Malaguti Spidermax GT500

WARNING! bad Piaggio rollers batch

2012-01-28T13:58:00.000Z

2012-01-28 why the new rollers fail
2012-01-26 another set of early failing Piaggio rollers
2011-09-22 initial post early failing Piaggio rollers

2011-09-22 early failing Piaggio rollers

My first original factory installed rollers lasted 37000 km and looked better than this original Piaggio rollers batch no: 102829 after the 120000 km they should last without defect . (For more info on the old rollers see: inside cvt belt and rollers)

As you know I use only 4 of the 8 rollers in my Colt Conversion and that worked very well with the factory installed set. I switch the used set after around 10000 km and alternate the compartments they run in in the driving pulley. I also check for wear or problems in between.
When 3 month ago I did the test without the 2mm washer and some of the thread of the driving pulley rod got stripped (see: Malaguti Spidermax - I am so screwed) I installed the unused 4 rollers and noticed a more than usual wear with the new ones. One had a crack halfway through the plastic already (see above).

The new rollers were less than 4000 km in action and after a very pleasant beginning (171 km/h V-max) and a very good response and acceleration I noticed after a long 8 hour ride that my V-max had dropped to 140 km/h when the rpm limiter kicked in.
Now this is a warn signal that something is wrong with the transmission but my Spidermax had developed a slow dripping water leak during the same tour and my mind was around a cracked engine block and if I would make it home with the leaking engine.

As it turned out my water pump seal is leaking and the dripping I noticed came through the weeping hole what has just this job to expel water in this case.

But back to the rollers. A few days ago during driving up a steep hill with 120km/h, the rpm limiter kicked in also and that was when a warning bell in my brain rang loud enough to get my attention.

At home I opened up the CVT and saw that one roller had lost the plastic sleeve and was grind to a triangle.

the surface of the defect roller compartment was slightly nicked but still in a very good shape,
nothing what a bit of fine sandpaper cannot fix.

destroyed roller side A

destroyed roller side B

The metal plate where the rollers push against did not even had a scratch on it. I put the 8000 km rollers back for now except the ones with the crack and have to order a new set.
The Spidermax runs again as noting has happened.

2012-01-26 another set of early failing Piaggio rollers

Half of the new original Piaggio roller batch did last only 5650 km before one roller started to disintegrate.
As you can see the quality is quite different between these rollers. One has no deformation, one has a tiny deformation and the the third one is a shows a beginning deformation. All three rollers have next to none visible flat spots or other wear pattern. The fourth roller plastic casing broke in two and the metal part shows aggressive abrasions. The interesting thing is that the driving pulley inside where the rollers are held shows no sign of damage ore wear since I caught the breakage (suddenly higher rpm at high speed and RPM max at around 130-140 km/h) within 100 km distance.

2012-01-28 why the new rollers fail
I keep all the parts I change in case they are needed for further reference, so I got the original factory installed roller which lasted for 37000 km (19000 in the original 8 roller setup and 18000 km in the 4 roller Colt Conversion setup) and compared them to the newer version you get as replacements.

cracked in America in a MP3 - no info when purchased

from the 28/09/2011 batch

from the 25/11/2009 batch

One reason why the rollers fail is easy to spot. The plastic material splits apart as if there was a weak seam. I do not know if this is designed on purpose to fail early, or if there is an unnoticed defect in the machine what makes the plastic part, but failing all the same way in a batch from 2009 and 2011 also in different scooters in Europe and America looks like a more global problem to me.

both metal inserts are the same weight
It is easy to see that Piaggio changed the metal part of the roller. It is thicker now

Now you can easily argue that there is too much pressure on only 4 rollers since there are 8 where the pressure is normally distributed. But keep in mind that these rollers fail mostly even before half their factory service life, that the original factory installed rollers did last with much more abuse (see the other posts) over 3 times their changing interval and that there should be always a safety margin be build in.

Colt Conversion Warning

2012-01-26T21:19:00.000Z

Avoid Piaggio rollers! Do not use them for the Colt Conversion!

I am looking for a more durable and reliable solution and will keep you informed here.

If you made the 4 roller Colt Conversion be sure to check your rollers for wear and defects. Since some time Piaggio made the rollers much less durable and the outer plastic can break easy.

There is an easy way to spot failing rollers:
When the rollers are starting to wear the RPM increases and your bike is even more responsive and accelerates even a bit better. You will also notice, that on areas where you normally have 7500 RPM at 140 km/h on a light hill (just an example how I noticed it) you will see the RPM climbing to 7700 or higher. Also the RPM limiter will start earlier at high speed.

This is an indication that it is time to change the rollers now.
If you keep on going something like this can happen over time.

Malaguti Spidermax - how long do parts last

2012-01-26T17:44:00.000Z

2012-01-26 Rollers and Belt

2012-01-26
Rollers

Replaced 4 rollers at 55900 after 5650 km. Very bad quality that batch also.
Replaced 2 x 4 rollers at 50250 after 13000 km. Very bad quality that batch.
Replaced belt and rollers at / after 37000 km see:
Inside the CVT - Belt and Rollers
They still functioned flawless until the change, just the V-max dropped a bit because of flat spots.
These rollers were abused much more than in the regular factory setup, read the woody conversion for more info.
Without all the extra abuse they would have passed the 50000 km easily.

Transmission belt still the original after 33000 km and counting. But after the passing the 30000 km mark the strangled sealion is back softly on occasion (even with a removed silver transmission cover)

Brake pads

Single front brake (left side - right lever, always seen from sitting on the bike) first replacement at 11000 km with Re-fleX for 35 Euro a pair.
Second replacement at 27000 km with Brembo for 17.50 Euro a pair (might have been a calculating error when they sold me 2 sets)
Third replacement at 44500 km with Galfer FD074G1651 for 28 Euro

Combi brake front (right side - left lever) first replacement with Re-flex at 27000 km
Swapped the pads at 44500 since the outside pad (1 mm) was much more gone than the inside pad (2.5 mm)
2011-9-24 at 49.000km I installed new Brembo pads.

The rear brake pad was checked at 27400 km and is still quite like new so it should last at least 50000 km

rear brake pads at 49000km I switched the pads with each other, since the wear was a bit uneven
the lower pad has some pad separation what happened when the splint was lost and they dropped into the wheel during lift off and blocked the wheel.

Spark Plug

Champion 0km - Champion 30000km - NKG 16000km

At 46000 changed back from NKG to OEM Champion for 8.60 Euro since even with the gap adjusted NKG the engine died in cold idle once more.

NKG spark plug after 15000 km from a MASTER engine 500cc

Today the engine died just after I went a few meters. Still rolling in traffic a slight press on the brake and starter - and she restarted instantly.
I remembered that I had a similar problem when the original spark plug reached 28000 km. The NKG spark plug has just a bit over 15000 km and after checking her there was much more than the 0.6-0.7 mm gap. So the NKG last much shorter than the Champion before she needs to be changed or adjusted.
Also the two prong NKG is much harder to adjust than the one prong Champion.

Note to self: next time buy Champion again.

Spark Plug

Should be changed every 12000 km.

Around 28000 km I noticed that the motor needed a bit longer to start and that on a cold engine in idle it sometimes went out. The idle rpm were 100 to 200 rpm lower than the normal 1300.
So it was time to check on the spark plug what I so far did not.

Thanks to the smart designers of the Spidermax this is done quick and easy, just remove the black triangle in the alu frame and you have easy access. It is just clipped in so a flat screw driver works well.

The spark plug gap 0.6-0.7 mm was about 1 mm wide (see the 0.8 mm washer to compare.

The color is OK and the grainy stuff is a result from the additives in the gas. A bit cleaning with a spark plug wire brush and good as new.

Here you see the spark plug model number

I just bend the gap back to 0.6 mm and put the plug back in.

Want to know if YOUR spark plug is a happy camper, compare to these guys here.

Replaced the spark plug at 30000 km to see if there was improvement in starting up or millage.

Starting cold still takes around 3 turns (warm only one), millage improved marginally and the seldom dying of the engine when cold and idle is gone.

Tires
RearAfter less than 8000 km my rear MAXXIS tire is without profile. That is a very bad for just lousy 8000 km. OK more then 50% was with a pillion and it is mostly 20-30 degrees and full sun, so the streets are warm. But 8000 km, what a shitty quality. Now since we have nearly no rain here, I can drive safely without profile for a while, but the tire lost air.
It is interesting that I actually could ride 2 up with the air below 1 bar and the Spidermax still behaved quite nice, just a bit soft in curves.

MAXXIS rear tire at 8000 km

MAXXIS rear tire replaced at 9700 km tire 150 Euro montage 14 Euro
Since the MAXXIS rear tire indicated already the replacement around 8000 km again I wanted to check out how long the the tire would hold before all the rubber is used up.These pictures show when just the top of the cord carcass is exposed. This is the absolute danger zone. I reached it after the tire had run for 17500 km.
More then 50% was with a pillion and it is mostly 20-30 degrees c (70 to 95 f) and permanent sun, so the streets are warm.
So the next tire should last good 16000 km in my "no rain" riding conditions.
Please be aware that depending on your local law the tire needs to be replaced when you are under a certain minimum profile depth.
MAXXIS rear tire replaced at 27300 km tire 178 Euro montage 20 Euro (extractor was needed because the ball bearing was holding onto the axle, same problem I had with the transmission case)

MAXXIS rear tire replaced at 44750 km tire with Pirelli Sport Demon 150/70-16 for 110 Euro plus montage 10 Euro.
This time there was no thread visible. I ordered a new Pirelli tire but they needed 4 weeks because there was not a single tire in Spain and Pirelli needed some time before they had enough orders in to manufacture at least 10 tires. My luck run out two weeks after I ordered the replacement tire when I was controlled and fined 200 Euro for having a tire without profile.
Here in Spain if you pay your fine within two weeks you can knock of 50%, what I did.
10 minutes after the tire change I got pulled over again from the same policeman who remembered the Spidermax to check up on my rear tire.
Well lesson learned and since the Pirelli tires are below 100 Euro I will keep an eye on my profile more closely.
... and checking my new Pirelli tire, it was made in Brazil ...

1012-01-12
checking the Pirelli after 10600 km at 55350 it keeps longer than the MAXXIS since it still has visible center profile but it tells you from the way it handles that it is time to change.

Pirelli Sport Demon 150 70 16 after 10600 km

Front
Front tire MAXXIS still the original tire at 27400 km

Changed the original MAXXIS front tire after 33360 km.
It was still not used to the thread as I did with the extreme rear tire test.

Found a newly opened car part store NORAUTO who could get me tires for my Spidermax. It was always a long wait with my motorcycle shop and was quite expensive.
The prices at NORAUTO were quite good.
Pirelli Sport Demon 120/80-16 for 89.95 €
The rear tire is only marginally more:
Pirelli Sport Demon 150/70-16 for 93.95 €

Where they charged a bit more than usual was with the changing and mounting.
Changing 19.95 €
Balance 7.95 €
getting rid of the old tire 1.17 €

But for 120 € I am quite happy and the people working there were very friendly.

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2012-01-12

Checking the Pirelli after 22000 km at 55350 it keeps longer than the MAXXIS since it still has visible quite deep center profile.

Pirelli Sport Demon 120 80 16 after 22000 km

Battery

After 2 years of low bat warning when I was starting (the brighter headlight what I installed took a toll in slow recharging), my original battery quit at around 45000 km and 4 and a half year. Replaced with a cheap Varta what fits in the hole. But I needed to remove some material of the underside from the Malaguti battery cover since the Varta is a bit taller and has 14 Ah instead of 12Ah.

Clutch
Changed the clutch at 38000km

The old one had still over 80% of material left!
I had to change it since when I did the video clips where you can see the open clutch in action I overstretched the clutch springs and could not get replacement springs.
The material from the clutch springs is not very elastic, when it stretches even a bit more then normal it stays stretched Replacing the stretched springs with some springs from the hardware store what worked as an emergency measure until replacement arrived. Since the springs were not so strong the clutch started to engage at 1600 rpm and did not disengage fully since one of the fly out arms was too stuck to be moved easily. My idle rpm dropped to 1100 and more than once the bike stalled.
BUT it worked without major problems, I could drive very slowly with 10 km/h a little over idle, the slightly stuck clutch made the bike behave like an automatic car what always creeps a bit if you do not hold it with the brake. Accelerating slowly was necessary until the rpm was over 2500.

Now the old clutch will get cleaned and I will use the fly out arms with the pads as a spare, but it looks like this will be not before I pass something in the 150.000 km area.

The clutch pads at 31000 km with 3 mm at the thinnest point

The original Piaggio clutch cost me 128 Euro and 10 Euro for swapping the new one with the old one. Since it is not easy to get a 55mm nut here and that is nothing I need more often, I just took the old clutch with the driven pulley to the shop and asked then to swap it for me.

Belt

The belt at 31000 km 26.3 mm wide

The belt at 31000 km with much more little cracks and the white inlay is gone totally.
Funny, but the width of the belt got wider the last 13000 km.
So I guess my dealer was right as I brought the replacement belt at 18000 km when he told me that they seldom replaces the belt on the 500cc engined before 45000 km.
Well it is nice to know I have one at home when I might need one in a year or so.

------
Here a couple pictures from my post "how many rollers are there"

With 26 mm after 18000 km the belt is nearly new.

Checking for cracks and defects I noticed a few threads missing in parts of the belt.
These are the worst parts, so I think I shall check back in another 5ooo km to see if there is more noticeable deterioration.

2012-01-26
The original belt was replaced at 37000 km. Checked then belt at 55900 after 19000 km and it still looks like new! No micro cracks, no loose or missing thread (see above) no visible abrasions. It can be assumed that the most stress for the belt comes from the flapping around at low RPM (paint shaker) with the original 8 roller setup.

Air Filter

Found a real car parts store had opened on our island, so I tried to find out about the air filter. It looked like a car air filter to me. And right I was. Malaguti uses the VW Golf II air filter. There are just 2 air filters for that Golf a small one for the small engines and that is the one you want.
I changed the air filter at 32.000

-

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So TIREd

2012-01-17T15:38:00.000Z

2012-01-17 how to fix a punctured tire
2009-01-22 original post

Patching tires
After less than 8000 km my rear MAXXIS tire is without profile.
That is a very bad for just lousy 8000 km. Ok more then 50% was with a pillion and it is mostly 20-30 degrees and full sun, so the streets are warm. But 8000 km, what a shitty quality.

Now since we have nearly no rain here, I can drive safely without profile for a while, but the tire lost air.
It is interesting that I actually could ride 2 up with the air below 1 bar and the Spidermax still behaved quite nice, just a bit soft in curves.
Finding the culprit was not to hard,but I also found that the tire was patched before.

Now with the help of a tire repair kit I could fix the leak easily.

The plug looks a bit weird and I cut of as much as possible from the protruding material.

Sadly the patched tire still lost air after one day. With the help of soapy water I found a tiny hole without anything sticking in it and did patch job number 2.
The next day my tire was still losing air. Soapy water again showed that now the old patch (lasted so far over 4000km before the 2 new holes) was loosing air.
Well a not proper inflated tire deforms permantly during the driving and thus were loosening the glued in plug a tiny bit.
So I took out the old plug

Looks quite impressive the new hole now. I inserted a new plug, wowing that if the tire would still lose air it would be replaced instantly: Apparently this worked since the air is now holding.

Now tracking down a rear tire 150/70 16" for the Spidermax is nearly impossible here on the island. Thank you Malaguty for having a tire size what no one else has. How about just a bit smaller 140/70 16" and I could use the Piaggio Bererly tire. It looks only MAXXIS and Pirelli making this tire size.
150/70-16 M/C 68S TL SPORT DEMON Pirelli
So far so bad, well I found a dealer who could track down the only tire here on the island and it is a MAXXIS (hurray). For 150 Euro plus 14 Euro montage it can be mine. I am so looking forward replacing the front tire 120/80-16" ...

Looks like I might be able to substitute the 150/70 16" with:
BRIDGESTONE EXEDRA 150/80-16 G703 TUBLES FT TIRE
Dunlop D404 150/80-16 Metzeler ME 880 Marathon 150/80-16
After the tire lost air agian I had it changed at 9700 km.

2009.12.23
The new Maxxis tire showed the replacement marks (see first picture center on the right side) at 8000 km again. Since this tire has no defects so far, I intend to see how long it can be driven before I absolutely have to replace it. Since this is a bit of a risky thing to do, I check the tire every time before I use the Spidermax for defects and poke the center of the tire with the key to see how soft the rubber still is. If I should come to the critical zone, there should be no more flexing of rubber.

I already nearly doubled the millage I got from this Maxxis. Please keep in mind, that there is virtually no rain where I ride and if we have rain a few times a year, I drive with extreme caution like yesterday when we had to tour the mountains to see the waterfalls we get after heavy rain.

2012-01-17
How to fix a punctured tire
What is it with January and me getting punctured tires?
A couple days ago I checked the tire pressure and it was 1.8 in the rear where 2.3 should have been.
Today I checked again since the bike felt a bit soft in the curves and I had 1.0 in the rear tire. WOW that is bad. At home I checked for a reason why the tire lost air and finally found a little silver dot in the tire.

find and remove the nail

check if the hole

if it is a small size hole use one ot these to wide it a bit more

use the puncture kit round file fo widen the hole a bit more and roughen the inside wall

a few times more

tire puncture kit

stick the plug into the placement tool and put rubber glue around

stick the plug into the tire

pull out placement tool - don´t worry, the plug stays in - trim the plug and inflate the tire -done

Malaguti Spidermax - Personal Log

2012-01-11T11:20:00.000Z

We have winter now here and that means temperatures in the morning can be around 15 degrees c. On some morning starts I notice a short metal noise (grinding?) when the starter clutch tries to disengage. This only happens with a cold engine in the morning.Since I had a bad starter clutch experience with my Aprillia Pegaso what resulted in a total destruction of the starter clutch I think I will need to open the engine and have a closer look. Since the water pump seal is in the same area it will then get changed too.

Piaggio MASTER engine 500cc starter clutch (sprag clutch / freewheel / flywheel)

a new starter clutch (Aprillia Pegaso / BMW F650)

destroyed starter clutch

The movable clutch rolls of the starter clutch are held in place by a metal O-spring. Over time this spring gets a bit worn out and does not retract the clutch rolls fast enough. This is when the trouble begins. At the first signs there is an easy way to fix this, just take out the spring, shorten it a bit and twist it back together. If you wait as long as I did with my Pegaso it grinds the clutch rolls round and desintegrates the smaller parts to metal flakes you have in your oil.

area where the defect starter clutch grind away metal

When I messed up the thread from the driving pulley I replaced the nearly new rollers with the unused 4 ones to get the maximum time before another change is necessary. As usual when I change rollers I alternate the grooves they are rolling in.
Funny thing is that the Spidermax now runs a bit higher kind of like with the 2.5 mm washer but with a V-max from 171 km/h instead from 169 as clocked from the digital instrument and the factory 8 roller setup.
I am now riding 98% 2 up and do a lot of high speed highway km. The Spidermax runs very often in the 7000 rpm band (close to rpm max). My consumption is now constant above 5 liter per 100 km but the performance, response and acceleration is on an all time high.
I changed the oil change interval to 5000 km and the filter to 10000 km.
So until there is a noticeable change I will leave the transmission alone and be very happy with what I have now and gladly accept the bit higher price I have to pay at the pump.

