Homemade variator tool

I know this has been talked about a lot but I just changed my belt today (and 26g Dr. Pulley sliders) so had to made a variator tool. Just used a 1/2" piece of plywood, a couple 1/4" bolts 1-1/4" long, fender washers and blind nuts on the back side. Thought I'd share a pic of the tool to maybe give someone else an idea of how it can be done.

That looks like a great tool. Glad I saw this, I'll be changing my belt in a couple thousand miles.

Lot simpler than the metal version using angle
how does a fella know when his sliders need replacing? (assuming sliders are what Honda stuck in there, I've also heard reference to rollers)

Art, Honda puts in rollers...... Dave

Change to Dr Pulley sliders and you will never have to change again.

micbusathens wrote:

Change to Dr Pulley sliders and you will never have to change again.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I used Dr Pulley 28gm Sliders on my 2003 SW for well over 50,000 miles with absolutely no signs of wear. If I had been able to swap out the Dr Pullley Sliders for old OEM Rollers before the salvage company hauled away my '03 I would be using that same set of Sliders in my 2009 SW.

The OEM Rollers get a flat spot on them after awhile, so you should check those rollers everytime you change the belt. Or, like Micbuathens says, just go with Dr Pulleys and be done with it.

Tim

Art wrote:

Lot simpler than the metal version using angle

Not by much in my opinion ( took me less than 10 minutes ) and the tool made from flat steel can easily be carried along with a spare belt if you go for a long trip.

A lot more people have scrap wood laying around than scrap flat steel pieces. For me, if I was going on a long trip I'd make sure the belt was in good condition before I left. Could the belt fail even if there should have been a lot of life left in it? Sure, but unlikely. I would be much more worried about a tire blowing than a belt breaking. Not sure many carry a couple spare tires and all the tools it would take to change them.

If you're not confident about going a long trip without carrying  a spare belt and lengths of scrap wood or metal along 'just in case', you shouldn't really be riding a maxi scooter. As long as the belt is changed within the recommended mileage you'll be fine.

Do you think cautious 650 Burgman owners are carting round a complete new transmission, a cabinet full of tools, a  workshop manual, a portable shelter, work lights, and a factory trained Suzuki bike mechanic on the back seat 'just in case' they might have terminal transmission failure when they go out on a long trip.

It would be far more useful if someone who had the details of how to make the the late Leroy Beal's homemade Silver Wing variator holding tool shared that on the forum.

Still hoping you'll 'share' your home-made device for retaining the top part of the Givi adjustable screen.

I no longer have that retainer on my Airflow, it was a quick fix I put together as a knee jerk reaction to losing a second top screen and fitting it's replacement and retainer a couple of days before I went off touring in Thüringia in Germany as I didn't want to lose that one.

I removed the M.A.R.S. the 'Meldrew Airflow Retention System' as I jokingly called it a few months later as it wasn't needed. If I thought it was essential I wouldn't have spent another £80 on a Wunderlich wind deflector that's been fitted to the top of my Airflow top screen for the last 18 months or so.

Since I haven't read on here or other maxi forums about Airflow users losing top screens you could say I went a bit over the top with my M.A.R.S. Of course some users reading of my experiences of losing two top screens were worried that this was going to happen to them and wanted details of the bodge I cobbled up in my garage.

I didn't 'share' anything back then because there was nothing to share, it was a problem I alone had back then and no longer have. I alerted members here and the Muppets forum about the potential problem and dangers of losing their top screens, and you're all still riding around with your Airflows intact are you not?

Let's not have the paranoia about top screens like there is about 650 Burgman transmissions. Replacement top screens are reasonably priced and easily available, and if I can dream something up as a temporary solution I'm sure anyone can.

Then of course I haven't forgotten that not sharing this info about my bodge made with a few bits of junk in my garage to the forum is one of the reasons/excuses you used to ban me from this forum during your short tenure as site owner of silverwing600.com .

so are the 28 or 26g sliders preferable? considering I like the performance pretty well stock
I'm guessing it's a tradeoff of some sort

Art wrote:

so are the 28 or 26g sliders preferable? considering I like the performance pretty well stock
I'm guessing it's a tradeoff of some sort

28gm Sliders are the same weight as the OEM Rollers yet are a marked improvement over stock. 26gm Sliders will give noticeable accelleration improvement over stock. Accelleration with 21gm sliders will be pretty dramatic.

Tim

Thanks Tim, good to know
She accelerates pretty well already if you ask her to
I got a solid 0-80 run last night rolling on the throttle 80-100 was a bit slower. but why would I want to go that fast anyway?

