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Super happy with my most recent Revzilla experience....My Versys X plopped over on its own, at a party bending its clutch lever. We tweeked it back 70%. At home I ordered a new OEM Kwacker part, $6.83 plus about $10 shipping and tax and what a deal...Came in a couple of days and as the Anti-crastinator that I am, got cracking immediately. Thanks Revzilla!
As a motorcycle enthusiast in Philippines, this is pretty much the story of SEA racing scene. Commuter bikes hopped up for racing. Thank you for keeping your radars globaly.
This is seriously impressive. Machining their own parts, rebuilding an engine, transmission, suspension, and then killing it on track day... Ari and Zack do it all. Your skill set and hard work are appreciated and don't go unnoticed!
@@SingleTrackMined totally. I read common tread too.. just would have love to see more video on it. I know it's a huge production cost and extends the video (etc) but I think it'd be fun to see! especially the (no spoilers) upgrade
From Thailand here, just saying it was a blast to see Zack and Ari having a blast on a scooter. I'm not sure about the rules of modifications that's allowed to be done to be on the track but I just wish you guys had more time to modify the heck out of that thing and test it out beforehand. The amount of modifications that's done in the racing scene here in Thailand and SEA whether its the strip or the track is absurd here depending on the rules of the race. Just wish to see it was more equipped to race with those track machines. Great video guys, really enjoyed it.
The amount of joy I get seeing a new Common tread video is amazing. You guys are the closest thing there is to filling the void left in my life by the fall of Top Gear.
Here in asia we tune the CVT drive I think its not just the Power but the CVT is not optimal for the application that your needing. If you can tune that CVT that bike can give you almost Instant Torque like an Electric bike. Try tuning the CVT first
Scooter build from small to big cc are common here in south east asia and here are my tips for circuit build. 1. Make a custom seat with small hump between your thigh. We usually use styrofoam as the base before adding extra layers 2. Use heavier roller or slider for better top end 3. Smaller wheel and tires, approx the size of moto3 4. Intake and exhaust upgrade (obviously) This is the most common upgrade. Some extreme builder and tuner goes as far as increasing cc and custom chasis.
They probably need to go lighter in the rollers since they might have increased rear tire circumference when they switched to 17s, acceleration seems to have been more of an issue since they get gapped out of corners
In France, we LOVE the Tmax, there is a ton of them here in the streets ! We call him "the king of the city" because it's pretty powerful, confortable and practical.
Comoto owns FortNine? I tried to find confirmation on the web ... didn't see it. The concentration of ownership in the biz bugs me. (Comoto owning Rev, Cycle Gear and JP Cycles. Until fairly recently (before looking seeing parallels between websites) I was under the impression that the various stores were competitors. So much for competition.@@Ramonatho
Another STUPENDOUS adventure with Ari and Zack!! That was awesome and I loved it from start to finish, just like all the other CTXP/Ari/Zack builds and adventures! The support by RevZilla is completely appreciated. Cheers!!
Some years ago they gathered up the senior writers of a few Sport Bike magazines and entered them in a race with a number of the young Pro Riders. The Seniors did not get to see their bikes until a short time before the race when the limo took them to the parking lot filled with scooters. Scarabeo 500, TMax, Burgman 650, etc, etc which they got to ride for the first time on the way to the track. The heckles and ribbing before the race were nothing compared to the Stink Eye and such after the race when most of the Seniors on Scooters place way to close to the head of the pack for the Pros who ended up behind them. The magazine disappeared one day from my bookcase and I've never been able to fine a reprint or digital copy. Too bad the boys couldn't get their hands on the Aprilia SRV850 Scooter which had the same engine as the Aprilia Mana850 Sport Bike and could potentially be upgraded with the cylinders from a 1200cc Aprilia. On a scooter one thing that can help is upgrading the variator to one with a larger outer diameter using sliders instead of rollers to give it a slightly better top speed while allowing it to kick down for a little better acceleration. You need to be able to pull the belt all the way down into the bottom of the driven sheave and have the drive sheave close up getting the belt out to the rim in order to get the max speed which may require a different contra spring to better allow for that. A drive belt that is too worn or improperly sized will not run the sheaves through the full range from high to low and limit your performance greatly regardless of how perfectly you have otherwise tuned the variator and contra. Variator tuning is a very important aspect that has to be considered and it needs to be done taking the weight of the rider into consideration too and more than weight one has to consider aerodynamics of the front, mid and rear faring along with even the riders, gloves, boots, suite and helmet. Also upgrading to a higher compression cylinder and big valve head without cheating on the CC might have gotten you a bit more performance. Stock compression is only 10.1:1 (medium to me) and boosting it to 12:1 along with a big valve head and a larger injector would have likely made a bigger improvement than just adding a few CC. Best!