Ups - Yesterday while riding I tried to figure out when the rear tire needs to be replaced. Let´s think, the first one at 10.000, the second one lasted 17000 until the rubber was gone and now I have 44000 on the dial. Oh my time flies when you having fun already 17000 on the old tire, time to order a new one.

OK, I got nearly new rollers, belt, a new clutch, adjusted valves and with the new speed limit here I am seldom above 110 km/h but my consumption with 2 people on board is still around 5.2 liter at 100 km.
My Spidermax runs great and the throttle response is awesome, with nearly 44000 km on the odometer everything is fine, she is just a bit more thirsty than she was before and I have no Idea why.

If you want to talk to me or comment / have a question to a post, use the comments box at the end of the post. No need to register or log in.

Passing the 40.000 km my Spidermax is still going strong, without any problems and after adjusting the valves she runs smoother and the gas consumption dropped again a bit.
All my modifications like the parking brake, foot rests, colt conversion, radio etc. are still working flawless and most satisfactory. Even my spray can paint job still looks good except for the lid of the top box what has some sun damage and needs a re-spray.

***

I started a new blog about Home Cinema.
If this might interest you come and see me at:

Home Cinema: 25 years imax@home

Epson EH-TW3200

2010-11-3 Smooth operator
My Spidermax feels like she is fresh from the showroom and on her first ride out. The new rollers, belt and now also the new clutch make for one smooth riding experience. That combined with the Canary Conversion and the, slightly modified, silver transmission noise dampener in place (see the end of this post) is as good as it gets.

Finally Malaguti sold the last Spidermax.
The GT model like mine I am talking about. It was kind of embarrassing how long (over 2 Years) they had both models next to each other.
Now they are offering only the RS500 with the nicer styled trunk area (kind of like I painted mine) and the different nose plate. Except for some restyled tupperware and the Euro3- instead of the Euro2 norm engine it is the same bike. Sadly still no exiting colors, but then that makes it easy to go for your dream color in a respray...

2010-10-20 20:10
How things can change when you keep trying...
After installing new rollers and a new belt the 3 mm washer suddenly makes a big difference. I think the old belt was scraping too much and canceled out the improvements.
And now I am even tinkering to get the torque and power exactly there where the Colt Conversion could use a boost - in the lower speed areas. I had no idea with just changing some simple things the improvement would be so drastic. And all you need is a 60 cent washer and changing some parts which are already installed in your transmission.
WOW

2010-9-22
Since the 3 mm washer mod does not show noticeable improvement with the Colt or Mustang conversion I was thinking about trying a 4 mm mod. But since I not have a 4 mm washer I will just combine the old 2 mm with the new 3 mm, check if there is nothing scraping and then will see if this will make a difference.

2010-09-19
Changed back from 6 to 4 rollers yesterday because my new rollers did not arrive on time (as usual here on the island) and the belt was scraping to much on the transmission case because of the 3 mm washer mod.
Having driven with the 6 roller Mustang conversion for 1050 km and now back to to 4 roller Colt there is such a big difference in response and instant acceleration. So for all of you guys out there who think the 15-16 gram rollers are a blast, you have no idea what your bike is really capable of.
There is a noticeable difference in response up to 130 Km/h (80 mph).

The footrests are now permanent in use, I had no idea that they would make such an impact. If I wear boots I could stretch my legs straight and rest the heels in front of the footrests.

Also just test installed a MP3 player with AUX input into the radio to see if I like that handling better then the buttons of the radio, since all functions can be operated just with the thumb while the hand stays on the grip.

... just back from a trip into the mountains, the handling is much better but I remembered now why I did not do that in the first time. The output from the MP3 player is not high enough (not loud enough) and the quality of the sound quality is much better from the radio mp3 player.
Now I recalled that I did that test stationary when I decided where to put the radio.
Damn you old age and CRS-syndrome.

2010-09-17
I really liked taking the picture from the Spidermax in front of the awesome graffiti wall.
The baby tinkering with / riding the engine is just hilarious and the rest is some very creative work.
Reminds me a bit of Snoopy:

One of Snoopy's most famous alter-egos is as the World War I Flying Ace (first appearance, October 10, 1965), often seen battling his arch-enemy, Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron). When assuming this personality, Snoopy would don goggles, a flying helmet and a scarf and climb on top of his doghouse, which he claimed was a Sopwith Camel.

If you like it too, here is the whole wall for you to enjoy.

2010-09-08
I was thinking about if footrests would work out for the Spidermax.
So I installed a test footrest and it turned out that the leg shield is in the way of extending the leg too much.
It works well enough for the front part of the foot.
Today I rode a while in the twisties with just my heel on the running board and it felt quite nice to extend the leg a bit, so maybe I just make a little extension with some metal...

... and talking about the twisties, the Mustang conversion (6 rollers) did not do too well today with rpms in the 3000 and lower 4000 band up the mountain curves. The paint shaker and wheel flapper ware present and the transmission got quite warm and smelt that way too. Mind, it is worse with the original 8 roller setup but hell - I miss my Colt conversion.
Just ordered a set of original rollers from Piaggio and they should be here in a couple weeks.

There is also a big difference in passing power. Ripping open the throttle, the Colt conversion jumps in most conditions instantly to the 6000 rpm band (where max power meets max torque) while the Mustang conversion goes much slower from the 5000 to the 6000 rpm band. I feel less in control about how the engine behaves with the Mustang conversion and I rather stay behind a car than passing it as I would have done securely with the Colt conversion.

2010.8.29
Having changed to the Mustang conversion for a few days now, I remember what made me choose the Colt conversion in the first place.
I had totally forgotten about the 3000 to lower 4000 rpm band. This is where the Multi-valve Advanced Super Torque Engine Range 500 has the "charm" of a old diesel with the performance, noise and vibrations.
This band is passed, in a to short to notice time, with the Colt conversion and nearly never used during normal riding conditions.
So you get a much more smoother ride, the engine purrs happily while the unused anti-flapper wheel is getting an identity crisis.
You can test that for yourself, just find a empty space and roll along with 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500 and then 5000 rpm. Listen to the sound, feel the vibrations and listen to the noise what the belt makes on the anti-flapper wheel. You will notice then above 4500 the engine runs smoother and reacts much better of a suddenly full throttle then in the lower rpm.

2010.8.27
The last few 100 km I noticed that my rpm´s were getting a bit higher and my consumption was rising by 5% also my top end was in the 140th and not 160 as normal. Also my rpm band shifted 500 rpm higher from 5000-7000 to 5500-7500.

Now if you read the blog so far you know that I was tinkering with the roller weights and that my 500cc only runs on 4 instead of 8 rollers. The first 4 rollers I swapped after 10000 km because the plastic was a bit deformed. These were also the rollers that had the plastic in a better shape than the other 4.

The plastic got a bit stressed in my 8 rollers Woody-Steel test. The wood got slightly compressed and the plastic was a bit like Odo the shapeshifter.
From the other 4 rollers 2 had plastic in worse shape the so I swapped only 2 rollers.

After now 6000 km more the weakened plastic was a bit deformed that it was a bit flatter on the contact spots.

My hypothesis is that if I had not knocked the covered side out from the plastic and had not weakened the inside then the plastic would not have deformed.

To test this, I will order 8 new original rollers from Piaggio in the original 21.5 gram weight and will try another test run for 5000 km to see if I am right.

Until I get the rollers I have switched to the Mustang conversion (6 rollers) and already had my fair share of missing passing power.

Having gotten 3 times the recommended life out of my rollers and putting them through the ordeal I did, I can not complain at all.

2010.8.12
When I tried to check if my brake pads were still OK some 5000 km ago, I noticed that the rod what holds the pads in place was loose and was already out of one hole.
I just padded it back in with a hammer carefully and forgot about it.

BIG MISTAKE

Last Sunday my Spidermax did not want to go even the engine was running, So I assumed my transmission belt was broken, but when I engaged the combi brake there was no braking power.

Two failures in one, what a way to start a ride.
On closer inspection I found a brake pad wedged between the brake caliper and the wheel while actually blocking the rear wheel and the brake was leaking fluid.

The red arrow points into the gap between rim and brake disk where the pad did slide in.

As you can see the metal from the pad where the rod holds it in place is quite bend.
It resisted getting unbend, so I had to drill the hole it a bit wider so the screw can pass through.
I finally located a fitting screw and secured it in place with 2 self locking nuts.

That took care of the blocking wheel but the brake did not want to work properly. Since the brake fluid was already 4 years old, I decided to change it to get rid of any air in it.
After that it worked better but still a bit on the soft side.
Some 100 km later all is back to normal.

weep hole and water pump seal

2012-01-11T10:51:00.000Z

2012-01-11
2011-12-21
2011-11-28
2011-11-11
2011-10-27
2011-10-15
2011-09-27

You know the smell of a hot engine after a nice long ride - if that smell changes from oily metal to burnt sweet it is time to check out the area around the water pump.
Seeing water drops coming out of the hot engine and then being vaporized is a bit unsettling at first since I had no idea there was a hole in the engine with just the job to leak water or oil.

meet the weep hole, your indicator that a seal is leaking

In this post you will learn a bit about what keeps your engine cool, where the weak points of the system are and maybe how to fix the problem.

Let´s start with the diagram of the water flow from the Malaguti Spidermax and her Piaggio MASTER engine with 500cc.
The same engine what moves the:

- Aprilia Atlantic 400/500
- Aprilia Scarabeo 400/500
- Gilera Nexus 400/500
- Gilera Fuoco 400/500
- Piaggio Beverly 400/500
- Piaggio MP3 400/500
- Piaggio X9 400/500
- Peugeot Satelis 400/500

Most scooters have one heat exchanger (radiator), the Spidermax has two what are regulated with an extra thermostat.

9,8,7 cold - 9,8,7,1,5,6 warm - 9,8,7,1,5,3,6 hot

water pump and secondary radiator

primary radiator with cooling fan and expansion bottle

the 3 air bleeding points - 1 engine - 2 primary radiator - 3 secondary radiator

After understanding a bit about the ways of the water, we take a closer look at the water pump.
As usual during the development of an engine, there are some differences.

In the Euro 3 version the one with the controlled catalytic converter the water pump was redesigned for easy replacement of the seals without removing the flywheel cover (special tools needed).

BUT if you like me have an Euro 2 version then there is some more work involved.

Why does a water pump leak anyhow?
Well, there is the spinning part of the pump what is surrounded with water and there is the engine where it is mounted in and that just likes oil inside.
The water pump seal is mostly 3 parts.
1- the rubber oil seal what sits between engine and the water pump shaft.
2- the fixed ceramic water seal what comes next
3- the spinning ceramic water seal what hugs the pump shaft

The next 5 images are from a smaller engine´s water pump and it gives you an idea how it might look like in your water pump.

the oil seal

How does the water / oil leaks out of the engine?

you are looking on top of the water pump case, at the end you see the brown oil seal and in front of it the opening of the weep hole (blue). In case the oil seal fails, oil drips out of the hole and if the water seal fails - water.With this little hole your oil is saved from being "watered down".

For all your shopping needs Piaggio has some complete kits they offer to get the job done.

Euro 2 with catalytic converter

Euro 3 with the controlled catalytic converter

some dealers even carry the parts single

for later:
to check if the water system is OK with no air pockets see the lower part of this post.

2011-10-15

2nd version of my weep hole water catcher
to make sure the water drips into the hose, a small part of the tie-down strap is inserted into the weep hole and sticks into the clear tube.

3rd version of my weep hole water catcher this time to see what amount is lost over a longer period. Test started at 50150km

the first result after some hill climbing and a short high speed part
The container will hold up to 50ml

2011-10-27

after 1000 km at 51170 it is time to check how much coolant the Spidermax has lost

Looks like something less than 0.01 liter. That amount is nothing for me to worry so far.
It seems that the oil seal is leaking a tiny amount of oil also judging from the thin oil film on top of the coolant.
I will leave the weep hole discharge collector mounted and will monitor that for the the next 4000 km to see if there is a change in the amount of discharge.
If it stays this way I will do nothing, since changing the seals is quite expensive, so far the first estimate was at 180 Euros.

2011-11-11

after 2000 km at 52197

It looks like the bit of radiator sealant I put in the system 2000 km ago is doing its magic. I might put in a bit more than the 0.02 liter what fit into the radiator cup opening the last time.
From the 25 ml the part below the black tie down strap holds it looks like 10 ml (0.01 liter) have been lost in 2000 km. At this rate the coolant needs to be topped up after roughly 2 years or 25000 km.

2011-11-28

after 3000 km at 53167

2011-12-21

after 4000 km at 54227

2012-01-11
Yesterday we made a tour around our island (200 km) what took around 8 hours, kind of we did when I noticed the weep hole for the first time.
Checking the fluid stand at 55265 the glass was full.
So it seems at full stress (lot of mountains and high speed) over a longer time there is a lot more leaking than during a normal ride for an hour or two.
I emptied the glass and will check if my theory is correct.

after 5000 km at 55265

Malaguti Spidermax - I want a Radio

2011-10-25T19:26:00.000+01:00

2011-10-25
2011-08-12
2010-08-18

It is nice to ride around with a little MP3 player and some ear buds, but I want a big bike stereo!
Sadly the Malaguti engineers forgot about that option. We have a couple speaker grill lookalikes, but there is no room behind to install speakers.

Fiddling around with some sound equipment I came to the conclusion that I wanted external speakers. I wanted something what could be easy weather proofed in case of rain also I wanted a normal car radio because this is the compactest way to have everything in one place.
It should have an easy access for line in (3.5 mm if possible), a build in SD card reader and a USB port. I did not care for CD since this makes no more sense when you can put so much more on a SD card and have no moving parts.
My camera store had a MIYOTA Radio what fit the bill exactly. It was also shorter than the standard car stereo and for 45 Euro with 4 speaker outputs and 240 watt I took it.

I decided for a cheap radio since I do not know how well my weather protection will work, also I did want only buttons and no dials since there will be a sturdy plastic foil covering the front face of the radio and it has to be fully functional.

Our local Cash Converter (second hand electronics and tools) had 5 nice looking Hercules speakers for 12 Euro what not only looked good but also were kind of heavy. This is important, because you need a good size magnet to produce a good amount of volume. The speakers were also on a tilt mount so the angle could be easy adjusted.

After taking the speakers apart and moving the front face plastic from pointing down to pointing up I was able to tilt the speakers down enough to have an emergency rain cover.

Testing with a little mp3 player connected to the line in I decided that I wanted the radio in easy access.

I took an old license plate and bend a mounting bracket,

I needed to get 12 volt from the battery and the ground from the handlebar holder screws.

The soft metal is easy to bend to hug the curves from the handlebar plastic cover.

A 10 mm hole was all I needed to get all the cables through.

Now I was working to make it look nicer. I remembered a few years ago on a trip to Las Vegas some girl handbags and purses made out of license plates. So I mutilated another license plate.

To cover the front a 3rd plate had to be bend.

I am quite pleased with the look

Sure If I could have brought a ready made radio holder it might have look better but such a thing does not exist for the Spidermax.

The cables got wrapped in black duct tape and you can see that the speaker can be tilt easy to face down.

The sound is good up to 60 km/h, above 80 km/h the wind and engine noise take over.
The stereo has a connection for aux out, so now I have to find a small subwoofer and a place to put it.

To protect the thin rear speaker wires from mechanical failure and heat I used an old gas hose to cover them.

To keep the rear speakers from involuntarily moving I used a sturdy thin easy to bend metal band. The next time you exchange your windshield wipers, take the 2 thin metal bands out which keep them flexible. These bands are very useful to have around.

And this is how the unexpected rain setting works

For normal wet weather proofing there will be some zip-lock bags to cover the speakers. But since we have not more than 20 something rainy days a year in my part of the world that is not a big deal.

2011-08-12
The last winter was much wetter than usual so I often had to cover the speakers and the radio.
Sometimes I just flipped the speakers down and pulled the main connector from the radio to cut all power from it.

To wash the bike was also a bit more challenging with the mounted speakers and radio.
I found a little sub woofer what worked with 12 Volt but gave up after I could nor find a way where to mount it.

A couple days I found a pair of heavy Sony speakers who covered the deep frequencies quite nicely.
I planned to mount them on the side of the top-box but that proved futile.
After some, hold there and the listen to the sound - now try a different position, I decided to mount them in front and put the Hercules speakers on top of the Sony speakers.

The rain and washing problem in mind, I wanted a mounting system what can disconnect the speakers within a second.
A cupboard hinge just did the trick for easy and secure locking the speakers in place and have them removed instantly
.
After the test I needed to make some modifications.
I had the Sony speakers mounted flush with Spidermax and the Hercules speakers mounted in line with the Sony speakers.
As a result the Hercules speakers pointed a bit outward and since the projected sound is quite on a narrow beam I lost a lot of it.
The Sony speakers did not produce the low sound frequencies I heard during the test in the shop.
So I realigned the Hercules speakers that they were pointing directly toward my ears, bridged the capacitor in the Sony speakers to remove the low frequency cutoff and blocked the outside bass reflex opening so that the bass is directed towards the center of the Spidermax via the inside opening.
The second test was much more ear pleasing and was booked as a full success.

To keep the speakers from sliding just out of their mount a simple screw (red circle) is sitting in front of the Sony speaker foot. To dismount, just lift and pull. The hinge holds the speakers enough secure so that vibrations or a bump will not lift the speaker foot over the screw.

With the new speaker configuration I could listen to Ennio Morricone at 130 km/h, normal soundtracks without that much high frequencies were usable up to 100 km/h.
The overall acoustics with this setup is like a kind of surround sound, you feel engulfed in music and that even with a ear covering helmet.
The 12 Euro investment and the few hours work (had to dismantle a bit since I did not use wooden screws but nuts and bolts) sure made for a nice audio and handling improvement.

2011-10-25
My radio works still well but I wanted more power and a nicer look and a better handling.
So I finally found a solution to my wishes.
A nice amplifier - Since the normal car amplifier is a bit too big I looked around until I found something smaller.

The 100W amplifier fits just behind the dashboard

The SPCinternet 8244s1 MP3 Player has everything I want in big and easy to touch handling.
Up and down for volume, left and right for fast forward or next track (depends on how long you press).
Center play/pause and turn on. An On/Off and Normal/Random switch combined with 8 hours of playtime, a fast USB charge and 4GB internal storage makes this the right companion for the amplifier.

no need to move the hand at all to access all functions

the audio cable finds a resting place when the player is away in the mounting bracket

Piaggio 500cc MASTER engine pictures

2011-10-12T16:25:00.001+01:00

just some pictures from a Piaggio 500cc MASTER engine I found on the net

3 Years with the Malaguti Spidermax 500GT

2011-09-24T15:11:00.000+01:00

What can I say - the Spidermax is a terrific bike. She is now driven like a sports bike with RPMs in the 6000 to 7500 (rpm-max is 8000) and the scraping of the center stand in curves does not bother me anymore...
She is a little bit more thirsty after she passed the 35.000 km mark and no matter what I changed or adjusted it stays that way. But that might have something to do that I am now mostly run with 2 persons and enjoy every minute of it - it is a very small price to pay for that much more fun the Colt Conversion provides.