Art wrote:

so are the 28 or 26g sliders preferable? considering I like the performance pretty well stock
I'm guessing it's a tradeoff of some sort

I just changed from stock 28g rollers to the 26g sliders. To me, the difference is not that noticeable. A little bit better accel but nothing to brag about. Maybe later I'll give some 22s a try.

Yes indeed.
I apologise unreservedly.

Art wrote:

I got a solid 0-80 run last night rolling on the throttle 80-100 was a bit slower. but why would I want to go that fast anyway?

To keep from getting rear ended. :lol!:

hankster wrote:

I just changed from stock 28g rollers to the 26g sliders. To me, the difference is not that noticeable. A little bit better accel but nothing to brag about. Maybe later I'll give some 22s a try.

I changed the OEM rollers to 24g sliders when I serviced my Swing at 5K miles. The change was impressive. You will notice the improvement in the acceleration. My gas mileage has not changed much. I would caution you on using the 22g sliders. Members report higher RPMs hence less MPG. That is if MPG matters to you. Just my 2cents.

Hi Yo wrote:

Art wrote:

I got a solid 0-80 run last night rolling on the throttle 80-100 was a bit slower. but why would I want to go that fast anyway?

  To keep from getting rear ended.      :lol!:

well, you got a point, it IS Texas

Kind of off the subject of the homemade variator tool!

Not too far off the subject since we were discussing sliders vs rollers in the variator! I have no idea how fast my '02 Swing gets from 0-80, I never timed it, but it's certainly fast enough to pass anything I've tried to pass! From 80 to 100 may have taken longer, but I was holding on too tight to check a stopwatch!!

Those two holes, with the two 1/4" bolts..... Any idea what the diameter is of those 2 holes?

CnR wrote:

Those two holes, with the two 1/4" bolts..... Any idea what the diameter is of those 2 holes?

Um, you wanna know what diameter those 1/4" bolts are? Lemme think about this.

No silly, lol, the diameter between the 2 bolts...

The distance between the two bolts is: 100mm

Thank you so much!

Hi I'd be grateful for the measurements of the variator home made tool metal and wood Getting near to belt change and intend fitting sliders also [looking for better consumption figures].Is there a pictorial for Belt change ?
Mad dog

I did not have enough hands to use a holding tool and put pressure to release the bolt, so resorted to a cheap 12v Aldi inpact gun I brought years ago for about £10, it worked a treat. It is a simple job, so glad I got a Silverwing, (when I owned a Burgman 650 I always thought the transmission would one day bite me).
I'm sure a belt would last a very long time, it was like new after 15,000 mile and so were the fishing weights.

May I should be posting else where
Information on Dr pulley rollers Part No and where to obtain them
thanks guys

Somewhere on here are the all PDF's made by the late Leroy Beal for the Silver Wing, including the materials needed and dimensions for the variator holding tool.

Leroy Beal's website was taken down a few years ago to the dismay of a lot of Silver Wing owners who'd used his back rest and variator holding tool mods. All this info was generally thought to be lost forever, but before this a forum member whose name escapes me had the good sense to downloaded all the relevant PDF's. He later made them all available to us on here, but what topic, post, or title they're under I've no idea.

Maybe mentioning this will jog someone's memory.

This thread?

https://www.silverwing600.com/t8590-new-belt-and-variator-tool#85696

3/4" plywood piece 4.0" wide and 30 inches long worked very well for me.

There is on fleabay a Bergen motorcycle clutch/flywheel tool which appears to be a copy of the Honda tool. It costs £7-89 with free postage. It's hardly worth the bother of making your own !

I made mine out of a couple of scrap pieces of steel I had laying around. Didn't cost me anything but my time.

Ditto to "oldwingguy" (that's what I did and it worked great)... Dale's method looks pretty good too (just didn't have the materials layin' around to try it)...

Meldrew wrote:

Somewhere on here are the all PDF's made by the late Leroy Beal for the Silver Wing, including the materials needed and dimensions for the variator holding tool.

Leroy Beal's website was taken down a few years ago to the dismay of a lot of Silver Wing owners who'd used his back rest and variator holding tool mods. All this info was generally thought to be lost forever, but before this a forum member whose name escapes me had the good sense to downloaded all the relevant PDF's. He later made them all available to us on here, but what topic, post, or title they're under I've no idea.

Maybe mentioning this will jog someone's memory.

I think it was posted by bicyclenut. If you look under pictorials on the main forum page, you should find them.

Thanks Bikerboy ordered one yesterday from ebay saves a lot bother

On 9th August I posted a link to a thread with both pictures of and dimensions for the tool.
I don't think I'll bother in future.

MikeO wrote:

On 9th August I posted a link to a thread with both pictures of and dimensions for the tool.
I don't think I'll bother in future.

