2001 Elite S 50 - Budget Entry Level Mods?

[W8kbrder]

Hey everyone,

I've been browsing the forums for awhile and finally decided to post some questions.

A little history: My aunt and uncle gave me their 2001 Honda Elite S awhile back. I have only recently had a chance to mess with it. Really I only had to drain the fluids and replace the air filter to get it running like new...and since it only has 204 miles on the clock...its not like there was much wear and tear in the first place.

So, with that said, I am looking to do some performance upgrades to get a little more pep and top speed out of it. It seems there are quite a few options out there so I'm looking for some information on Stage 1 and Stage 2 on this particular model scooter and some good performance sites to deal with.

I have a budget of about $500 right now. Eventually I will continue to build it up but for now, I would like to do some stage 1 and 2 upgrades.

If anyone can give me some advice on what to upgrade and the best place to obtain the parts, I would appreciate it.


thanks!

[bradthreee]

The best bang for the buck would be a variator upgrade. These are usually less than $100 and gives you a few extra MPH.

Invest in a set of roller weights, preferably one that comes with many different weights for tuning as well.

I'll let the other guys chime in now

[odinxxix]

http://scootspecs.wordpress.com/
go here for the variator and maybe a set of 9:1 gears. 92.00 shipped. maybe a set of grabber springs
http://www.scootershop.com/catalog/prod ... ts_id=1086
here for some 7.5g rollers, 27.80 shipped, but they are on a waiting list that i currently reside on but i have a set of 7.7 ready to go.
that should get you a good upper 40's lower 50's.
112.80 for all of that and thats bang for your buck, if you want more then source the bbk that scootspecs has. the owner of that site resides here BURNT_TOAST. he a good guy knows his stuff.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Sir Brad of the Cube is spot-on in his advice. Variator upgrades are good.

Instead of sitting by the mailbox waiting for said new variator, start diggin' into the scooter. Take your time removing plastics - FOLLOW the instructions in the Service Manual the first time. It will get MUCH faster with practice, and if you plan modifications, practice you will get. You'll also find lots of shortcuts, such as removing the belt cover withOUT pulliing plastics off - at all.

The variator lives behind the belt cover on the left side of your S engine. Five bolts each for the rear and front sections. Wiggle the front cover off and look up the Tech Docs for safe removal of the 17mm nut holding the front Drive Face pulley on the crankshaft. Rattle guns are probably OK for removal, but I encourage you to procure a method to lock the outer sheave and apply the recommended torque to the nut when you reinstall.

The S variator is restricted by a plate held on by 3 7mm machine screws. You will need a thin-walled 7mm 12-point socket to be able to grip those hex heads, there's not a lot of room. Your rollers should be fine at that mileage, but have a look. If you dare to remove the exhaust, you may find a washer welded in at the headpipe. This is the engine RPM restrictor, and can be ground - or perhaps chiseled - out of there.

If you do these two things, you MUST replace the #68 stock jet with a 78, or better still an 82. Honda can get them in a couple of days if you call the PartsDude and read him the number 99101-187-0820. (or -0780 for the #78) Running the unrestricted SR you've created with a #68 will quickly fry the top end of your engine.

Welcome, and good luck with your mods. If you get through this Initiation, others will chime in with Mods suggestions, but you can't go wrong with Burnt_Toast's "How to Build a Fast Elite".

[odinxxix]

i did these said mods that wheelman the knight speaks of, i also have the elite s mine is 2000, i ground out the exhaust. drilled out the other hole in the air box,upjetted to 85, bought the prodigy variator with 7.7g rollers, plus installed 2k clucth grab springs, and 9:1 gears. i have yet to test and tune hope fully this weekend, ill let you know how it comes out.

[aerorob]

my elite setup is....

2k clutch grabbers
9:1 gears
Performance vari with 9g weights
88 main jet
Mild pipe (28mm v8 pipe)
Everything else is stock

And I can hit 50 easy on flats
Max is 53.

Big bore kit and jets of good quality are 150 max and then you can gear even taller and easily hit 60.

So all in all your lookin at maybe 300
Good luck and document your build with lots of pictures in the build section.

[W8kbrder]

Everyone: thanks for all this great information. This is exactly what I was looking for...precise and direct upgrades with links. Very helpful. I'm pretty familiar with getting the Elite apart. I used to have an old Yamaha Razz in college and had to take that thing apart 100 times over to keep it running.