Things I done within the last year:

Finally after one year of leaking I changed the seal from the front shock.
Standing all day in the sun the vinyl of my seat developed cracks and I wanted to get a leather colored replacement but with the red paint job the seat just looks better in black. I already have a meter of the same textured material lying around...
the parking brake still works as expected, I had one malfunction when the brake had slipped from the rest position and had moved in front of the brake lever. I wondered why the brake lever did only work after some extra force... well re-bend the brake holder and everything works well as always.
my paint job is holding up quite well just the main exposed parts like the top-case what is already repainted and the right backside what was not too well done in the first place and will get a re-spray in a few weeks.
The footrests work flawless except for one time when I nearly dropped the bike and bend the left one and had to re-bend it.
after one year and 12000km on the new belt I can say that the Colt Conversion with the higher RPM is quite beneficial for the belt. It is without cracks or tears and not even the outer layer of the thread between the top and bottom half of the belt shows any sign of use. So it is quite as I expected, the belt has the most stress in low RPMs when it is flapping around.
I learned the hard way that Piaggio has used inferior material to cover the rollers and hope that the new set will be back to the quality the factory installed set was.
The radio is still a lot of fun during my mountain tours and I removed the rear speakers from the top case and will connect the rear part to the Sony speakers (see the radio post).
until now the Spidermax was absolutely dependable but since 48500 km I see some coolant leaking out of the weep hole and the water pump seals will need to be replaced.

Piaggio Master 500cc - 2 Years / 30000 km (19000 miles) with the 4 roller Colt conversion

2011-09-24T10:36:00.000+01:00

I started my Colt conversion experiment 2009.8.10 with 19.000 km, now 2011.9.24 two years and at 49.000 km so 30.000 km (19.000 miles) later it is time to see how it worked out.

If you are new to my blog, here a short recap for you.
I replaced the rollers and the belt at 37.000 km. 12.000 km later the new rollers are in extremely bad shape, see: WARNING! bad Piaggio rollers batch while the belt is in mint condition without any sign of wear or tear.
I am now on the road with permanent 2 persons on the bike and the gas consumption is now

a bit above 5 liter per 100km
or a bit below 19 km per liter
below 45 miles per gallon US

keep in mind my V-max is often above 120 km/h - 75 mph and the terrain has always slight hills, or steeper ones if we go into the mountains.
The colt conversion still works very well, right now with the used rollers changed the 2 mm washer against a 1 mm to see if that changes the consumption.
So far the acceleration from the stand and around 3000 rpm took a noticeable hit and acceleration in the mountains is also less satisfying, the overall rpm is down a bit and we will see if there is a change in consumption.
With 38.500 after an 8 hour tour through the whole island mountains the water pump seal went bad and started to drip noticeable out of the weep hole.

Malaguti Spidermax - blind area mirror mod

2011-08-14T20:16:00.000+01:00

The optimal position to install a dead angle mirror
updated 2 years later

We have some crazy drivers here on the island and after some not so nice encounters I needed to increase my point of view.
The problem is if you stick a blind angle mirror on the main mirror you loose some mirror real estate and after trying several spots on the mirror they all sucked in a certain situation.

So today I had an idea how to make it look nice and do not loose too much of the original mirror surface.
I cut a groove out of the dead angle mirror so it would fit snugly over the rim or the Spidermax mirror. Test driving the mirror showed a perfect extension from the outside corner of the original mirror into the inside corner of the blind spot mirror.

You can see very well in this picture how the mirrors interact. The Peugeot rear leaves the main mirror and the whole area from the driver door to the back is in the dead angle mirror.

Even if the mirrors are tiny, when the object leaves the main mirror it is big enough in the dead angle mirror to spot at a quick glance. And that is all I need to make a split second decision while changing lanes. When the object has half left the dead angle mirror it is next to you and you have it in the peripheral view.

Update 2009.09.13
After gluing the left wide angle mirror with double sided sticky tape onto the main mirror I wondered what would happen if somebody would bump into the little mirror extension what sticked out. Worse case scenario, it would crack the main mirror. So I was looking for an alternative like a easy tear off solution. I remembered fixing dead angle mirrors with foam sticky tape to the main mirror and that it was easy to separate the foam when I want it removed again. In our local 1 Euro store I found some black double sided foam sticky tape.

I glued 3 layers on the thick half of the dead angle mirror.

It is now flush with the rim of the main mirror without the need to remove some material from the dead angle mirror. The 3 layers of foam tape should easily separate if something bumps into the extended mirror.

The "old" design

The finish look

2 years later
A year later the square mirrors became to blind and I tried a bigger round mirror but went back to the square design after the round mirror surface stared to go blind within weeks.
Crappy Chinese quality...
The square mirror is now smaller from the surface but the angle is adjustable. I miss the old design where you could actually see much more, but no matter where I look all shops carry noly the new design.

I finally tried an oval mirror what showed much more but it cost 3 Euro per mirror.
After mounting and the test drive I just could see only the street a couple meters behind me. The new fancy oval mirror seems to be angled to much downwards.
After closer inspection I could press the upper part of the mirror inwards and now it shows everything.

I also removed that part of the Spidermax mirror case what I had to bridge (see above) to now mount the dead angle mirror flush with the Spidermax mirror.

old mirror (did not show enough for my taste)

new mirror with much wider view

new and old compared - you see the huge difference

The new mirror is a bit on the small side, but the glass? is quite good so far, pretty sharp and clear. It covers very well all of the dead spots, so no need for even a slight turn of the head any more.

After several days riding the verdict is in: Even if they are pretty slim there is no blind spot or moving from the big into the small mirror car passing any more. The mirror covers the normal mirrors area plus the whole blind spot and the passing car leaves the mirror when it is next to you and easy to spot without any head or eye movement.
So far the best working and looking blind spot mirror I had tested in over 4 years.

Malaguti Spidermax - replacing the seat cover

2011-07-19T10:54:00.004+01:00

On the place where I sit the seat cover is starting to develop cracks. After putting a small duct tape patch over it new ones outside the patch began to emerge. Covering them too with a now bigger strip of black duct tape a new one outside the taped area appeared the next day.
That was when I realized it is time to look for a replacement.

Asking around who would do this kind of work I got an offer for 55 Euro for the front seat and 100 Euro for front and back.
That seemed a bit expensive for me so I looked where I could get the faux leather plastic what covers the seat.
Since the black gets pretty hot in the sun I was looking for something not so dark. Finally I found a warehouse what had a huge selection of this kind of "fabric".
I decided for a light tan leather and for 7 Euro a meter by 1.6 meter I took a piece home.
I also needed to get a staple gun and 6mm short staples. Since the staples get shot into plastic, I needed an electrical one with more power than the hand tools.
We have a tool rental place but they wanted 15 Euro for a day for a small electric staple gun.
Carre Four had one for 10 Euro but this one used 4mm wide staples and they had only 12mm long staples available. Alcampo tried to sell the same staple gun for 30 Euro and did no even carry staples. At Leroy Merlin we found a no name brown cardboard box staple gun for 20 Euro with the normal size staples and 6mm staples for 4 Euro.
To see how it would look like I stapled the new material over the existing cover in a quick and dirty way.

The sun did heat the brighter material to similar temperatures as the black one.
I also did not like that this color had a touch into yellow.

Going back to the fabric store I looked at blue and dark blue, silver (to match the frame) and several others until I found this tobacco tan which me and my wife fell in love with instantly.
We got 2 meters in lengths for 14 Euro to cover the seat and the backrest with enough to spare for side projects.

Now I just need to get some UV resistant sewing yarn and I can start up the sewing machine the work on a proper replacement.
Will keep you posted about the progress.

Malaguti Spidermax - I am so screwed

2011-05-04T01:48:00.002+01:00

With the gas prices high as they are now, I wanted to try to find a way to lower the gas consumption of the MASTER engine from my Malaguti Spidermax.

Since adding to the 2mm washer (between the driving pulley halves) brought the rpm up reducing the washer must bring the rpm down.
And with lower rpm might come a lower gas consumption.

So much for the theory.

To test the max difference possible, I removed the 2mm washer (pictured) completely.
Then just pressing the belt into the driven pulley a bit (first mistake) I screwed the 27mm nut back on, fixed her with my trusty impact wrench, turned the pulley a bit and screwed a couple more seconds for good measure.
On the test run the Spidermax behaved like the original 8 roller setup and I did not see much lower rpm in the low and medium rpm band.
The experience was that bad that I did not care to try a 1mm setup.

Back home I after just a couple minutes rest I tried to get the 27mm nut off from the still very warm engine. That was my second mistake.

So far I took the transmission apart over 30 times and except for shearing off some of the thin low quality bolts which hold the transmission lid in place I never had any trouble with any part of it. I always check the bolts and nuts for wear and tear to be on the save side.

The impact wrench normally loosens a screw within a couple seconds, but after 10 seconds nothing happened. I tried for a few seconds more until the impact wrench got hot and the grease in the impact part started to come out of the wrench. I decided to let the engine and the nut cool off and tried later again. The nut moved a tiny bit but it took me a long time and several times to reverse the wrench (like rocking a car out of the mud) until I finally got the nut off. While trying to keep the pulley fan wheel from moving I managed to break off one of the fins.

After getting the nut off I discovered to my horror that the nut had been fused with the pulley axle and both threads were completely destroyed.
Oh happy day!

Now I have 2 parts what have to be locked together and they lost their ability to do so. The nut is easy to replace... It just took me several days, more than 10 hardware and bike stores and a 100km round trip to find one.
It is easy to find a 27mm nut but they normally come with a 2.5mm thread. This nut but has to have a fine thread with 1.5mm. M18 1.5mm / 27mm is what you need.

Now my problem is where to screw it to?

you see in what sorry shape my old nut is

My options are either to remove the two washers what normally distribute the pressure from the 27mm nut to a bigger surface of the fan wheel and hope that the remaining 5mm are enough to hold the wheel in place without causing any problems or to cut a new thread into the axle.
The problem with the second solution are higher costs and how to keep the axle from turning while I cut a new thread. Since this involves some major torque and I see now way to keep the axle secure from turning I opted for solution one for now.

since I messed up one fin and the wheel has 19 of it I needed to nibble some material of the other side to keep it balanced.

The first test ride was without incident and if any problems should occur I will post it here.

Malaguti Spidermax - Valve Job - Master 500cc Engine

2011-04-13T02:08:00.000+01:00

Adjusting the valves from the 500cc Piaggio MASTER engine is quite easy and takes less than 10 minutes...

,,,if they were easy to reach....
But getting there takes some time.
First put her on the center stand and remove the 2 screws what hold the seat.
Remove the seat
Remove the footrests
Remove the silver transmission plastic cap (and her 4 screws)
Remove the 2 screws in the gas flap

remove the gas cap - remove the gas spill guard - replace the gas cap

remove the battery and the screw what holds the battery holder then carefully pull the whole thing out

remove the 4 screws frrom the ECU

disconnect the ECU

look at the mess and move the cables etc. out of the way

remove the 3 screws - twist the connector to reach the left screw

remember to reconnect the grounding wire later (here with screw)

the valve lid is waiting for a 10mm socket and is just hand tight screwed

remove the service openings

you need to unscrew the hose holder and wonder about the placement of the support for it

loosen the 6 screws (some might held in place by the rubber seal) and carefully fiddle the lid out

you reached the valves

remove the screwed in plastic plug (don´t worry most thicker screwdrivers etc. will do)

rotate the engine slowly counter clock wise with the driving pulley nut until alignment

through the service opening you can also check the alignment for upper dead point

wiggle a bit on the metal cup between valve and screw to get it loose and here you want to put the feeler blade

you have 4 valves to service

use the 2 service openings for easy access to the lower valves

check how big the gap is (mine after 40000km was between 0,2 and 0,25 mm

choose the 0.15mm blade - open the nut so you can turn the screw - remember how strong the nut was tightened - insert the blade and tighten the screw as much so you can still slide the feeler blade but notice a good resistance - tighten the nut a bit and check for blade movement - mostly the screw gets a bit moved when you tighten the nut - recheck and tighten the nut - recheck - repeat with the other valves.
If a full screw rotation is 60 min, my valves needed between 10 to 15 min to get adjusted.

Now put it back together in reverse order and when you are tighten the valve lid do it a bit a time, hand tighten first and then in 2 steps final tighten the 6 screws.
Check if your bike is still running , if so - congratulations: you are now a junior mechanic first grade.

Malaguti Spidermax - do it yourself videos

2011-03-20T14:20:00.000Z

Malaguti Spidermax Valve Adjustment

more tech clips on You Tube

The Canary Conversion - pushing the limits of sanity

2011-02-27T18:22:00.000Z

2011-2-27
2010-11-6
2010-10-20

( The conversion formerly known as the Colt 3 double Woody ;)

How to get the most acceleration for free by optimizing the amount and weight of the rollers and fine-tuning the distance between the driving pulley halves to optimize for your riding style and conditions.
This is an additional tuning of the already very efficient Colt Conversion.

Consumption Canary Conversion start 2010-10-20

click on the buttons to go to the mileage logs

Colt Conversion 5000 km test
Factory Setup 5000 km test

Spidermax mostly with 2 persons ca 400 kg (900 lbs) total
Typical riding conditions are 20% mountains 20-60 km/h - 50% slightly hilly 40-90 km/h - 30% slightly hilly 100-145 km/h

You will notice that I get a lower millage than most people, but if you see my riding conditions above you will get an idea why. The Burgman 400 needed around 4.5 l and the Pegaso 650 6.5 l per 100 km. Both were ridden more conservatively than the Spidermax.

If you want to compare 250 other scooters to my numbers, check out:
MPG Guide: The Fuel Economy Of 250 Top Selling Scooters
To better understand what is going on, read The Colt 3 Conversion first.
Then check out the 7 links below to get an idea how this all developed.

Objective:
To get the awesome low (30 - 50 km/h) and medium (50 - 100 km/h) speed response from the Colt 3 Conversion and the perfect high speed (100 - V-max) response from the Colt Conversion.

The Setup:
Colt Conversion (4 instead of 8 original rollers) link 1 link 2 link 3
this gives you 20% to 40% faster acceleration depending on the situation
3 mm washer (instead of 2 mm washer between the driving pulley) link 5 link 6 link 7
this gives you better acceleration up to 100 km/h and higher low speed rpm
Double Woody with 12 gram total (2 rollers with a wooden, instead of the steel insert) link 4
this cancels out most of the too high rpm above 100 km/h from the washer mod

First impressions:
The low speed response is a less good than the Colt 3, but improved to the Colt Conversion.
The low speed (10-25 km/h) hill climbing has a good throttle response and with 2000-3500 rpm an acceptable rpm band for sustained slow riding. This should be close to 1000 rpm more than with the factory setup.

Low speed WOT is noticeably improved compared to the Colt Conversion but does stay 200 to 400 rpm below the Colt 3.

From slow driving to WOT the rpm jumps very fast to 7000 and stay there until 80 km/h is passed.
This is near the optimal rpm for the max torque and power.
I am happy so far.

Where the Colt 3 above 100 km/h at WOT often was around 7700-7900 rpm it stays now below 7500 rpm and this is important since from 7000 to 8000 rpm you loose 15% torque and you feel that.

This was exactly what I hoped the double Woody would do. The Woody is too light to have much of an impact in the low and mid rpm but when we get above 6000 the two 6 gram wooden inserts do their magic. The bring the rpm down a bit so we are in the max power area but loose not too much on torque.

Testing my hill (see above) I reached 130 km/h same as the Colt Conversion and 10 km more then with the Colt 3.

The V-max is slightly above 150 km/h (could not test on my usual place so far) and the whole high speed behavior is close to the Colt conversion wit noticeably reduced rpm.

I will test this setup further and will try to get some 15 mm wood to make inserts for the 4 steel rollers and see if there is a difference in behavior.

Interesting fact:
the 4 year old rollers were 16 mm inside, the new one are 15 mm. So they changed the material from the metal inserts.

So far I am very happy with the outcome and consider my goal reached.
Since this setup is optimized for my style of riding here on the Canary Islands I will call it from now on the Canary Conversion.

Now my problem is that I have to suck on sour lemon drops while WOTing to keep my grin in check or I start looking like a character from South Park,

----------------------------
2010-11-5
First solo test run after the new clutch was installed.
The rpm jumped quickly up to 7000 rpm where I thought I would find the max acceleration at WOT but it felt there was something missing. I was happy how this mod did bring the rpms down from the Colt 3 just like where I wanted them to be, but I missed that kick in the back accelerating I got from the high rpm of the Colt 3 Conversion.

I had found some 15 mm round wood and was trying out some inserts for the 4 steel rollers but the wood was not heavy enough. I measured around 1 gram and that would not work.
So I went to Plan B.

Removed the 2 woodies and reduce the 3 mm to 2.5 mm.
To find a washer with a 22 mm hole and a thickness from 2.5 mm is not easy, so I looked around what I had laying around and found a key ring what was barely 22 mm wide and exactly 2.5 mm thick.
This item got drafted for my test.

Yes it works, and yes it will be replaced with a fitting washer but for now to get an idea if my speculation is right regarding the behavior of the transmission it will do.

My first test ride was awesome.
Medium speed WOT in the lower 70th. Max speed 160 km/h down hill and around 155 on the flat. Noticeable more kick in the back at medium speed WOT.
Improved response at higher speed (above 100 km/h).
WOT at 120 km/h below 7400 rpm.
WOT at 140 km/h below 7800 rpm.
With the Colt 3 the 8000 rpm started to show even below 100 km/h (but without the limiter kicking in).

The rpm / power / torque curve might be a bit different between the Euro3 and the Euro2 engines. The Euro3 has 40cc more to make up for the loss in the more elaborate catalytic converter. All my tests are made for the Euro2 engine with 460cc, the results might be a tiny bit different for the Euro3 engines.

I think this is as high as I can get the engine without noticing the fall off in the upper 7000 rpm band and as responsive as possible with the drastic reduced roller weight.

-------
2010-11-6
Just finished a high speed test over 150 km.

100 km/h @ 6500 rpm
120 km/h @ 7100 rpm
140 km/h @ 7600 rpm
sustainable speed 150 km/h @ 7800 rpm
V-MAX is 158 km/h @ 8100 rpm
Speed between 110 and 150, mostly in the 120 to 140 area.
Consumption 5.3 l per 100 km what is in par with the factory setup and the Colt Conversion.

Original Factory Setup

Colt Conversion

Canary Conversion

Another 150 km test the exact same route this time in the 100-120 km/h range did show no difference in consumption, so no need to ride too conservative in the hope to save money.

