the PDF, but I am curious, how your engine looks like, though.

For now, have a nice day!

You too and best of luck for tomorrow!

Regards,
Mark

 

[kawiman]

So yesterday i took off the cilinder to check everything.

Now I see, I was late with the response. (reason was that I saw your reply post from yesterday only in a mail on my mobile, I pretty overlooked the newer post of yours).

But what i say was something i would have never guessed.

I "fixed" the guider by a screw conecting the 2 pieces together. It was a pretty big screw.
I thought i would have come off completly but also the screw (4/5mm thick) broke in half!

that's right, also the screw broke in half.

That sounds really weird, so it is more clear how the original thick tensioner can break in all engines....

I might powdercoat that part in high gloss/matt black.

That would look awesome. I am also planning to repaint the whole engine (it is originally painted with a common silver color, but it is repelling so it looks really ugly)

Only problem, i can't find a gasket for that. And using liquid gasket isn't my favourite.

The only thing that you have to be careful with that to find the right amount: a friend of mine had used a bit more in his GSX-R1100 and the excess gasket material blocked the oil bores so that he had to make a complete engine overhaul because of that. I experienced the opposite: the previous owner of my other bike did not use enough liquid gasket on the clutch cover and as a result of that a small oil leakage caused almost a fatal crash for me in a long curve at very high speeds.

My friend took the pictures so i'm very sorry they are so crappy. Next time I will make them myself haha!

No need to apologize, thanks for them

I'm a student mechanical engineering en before this study i have studied (and completed) to become a technical specialist (automotive industry)

Well, the same for me (I am also mechanical engineer however already graduated from the TU and now working in the automotive industry) Cheers!
Similarly, I also like to get everything repaired by myself, however sadly I do not really have the time for it nowadays.

I think i've got it up and running in about 1,5 week.

OK, keep me informed please if you have the time for it.

Regards,
Mark