Modern Vespa

Follow up to this thread

Here's the variator 7k miles later.




Ever wonder what happens when the rollers are installed wrong and what all that clattering from the drive train is?

Here are the rollers that came out.


This one was in right,



This one was in wrong,



See the flat spots (not from incorrect installation - just my particular riding style)



Notice anything different about some of the rollers?


This is what 7k miles of wear when improperly installed does to the rollers


and what it does to the 'baskets,' of the variator

With a properly installed roller


With an improperly installed roller



Here's the non pressure side of the basket for reference


All in the name of SCIENCE!

C'mon how awesome is that.......

That'll buff right out.









Thanks Ritch!

Oooh. That's just nasty. Nasty. And again, nasty. How did you manage to install them the wrong way round ritch. Misread the destructions?

I was always aware that the variator was a consumable. It's like getting a new scoot when you change it.

THANK YOU for posting this (and for being the involuntary guinea pig).

I've heard of this clatter issue here on MV but don't recall it ever being connected with roller position. Also, I've always been wondering why rollers had to be installed one way and not the other.

That said, your variator shows a lot of wear for the mileage. Maybe your riding style? Did you steal that bike?

Thumbs up!

I am OK with the purpose of my mechanical skillz only being used to serve as a warning to others.

I talked to TheOz when it came apart to change the belt and asked if there was a right way and a wrong way - he was pretty much - 'you didn't know?' then he dropped the phone and fell over laughing.

It makes total sense now.

I at least knew the hotdog (rollers) went in the bun (variator,) vs. across the bun: you've all seen that photo right of the rollers installed 90 degrees off?

I now have a mental pic of you and Oz having that phonecall. It took my brain a fair while to figure out which way the rollers were supposed to go. I still have to turn the variator when installing them.

Very nice photos. Thanks for posting them. And being a guinea pig. And, uh, doing it wrong so that we can all see the results. Haven't seen that. Where? Who?

I haven't seen that pic either. Can we?

Wait, I just noticed what you said here: Your problem are not wrong installed rollers, you were 1000 miles overdue

I can't recall where I saw the image.

I just checked and it is not possible to install GTS rollers like I saw in the other image - otherwise I'd have 'faked,' a photo with my parts.

Wow. Thanks for the photos. BTW. That clattering you heard a few weeks ago from me was a bad/worn out Malossi variator and rollers. The rollers were newish, but the play/wear on the gudgeon pin and the three sliding shoes were too much. Glad we didn't take it apart in your driveway. I would have been a house guest for several more days...

A complete stock variator half with rollers, sliding shoes and gudeon pin was less than $70 ~well worth the price of admission.

Thanks again for the hospitality

Thanks for the learning experience.
Others' mistakes help those of us who have yet to do our own maintenance from making the same ones.
Nice documentation.

I think everyone does this ONE TIME...

You should be proud to have gotten 7K miles out of that....with all the grinding going on.....I had the thing apart after 40 miles.....still replaced everything.

Go forward with the knowledge you will not have that happen again!

R

8)

Doesn't really work with the Vespa variator.

Sextuple oops...

Wow, that's brutal. Thanks for the detailed and useful photos Ritch.

No kidding!?!
My repair dudes just installed new rollers and they're clattering ...interesting

Many thanks for posting about this




(Incidentally, it's easy to change the size of Flickr farm pictures
For the smallish picture above, I just took the "_b" off of
"http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4905434730_9ff6daa447_b.jpg"
to get "http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4905434730_9ff6daa447.jpg")