Compare the factory original against my conversions

speed - factory - Mustang Con - Colt Con - Canary Con - Colt 3 Con

020 - 2100 rpm - no data - 3000 rpm - 3000 rpm - 3000 rpm

040 - 3000 rpm - no data - 3700 rpm - 4000 rpm - 4000 rpm

060 - 3700 rpm - 4000 rpm - 4500 rpm - 5000 rpm - 5000 rpm

080 - 4500 rpm - 4500 rpm - 5000 rpm - 5800 rpm - 5500 rpm

100 - 5200 rpm - 5200 rpm - 5500 rpm - 6500 rpm - 6300 rpm

120 - 6000 rpm - 6000 rpm - 6000 rpm - 7100 rpm - 6700 rpm

140 - 7000 rpm - 7000 rpm - 7000 rpm - 7600 rpm - 7500 rpm

V-max - 169 km/h - 165 km/h - 160 km/h - 158 km/h - 148 km/h

The speedometer is 4% on the fast side compared to the GPS

It is quite hard to measure the rpm exactly since the Mustang to Colt 3 have an increasing rapid throttle response so even a fraction of a twist brings the revs up or down quite a bit.

For me this setup is as close to perfection as it gets.

Amazing that just half a mm thicker washer would have such a huge impact in combination with the Colt Conversion.

As you can see from the information collected in this blog post in theory things what should behave in a certain manner often behave unexpected. So nothing beats the trial and error and retrial with a different setup until you get what yo want method.
I think I passed the 40 times mark how often I opened and closed the transmission cover.
My initial fears that just using the electrical impact wrench could damage maybe some bearings or so seemed, after this amount of loosening and tightening the two nuts, unnecessary.

What conversion is the right for you?
Stay with the original if you are happy with the performance.
Choose the Mustang Conversion if you are riding mostly in high speed situations but want a bit more acceleration all around. You can reach the same performance with 8 new rollers of 16 gram.
Choose the Colt Conversion for the most dynamic all rounder.
Choose the Canary Conversion if you want some extra acceleration but are willing to sacrifice some high end speed (this is a no brainer for me since our max speed limit is 120 km/h and I am mostly below 140).
Choose the Colt 3 Conversion if you seldom ride above 100 km/h since this conversion is optimized for low and medium speeds.

Let me try to give you an idea what shaving off a second or less in an WOT accelerating situation could mean.
If the Canary conversion brings just half a second more accelerating around 80 km/h you need 10 meter less distance to pass a car.
From the feeling I have comparing the Colt with the Canary, a bit below a second seems about right. To measure this exactly is not possible with the equipment I have.

2010-12-5
I enjoy the faster response of the Canary Conversion but it seems this time I have to pay the price at the gas station. After testing in all riding conditions there is a constant 6-10% higher gas consumption. So I will go back to the original 2 mm washer and stay with my Colt Conversion for now.

2011-2-27
The values for consumption below are not valid. After going back to the "normal" Colt Conversion the consumption did not drop as expected. I also noticed that the motor is running rougher and the cold engine needs more time to start. My Malaguti Spidermax has now run for over 40000 km and I think a valve adjustment is overdue. I keep you posted.

The (short) Colt 3 Conversion long term test

2010-10-20T15:09:00.007+01:00

2010-10-20 16.27
We have October 2010 and I am starting a long term test with my favorite Colt Conversion to see how the rollers and the belt behave compared to the 8 roller factory setting.

After 37200 km my Malaguti Spidermax 500GT got her first new rollers, a new belt and in a few days also a new clutch.

The rollers needed replacement, the belt was still going strong but had a 4 mm deep fissure in one tooth, so for the durance of this test he serves as a spare. The clutch springs I messed up while checking the clutch function without the clutch bell installed (see the video clips). After tinkering around with some springs from the hardware store I decided for this test everything should be in new condition.
From the washer and dryer test I have installed the 3 mm washer instead of the standard 2 mm washer.
Since I am often in the mountains I think the washer will enhance the low speed high rpm ratio a bit.

The new rollers are 21 gram original Piaggio 15 Euro for 8.
I did some speed to rpm tests

speed is in km/h
speed - 8 rollers - 6 rollers - 4 rollers - 4 rollers with 3 mm washer
020 - 2100 rpm - not measured - 3000 rpm - 3000 rpm
040 - 3000 rpm - not measured - 4000 rpm - 4000 rpm
060 - 3700 rpm - 4000 rpm - 4500 rpm - 5000 rpm
080 - 4500 rpm - 4500 rpm - 5000 rpm - 5500 rpm
100 - 5200 rpm - 5200 rpm - 5500 rpm - 6300 rpm
120 - 6000 rpm - 6000 rpm - 6000 rpm - 6700 rpm
140 - 7000 rpm - 7000 rpm - 7000 rpm - 7500 rpm
160 - 8000 rpm - 8000 rpm - 8000 rpm - not possible

Accelerating from 40 km/h with Wide Open Throttle the rpm shoots upwards and less than a second later is at 7500 rpm.
On the test ride above 80 km/h and WOT I saw often upper 7000 rpm numbers. 7900, 8000 and even once 8100 without the rpm limiter kicking in was seen but the V-max was below 150 km/h.

The Colt 3 Conversion is clearly not for everyone. If your speed limit is 100 to 120 than this conversion will give you the maximum power and torque in the 0 to 100 km/h band.
If you need speeds above 120 km/h often stay with the 2 mm original washer.

After this short road test I can confirm, the 1 mm difference in washers makes a difference.
The engine felt more like a turbine than an otto motor. You gain 500 rpm and more in WOT situations.

The mountain test with 2 riders was awesome. The response from the Colt 3 Conversion is even faster then with the outstanding Colt Conversion.
I tried to capture the feeling with a few clips.
Now they are shot from the backseat with an outstretched arm and a slight zoom. You can imagine that the result is not very steady.
Luckily I have the amazing Sony HX5 with a 10 time more effective active mode stabilisation (more info, see my HX5 blog).
To get the most out of this video, view in HD and use pause often the read the instruments more clearly.

this is the first part what had some problem in the clip below. 0-70 km/h
I need to accelerate slowly for the first second since my clutch springs are not working properly and the clutch engages below 2000 rpm.

2010-10-20
Surprisingly the consumption with the Colt 3 Conversion is only marginally higher than the Colt Conversion. But then the nearly identical consumption from the Colt Conversion with the factory setup was a puzzler for me a year ago in the beginning too.

Replaced the 3 mm washer with the standard 2 mm to see if I still notice a difference.
Yes there is a difference.
After testing the bike in near all road conditions from high speed to the twisties uphill the mountains here is my conclusion.

The Colt Conversion is the better all round setup. While the Colt 3 is superior in speeds below 100 km/h it looses noticeably above 100 km/h. While the Colt speeds up a particular Hill with 130 km/h the Colt 3 struggles to reach 120 km/h.

Also with the 3 mm washer the new belt is still scraping occasionally on the lower metal part of the lid mount.

Right now I try to get a setup between the Colt and the Colt 3.

The Colt 3 Conversion test will terminate now, but another long term test will start with the Canary Conversion.

Inside the CVT - Belt and Rollers

2010-10-16T18:49:00.000+01:00

2010-10-16
36000 Km / 22500 miles with the same belt and rollers in a Piaggio MASTER 500 cc engine

What did I learn from that?

First, the changing intervals are for worse case scenarios like you are in a very cold area and the belt gets frozen stiff and then rapidly flexed during warm up, or when the air is very dusty and the sand in it wears down the rollers fast.

Now my test was done 280 km west of the Sahara and because of the SAL, Calima and Scirocco we get lots of fine sand dust and sand here so for even this kind of extreme grinding air we have here, the rollers would have been good for at least 40.000 km.

If you take a look at your rollers and you see a little abrasion or tiny flat spots like this here.

at 36000 km (if you zoom in you can see very well the different wear patterns)

or this on at 18000 km

let´s take a closer look at our worse case scenario here.

Our patient is 18000 km old and has a big bald spot.
Did this effect in any way the function or safety of the whole cvt?
NO!
So why do some rollers have these spots and others not?
In the optimal case the groove in the pulley is smooth and clean, so our roller can actually roll a bit once in a while and uses the whole circumference.
But if not everything is optimal our roller who is pressed with some force between 2 metal parts (the pulley halves) moves them apart via centrifugal force by just sliding. So the plastic from the roller always rubs on the same spot where it will loose some material over time.

Does this roller needs to be replaced? If money is not important, sure. But if you just rotate the roller 90 degrees it is good for a long time to do its job.

How do I know?
because this roller spend some time in the 4 roller Colt conversion setup and there the rollers have to do double work load and the bald spot did not progress.

So how do I know when my rollers need to be replaced?
That is easy, a normal roller from the MASTER 500 cc engine has a diameter from 25 mm and as long there is no change the roller is fine.

So do I need to take the rollers out and measure them every xxx km?
No, your cvt will let you know when it is time to change them by not being able to do V-max any more.

The V-max from the Piaggio MASTER 500 cc engine is around real 160 km/h at 8000 rpm. This is when the limiter kicks in and tells you that the engine does not want to rotate any faster.
In my case the V-max was reached at 140 something km/h.

How did my rollers look? Take a look at the first picture and you see they do not look different in the pulley than in the picture below where they had been used only half the km than in the first picture.

So I took one out and measured

This 3 mm we lost were enough to drop the V-max by 8%

Conclusion:
The plastic part of the rollers where I knocked the sides out to experiment with different weights were good for another 16000 km after already giving me 18000km of dependable service.

So if you leave your 8 rollers in, then normally 40000 km + is a piece of cake for them.

I will do a long time test to see how long the 4 rollers last in the Colt conversion.

Here are my rollers from the Piaggio MASTER engine 500 cc after 37000 km
The knocked out sides (good to see at the most left roller) happened when I wanted to remove the steel insert for weight changing.

The wear I had as shown on the 18000 km pictures did not increase since I slightly rotated them at reassembly. But since the plastic with the knocked out sides lost integrity it started to deform. That did in no way affected the performance of the rollers.

Now the part what can give you grief in the cvt is the belt.

This is how it looks like new

The belt has a new width from 26.2 mm and a replace width from 25 mm.
Well, I measure more 26.4 mm

after 18000 km there is some loss of thread between the upper and lower layer and we have the first little cracks in the teeth area

after 18000 km there is also some major abrasion on the top where the belt rubbed against the transmission case. The belt did not loose to much in width, looks like 3 mm compared to the new one.

The same belt with 34000 km, now on nearly every tooth are little cracks but when you think about how much a belt gets bend and unbend every minute the engine is running that is some sturdy material.

closeup at 37000 km

Same belt 3700 km the fissure is 4 mm deep. I decided to replace the belt and keep this one for emergencies since there is still some wear in it.

So will the teeth break off then?
No, the main two ways a belt can fail is separation when the top part gets ripped of the bottom part due to fatigue or excess scraping on the transmission case.

When you look at the transmission case you see on the bottom where the belt had contact because of flapping. Flapping weakens the connection between the upper and lower part of the belt. On the right you see where the majority of the scraping took place.
For more pictures see: Piaggio Master 500 cc - Washer and Dryer performance mod Test

If separation happens you might notice that instantly in higher rpm and lower speed and maybe a mechanical noise.
If you can stop instantly you have a good chance that no damage is done.
If you are lucky you might be able to limp slowly home.

In case you are not so lucky this might await you.

The other way a belt can fail is by braking.
An easy way to check is twist the inside from the belt to the outside, bend it a bit and check for beginning cracks.like this.

bend even more at 37000 km.

This is still OK and no reason to worry, but if you mark it (like I did here with spray paint) then it is easy to check all few thousand km that particular part of the belt by just removing the silver cover from the transmission and look into the vent openings to see how your belt is doing.

What you see above is that one side of my belt at 36000 km has not lost a bit of the anti stretch thread

So here are both sides of my belt at 36000 km. (click on the pictures for full size)

I should have have been on belt nr. 4 by now at 36500 km (12000 km changing interval) but I think my belt is good for some more. I am aiming for 50000 km.

Talk to me about the Malaguti Spidermax

2010-09-28T00:18:00.006+01:00

If you want to talk to me or share your comments with others I will post them and my answers here in this spot.
You can reach me via:

2010.09.28
Hello !
I've read all articles on your great blog but didn't find how did you improvised variator lock tool ?
I'm desperately seeking that tool for my Fuoco but unfortunately version for 400/500 models is quite rare.
Thank you !
Andrej
I never needed it.
The impact wrench is all you need and to hold the rear brake when you remove or tighten the 21 mm nut.

So far I opened and closed the transmission more than 30 times with no ill effect. I also never used / needed a torque wrench in my 30 something years of working with vehicles.
A trick is to mark before you loosen something, so when you are tighten again and the marks align you see that it is screwed tight enough.
(on the sample picture above the marks are not aligned yet.)
---

Velimir from Belgrade
Hi,First of all thank you for your blog.it's really shame that malaguti has such little information and very poor marketing campaign for probably one of the best scooter-motocycle in the world.
Ok here is my story. Last year in October the fucking junkies stole my Piaggio Beverly Cruiser. Just in front of my house while I was watching a WorldCup qualifing football game.

After I definitely lost my hope for finding him, I have decided to start finding a new bike. In the mean time my friend who has '07 Spidermax gave me his bike just to try. And I felt in Love! It is the best scooter I've ever rode. It' amazing that the feeling can be compared to BMW R 1200RT model. So I decide to buy one for myself!
I must tell you that at first I have not been impressed very much about how it looks, especially from behind, but when I saw RS 500 I definitely said to myself that's it! Problem is RS is still expensive 4500 eur in Italy.(www.moto.it) ( and I have 8% taxes + 18% VAT on that price= near 5700eur) and my malaguti dealer in belgrade has last year model with 0 km for about 5900eur.only 200 eur diference between new and the used one.
Not make sense at all. So probably I will take GT model. So after this long intro ( I've just wanted to introduce myself to you and my bike story) here is finaly my question for you as a spidermax expert.
Can I change rear lights with the lights from RS model and that chrome part between? I really like it very much. The other question is considering seat and grips heating and a little taller windscreen. What do you suggest?. I really want to make it like it should be: the Best touring scooter in the world.
Cheers mate,
Velimir you can change the rear lights but I am not sure about the the chrome part.
The wind screen is tall enough for people up to 180 cm after that it is a bit drafty in the face, Since the windscreen is wide it shields the upper torso very well. Have not heard about another windscreen but you might google for "windscreen extention".

here you see the difference from the RS vs the GT model

-------------------------------------
Cazarré, from Brazil wrote:

Hello, I've been following your blog for a while, since I started considering to buy a Spidermax, wich I did a few months ago.

First of all I have to say that your experience did me a great favor, helping me up to decide to buy this wonderful machine, so thanks a lot buddy!

I have a Burgman 400 before and keep them both for a while, but today I just kept the Spidermax.

I have been reading your posts about making her accelerate better, and am considering to do the same over here.

It is very difficult to buy parts over here, not mentioning the tuning ones like Malossi's and Polini's, so I have to figure out other ways to improve my beloved Spidermax.

With the Burgman was the same so I develop a faster trans kit making lighter roller weights and stronger main spring and that worked very well.

Now it is the time for me to start developing some mods for the Spidermax and your tips seem to be very good.

There's something that you can say regarding engine or transmission increased wear caused by the Mustang or Colt conversions?

Another thing I'll like to know is about tyres. Wich ones did you have on your Spidermax? Are they originals or replacement? Do you have them available there or you need to buy them anywere else? How much do they cost?

I have Lasertec Metzelers fitted on mine (she got them from the importer), but am not very confident on them.

Well, thanks a lot in advance, and keep your work over your blog as you are helping the Spidermax owners a lot!

Best regards,
L. Cazarré

Thank you for you kind words and I am glad I could help you discover this wonderful machine.

So far from the light vibrations in the 6000 band (+/- 800 rpm) to the hot foot above the exhaust from my spouse in certain riding conditions there is nothing negative in the 8000 km I had the Colt Conversion so far.

The vibrations will be addressed when I do the 10.000 km check from the rollers and the belt what should be in February / March 2010. The radiating heat from the unprotected exhaust pipe I did shield with a piece of tin bend in shape.

My tire story you can follow under the post "so TIREd". So far I am on the last rubber bits of my second Maxxis what is the original Tire Malaguti puts on the Spidermax. The rear tire is quite expensive here last I checked they wanted 180 Euro. I am looking into having the 150/80-16 size (only 100 Euro) legalized.

Your Metzeler seems to be the 150/80 VB 16 M/C (71V) TL, what is not the original size either.
Lasertec
The newest materials and compound technology applied to a classic tread pattern
design for enhanced performance out of your bike
New compound with high Silica developed for outstanding grip both in dry and in wet enhancing riding performance
"Sport Touring" carcass design with lighter, more resistant Polyester fibre giving higher comfort and improving handling
"Classic" tread pattern design ensuring effective water dispersal for safe wet riding and wear regularity with long-lasting mileage

Piaggio Master 500 cc - Washer and Dryer performance mod Test

2010-09-24T13:10:00.003+01:00

2010.9.24
A few weeks ago I stumbled over a post about a washy fuzzer or so... ;)

Digging deeper and finally googling "fuzzy washer" brought some more confusion.
At Modern Vespa it became a bit clearer, a guy nick named Fuzzy added a 1 mm washer to the factory installed 2 mm washer (between the driving pulley) to increase take off performance of the Piaggio Master 500 cc engine of his MP3 scooter. link, link, lotsa links

That I wanted to try for myself, hey for the price of a washer a better performance, you can´t beat that! Except with my 0 cent Mustang and Colt conversions.
Since a 1 mm washer in that dimension is very hard to find and I read about a 3 mm washer what would fit also. I wrote down the dimensions I needed and went of to the ferreterias. No big hardware store where I live.

I need a 22mm x 36mm x 3mm washer
a typical M20 washer should be:
diameter internal 22,6 - 22,0 diameter external 37,0 - 35,8 thickness 3,6 - 2,4

The only one halfway fitting was a 20.7 x 36 x 3 mm washer I found in the last ferreteria. For 60 cent I gave that a try.

top 2 mm original washer - bottom 3 mm shiny new washer
First let´s check how important the outside diameter is

Ample space we can go up to way over 40 mm without a problem

Now let´s check how wide the washer has to be inside

21.6 mm is a absolute minimum

So we need to make the inside bigger.

A high percision and professional Dremel knock off will be our friend there.

After reducing the grinding stick (you can tell that English is not my first language, can you?) to dust we have a fit.

Seeing that the belt had left its scratch marks inside the transmission case I decided to remove a bit material here too just to be on the safe side since I read that some people had problems with belt scraping after the washer mod.

before

you see where the flapping belt left it´s mark

grinding away

all nice and shiny now

To see if there is new scraping I used a permanent marker to paint the surfaces.

The indicator that the new washer is installed - the 2 mm washer nut secure locked marks do not line up.

4 days later I had to remove the washer again.
The MASTER engine was not happy with this mod.
The belt was scraping (you do not hear that) so badly that the engine died often when cold and idling. The idle was 1000 rpm cold.
There was no noticeable performance enhancement with my 6 roller Mustang conversion mod.
I hoped that I would get higher low speed rpm but it seems the contrary is the case. It does not make sense but that is a cvt for you.

Normally the Colt conversion should not work at all - but she works beautiful. Can´t really blame the folks when they don´t believe me. You have to experience it for yourself to believe I guess.

