All other variables are as equal as the same bike, 2 months apart, can be.
I know there is so much chatter about these two pieces on the interwebs, and I finally have hands on experience with both of them, under real conditions, and thought I would pass that along to other people. Reading all of the posts, and debates, and reviews , and shootouts can be nauseating, and impossible to figure out which one to get in the end.
My personal opinion is as follows:
The polini is almost as good as the J.costa around town. If you ride in the city a lot (i do), then the costa might just edge the polini between tightly spaced stoplights. (again this is regardless of the dyno sheets everyone has seen that has researched these parts).
BUT: the polini is way, way better up at top speed. Way better. Like no contest better. The costa feels more like a logarithmic taper up around the speedo, until you are topping out WOT on the highway and turning a zillion RPM to hold it there. The GTS will go fast with the 'costa istalled, for sure. I did 6 hours of full throttle up rte 95 from NYC to MA (cape cod) and averaged 80mph on the speedo, with bursts to almost 90. (again, on the speedo. GPS said 83mph top).
With the polini, on the same ride, same conditions, same me... I was a few MPH up from that: top speed on GPS was 85mph average was about the same as before. When I say "average" I mean wide open cruising, not overall trip average.
but the big difference was the fact that I was not spinning so hard to stay at that speed. I should have actually looked at the tach, numbers wise, because with the 'costa I was turning about 7.5k at 75, which is why I remembered that little fact, but though I know it was lower with the polini, I cant remember what it was... probably around 7k, just under, but for the same speed.
Anyway, if you dont want to switch variators based on what kind of riding you are going to do that day, I would highly recommend the Polini as the best all around choice. I know that as been said before, but now I personally feel it is true. I am sticking with the Polini.
I hope this helps someone out there trying to decide.
oh, I also got better mileage with the polini , for obvious reasons (engine not huffing so hard all day at WOT).
Next will be porting/polishing.. balancing and blue'ing..
⚠️ Last edited by Joel Hamilton on UTC; edited 1 time