I did the following so far:
-replaced battery
-replaced spark plug
-thoroughly cleaned out carb
-replaced air filter
-drained gas tank and replaced new fuel

After doing these, I wanted to see how the Elite would run. The only thing that concerns me is the top speed. After cleaning it all out, it starts up right away, idles smoothly, and accelerates smoothly....no sputtering. Only thing is that it barely reaches 21 to 22 mph. Is this normal on a completly stock Elite S? I find that hard to believe as my old yamaha razz would do about 25mph easy. And especially with a speedo gauge that goes up to 35mph, I'm not sure how the Elite is not moving along at a higher mph pace. Tires are full...everything seems to run fine....its just rather slow. I'm 6'4 / 197lbs. So maybe I'm weighing it down? Either way the top speed will not break 22mph on flat smooth ground. Runs great...just lacking on the top end.

With everything you guys mentioned, I will be ordering the parts shortly and doing the mods. I'll try to do a write-up with detailed pictures for anyone that is new to the game like myself. I've worked on a '93 VW Corrado for the past 8 years as my hobie project. If I can pull and rebuild that engine, I'm sure I won't have too many problems with the scooter. I just like trying to read what problems people have run into and what they recommend doing to get around them.

Thanks again for all of the respones. Excellent stuff. I look forward to talking with you guys in the future.

-Nick

[W8kbrder]

my elite setup is....

2k clutch grabbers
9:1 gears
Performance vari with 9g weights
88 main jet
Mild pipe (28mm v8 pipe)
Everything else is stock

And I can hit 50 easy on flats
Max is 53.

Big bore kit and jets of good quality are 150 max and then you can gear even taller and easily hit 60.

So all in all your lookin at maybe 300
Good luck and document your build with lots of pictures in the build section.

I will definitly document any builds I do. In the meantime, can anyone point me towards any good DIY threads with pictures showing the dismantling of the drivetrain/etc.? I have a good mental picture of what it would take to replace the variator, clutch grabbers, etc....but would love to see some pictures.

[bradthreee]

click here

...and here

[W8kbrder]

Aerorob...please forgive me for using your picture, but I have a question in regards to a particular part to the 2001 Elite engine. Can someone explain what the part circled in red is for? Do certain models use this and some don't?

[Dakine]

It Is the Oil Pump. Some people premix so you can just plug it or replace it with an oil plug.

Looks alot cleaner with an oil plug..specially if its anodized a certain color

[W8kbrder]

It Is the Oil Pump. Some people premix so you can just plug it or replace it with an oil plug.

Looks alot cleaner with an oil plug..specially if its anodized a certain color

Next stupid question....since I'm new to hondas and I inherited this moped from my aunt and uncle, I noticed it does not have a cable hooked to that spring controlled valve that I circled in red. Being that its the oil pump...thats a huge deal. I can't even find a broken cable that went to it...if there ever was a cable.

So, with that said, before I crank this thing up and drive around, do I need to figure out whats going on with the missing cable attaching to this spring loaded valve (circled in red in the picture)? I need to make sure its getting oil.

[Saved]

Next stupid question....since I'm new to hondas and I inherited this moped from my aunt and uncle, I noticed it does not have a cable hooked to that spring controlled valve that I circled in red. Being that its the oil pump...thats a huge deal. I can't even find a broken cable that went to it...if there ever was a cable.

So, with that said, before I crank this thing up and drive around, do I need to figure out whats going on with the missing cable attaching to this spring loaded valve (circled in red in the picture)? I need to make sure its getting oil.

As you increase the throttle, the oil pump increases output to compensate. There may be a chance that your Scoot was running with little or no lubrication. You can get a used cable for about $15 shipped (or less). Iggy has one still I think.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

The S (restricted) pump is a different part number and its output relative to the SR version is not known. However that S model did not come with a cable control, likely because the demands of a Rev-limited engine didn't require it. I wouldn't worry that any damage has been incurred so far, because all is as Honda-san ordained.

If you de-restrict to make it more like an SR, I suggest you consider conversion to the SR-spec pump and cable control. The other option is to plug the pump socket and run premix.

[808BMW]

Well I haven't checked his auctions in a while, but taz seems to have a bore + gear combo now? http://cgi.ebay.com/Honda-SA50-Elite-S- ... 33576e185d

I'd ask what kind of gear ratio it comes with, but with some attention to tuning (big bore + stock carb/exhaust) this is pretty potent. I bought this when it came with a carb instead of gears, very satisfied. Only got about 1000 miles on it but it's holding up to my abuse pretty well.

I'm a sucker for premix, I'd rather plug it up and add my own oil, vs. buying a cable and trying to hook up the pump again.