So where was it scraping?

I also noticed that the flapping belt left his marks. I had more flapping than without the 3 mm washer to my surprise.

So why was this mod a bust?
My theory is that my belt is too worn.
At around 30000 km I noticed that the engine was dying once a while when idling. I thought it was because my spark plug has reached it´s service life and in fact it got better when I installed a new spark plug.
Now I think it is because the belt stretches slightly over time since it did not got thinner in 16000 km of my Colt conversion test and I did not do any changes on the transmission.

When the belt is scraping it will remove some metal and parts of itself to fix this situation after a while.
But it puts a shear strain on the belt as the lower part of the belt gets moved in the pulleys the upper part gets permanently braked from the transmission case brackets.

If this strain gets too high, the belt begins to separate the top from the bottom layer since this is the weakest part where the anti stretch cord is between the layers.

And this is then the result:

So for now I will put the washer test on hiatus until I put a new belt in. Then I will try the 3 mm washer mod again.

... BUT since I have a new belt sitting around, I just decided when my new rollers come in a few days I will put in the new belt with the 3 mm washer to see if my theory is right and test it with the new rollers and the Colt conversion.
I will also try then to include a dryer somehow as promised in my headline ;)

2010-9-21
Installed the new belt with the 3 mm washer and since even my old belt with the 2 mm washer already scraped on the lower metal part again (old photo) I used up 2 more of the sandpaper rollers to remove some more material. I also shot a video from the open cvt in action.

After a test ride I noticed that the new belt was smoother than the old one but did not feel noticeable improvement from the 3 mm washer in the Colt conversion.

With the extra removed material there is now a nice gap between the belt and the old "scratching post"
shot at idle speed

Maybe I will try it with a 4 mm like Fuzzy did also.

...

Since I did not have a 4 mm I combined the 2 and 3 mm to 5 mm and checked with the new belt.

There was instant contact from the belt to the "scratching post"

upper area the same

and in idle speed there is no improvement.

and this is when I decided to terminate the washer mod test, since 3 mm did not show improvements with the Colt or Mustang conversion. Since the 5 mm is rubbing already in idle speed the 4 mm would be a bit to close to rubbing when the new belt deteriorates for my taste.

Piaggio Master 500cc - 1 Year / 16000 km (10000 miles) with the 4 roller Colt conversion

2010-09-23T15:44:00.003+01:00

2010-9-23
I started my Colt conversion experiment 2009.8.10 with 19.000 km, now 2010.8.22 one Year and at nearly 35.000 km so 16.000 km (10.000 miles) later it is time to see how it worked out.

If you are new to my blog, here a short recap for you.

I wanted to replace my rollers with the Dr Pulley sliders but on my way to find out if I had a 6 or 8 roller setup I had to take the variator apart. Since in the discussion groups there was always mentioned a lower weight for better acceleration I wondered what would happen if I would remove 2 rollers from my 8 roller setup. I was so amazed from the performance boost, that I wanted to know what happen if I would remove 4 rollers. Then I got into measuring and testing the 8, 6 and 4 roller setups for acceleration, RPMs and millage.

What the 6 or 4 roller conversions are doing, is moving you in a more optimum power band. Pretty much the same as all the other mods what change things at variator level.

You find the details in my older posts.

During the 16.000 km I swapped the rollers after 10.000 km with the other original 4 rollers because the plastic started to deform a bit and started to look like Dr Pulleys on drugs. The stainless steel insert did not deform in any way so the plastic was just moved into a more convenient shape. That this could happen was my fault, since I had to remove the stabilising side of the plastic when I was testing the Woody conversion and wanted to get the metal roller out of the plastic hull.

The performance or riding experience was not different, I just changes them to be on the safe side.
Now we are talking about still the original stock rollers what came with the 460cc Piaggio MASTER engine and were working 19.000 km as a 8 roller - and 10.000 km as a 4 roller setup.

After 15000 km the millage is still pretty much the same as before. I still have sometimes the slight vibrations in the 5500 to 6500 rpm band but they are no bother at all and nothing vibrated loose or had any other effect.

I switched to synthetic oil but will switch back to normal at the next oil change.

The whooooaaaahh feeling is still with me every time I ride and watch the rpm jump from slow cruising to 7000 in an instant when I open the throttle. And this is exactly wher you want to have your RPM at the MASTER 500 because this is the max torque with max HP point.

The stragled sealion what was gone completely has come back faintly after I passed the 30000 km mark when I ride the low speed twisties in the mountains and the clutch has to reengage while hot. BUT is in no way remotely as bad as it was with the stock engine.

During the 16.000 km I tried several times to improve the colt conversion, with some 8 roller woody / steel combination. Even with the same weight this did let the engine spin much to high and with 95 gram double steel it did not work either.

In the next weeks I will look for a heavy duty plastic and will try to find out what the best 8 roller weight will be to have the same performance as my Colt conversion.
When I have that exact weight I will either find a way to make them myself or will talk to the guys at Dr. Pulley and see if they are interested in making this max performance rollers/sliders.

So for the final conclusion, did the Colt conversion was a 100% success?
Short answer is yes - without any reservations.

So to put the result in one spiffy sentence:

The Colt conversion it the ZERO money mod what brings you 30% better acceleration, eliminates the paint shaker and the strangled sealion, makes your bike feel like it has a sports bike engine, installs a fat grin on your face every time you open the throttle fast, has no ill effect on your gas bill, transmission belt or engine, gives you the extra edge in passing cars and you can do it yourself right now.

Come on, where there really no snags or drawbacks at all?

Well, come to think about it, my wife complained about that her right foot got too warm.

Now you need to understand, where I live is the whole Year between 20 and 30 degrees warm, so flipflops or open shoes are very common for us on the bike. And since Malaguti put the pillion footrest just above the unprotected exhaust pipe before it enters the muffler the combination of higher RPM, waiting on a red light and unprotected feet made it necessary to install a heat shield between the muffler pipe and the footrest.

Problem solved.

... and I like to mention you really have to watch your speedometer because in the beginning you will be over the speed limit quite often...

...and yes your gas consumption might rise a bit because it is just too much fun to rip open the throttle again and again but mine never rose more than 5%...

Folks who did the Colt conversion

WHOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Completed Joe's Colt Mod. Very, very happy. Have not had opportunity to measure the difference, but it is significant by subjective measures. Here's my initial, highly subjective take on it. Bear in mind that I replaced belt & (4) rollers at the same time, so part of the perceived difference may be attributable to the new belt & rollers.

At least a full second off of 0-60mph
Accelerating uphill radically better
Acceleration response to WOT above 50mph better
WOT from full stop brings the tach up to 7k+ very quickly, and then smoothly back down to 4-5 if on the flat under 50mph
Noise, vibration, smoothness all comparable to 8-roller setup, given the understandable pitch change for higher revs. I would say even smoother in the 3-5k band.
Acceleration drops off more abruptly upon releasing throttle
Upon coasting to full stop, a steeper and slightly delayed drop down to idle RPMs.

In short, still a very smooth machine with noticeably more punch on the acceleration. This mod is dangerously fun on twisty-hilly road.

Thank you again Joe for trail-blazing!!

Paul

Piaggio Master 500 cc - the CVT at work

2010-09-21T20:23:00.006+01:00

I wanted to know why there were belt abrasions marks at different spots on the transmission case.
So I needed to see the CVT in action and how the belt was behaving.
Since the redesign of the transmission from 6 to 8 rollers the driven pulley ball bearing holder had been removed and the transmission lid has now the job.
So here are a couple short clips in a not very secure situation.
Do not try this at home...

See the CVT at work without the clutch bell installed
you can watch the clips in HD, just click on the resolution box bottom right.

You can see that the major belt flapping occurs here in the deceleration phase.

See the CVT at work with the clutch bell installed

The next two photos are shot in idle speed, so the belt is moving.
I wanted to see if there is enough space between the belt and the mounts after I removed some more material. This is with a 3 mm washer installed.

looks good to me, there should not be any more scraping like this be possible.

We will see in a few 100 km...

2 Years with the Malaguti Spidermax 500GT

2010-09-19T01:53:00.005+01:00

I got her used with 18 months and 4000 km for 3000 Euro, that was a marvelous deal.
Let´s see what happen to my Spidermax in the last 2 years.

Before

2008, 4000 km, 0-100 km/h - 14.5 sec, no parking brake, silver paint, unaesthetic formed lower trunk area, 1 helmet top case, humming loudly for music, front lamps 2x 35 W, factory "beeper", top case back backrest, motor and transmission could be better (see *1 below)

After

2010, 36000 km , 0-100 km/h - 10.3 sec, parking brake, red with silver paint, masked the unaesthetic formed lower trunk area, 2 helmet top case, 4 speaker stereo 240 W, front lamps 2x 55 W, car horn, lumbar support backrest with upper shoulder support, motor and transmission in perfect harmony because of the Colt conversion, footrests to stretch the legs.

*1
from the post Test Track:

The Spidermax has the most talketive motor. From the sound of an old farming tractor (20km/h 2800 rpm uphill) to the sonor sound of a big thumper bike you hear a wide variety of sounds. She always lets you know how she feels, the Italian girl. Also, she does like her vibrator, the Burgman and even the Pegaso dampened vibrations better. It is not too bad though. She is also not too fast getting up to go, but that might be improved with a different variator. She has the same engine as all Italian 500 cc Scooter. I had the feeling the Burgman was a bit faster from the start.
I found this article what did compare the 2 cylinder Burgman 650 and the 2 cylinder TMAX with the Runner and the X9 and it sums the engine pretty much up:
With an engine in common – Piaggio’s 460cc single-cylinder, fuel-injected, four- valve, MASTER mill – the X9 and Nexus offer almost identical riding experiences. The MASTER has claimed peak outputs of 29kW at 7500rpm and 43Nm at 5500rpm, but the Nexus felt faster despite having a claimed kerb weight of 216kg, some 3kg greater than the X9. In comparison with the Japanese maxis, the Piaggio and Gilera engines are less pleasant to use, particularly around town or at lower speeds, where the Italian motor feels very rough, chuggy and unrefined. It smoothes out markedly as the revs rise and cruises very well, with a decent turn of speed for overtaking, but never quite manages to match the Japanese twins for acceleration, throttle response or smoothness.
---
All these negative points are completely gone with my Colt conversion and I would love to race up to 100 km/h any of the bikes mentioned above.

What to say after 2 Years and 32000 km in the saddle?
I am totally in love with this bike, the color scheme, the smoothness and response of the engine, all the little mods I made make her one of a kind. She feels like a fine driving leather glove, fits perfectly.
I had lots of different bikes in my life so far and tried some more like the Piaggio MP3 but the Spidermax is the optimal combination of sporty handling bike and luxury scooter for me.

So what have I spend so far on my Spidermax mods?
20 Euro for the added brightness Phillips lamps
70 Euro for the remote control bike alarm
35 Euro for the disk brake alarm lock. (not really a mod)
00 Euro on the Parking Brake (just bend a hook I found in my tool shed)
25 Euro on the spray paint and 20 Euro more for experimenting with a few different colors
00 Euro for my roadrunner logo (Mc Donald´s toy found abandoned)
10 Euro on different wide angle mirrors
00 Euro for the Colt conversion (10 Euro Extractor 35 Euro electric impact wrench)
05 Euro for the Horn (car wrecker)
45 Euro for the radio
12 Euro for the speakers (second hand)
04 Euro for the footrests

Problems so far:
When I got her the speedometer stopped working after 20 km.
- Easy fix, just wiped the metal dust from then sensor at the wheel 2008.9.20

A slowly loosing air rear tire because of a nail but she still handled very well and got me home.
- could be fixed with a patch kit for a while 2009.1.22

One slight leaking fork seal.
- 50 Euro for a complete original seal replacement kit. (still need to install, 2010.1.11

2 twist off transmission lid bolts
- these bolts are sub quality, other people had the same problem with the MASTER 500, replaced them.

Loosing the rear brake pad secure bolt.
- my fault for not paying closer attention to a not so secure bolt. 2010.8.12

So far she is absolutely reliable and has never let me down.

Malaguti Spidermax - a footrest to straighten the legs

2010-09-17T17:18:00.009+01:00

I enjoyed stretching my legs once a while when I had my Burgman 400.
The European scooters are mostly without the extra stretch room because of the difference in riding style. When I tried out a 250 MP3 I felt totally cramped with my size 45 (12 US) feet. The Spidermax has adequate legroom but when cruising through the mountains with some nice tunes I missed the sit back and relax feeling.

I wanted to try out first what would be comfortable and safe before installing some footrest bars.

I brutally misused a water hose hook for my road test and found me more and more enjoying the stretched leg experience.
The Malaguti Spidermax has under the floor mat a couple M5 screws what connect the plastic to the frame with a sturdy connection.

Wandering through the hardware store to get some ideas I saw these book shelf holders what had the right length. To be on the safe side I got four in case a single one was not sturdy enough.

I cut and bend a piece of the holder to make it a bit thinner and also to secure the rubber floor mat which now looses two front anchor points.

I decided to use 2 metal arms and to stick one into the other. So with a nice mallet - no problem.

The flattened part is the one which has to be under the rubber mat.

Drilling a hole for the M5 screw.

Here you have a good idea what happens if the footrest encounters an obstacle. It just swivels inwards.

The finish product. A little black spray paint hides the floor mat security hook.
The footrest is sturdy enough not to flex when I put my foot on it.

For 4.40 Euro and a bit of work I have now 2 nice and barely visible footrests.

Why not conventional bike footrests you ask?
That would have resulted in either a bendy metal contraption to create a mount for the footrests or some welding and drilling holes into the side fairing, Both solutions more complicated, time consuming and much more expensive.

And now comes the fun part.

Since this is a birthday celebration post (2 years I have my Spidermax now) I thought I share my joy with you and what does a biker likes most after riding his bike?
Right - chicks and nachos.
Enjoy, but you have to get your own nachos...

This is one of the 2 normal positions. Foot slightly in the back.

This is the second one of the normal positions. Foot slightly in the front.

This is one of the 2 extended positions. Heel on the floor mat and foot on the footrest.

This is the other of the 2 extended positions. Heel on the footrest and leg fully extended.

After a first test run my favorite normal riding position is the heels on the floor mat and the middle of the foot on the footrests. Trying out several positions this one comes naturally without thinking now.
When the Spidermax goes into extreme curves so that the center stand scrapes the footrests are still a fair amount away from the street and the heels also.
The footrests feel in no way slippery at all, the foot rests secure. If they ever feel not safe, I have some anti slip tape what will take care of that.

Update 2010-9-20
Since the footrests are on the same level as the floorboard they act as an extension of it. There is a surprisingly flexible positioning of the feet possible.
If I would have known what impact on cruising this mod had, it would have been my first.
Highly enjoyable.

The MP3 Helmet

2010-09-11T01:27:00.002+01:00

I liked to hear some tunes while riding and so far the easiest was with in-ear earphones.

They block out the noise effective from the wind and the engine and you are in your little world for your self.

What I did not like was that it was a solo thing and that I was too much removed from the surroundings also it was a fiddly thing to remove the helmet and keeping the earbuds in place. After a while one ear kept complaining a bit about the bud inside.

To share my joy of riding with some nice tunes I installed the stereo with 4 speakers (still hunting for the right subwoofer). But above 70 km/h the wind gets too noisy to enjoy this setup much.

I wondered if it was possible to have a nice sound what would work also above 100 km/h and not to be disconnected from the surroundings.

Found a set of nice headphones what were small enough to fit into my helmet and had a good cushion to seal comfortable against my ears without much pressure.

A test before with a set of Maxell headphones proofed futile because of not enough padding and they were not loud enough.

It was a bit of work to get the behind the head plastic removed from the headphones and then it was just a matter of several stripes of double sided foam sticky tape and getting the cable secure between the helmets layers.

I rolled the connection cable to a little loop and fixed it together with the MP3 player on the helmet chin band.

Malaguti Spidermax - horn if you are honky

2010-09-05T16:46:00.005+01:00

The standard horn makes a sound what no one takes serious.
I need more noise!

For 5 Euro I got a car horn from the used car part store. I wanted to have a double but this is what they had.

In the normal place where the old horn was mounted was not enough space, so I bend the metal stripes from the old horn a bit and mounted the new one below the radiator.

I mounted it in this way so the opening from the horn is exactly in line with the opening of the front cover.

The main problem was that Malaguti had 2 connectors on the old horn. Normally you have one 12 volt terminal and get ground from the mounting screw.
BUT Malaguti wiring called for permanent 12 volt on one terminal when the ignition is switched on and the horn button just connects the other terminal with ground.

Every time I switched on the ignition my new horn honked.
Bummer!
Needed to get a relay and a 12 volt line to finish this job and since I did not have the right connectors at hand I had to improvise again. Bend a couple flat terminals round to connect them via a simple cable connector. Not elegant, but it works.

--
After 6 weeks and several honkings I am happy with the sound and the amount of noise I have with the press of a button.

MASTER 500cc Roller weight comparison

2010-08-28T16:03:00.001+01:00

2010-8-29

Piaggio original 8x21.5 g = 172 g Strangled Sealion, Paintshaker, sluggish performance
Mustang conversion 6x21.5 g = 129 g much less Strangled Sealion, OK performance
Malossi 8x16 g = 128 g confirmed similar behavior as the Mustang conversion
Polini 8x16 g = 128 g
Malossi 8x15 g = 120 g
Polini 8x15 g = 120 g
Dr.Pulley 8x15 g = 120 g
Polini 8x14 g = 112 g
Malossi 6x16 g = 96 g not tested
Woody/Steel 8x12 = 96 g not working properly
Colt conversion 4x21.5 g = 86 g awesome performance

J.Costa has a different setup and weights so I can not compare.

Center Stand Anti Theft Device

2010-08-23T20:01:00.001+01:00

Since some bloody bugger stole my Burgman 400 I try to think on occasion of ways to make a bike harder to steal.

To lock a tire is not a valid option since this does not prevent a thief to lift the other end and pushes the bike onto a trailer or up a ramp into a van.
An alarm is only so good as the people around who notice it and spring to action.
Yeah, fat chance.

Satellite or cellphone tracking might be a last resort and there are several services who offer that but inside a van or metal building it gets kind of hard to keep a lock.

How about locking the center stand? Than the bike can not be pushed and if you combine that with a motion alarm that might be a pretty simple and quick solution for a securer bike.

Malaguti made 2 holes into the plate where they mounted the center stand and disc tire lock fits perfectly. In my case I use a motion trigger alarm disc lock.

There is also a big metal loop under the trunk where you can tie the Spidermax to a pole with a chain for additional security.

Master 500cc - the 5 second transmission belt check mod

2010-08-23T19:32:00.003+01:00

This mod is for the 400cc and 500cc Piaggio MASTER engine what you find on most European scooters like the Aprilia Atlantic, Aprilia Scarabeo, Gilera Nexus, Gilera Fuoco, Piaggio Beverly, Piaggio MP3, Piaggio X9, Peugeot Satelis, Malaguti Spidermax GT500
Malaguti Madison and lots more.