Don't be upset Mike. It's not your fault that people don't read posts properly. Your effort and input is always appreciated

No good deed goes unpunished !!!

terrier wrote:

 
Don't be upset Mike.  It's not your fault that people don't read posts properly.  Your effort and input is always appreciated

Thanks, both of you; I appreciate your support very much indeed.

hankster wrote:

I know this has been talked about a lot but I just changed my belt today (and 26g Dr. Pulley sliders) so had to made a variator tool. Just used a 1/2" piece of plywood, a couple 1/4" bolts 1-1/4" long, fender washers and blind nuts on the back side. Thought I'd share a pic of the tool to maybe give someone else an idea of how it can be done.

Hi Hankster, I am about to change my first V-belt and would like to have a look at the tool you had used. For whatever reason, the link above states "image not found." Would you mind uploading your V-belt changing tool for me to see if I can reproduce it?

I am now at 16,150 miles and the dashboard light went on as promised at 16,000. I will be replacing it next month when I'll likely be at about 16,300. From everything I read, this won't make much difference but want to check with you and others if I'm pushing it too far.

Thanks in advance!
Steve

I'm riding a 2013 Honda Silver Wing/ABS that I love to ride every day!

Here is a link to Bruce Koehler's excellent variator holding tool: https://xa.yimg.com/df/hondareflexowners/Variator+Pulley+Tool.pdf?token=cHagJQQ5JRVe0n3Ynn4UXKmY33_hrpE-qWEsTIPE-J2nHCxDl2foQoyJruTRj9KY8vzF4nbWkp4cBp2oash6enzGmvs95zmRPb5EdCCsdTW6Mq-rYvgZ7Xo4IA&type=download  While the plywood tool is functional, it is bulky and certainly awkward to store. The "Y" tool is easily made, takes little space and folds & stores much easier. In fact, I carry one along when I travel, along with my old belt. Just in case...

Actually, here is a link to Leroy Beale's plywood variator tool: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B-lQ7Ifo_iuqZVhweE0zclBNYm8?usp=sharing

Tim

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Here is a link to Bruce Koehler's excellent variator holding tool: https://xa.yimg.com/df/hondareflexowners/Variator+Pulley+Tool.pdf?token=cHagJQQ5JRVe0n3Ynn4UXKmY33_hrpE-qWEsTIPE-J2nHCxDl2foQoyJruTRj9KY8vzF4nbWkp4cBp2oash6enzGmvs95zmRPb5EdCCsdTW6Mq-rYvgZ7Xo4IA&type=download  While the plywood tool is functional, it is bulky and certainly awkward to store. The "Y" tool is easily made, takes little space and folds & stores much easier. In fact, I carry one along when I travel, along with my old belt. Just in case...

Actually, here is a link to Leroy Beale's plywood variator tool: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B-lQ7Ifo_iuqZVhweE0zclBNYm8?usp=sharing

Tim

Thanks, Tim! Much appreciated!

I used HF's "torque sticks" and a pneumatic impact wrench for tightening both the driven pulley/crankshaft and drive pulley/clutch nuts for at least ten sessions over 5 years and 45k miles working on my '03 Burgman 400, and two or three cycles on the '06 S'Wing--no need for a holding tool and never a problem.

Using a 65 lb·ft rated stick on the Burgman 400 driven pulley:


A set of 10 in various calibrations is $55, $44 if you have one of their ubiquitous 20% off coupons:

A set of 10 in various calibrations is $55


Torque sticks are torsion springs that within reason¹ absorb applied torque in excess of their target rating. The best analogy most can relate to is attempting to bang a nail into an extended cantilevered end of a board--at a point it matters not how hard or how big a hammer you swing--the nail will not penetrate any further. This is because the "springiness" of the board is absorbing the increased force of the hammer blow.

Torque sticks do the same in a rotary fashion, they "wind up" and absorb the excess applied torque..

Also, as magical as they may seem there is not one bit of wizardry, snake oil or rocket science involved in their design or production--just simple math and knowledge of the steel's modulus of elasticity. I tested the set I bought nearly 10 years ago against a known standard and found each to limit torque within ± 5% of their markings; easily equal to any "clicker" type torque wrench.

I have used torque sticks for 45+ years, in automotive repair and industrial applications; they mot only save time, they can often be more consistent than other methods...


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¹ - "within reason". It is assumed that the impact driver used with a given torque stick can deliver 150% or more of the stick's rating, and that once the fastener being tightened stops turning (I.e. the stick's rated torque has been applied) the operator stops the wrench. Continued hammering away once the fastener is tight could result in over-torquing.