Another Elite E swap: Project Elite-D

[Majourlittle]

I have owned this scooter for nearly 5 years now, but I have been riding it for almost 12 years. This scooter was my grandfathers for many years as his RV scooter for when he went linedancing around the south. I managed to purchase it from him a while back since he never used it anymore for a dollar. I got it so that I could have easier transportation around my university, but gave up on it after a few weeks because of its lack of speed. I upgraded to a Buddy 125 and the Elite sat dormant on the back porch until now.

I went and visited my father/Grandfather this last feburary and i found an ad on CL for a 98 Elite S for sale. $53 dollars later, It was on its way back to Tulsa.


Plans are to make this scooter a fun around-town scooter with no reguards to longevity and more interest in power. I want to be able to swap the motor over without loosing the centerstand and keeping the wheel underneath the mudflap.

Currently I have modified the Dio motormount to fit inside the elite frame mount. There is still some room for the motor to be brought in closer if needed.









Mods include swapping the forks over so that i get the "s"s bigger wheels and brakes as well as more suspension travel. I will also be going through each panel and cleaning them up heavily. A new paint scheme is in order as well.

I have purchased
V8 exhaust
50mm tw jug. (want to get some pratice on tuning first, then ill find something nicer)
ct manifold and 24mm oko
oil plug

This is all in preperation for fitting the engine. once the engine is fitted to my liking, the engine will get properly overhauled, as well as the bike. then I will go through and purchase the rest of the transmission stuff and tires.

[Trafficjamz]

Looking good so far

This swap makes for a fun ride.

Here is the one done at Trafficjamz. It does have the centerstand.....but we removed the mud flap because it rubbed a little bit.



82cc (50mm), 24mm carb and v8 pipe is a good combo


Things to add to your shopping list

1980 honda express rear shock (almost a perfect fit for this project)
1987 se50 front forks (makes the fork swap you mentioned, abolt on job.)
9.1:1 or 8.4:1 gears (Unless you wanna flip over backwards)

[eliteguy50]

If you do a custom tail lite off of your rack, you can relocate the mud flap to allow more room. Clearance with the gas tank can also be an issue depending on your tire and how far forward you mount it.

[Majourlittle]

TJ, I sent you a PM earlier on some technical detail of your build. I like the fact that you maintained the center stand. I may remove a few cm from the mount to bring it in a bit. I would like to avoid cutting up the body.

I want to try to swap the 98 front forks and use the 98 shock before shopping for anything else. I feel like I may get reamed at the honda dealership when I go in to get gaskets for the engine.

I have been looking at some taller gears than that of the 8.4 I would like to get a comfortable cruise of 55 out of the scooter. I still don't quite get how the secondary/primary ratios fit into the overall ratio. Still more research needed before that end gets put together.

Progress should be slow for the next few weeks as I get through the last few days of school. As soon as I graduate and get married in the next 1.5 months, this project should really take off.

[eliteguy50]

http://www.hondaspree.net/phpBB3/viewto ... =5&t=10334 Check the spreadsheets, part of the ratio is from the belt drive pulleys. The other part of the ratio is from the transmission gear set which has a primary ratio and a secondary ratio. You can also compute your rear wheel diameter compared to stock if you want to get technical.

[Trafficjamz]

I want to try to swap the 98 front forks and use the 98 shock before shopping for anything else. I feel like I may get reamed at the honda dealership when I go in to get gaskets for the engine.

The 98 shock is too short you will have to make some sort of shock extension or relocate the top mounting point.

The stem of the 98 front forks is too long and will need to be sectioned out and re welded to work correctly.

What gaskets do you think you will need from honda? Your BBK will come with all the gaskets you need.
The af16 engine has no gasket between case halves. Just motoseal or honda bond.

[eliteguy50]

If you are splitting the cases you will need crank seals. Otherwise just the tranny gasket is needed from Honda.

[Majourlittle]

I wondered if there was a difference between honda-bond vs RTV or other gasket sealant. I split the case already so that I can match the boost ports and put in a ministroker crank.

The rumia crank came with new seals, but I have my doubts about them. my current shopping list from my local honda dealership is below.

Transmission gasket
crank seals
crank bearings
hondabond

What else?

The rear shock was a though without messing with it. The front forks I knew i was going to have to section. Not to worried about that, it looks like an easy swap.

I have also though about the space I have with the motor mount and I will be sectioning a few cM out if it to bring it in a little tighter. Ill add some bumpstops to keep it off of the center stand.

[Majourlittle]

Got a bunch of my parts in and sent the motor off to the local machine shop to get tanked, or whatever to get it cleaned up. Deciding if I want to just clean the metal up or have it Powdercoated???? I might be lazy on this one, but I have plenty of time to decide between getting it cleaned up and machining the jug to fit.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Machining the jug to fit? Methinks it should fit as is if it's a 50mm.
Unless you mean the Head, which will require enlargement and some chamber work to nanage higher compression, particularly withh a ministroker 44.1 crank.
Use caution with compression. 125PSI is a good value to aim for on pump gas. The cylinder must be raised a bit for proper port timing, and then an extra head gasket may be necessary.
Jet the 24 OKO quite rich and lean gradually after break-in.

[Majourlittle]

I noticed that the skirt protruded across the boost port and that the boost port needed to be enlarged to match the jug. Thats what I ment.

Also, I was supplied with an aftermarket head, but I have yet to look at it closely to see where everything falls on it. I just want to get details sorted one piece at a time... first beingthis engine mount followed with a clean engine.

[Majourlittle]

Started mocking up the front end for a swap.

Still not sure if it will spoil the look of the bike. What do yall think?

[Trafficjamz]

Started mocking up the front end for a swap.

Still not sure if it will spoil the look of the bike. What do yall think?

I think it looks better

Like a 1987 elite 50


Put the front plastic on and take another pic.

[burnt_toast]

87 elite lookin sexay!

[Majourlittle]

I guess the large tires make it look funky when it has no plastics. The bearings in the races were ok looking, but the grease used to lube them up was dry as *. I am so glad that I'm going piece by piece on this thing to get it right. I love restores!