I found this picture at the Modern Vespa blog yesterday and I wondered if there was an easy way for an instant belt check mod.

Since my belt has lost most of the outer thread (I do not know the proper term) in his 34000 km (21000 miles) service life so far I always wondered if this was a bad sign, since most people when they see that parts of that therad is missing replace their belt.

Luckily I found this picture of a separated belt and now I know that the thread is just a tight wrapped around layer to keep the belt from stretching. So when the outer thread is gone, no big deal. It get´s bad when there is actual separation.

Since we have now covered the belt lets find an easy and fast way to check it instantly.

With the silver plastic cover removed it is quite easy to check in what shape the belt is in if you look into the bottom center air holes.

BUT since for most people the silver cover is installed and peeking into the rear exhaust vent just shows us the top of the belt there has to be a better solution!

Thinking about just drilling a thumb thick service opening into the silver cover and the transmission lid was not to appealing to me to have this view.

Let´s check the bottom -
Through the first bottom opening you can easy see and feel the belt and the anti-flapper wheel.

This is how my belt looks with the missing outer thread... SCARY - nah not really.

And here Ladies and Gentleman is my 5 second instant belt and anti-flapper wheel bearing check mod.

Tadaaaaaaa

Take wire cutter pliers and cut the 3rd beam (insert better word) as shown on the photo below

If you cut it this way, and you do not even need to remove the silver cover to do that, than it looks still unmodified from the outside but now you can check with a flashlight or just your fingers the state of the transmission belt and if the bearing of the anti-flapper wheel still spins freely.

If you want it neat and no sharp corners you can use a knife and smoothen the cut areas like I did.

And now every time you fill her up, your finger can check the state of your belt.

Ah - finally peace of mind...

S P A C E - (in the trunk)

2010-06-08T11:43:00.002+01:00

these are 9 six-pack - and yes, after some rearranging the trunk did close

12 liter bottles of Strawberry Daiquiri

also space for 2 8 liter bottles of water or several packed grocery bags, normally 2 helmets call this home.

and the other day my new notebook fit in perfectly

Malaguti Spidermax - Snap Shots

2010-05-23T14:26:00.005+01:00

2010-5-24

Here are a few shots what show you my Spider in some unique situations

let´s race

(hmm - an Audi TT in the same color as my spray can painted Spider? COOL)

almond flower

don´t worry, I pull you...

the man in the mirror - and the bike - and some other things

no words

no way that I change my Spider for that huge Honda

aghrr maties, shiver me timber

I can outrun that

yes, in the desert that might be preferable, but this is NOT the desert.

huuuuuuge

the isty bitsy spider...

nice curves

get the monkey out of my top box

this was not planned, but good for a laugh at home

The first time I rode through, with 2 up, but the water deposits stones on the road invisible under the surface and the water came up to the underside of the floor board, the second time I chickened out.

3 pretty faces, Aida, Spider and Gorch Fock

Malaguti Spidermax Fork Seal Replacement

2010-01-11T15:55:00.016Z

One of my fork seals started to leak very badly. I noticed some oily grime behind the front wheel on the silver plastic. After a good cleaning it reappeared quickly. A closer inspection showed one tube of the fork was slippery with oil.

That should not happen after just 20.000 km, but hey some of the roads I went were very bad and having the Sahara as a neighbor has its drawbacks.

The fine dust is our permanent companion but some days are bad. If you live in the USA you will get this stuff in Florida if the weather is right.
On the bright side, if we have dust in the Summer it mostly weaken the hurricanes you get.

To get a replacement fork oil seal I had to measure the diameter of the inner tube and of the inside of the outer tube since I could not find the measurements anywhere. A not sharp knife helped me to remove the dust seal.

Sorry, my main language is not English so with technical terms I have my problems.
Normally I would just go to a dealer and get a replacement kit (see parts catalog below) , but that would take weeks or months here, so I always have to improvise ...

Then I took off the front wheel, removed the "tupperware" and 4 screws later the 2 shocks came out.

To take the shock apart there is a hexagon head screw inside the shaft where the wheel bolt goes through. The fun part was when the allen wrench rotated the screw but the screw did not unscrew even it both shafts where secured. So I cut off the long part of the allen wrench, stuck it into a nut, and got my impact wrench. Funny, the impact wrench did not hammer but just rotated fast and the screw came out.

The thin shaft what sits in the steering fork. The thin rod with the tapered end is where the screw holds the 2 tubes together.

The big ring keeps the copper ring from slipping of the bottom and the thin washer on top keeps the copper ring from destroying the seal. The copper ring is all where the two tubes slide on each other. Pretty small area, isn´t it? So the next time you see some one riding just on his front wheel you get an idea about the stress what he puts on his fork.

Letting the big tube drain all the oil. There was some grime and fine metal shavings on the bottom what got cleaned by a paper towel on a stick.

Draining the thin tube. You will notice the knife I took from the kitchen on the top of the picture. You need that to pry the dust seal loose.

The new seal

Compared with the original seal the new one is better since it has 2 metal springs instead of just one.

I took the small tube apart to see why the screw would not grip properly. To do that I needed to remove the top cap.

As you can see from the first picture, there is a fancy wrench necessary to open the cap. I just put the tube back in the holder and used the pliers you see above to unscrew the cap.
There is nothing what secures the thin rod with the tapered end against rotating. So I guess when the screw gets stuck a drill or an impact wrench is the answer. By the way the screw from the first shock came out without a problem.

To get every thing back together is simple, just the copper ring needs some help with a couple screwdrivers and some soft tapping with a hammer around to sink it in the shaft.
After I finished it the new seal did not wanted to go into the shaft no matter how hard I tried. Taking the shock apart again to remove the new seal what got stuck took some screwing the upper tube back into the bike and then with force repeatedly jerking the lower tube towards the ground.

My dealer had given me the wrong seal. It was wrong by just 1 mm outside but that is all it takes not to fit.
So I cleaned the defective seal and reinstalled it. That was 3000 km ago and it is working nearly perfect. There is a very light film of oil on the thin shaft after a few days but it does not go any further.
Here is a trick, the metal spring inside the seal gets a bit loose over time. just unscrew (twist) it, cut off 5 mm and screw it back together and it will last a while longer.
The same you can do if you have problems when the sprag clutch starts to make noise.

The oil was very black and left some grime and metal shavings, so it got replaced.

Cover and front wheel removed.

The hexagon screw has normally a copper washer to seal against leaking oil. Smart as I am I lost a washer and naturally it is a special size what no one had. So I substituted with a hot water washer what i widened a bit inside to make it fit. Needless to say it works perfect.

This is the size you need: 41 mm 53 mm 10 mm

But you can substitute with 41 mm 53 mm and 0.5 mm more or less hight.
And here are the Bikes what can help you out:

Aprilia
650 Pegaso -94 41x53x8/10,5

Honda
CR 250 R 81 41x53x8/10,5
XR 250 R 86-98 41x53x8/9,5
XR 350 R 83-84 41x53x8/10,5
CR 450 R 81 41x53x8/10,5
FJS 600 Silverwing 01-05 41x53x8/10,5
VT 750 C Shadow (RC44) 97-00 41x53x8/10,5
VT 750 C Shadow (RC50) ab 04 41x53x8/10,5
VT 750 C2 Shadow ACE (RC44) 97-02 41x53x8/10,5

Kawasaki
KX 125 (G1,H1-2) 89-90 41x53x8/9,5
KR 250, KR1, KR 1 S 89-93 41x53x8/10,5
KX 250 89-90 41x53x8/9,5
EN 500 (C1-8) 96-03 41x53x8/10,5
KLE 500 (LE500A) ab 91 41x53x8/9,5
ZX 6 RR (ZX600K/M) 03-04 41x53x8/10,5
ER 6 N/F (EX650A) ab 05 41x53x8/10,5
KLR 650 (KL650C) 95-01 41x53x8/9,5
Z 750 (ZR750J) 04-06 41x53x8/10,5
ZR 750 Zephyr (ZR750C,D) ab 91 41x53x8/9,5
ZR 7 / ZR 7 S (ZR750F/H) 99-04 41x53x8/10,5
ZXR 750 ,R (ZX750L,K,M) 93-95 41x53x8/9,5
GPZ 900 R (ZX900A7-10) 90-94 41x53x8/10,5
ZX 9 R (ZX900B) 94-97 41x53x8/9,5
GTR 1000 (ZGT00A1-11) Kardan 86-96 41x53x8/10,5
ZX 10 (ZXT00B) 88-90 41x53x8/9,5
GPZ 1100 Horizont (ZXT10E,F) ab 95 41x53x8/10,5
Z 1300 (KZT30A,ZGT30A) 79-89 41x53x8/9,5

Suzuki
M 125 89-90 41x53x8/9,5
AN 250 Burgmann (AN) ab 98 41x53x8/10,5
RM 250, RMX 250 89-90 41x53x8/9,5
AN 400 Burgmann (AU) ab 98 41x53x8/10,5
GSF 400 Bandit (GK75B) 91-94 41x53x8/9,5
GSF 600 Bandit (GN77B) 95-98 41x53x8/9,5
GSF 600 Bandit (A8) 99-04 41x53x8/10,5
AN 650 Burgman (BU) ab 02 41x53x8/10,5
DR 650 R,RE (SP41,44,45B) 90-95 41x53x8/9,5
DR 650 RS,RSE (SP42,43B) 90-96 41x53x8/9,5
GSF 650 Bandit ab 05 41x53x8/10,5
SV 650 N/S (AV) 99-02 41x53x8/10,5
DR 750 S (SR41B) 88-89 41x53x10,5
GSX-R 750 (GR75A) 85-87 41x53x8/9,5
DR 800 S, BIG (SR42B) 90 41x53x10,5
VZ 800 Marauder (AF) 97-04 41x53x8/9,5
VZ 800 C Intruder ab 05 41x53x8/10,5
GSX 1100 R (GU74C,D) 86-88 41x53x8/9,5
GSX 1100 RW (GU75C) 93-94 41x53x8/9,5

Yamaha
DT 125 R (4BL,3RM) 91-96 41x53x8/9,5
YZ 125, YZ 250 88-90 41x53x8/9,5
WR 200 R 93-94 41x53x8/10,5
TZR 250 93-95 41x53x8/10,5
WR 250 90 41x53x8/9,5
YZ 250 88-90 41x53x8/9,5
FZR 600 R (4JH,4MH) 94-95 41x53x8/9,5
FZS 600 S, Fazer (RJ02) 98-03 41x53x8/10,5
XJ 600 N,S Diversion (4KA,4MB,RJ01) ab 98 41x53x8/10,5
XT 600 E (3TB,3UW,4ME,4SK,4PT) 90-94 41x53x8/9,5
XT 600 84-93 41x53x10,5
YZF 600 R Thundercat (4TV,4WD) 96-99 41x53x8/9,5
YZF 600 R Thundercat ab 00 41x53x8/10,5
XVS 650 Dragstar (4VR,4XR) ab 97 41x53x8/9,5
XVS 650 A Drag Star Classic (VM022/25) ab 98 41x53x8/10,5
SZR 660 (4SU) 95-99 41x53x8/9,5
FZR 750 R (3CU,2TT) 87-88 41x53x8/9,5
YZF 750 R, SP (4HN,4HT) ab 93 41x53x8/9,5
TDM 850 (3VD,4CM,3CM) 91-95 41x53x8/9,5
TRX 850 (4UN) ab 96 41x53x8/9,5
XJ 900 S Diversion (4KM) ab 95 41x53x8/9,5
FZR 1000 Genesis (2LA) 87-88 41x53x8/9,5
FZR 1000 Exup (3LE) USD 91-95 41x53x8/9,5
YZF R1 (4XV,5JJ,RN01,RN04) 98-01 41x53x8/10,5
FJ 1100 (47E) 84-85 41x53x8/9,5
XVS 1100 Dragstar (5EL,5KSB,VP05) ab 99 41x53x8/10,5
FJ 1200 (1XJ,3CW,3YA) alle 41x53x8/9,5

Update 2010.02.08

this is the original Malaguti fork seal replacement kit. It did cost me 58 Euro and includes 2 dust seals, 2 oil seals (original quality with only one metal spring) and 2 clips to lock the oil seal in place.
Since my cleaned, former leaking, oil seal is still only leaking minimal I will postpone the replacement until it is really necessary.

1 Year Spidermax

2009-09-19T00:01:00.009+01:00

Happy birthday to us.

After exactly 12 months, 18.000 km, one new rear tire what now also needs replacing, 2 oil filter and several oil changes, around 10 times taking the CVT apart with a very pleasing outcome, a full makeover with several red and black spray cans and some more minor changes, it is time to find out if this was a good purchase.
A year ago I wondered if this could be the perfect bike for me here on the island.
The short answer is: YES!

She is so much fun to ride and since I changed her personality with the paint job and the Colt Conversion she fits like a glove and I not only have a smile on my face when we are out to play there is also the occasionally WHO HOOOO when the broad grin is not enough to express my feeling.

Are there things that could be better?
Just minor like the tires what have a size which is hard to find and the foot rests from the pillion what could be a few centimeters further away from me but compared to every other bike I owned the past 30 something years this is the most fun and best looking I ever had.
She is also the most exclusive bike.
We have all kind of Harleys, Gold Wings and lots of more fancy and rare motorcycles here on the islands. But as far as I know there is only 1 Malaguti Spidermax on all 7 islands and you are just reading her story.
In fact she is one of the rarest models in the automatic scene world wide, but without the exorbitant price for spare parts, since her propulsion unit is the same as in all 500 cc European scooters.

I loved my Burgman 400 she was cozy like a recliner, but sometimes I felt old on her. Like just relaxing in a La-Z-Boy Recliner and watching the scenery drift by.
Don´t get me wrong, I enjoyed the relaxed scooting around and sometimes even with my legs extended, but I was missing the sporty side of riding around on 2 wheels.

The Spidermax makes me feel like a teenager most of the time with her look, her handling and the way she drives.
And I can drive her crazy and still feel safe.
She is a very sporty bike with a now very zippy motor / transmission ( thanks to my Colt Conversion).
So when Malaguti tried to combine the quirkiness of a Supermotard and the comfort of a Maxi-Scooter they did a pretty good job.

The Woody Conversion - my quest for the perfect roller weight - The Spidermax Files

2009-09-16T00:17:00.017+01:00

Since I can not just borrow some rollers with different weight and don´t even think of just buying them her on the island, I need to find a way to make different rollers for testing for cheap.
So today I tried to figure out how to make my own rollers. They do not need to be perfect just as long they are safe to use and do not mess up the transmission.
First I need to find a material what is easy to work with and has the right size. I found a hollow plastic rod from a shower what was exactly 25 mm in diameter. That is the size the rollers are. So cutting 17 mm wide pieces went OK after I found that saw guide. You know the thingy where you can saw with straight or in a 45 degree angle.

I made 4 nice rollers and then the brain nagged me with the what if question.
So I brought out the hot air gun and heated the roller. The material went soft and was easily to deform. Bummer - well better than melting in the pulley. I had not measured how hot the pulleys get but when you work on a warm engine. the transmission metal parts are still pretty hot especial the pulley part with the rollers since it is not well cooled at all.

So I needed a non melting material. Wood or aluminum came into mind. So off to the hardware store called here ferreteria. The problem is it is like a ma and pa store, everything is behind the counter...
Well this as a bust, so I went for the next best thing and was looking for round wood 25 mm. Nada, so I went for my second choice a bit under 22 mm is the size of the steel part inside the roller.

Armed with my trusty precision measurement device I found a Pümpel for 1 Euro with the size wood I needed (measured all 6 in the store and they were all a bit different in size).

After removing the metal part of the roller the wood from the Pümpel was easily pressed in instead.

So I sacrificed the Pümpel for research sake and made 8 little wooden roller inserts.

To get the metal out of the roller is a bit tricky, first 2 rollers I scraped some material off until I could remove the insert. The other 2 rollers I just smacked the metal out while loosing the plastic cover from the roller side.

The wood was hammered in with a rubber mallet.

First I wanted to do all 8 rollers at once but the I thought I test it better first with half and half.
So you could call this a Colt with a Woody Conversion test.

... and for all my American friends, think Toy Story ... Toy Story ... Toy Story ...

My test setup

After a short test ride it behaved pretty close to the Mustang Conversion with the 6 rollers. I will add some measurements tomorrow and will also try the full Woody conversion.

20 km/h = 2800 rpm
40 km/h = 3500 rpm
60 km/h = 4200 rpm
80 km/h = 4700 rpm
100 km/h = 5300 rpm

A short note to the rollers
The soft plastic is around the steel just to make the rollers operate silent, metal on metal would make lots of noise. The abrasions on the roller are, from what I understand now, of no concern. The plastic is soft and when there is hard dirt inside the roller cage the surface of the plastic gets scratched permanently. This is why some rollers have abrasions and others have none. A roller does not even have to roll, it can also just slide as with the Dr. Pulley sliding rollers.
So I see no reason why I would replace them with the same new rollers while they still do their work flawless.

Update 2009.09.18
Well the full woody was a bust, just too light. But I wanted to put little steel insets in the wood anyway. The problem is, I do hot have a precision scale. When I find one I might try another time. For now I am back to my much appreciated Colt Conversion. Just removed the wood from 4 rollers and pressed the steel inserts back in. Piece of cake.

Piaggio MASTER 500 engine - Inside the CVT - The Spidermax Files

2009-09-14T19:26:00.023+01:00

A complete assembly from the CVT in pictures.

As I mentioned in The 0 Euro Tuning post there are some vibrations and I wanted to see if I could get rid of them.

I found a silicon o-ring what fit just perfect over the rod.

then I rearanged the rollers to see if that would have any effect.

Well Murpy went with me to the test ride.

With the 4 rollers setup this way the engine run higher rpm much more early. Before I reached 100 km/h I was already over 7500 rmp full throttle. So it is not only the weights, but also the way they are placed in the pulley - fascinating.
After some hight rpm on the motorway I suddenly heard a high screeching noise. Luckily I was just out of a tunnel and there was an emergency lane. I stopped instantly and saw that I nearly had lost my ~~nuts~~ nut. The 27 mm nut from the driving pulley had come loose and the air wheel was scratching at the metal lid from the transmission.

My wife had to play road service and bring me my tools.

Luckily the 27 mm nut could be tightened on the road via simulating the torque wrench.
I gave several sharp smacks with my hand on the rod, then run the engine for 2 seconds so the belt could slip up into the pulley and repeated this 3 times.
The ride home was not above 5000 rpm and I checked twice to see it the nut was still tight and she was. Good nut, have a cookie.
At home I took the transmission again apart and saw that my silicone ring had disintegrated.
To check if the vibrations had to do with the 4 roller setup I installed 6 rollers.
I had the 4 rollers in for 2 months and 2000 km and it did not bug me a bit but after I had the 8 rollers back in for a test something happened and I noticed the vibrations more with the 4 roller setup.

So here now for all of you who wonder how a CVT looks from the inside and for all of you who wonder where that left over washer has to go here now a step by step reassembly.

this is how the parts sit inside the metal lid

you see why the clutch gets hot, the hot air exhaust opening is above the clutch area.

