Hey everybody, first poster here...found your site whilst trekking about the internet on the Top Gear website whilst in the market for my first scooter.
Now that i've purchased my first scoot ('05 Yamaha BWs) I was wondering about mods I could add to it to up my performance. I noticed that exhausts are reasonably priced and was wondering what was involved in the modification, and would someone with 0 mechanical experience be able to perform the installation?
The exhaust im looking at is a Leo Vince ZX. Oh, and if it turns out to be over my head, how much would professional installation run me?
I can't help you much with modern scooters but, generally, changing the exhaust on one is pretty straight forward.
Adding an exhaust is not a big deal but don't go too far chasing more performance from a 50. Often it is cheaper to buy a scoot with a bigger engine than to hop up a 50 to get similar performance.
If your not afraid to turn wrenches and get a little dirty, then changing out the exhaust shouldn't be too hard.
Your lucky, the BWS in Canadian and US form is not supposed to have the ring on the variator form of restriction nor do they have the CDI form of restriction.
With that known, changing the exhaust should be a noticable power improvement. 40% to 60% is what the internet says. You might get an extra 5 to 10kph out of er. And accelerating should be a bit quicker too.
I've read some internet posts in the past mentioning the variator/clutch spring was weak in the BWS's. Once one gets too much power belt slip is a concern.
I am doing a new exhaust for my Vespa ET2 50cc. It came with new springs and rollers and I had to buy a new jet for the carb ($8.00)
I will put the muffler on myself to save on costs, and it's pretty easy with a simple socket set. But I am going to get topgear to do the rollers and upjetting. I would recommend the same if you don't know what you are doing. If you start screwing around with the carb it might cause you some serious grief.
Check to make sure your new muffler has a restrictor cone in it. If so you will have to remove it or get it removed.
I wouldnt expect more that a little more pep, 5-8 kmh top speed, and a bitter better sound. Make sure that these benefits are worth the cost.
Also check the labour cost of Argyll Motorsports as they sell Yamaha scoots and should be able to service them too.