Left the driving pulley with the roller wights, right the driven pulley what sits on top of the clutch.

When the rpm increase the gap between the clutch and the pulley gets smaller and cuts of most of the clutches air circulation.

When the centrifugal force is big enough the rollers are forced outside and slide up a ramp inside their pulley cage and they press against the plate and the pulley. This moves the both pulley halves together and the belt rides up in the pulley. This forces the driven pulley to separate more and the belt slides down in the driven pulley. This increases the rpm of the rear wheel.

The naked case with the rod from the engine on the left, the anti belt flapper wheel in the middle and the rod from the rear wheel gear box to the right

driving pulley half with the plate extreme extended (more than it extends while working)

the unit from above installed. When you take it out and you do not grab behind it to pull it out, the rollers and plastic guides fall out easily.

The case is so tight, that the belt leaves some marks on it.

Since I had not the right tools to on the road to take the transmission apart to squeeze the belt into the driven pulley I tried out if the whole thing could be reassembled without the squeezing from the driven pulley via brute force.
So I just pressed it on the ground so that the pulley would separate a bit to allow the belt to slide in to be flush with the pulley. Otherwise it will not fit in the case.

So I did not miss use my trusty bolt cutter for squeezing this time.

You need to hold the belt together for sliding the pulley in.

The spacer washer comes in now (see thumb). His job is to let the belt slide in a bit more to give you some extra rpm at low speed.

Now the other half of the pulley slides on. These air fins are creating the air blow.
2 thick washers go on top of it.

since we have not squeezed the driven pulley apart we need to to squeeze the belt a bit together (see above) so that there is nearly no interference with the both pulley halves.

The belt between the pulley halves with the nut tightened.

I needed to rotate the driving pulley 2 times to get the belt free and re tighten the nut again with the torque wrench. Test ride confirmed that this works well too, and this time I had the 27 mm wrench with me (picture #4 from above) to be safe.

Now the clutch bell slips on and the small washer follows. His job is to press against the center ball bearing ring.

The metal lid with the abrasions (left) from when the nut came loose and the air fins scraped on it.
On the right you see the ball bearing which stuck so badly on the rod that I had to buy a professional puller to separate them.

The small washer goes on first to sit on the ball bearing ring and then the big washer on top followed by the 21 mm nut.

Everything is back together just need to tighten the four 10 mm bolts and the seven 8 mm bolts.

These are all the tools you need to do this job, plus a Phillips head screw driver to the the silver plastic cover off (4 screws).
Thankfully the Malaguty engineers did not design any tupperware around the transmission.
In case of the Spidermax you just need to remove 2 hex screws to get the pillion foot rest out of the way.

And that´s it.

Just wanted to see what rollers are made off. I think it is a shame to throw them away just because the plastic surface has some abrasions. They could make them, so the metal part could be reused.

My next project will be to see if I can make some do it yourself rollers.
It is not because I do not want to buy a new set, but to see if I can change the characteristic to an even more optimal setting and it is just too much fun to tinker around and see what the engineers miss.

Update 2009.09.15
Back to 8 rollers 4 with a wooden center 4 normal with steel insert. More about that in the next post. The vibrations are still there, so it is not the amount of rollers I put in but something else. I suspect now the ball bearing from the driven pulley. When I turn it by hand (finger in the center hole) there is a noticeable clacking sound and feeling that something is not a happy round ball in there. So will get a new one, 40 mm outside 17 mm hole and 12 mm wide. I think it got bad when I tried to get the metal case of the transmission and had to use force.

Update 2009.9.18
Changed the ball bearing today

The extractor came in very handy here.

Old left, new right.

Mounting the new ball bearing is a bit complicated. Better try with the old one first.
You need to pat it with a hammer around the rim because it likes to settle in an angle and then lock up. So tap it with a hammer on the rim until it is straight and then you can use the extractor and press it in.

Sadly the ball bearing were not where my vibrations came from.

The 0 Euro Tuning - Piaggio MASTER engine 500 cc -

2009-09-11T18:51:00.028+01:00

The facts and measurements how to make her accelerate faster
2000 km after the Colt Conversion (see posting before) I wanted to know how much more the real increase in acceleration is.
So today I put the 4 rollers I had removed for the Colt Conversion back in the variator and did some measurements.
Sounds like gibberish to you so far, please read first this post.

OK let me tell you how it actually feels driving with the unmodified engine again.
After being back to the original 8 roller setup, I have the feeling I drive a my old Volkswagen Jetta diesel again.
Compared to the sports car feeling before with the Colt Conversion.
Passing cars in some situation gets kind of risky again.

But to get as much comparable measurements as possible and as exactly as I can, I will "suffer" for sciences sake a few days longer.

UPDATE one day later
Went into the mountains today to get an idea how the bike normally behaved. After a couple months and 2000 km with the Colt Conversion I had forgotten how bad unmodified was before.

I took a leisurely stroll with my significant other in the back and we were just enjoying our selfs in the speed between a 50 cc and a 125 cc. (Yes, sometime I like to ride just slow to enjoy the scenery.)
Oh my what difference it was. The paint shaker was omni present because of the rpm´s which stayed in the 3000 band. The poor belt was constantly flapping around and beating down on the anti flapper wheel. In one little stretch slightly up hill at 40 km/h when the rpm was at 4000 and I opened the throttle full I could not believe my eyes.
The acceleration was something like this: 4000 rpm - wait a second - 4100 rpm - wait a second - 4200 rpm - wait a second - 4300 rpm - wait a second -.
This was apparently the worse case scenario I just hit there by bad luck.

Remember we are talking mountains and twisties and hair pin turns here.
I tried several situation where at a speed between 40 and 60 km/h a ripped open throttle should provide some sort of acceleration and it always was very bad. The rpm always climbed slowly in the 3000 and 4000 band. So the main problem with the 8 roller original setup is that there is no fast moving up in rpm as we have with the Colt Conversion and a little bit more moderate with the Mustang Conversion.
Let´s get back to my old Jetta Diesel with the comparison for a second. Since Piaggio decided that the MASTER engine should stay in the low rpm´s you are often in the 3000 to 4000 rpm band. At least riding moderately inside the town. The MASTER engine but is happy in the 5000 rpm band and above. That is where she has the maximum torque and runs smoother than in the lower rpm bands. While in the lower rpm bands she shows that she has to work hard - with noise, vibrations and a not stellar performance the moment she is in the upper rpm bands it is like the turbo kicks in and she purrs away.

So, are there any drawbacks so far?
Well, the engine runs hotter since the rpm are higher and I think I noticed a slightly change in the color of the stainless steel exhaust from silver slight brown to a little darker silver slight brown, but I am not sure about that.
With the next oil change I will switch to full synthetic motor oil to be on the safe side here.Hah, the next day the change oil came up and I have her now on full synthetic 5w40.

Since the 3000 rpm band is seldom used with the Colt Conversion and even the 4000 rpm band is mostly used in the upper area there is virtually no vibration anymore. So now I noticed a slight vibration in the 6000 to 6500 band. The funny thing is that it is changing the vibration speed even if the rpm and the speed stays the same. It is not bad but it is noticeable. Checking with the 8 rollers setup there was a bit vibration there too but lighter.
There might be an issue with the metal plate where the rollers press against to move the variator. I will investigate further and will update this posting here if I find out more.

During my 8 roller test I left the silver noise cover off from the tansmission case. This results in a better cooling of the clutch and the strangled sealion was nearly absent during this ride.

Transmission cover and the foam noise dampeners.

You can see clearly where the air holes are covered (black area on the white foam) and that there is no air intake filter anymore what they had in the first model of the MASTER engine.

With the silver plastic cover removed it is quite easy to check in what shape the belt is in if you look into the bottom center air holes.

With the cover installed the clutch and the driven pulley just have the lower back opening to expel hot air. With the cover removed, the air flow is out of all holes around the clutch. This way the heat is much faster removed and also the metal lid expels the heat much better than with the plastic cover installed. So the screaming clutch (strangled sealion) is less likely to happen because the heat is much faster removed. The drawback is, you hear the transmission noise a bit more and I do not think it is a good idea if you have rain where you are riding. With nearly no rain here in the south, I opt for better ventilation and leave the cover off.

Airflow with and without (orange arrows) silver plastic cover

... and yes, I know the air intake looks a bit ugly, so I will look for a nice cover. You will see it here if I find a pleasing solution.

Now let´s have some numbers to get an idea how the different roller setups work out.
acceleration - 8 rollers - 6 rollers - 4 rollers
0- 60 km/h - 7.00 sec - 6.5 sec - 6.5 sec
0- 80 km/h - 9.50 sec - 8.5 sec - 7.5 sec
0-100 km/h - 14.5 sec - 12 sec - 10.3 sec

speed - 8 rollers - 6 rollers - 4 rollers
020 - 2100 rpm - not measured - 3000 rpm
040 - 3000 rpm - not measured - 4000 rpm
060 - 3700 rpm - 4000 rpm - 4500 rpm
080 - 4500 rpm - 4500 rpm - 5000 rpm
100 - 5200 rpm - 5200 rpm - 5500 rpm
120 - 6000 rpm - 6000 rpm - 6000 rpm
140 - 7000 rpm - 7000 rpm - 7000 rpm
160 - 8000 rpm - 8000 rpm - 8000 rpm

What these numbers do not show yet, is the extreme acceleration when the bike is already moving. I will do some additional measurements in this area.
acceleration - 8 rollers - 4 rollers
20-60 km/h - 5.1 sec - 4 sec
30-80 km/h - 7 sec - 5.3 sec
40-80 km/h - 6.7 sec - 4.6 sec
40-100 km/h - 10.0 sec - 7.1 sec
60-120 km/h - 14.5 sec - 9.8 sec

All measurements were done 4 times up and down the same road and were repeated if there was a noticeable difference.
The speed was read from the speedometer. The speedometer was checked for accuracy via the gps see here.
The Spidermax with the rider and the add ons was around 300 kg.
The air flow was checked on the center stand with the engine running in different speeds and the hand in front of the holes.
Update 2009.09.18
Even with the 8 roller standard setup and the silver cover off there is virtually no screaming sealion any more. So the cover will stay of permanently. I just need to find a suitable cover for the air intake.Rummaging in my garage produced this vent cover.
It has exactly the right size to clip into the hole from the air intake.

It just needed to cut off a bit and the 3 tabs from the clamps needed to be shortened too.
Since 3 stores did not have my non glossy black, I painted it in the bike red.
I think I might like that even better than black.

Update 2009.09.30
After not hearing the "strangled sealion" since I took of the silver cover from the transmission no matter in which extreme situations I wanted to test my clutch bell air cooling theory.
Under harshest riding conditions I tried to produce a single noise from the clutch. With barely 3000 rpm and a speed between 10 to 20 km/h I drove like a snail up hilly streets. No matter how hard I fried even with rpm below 2500 there was not a single squeak or squeal to hear. Testing the clutch bell after 10 min ultra slow climbing through the air holes carefully with a wet fingertip produced a hissing sound.

So the clutch got hot during the abuse but the air cooling prevented any too high temperatures and the strangled sealion is now gone for ever.

If you have problem with the noise (thinking of the Burgmann AN400 K7) and all the other scooters where I read about similar noises, the solution is simple. If you have a cover remove it to test if your problem is gone. Uncover the air holed and if you do not have any, see if you can make a few to help the clutch to get better cooled.
Update 2009.10.02
While riding I got an idea how people who have to ride in wet conditions can improver the clutch cooling without loosing the silver plastic cover.

Here you can see the foam what covers the air holes. You see also that the foam is pretty thick.
One way would be just to drill six 10 mm holes through the plastic cover where the 3 big upper and lower holes are covered by the foam.

If you do not want to drill holes into your cover, just remove the yellow marked area of foam carefully (so you can stick it back in case you want it). These are just the lower holes from the clutch vent but they also are close to the central bottom vent ( the 6 cut outs you see above). This should already get enough air flowing to cool the clutch and eliminate or at least reduce the "strangled sealion" noise.
Drop me a line if you tried it and tell me how it worked out for you.

Update 2009.11.07
5000 km with the Colt Conversion
Here is the log from the gas station, some times I forgot to log an entry but they were all in the same range.

The median consumption is 4,84 l/100 km compared to 4,77 l/100 km with the original 8 roller setup. So that is next to nothing if you consider the more sporty way the bike handles and gets driven.The belt change came on with 24000 km and since the belt still looks the same as 5000 km ago it will not be replaced. I will check at 30000 km again but I think it will be good for much longer - even with the bit higher stress on it because of the Colt Conversion.
The roller plastic shows a bit more wear but that is to be expected since 4 rollers have to do the work from 8.
When I check the state they are in, I think they should last another 24000 km without a problem and if the plastic does not disintegrate, for much longer.

So the belt and roller change every 12000 km is in my eyes a very unnecessary step. Both should last easy 30000 to 50000 km depending on the riding conditions.

The lower vibrations ( paint shaker around 2800 rpm) are gone 100%. The whole riding experience is very joyously with the Colt Conversion and no ill effects can be reported within the 5000 km test.
There is no question that I will stick with this setup until some problems should arise, what I really doubt.
Update 2009.12.08
Ending the strangled Sealion the simple and fast way
I tried the removal of the yellow marked foam piece and then took the silver lid back off to see the way the air can flow. After that I decided, that the whole foam would be unnecessary around the clutch area.

So I removed it all, just left the foam strips what cover the belt area. The result is promising, no more squealing, the clutch gets sufficiently ventilated.
Problem solved!
Just take the 4 screws off to remove the silver cover, remove the half round foam stripes completely, screw it back on, that´s it.

Speedy Gonzales, Road Runner and the Red Rocket

2009-07-30T14:16:00.054+01:00

the last one is with a hat tip to Matt and Tray from South Park...
How to make her accelerate faster by tinkering with the variator.

I read a lot about how to improve the acceleration of the Piaggio 500 cc MASTER engine.
There is the:
J. Costa Variator
Malossi Multivar 2000
Polini Variator
Dr. Pulley Sliding Roller Weights
Malossi Racing Spring Set
Malossi Maxi Fly Clutch
Dr Pulley HiT Clutch
and so on

I wanted to go with the Dr. Pulley sliding weights because it is the cheapest mod with the most impact for the money, but first I needed to know if I had the old 6 roller variator or the new 8 roller type.
So I opened the variator assembly to see and wondered what impact removing 2 rollers would have. I read in different boards, if you change the weight of the rollers you should not go below 8% of the original weight. I wanted to try an extreme setup to see how big the impact on acceleration and gas consumption would be.

The Mustang Conversion

I put the variator assembly back together with only 6 rollers and did some testing.

Let´s measure the acceleration:
0-60=6.5 sec
0-80=8.5 sec
0-100 ca.12 sec

I did the measurement myself. Looking on the street, on the speedometer and in the right second press the stopwatch on the right hand with the left is kind of not so good an exact. I did all runs at least 4 times since the street is a very slight grade. So I did it up and down at least 2 times. Add roughly 90 kg weight to the 210 kg from the Spidermax and you have 300 kg that needs to accelerated.
Here is the speed to rpm ratio with the 6 roller setup.
60 km/h = 4000 rpm
80 km/h = 4500 rpm
100 km/h = 5000 rpm
120 km/h = 6000 rpm
140 km/h = 7000 rpm
160 km/h = 8000 rpm

The acceleration improved nicely but there is still the first 2 seconds what the engine needs to rev up what feel kind of sluggish but then you really feel an improvement. I needed to throttle down much faster than normal because I reached the desired speed.
While the normal acceleration was in the 4000+ rpm it is now in the more torque friendly 5000+ rpm band. Mostly the Spidermax is then already above 50 km/h.
Now lets see how much the gas consumption jumps up.
I used exactly 1 tank full. I filled her up to the brim last time and did the same this time.
She used exactly 5.02 liter per 100 km compared to around 4.8 I have normally. So we are talking around 4% higher consumption, but then I drove a bit more aggressive because it is just too much fun with the stronger acceleration.

She has a faster acceleration but there is still the first 2 seconds where she feels a bit sluggish. After that you have the wohaaaaaaaaaa feeling and need to throttle back because you are already at 70 in a 40 km/h zone.

The Colt Conversion

Now let´s go crazy!
How about we remove 2 rollers more. Yupp you read right - reduce the 8 roller original setup to 4 rollers. Will the Spidermax run at all or just in very high rpm? Will she be usable at all on the street and in what astronomical regions will the gas consumption skyrocket?

The test setup with 4 rollers
and this time I rigged the stopwatch to the handlebar for a more secure and faster usage.

The acceleration changed to:
0-60=6.5 sec
0-80=7.5 sec
0-100=10.3 sec

Here is the speed to rpm measurement:
40 km/h = 4000 rpm
60 km/h = 4500 rpm
80 km/h = 5000 rpm
100 km/h = 5500 rpm
120 km/h = 6000 rpm
140 km/h = 7000 rpm
160 km/h = 8000 rpm
These measurements are not very accurate, since even the slightest incline or decline changes the rpm. At 100 km/h you can be at 5000 downhill or 7000 accelerating uphill. The instant response is amazing since above 40 km/h the MASTER engine is already in a good power band torque wise and 18 of the 40 horses are engaged. Rip open the throttle and she jumps eagerly in an instant to 5500 rpm and above.
28 out of 40 horses are pushing you back in the seat while the maximum torque is already reached at 5000 rpm.
In the range from 30 to 100 km/h it is the feeling you have if you got the next bigger engine. No not the 850 cc think more the Burgman 650. (I have to find me a Burgman 650 and race her)

Even if the 4 roller setup seems much faster from the start the measurements from 0-60 are identical with the 6 roller setup. The main problem is that 300 kg need to be accelerated from stand still. The first 2 seconds it just needs to rev up the engine, engage the clutch and get moving. So the only thing to improve that would be a different clutch setup what engages at higher rpm.

The fluctuation in rpm is with the 4 roller setup the highest.
While with the 8 rollers setup when you open the throttle full above 40 km/h you jump in the mid 4000 rpm in the 6 roller setup you jump into the mid 5000 and in the 4 roller setup you quickly jump into the 6000 and soon higher.

The response is with the 4 roller setup instantly. Tested the twisties today with my honey in the back so 370 kilo incl. luggage. The response in the very slow to drive (5 to 10 km/h) hairpin curves uphill was absolute glorious. Instant power, no strangled sealion (that dreadful squealing noise when the automatic clutch has not engaged fully and still slips) except once in the worst steep, tiny hairpin curve. I also noticed that there was no more paint shaker (the shudder when the belt flops up and down and you feel vibrations because the rpm is to low for the and you do not have the torque you need).
The whole behavior is now much more civilized like a fine tuned Japanese engine what is now optimized for acceleration.

I wrote in Test Track:
The Spidermax has the most talketive motor. From the sound of an old farming tractor (20 km/h 2800 rpm uphill) to the sonor sound of a big thumper bike you hear a wide variety of sounds. She always lets you know how she feels, the Italian girl. Also, she does like her vibrator, the Burgman and even the Pegaso dampened vibrations better. It is not too bad though. She is also not too fast getting up to go, but that might be improved with a different variator. She has the same engine as all Italian 500 cc Scooter. I had the feeling the Burgman was a bit faster from the start.
With the 6 and 4 roller setup, you can strike the above paragraph!
The 20 km/h uphill are now around 4000 rpm and she runs smooth as a greased pig.

Also the acceleration with a pillion is now even more dynamic than with the 8 rollers solo rider. From a near stand still in a roundabout you have now no painful second or two until the speed is there to make that gap. It is there in an instant. From the stand still at a roundabout if you crank up the rpm a bit before start you are much faster also.

Lets see how high the bill on the gas station is for that...
I filled her again to the brim at the same gas station and needed 12.51 liter. With that I drove 261 km. Around 110 km were 2 up into the mountains, 100 km highway with speeds between 120 km/h and 140 km/h slightly hilly and some wind and 50 km urban roads with in town traffic. No red lights, no stop and go. The 150 km were just me. So if I did the math right my gas consumption on this ride was back to my normal 4.8 liter per 100 km.
WOW - somebody pinch me.

I will definitely leave the 4 roller set up and will use at least 2 more tanks to be sure about these results.
I will update this post when I am back from the gas station next time.

next time 1:
204.6 km and 10.41 liter makes 5.1 liter per 100 km.
I went into the mountains and I never had so hot brakes driving up hill. ;)
After 50 km into the mountains, I went the rest on the highway with speeds 120 to 140 km/h. I really rode her hard this time and compared to what she normally uses, that is the normal millage for this kind of riding style, should have even been a bit higher.

next time 2:
215.1 km and 9.82 liter makes 4.56 liter per 100 km.
This tank I rode within the speed limit always. No full throttle starts and all in all very conservative and leisurely riding style. 2 up into the mountains and some highway and rural roads.
This is one of the lowest consumptions and it proofs, that the 4 roller Colt conversion has the same gas consumption like the standard 8 roller setup (see chart below).
If you ride aggressive you pay around 12% max more at the pump same with 4 or 8 rollers.
next time 3:
272.4 km and 12.92 liter makes 4.74 liter per 100 km. Normal riding conditions. Oh and I made the 20.000 km today too. So happy birthday (or so) Spidermax.
So the fantastic news is, that the 6 roller Mustang conversion or the 4 roller Colt conversion does not use more gas than the standard 8 roller setup!
(You probably will use a bit more, because you riding style will definitely change but it will be in the area of 2%- 5%)

Here is a comparison how thirsty she was with the factory setup.

I will monitor the gas consumption now for a while, and so can you. These are the actual millages I get and it will be automatically updated every time I am back from the gas station. If you click on the millage below, it will bring you to my logbook.

on the right column you find the consumption and the logbook from the factory standard 8 roller setup.

I will log down in this post any problems or observation I make regarding the Colt conversion. You will find it at the end of this post.

Since I changed her from this, the good girl next door,

to a fiery ~~red head~~ red rocket,

it is not only much more fun to ride her, I also ride her different, much more sporty ... (ahem - have to watch my mirrors permanently for bears and often have to slap me on my hands because I am already speeding again ...)

I am glad I could give her and me the temperament to match her color.
So I guess the right color for the bike is an important thing. Sadly Malaguti just makes her in boring colors.
But then, 4 spray cans, some masking tape and old newspaper is all you need to have it your way.

Now let´s have a look at the MASTER engine to see where the torque and the power is.

She is the power plant in these nice scooters:
Aprilia Atlantic 500
Aprilia Scarabeo 500
Gilera Nexus 500
Gilera Fuoco 500
Piaggio Beverly 500
Piaggio MP3 500
Piaggio X9 500
Peugeot Satelis 500
Malaguti Spidermax GT500
Malaguti Spidermax RS500
and more...

Power and torque range MASTER engine 500

The different acceleration areas regarding to the number of installed rollers.
It is not very accurate, but gives you an idea where the extra speed is coming from.
Vertical scale corrected (Piaggio had an error in it, see original above)

There is no reason why this setup should not also work fine with the 400 cc Piaggio engine. It is the same engine just the bore is reduced from 94 mm to 85.8 mm and the stroke is reduced from 71 mm to 69 mm.

I try to figure out, why the gas consumption does not go up even if I use every chance to let her bolt. The only explanation what makes sense to me is that she instantly is in her optimal torque band and does not need to go there from 3000 rpm as in the standard 8 roller setup.
If you have any other ideas or want to talk to me, use to talk to me.
Famous last words:
I often read that people who enjoy riding their scooter have a big fat smile on their face.
Well, I enjoyed the Kymco, Burgman and now my Spidermax and once a while I crack a grin but that big fat smile I could never fathom.
With the Mustang conversion the big fat smile was there after the first minute and did not wanted to go away.
With the Colt conversion it is accompanied by the occasional WHOHOOOOOOOOOO and it is so much more fun to ride that "new kick ass sports bike".
So is everything now only speed an performance? Will you just have a race horse instead of a medium tempered one? What if you miss the "strangled sealiaon" calling for you once a while?
Never fear. If you just crank the throttle a quarter to a third you have you old bike back.
The paint shaker and the "strangled sealion" will be with you instantly. In fact for my 3rd test tank full I am doing just that.

Why the funny names?
Well the 6 roller setup reminded me of a wild (Ford) Mustang what enjoys to run.

The 4 roller setup what is even more dynamic and jumps to action at the smallest movement of the wrist reminded me of a young horse (colt) what bolts away just for the fun of it.

To better understand what I did it is important to know the roller weights:
Original are 8 rollers a 18 gram, so that is 18 gram x 8 = 144 gram combined roller weight.

You can get rollers for tuning in:
16 gram x 8 rollers = 128 gram total
15 gram x 8 rollers = 120 gram total

What I did is:
6 rollers is 18 gram x 6 = 108 gram total
4 rollers is 18 gram x 4 = 72 gram total

2010-8-27
I just reread this posting and stumbled over an inconsistency.

I did not have a precision scale when I wrote this to check on the weight myself.
A year later I have one and 4 rollers add up to 85 gram what what makes one roller 21.25 gram and not 18 gram.

It seems the original rollers are 21.5 gram, what accounts for the missing 1 gram of the plastic which I removed during the woody conversion test from the outside of the plastic.

So the paragraph above would be correct read:

What I did is:

6 rollers is 21.25 gram x 6 = 128 gram total

4 rollers is 21.25 gram x 4 = 85 gram total

I got these information from my friend Sloper from Bella Italia and he warns that the higher rpm are not good for the motor. Since he has the chance to run the MASTER 500 in his Spidermax at full speed, I concur. But in my case the speed limit is 120 km/h and I am seldom above 7000 rpm.
I noticed when I did the 160 km/h test that at exactly 160 the limiter was cutting the acceleration since I reached 8000 rpm. With the 8 rollers I could get to 165 km/h. But I am much happier with my 4 roller setup.

So if you want to try a Mustang or Colt Conversion on your bike, be aware that bad things can happen. So don`t blame me for exploding motors, speeding tickets, facial distortions due to permanent grinning like an idiot, that your spouse left you because she won the lottery or any thing else. If you fiddle with your bike it is your responsibility.
Update after 1500 km
It is so much more fun to ride with her even with a passenger in the back. Today on the highway I had some situations where the extra power was very welcome. Passing a car and accelerating from 100 to 130 is much more fun now. In the roundabouts with stop and go and the sprints to enter the roundabout is much more snappy now. While with the 8 rollers I had to open up for the first quarter of the roundabout, now after half a quarter I have to throttle back to not get carried out of the roundabout because of my speed I already have.
After spending the last 2 tank fulls with high speed on the highway (interstate / Autobahn) and that with lots of wind first in front so that with a full throttle sometimes not more than 130 km/h was possible and later with it in the back the consumption is between 5 and 5.25 liters per 100 km what is the same if I did this kind of rinding with the 8 roller version.
Oh we have warm days here around 30 degrees celsius and with the sun around the whole day and the bike really getting hot on the highway I noticed the strangled sealion when I have to accelerate slowly and are below 3000 rpm once a while. It is way not as bad as before but when the clutch bell is hot and the acceleration is slow then a light screaming is there.

how many rollers are there?

2009-07-30T01:00:00.020+01:00

Rollers, the belt and how to get to them in spite of Murphies law

My little air compressor was not able to get the nuts from the pulleys off so I got my one of these.

An electric impact wrench with 700w what did the job nicely.

Nobody told me that to remove the transmission cover you need brute force.

I tried it it with a home made extractor but no luck.

When I asked my friend sloper from Bella Italia how to get the cover off her replied:

The problem is the sea salt or the sand who from your zone has slipped somewhere and that has created a binding between the parts.
It can also go by myself, when in winter the salt put on roads to prevent the formation of ice.
I think the only thing that is screwing the bolt and use a rubber hammer and give a couple of shots taken in the center of the bolt.
Without ruining anything! Screw and unscrew, still WD40, screwing and unscrewing, blow rubber hammer ecc.ecc. until the final solution!
It is not a problem of the factory, but to local conditions. Even the simple go to the sea can cause this type of accident.
To prevent, hoping that you can remove the bolt, put grease over the shaft to the wheel and you not have more problems.
You stay quiet and you will see that we will manage. Cheerio for now ! Good luck !

After lots of banging and wedging screwdrivers between the lid I decided I needed a professional extractor.

This solved the problem in 2 seconds.

Finally open and you see the home of the "strangeled sea lion" the nice blue bell of the clutch.

Notice the 2 washers on the pulleys, they want to go back there.

Not much wear in the bell housing.

After 18000 km there is still lots of material on the clutch.

The driven pulley

and the shaft with the brown part where the ball bearing held an desperately until my fancy 20 Euro extractor pulled them appart.

For these 2 rollers I have a special surprise (see next posting)

There is marginally a tiny bit of wear on the rollers but just on the bottom where they were sitting in idle position. I just rotated them 180 degrees and they are good for another 18000 km at least.

This is the worst looking roller and there is a little flat spot on it.The abrasion on the rollers is from this worse case to 4 rollers who show virtually no no wear.All wear was where the rollers were in rest position.
There was no noise when the rollers were at work or at rest.

The belt has a new width from 26.2 mm and a replace width from 25 mm.
Well, I measure more 26.4 mm

With 26 mm after 18000 km the belt is nearly new.

Checking for cracks and defects I noticed a few threads missing in parts of the belt.
These are the worst parts, so I think I shall check back in another 5ooo km to see if there is more noticeable deterioration.

so looks a new belt.

I payed 63 Euro for mine, not too bad for Coconut Island Price.
To put the variator assembly back together proofed a challenge. The spring of the driven pulley needs to be compressed so the belt sits on the bottom of the pulley.
With the help of a bolt cutter and some plastic molding to protect the pulley from scratches I managed to open the pulley up.

You need to put something in between the pulley to hold it open.

... and there you go the belt is in the pulley.

just a little squeeze from the bolt cutter to release the pulley open holder tool

and ready you are.

Now just screw it back together and you are done.

Piece of cake - If you know all the little tricks (a powerful torque wrench, an extractor and something to pull the pulley apart to insert the belt)

Earthlings - we come in peace

2009-07-24T01:48:00.003+01:00

Show me a Terrestrial Ground Transportation Unit what looks more futuristic than the Spidermax Hoverbike.

Oh, the night is my world - City light painted girl

2009-06-20T14:20:00.023+01:00

(LAURA BRANIGAN - Self Control) lyrics
How the right color for your bike makes a world of a difference

After a long period of fiddling with the right color, I finally found the right color for my Spidermax.

I started with a hight gloss gold on the front fender. It looked gorgeous but with a couple layers of glossy clear coat it looked kind of dull and I did not like it much.

Since the Burgman and the Pegaso were blue I tried a metallic blue on the fender for a few months. I also painted the top part of the top box pearl white since there was no way to get my hands on a Malaguti silver.

To boost visibility I played around with aluminum tape but it always had little crinkles and looked good from far away only.

The I tried a combination of copper and gold on the steering column inlay. It looked still non glossy but I kind of liked it. After a few sprinkles rain I discovered that the several layers clear coat did not shield the metal paint from getting blotchy.

Then one day it hit me, since the Spidermax is more of a sporty motorcycle then a scooter like the Burgman or most others, I wanted to try a fire engine red.

After looking through what paint is available here on out tiny island (50 km diameter) I found a colour I wanted to try.

So I removed the aluminum sticky tape what needed the encouragement of the heat gun to get it off and painted the face plate red. The stearing column inlay followed and I tried it for a couple days. Then the front fender followed and with some red lipstick I wanted to get an idea how a certain design I had in mind and in the computer looked in the real life.
Well I did not like it that much when I saw it.

I wanted the top case and the mirrors in the same color but something with the mirrors did not look right. I hd only painted the mirrors but not hre ball joints what connect the mirrors with the arm. So I repainted the black ball joints from the mirrors red and now it looks perfect. It is just a minor detail, but it did bother me every time I looked into the mirrors.
I also left the air outlet silver and left a small silver band below the "head" to accent it better.
With the results I am very happy except the big red rump might need something silver to make it look a bit sleeker. But since I already masked the part below the chrome molding with non glossy black, the side looks so already much better.

Ever since I saw the red interior of a classic corvette the black dashboards or normal cars and bikes looked kind of dull to me. When I discovered the Spidermax I recognized design elements from the corvette. So I wanted my dashboard to be red too.

... and while we are comparing style elements from this beautiful 1961 Corvette how about the side air outlets with the chrome moldings behind the frontwheel? Coincidence? Come on I like to get a statement from the Malaguti designer that he was not inspired by the Corvette.

Here now a couple pictures to show my painted girl...

The fancy Corvette inspired red dashboard. The black GPS unit will get a matching red front plate too.

The other images are a bit too high compressed and the red color appears blotchy, here is one with a better quality and an extra camel - and a cute chick on the side.

The little silver band brings better out the insect like head.

The silver air outlet and the silver main frame setting a beautiful accent.

The red front plate and mirrors add to the visibility footprint - and lets not forget the dashboard.

The silver accent curtessy of aluminum tape.

So I spend 20 € on red spray paint and a little bit more on other paints to make up my mind. When I look at the front break disks, the metal does not look too nice, kind of blotchy. I think I might get them shiny and then paint them red too ...

When I got my Spidermax last year, the chrome molding from the air outlet right were broken off but thankfully were still with the bike. So why I was lazy and did not remove the back to paint it, I needed to remove the front fairing to fix the chrome moldings.

During the removal I peaked in every nook and cranny I could find and found a screw what must have fallen into the bike during the montage in Italy. Sadly the screw was pressed now since some years against a water hose.
It had left a permanent indent in the hose what did not recover within a day.
This looked like hose waiting to develop a leak while I was high up into the mountains with no cell phone coverage to call service.

Well I decided better be safe and cut the hose to put a connector in between.

After the cutting I saw how thick the hose was and that the indent would probably had not caused trouble, but since it was cut I needed something to connect it with. Sadly here on our little island things are limited and my choice was between a plastic connector what was a bit to small and a self made metal connector from our local hardware store.

I decided I did not trust the plastic too much to with the hot water, so I went full metal. I cut some cm of the hose to have the same length and installed my overkill connector.

I topped of the water what I had collected when I cut the hose and happily put my newly painted bike back together after a short test if the hose was not leaking.

At the test drive I noticed that the Spidermax was suddenly overheating.
When you see the temperature suddenly climbing fast and the the red overheating light comes on, its kind of scary. My way home was interrupted by 4 stops to let the engine cool down enough for the next couple kilometers.
With the help I got from my Italian friend Sloper I could see the whole water circulatory system and try to figure out what was wrong.
I had to let the air out on top of then engine. And now comes the nice part, Malaguti made 2 easy access areas to the engine to change the sparkplug and to let the air out. all I needed to do was remove the black clip on cover from the main frame and find the right wrench to open the valve screw. Let the air out while ideling until water comes out and everything should be peachy.

NOT SO!
The bike was still overheating and I decided to take it apart again to find what was wrong.

With the help from Google translate and my wife the translation what I should do reads like that:

Left side drain
Remove the cap placed on the drain fitting (A)
Insert a link Tubino in (A) of the purge valve on the head of the engine.
Supply of the coolant expansion tank, as described: (S/BP.16).
Unscrew and remove the filler (B).
Enter a quantity of liquid refrigerant within the main radiator (left).
Loosen the coupling: (A) and continue to rinfornire the main radiator until liquid comes out (with regular flow) from Tubino.

Right side drain
Loosen the bleed screw (C) placed on the radiator (right), to make out with a bit of liquid flow.
Close the screw and make a topping of fluid on the radiator principlae.
With the help of a second operator, the vehicle to tilt slightly to the right and kept in this position, slightly loosen the screw (C), to make out any remaining air from the radiator right.
Tighten the bleed screw (C), which is also the lives of the mass.
Open the drain valve on the head of the engine and check that the liquid bait Tubino indicating that the purge was carried out correctly.
Close the connection (A), remove the Tubino and insert the stopper.

Well we did all that and the bike was still overheating and the side where I had cut the hose was still cold because to much air in the right radiator. So I sucked some cooling liquid out of the reservoir and with a water bottle some tubing and a small fitting I squeezed some water into the radiator after removing the bleed screw (C). I had opened the filler cap (B) before and squeezed water in until it came out of the filling opening (B). The Spidermax was on the center stand and idling to move the water around.

This did the trick and I could check the 4 stage water circulatory system

Engine (8) starts and water pump (9) circulates water in the small circle.
The valve (7) opens at 80-84 degrees and the water circulates now through radiator (1) and the engine. At 63-67 degrees the valve (5) opens the way to the second radiator (3).
The cooling fan on the main radiator (1) kicks in if that is still not enough and the water temperature is over 100 degrees.

Here you can see how warm your engine is. (parziale = temperature bar)

Meltdown

2009-06-20T14:12:00.004+01:00

... well the last 5 months I was mesmerized by the global crisis and the lack of proper coverage in the main stream media. But thanks to the Internet, if you search, you will eventually find what you are looking for. So I was in no mood to fiddle with the Spidermax.

I see black

2009-01-22T19:11:00.007Z

Finally a nicer looking behind
With non glossy black I gave the backside of the Spidermax the new more dynamic look.

Also painted the top side from the top box for looks and better sun reflection.

Sadly I can not get the Malaguti color here, so I substituted with a pearl white.

I also tried some color for the rest of the bike, but chrome gold did not have the desired effect and now the front wheel fender is in blue metallic with a silver accent but I am not sure I like that. The green and red color scheme I planned earlier did not work out, I am more a blue type.

What I like about you ...

2008-10-25T19:29:00.004+01:00

Checking and changing motor oil instantly from the outside.
Changing the oil filter instantly from the outside.
Checking and changing final drive oil instantly from the outside.
Checking and changing spark plug just open a clip in cover.
Adjusting headlights from the outside.
Changing headlights possible from the outside if you have small hands, for every body else 2 screws and removing the faceplate and you are there.
All other lamps, open the service clip cover.
Check/change battery remove 2 screws and the 2 screws from the driver seat.
Charge battery, just plug in at the power outlet in the trunk.
Angled tire valves for easy filling.
Mirrors easy fold away.
Handle bar lock left or right.