I've been following fillipino scooter drag racing (Yes, that's a thing) for several years. One common hack they use is to mount the gas tank in front of the front forks. A major issue with the erganomics of the scooty itself is that all of the weight is in the back. Also, due to the frame's shape, there is no way to have the rider hunch over the tank. A front mounted tank would make the bike more balanced, as well as reducing the weight. Which on a scooter is a premuim.
@@kylejohnson423 Some might be surprised at how well the scooters do against similar sized and even larger motorcycles on a tight track with little to no straightaways. I did a few simple upgrades on a very cheap Chinese 150cc GY6 powered Vespa style scooter just for kicks and grins going simple with just a better/slightly larger machined drive face, Hoca Variator with Dr. Pulley Sliders plus an entry level upgrade CDI and the difference was amazing. Also experimented with a hydrogen generator on that bike since there was not much to loose and saw a 10 MPH (68 instead of 58) increase is sustainable top speed since the bike no longer ran lean and lost intake pulse so badly that it would starve out and die along with run hot. Oil stayed cleaner too which was a plus since the GY6 clone engines don't have any oil filtration but just a screen and valves no longer carboned up a second plus however no grand increase in fuel economy just a little boost in performance without any MPG lost and perhaps a minor increase in economy. The Direct Injection 2 stroke 50cc scooters can surprise folks too. Derestricted and set up right you can get well over 65 MPH from them. Greatly prefer the tall rider Piaggio BV and Aprila scooters in the 250cc range over the others. More nimble and quicker off the line in traffic and with a few minor setup improvements will match top end of many 400/500cc scooters while weighing 100 lbs less. Best!
@@ItsDaJax Yes and no. For a gear change you usually need to at least increase the bore size and consider a stroker crank, ported big valve head and a bigger bore carburetor and intake manifold along with need to increase drive case cooling and exhaust flow. Then you've gone closer to 180cc/200cc and in racing have jumped classes plus you've gone beyond the simple NoCost/LowCost mods. Best!
@@neilfromclearwaterfl81 No you don't, just take the wheel off, and change the rear gears, just like a car, it requires no accompanying mods, will they benefit, yeah, needed, no.
Without a doubt, the ugliest, yet funnest and easiest to knee drag bike I ever had was a '03 Honda Silverwing 600, dubbed Ron Burgundy for it's hideous color and style. I replaced tires (and drive belts) regularly due to how often it wore chicken strips deep into rear shoe. It dives into melodramatically steep angles on easy curves.
At the end of the day most people buy motorcycles to look cool and be impressive. And, scooters are generally not impressive like a big shiny motorcycle. Even though a scooter is the more practical option for a lot of people.
In 2015, my dad bought a T-Max 550. I remember being in high school and going 90 mph on the highway sitting on the back. Scooters may not be cool, but a T-Max is pretty much the coolest of the bunch. They kinda rip
Track-built scooters are actually pretty common in Asia. Specifically in Thailand and the Philippines. And thank you for adding some clips to your video on our scooter races here in the Philippines.
Yep, im an Indonesian. Have a stroked up 145cc honda click scooter, with keihin 28mm PE carbs and a bit CDI minor adjustment it give a nice 25hp on dyno. Ps : i daily ride it to work.
the chemistry between Zack and Ari is so good, love their camaraderie, even better when you know they're childhood friends. great video as always from these CTXP videos, always incredibly entertaining to watch
One very huge advantage that a maxi-scooter would have in a scenario where you’re pitting it against race bikes in a class which only allows engines with a similar displacement to the scooter is that while they have to shift gears and stuff the scooter is ALWAYS surfing the torque band or peak horsepower range depending on what the transmission decides; no pausing no interruptions; I think it’d be a great candidate for a nice beefy supercharger or turbocharger possibly an intercooler, it would always be in boost and the lack of power interruption would mean no lag, no dead zones at low rpms.
It has been a long time since I enjoyed a video on u-tube as much as this one. Way to go guys. It proves that a low budget scoot can be turned into a real fun machine; cheating aside. The best video ever. I am a 74 year old with only 3 years riding , and you guessed it I ride an 09 TMAX in stock form. Havin the time of my life. You guys are my hero’s. keep us entertained. Yea Haw. Praise God.
instead of putting bigger bore on the scooter, you guys could increase the compression chamber porting polish both intake and exhaust port custom those cam shaft and remap or retuned the ecu it will increase the power and hp without cheating
From age 19 to 75, these guys know how to have fun. I would live to be the third wheel with these guys, but I have no clue on bike mechanics. Great job guys!
wow, i love this episode.. knowing yeah, we used to race scooter in asia particularly in philippines, and yeah, scooter race bike is definitely good on tight and lot of lots of corners, knowing you wont need to change gears to maneuver. but in straight out, not that much, but if you get to perfectly tune the gears for high speed straight it might coupe with bigbikes but one thing for sure it got that starting advantage and puling power smooth exiting coners more easily. if you keep that scooter to race more, i suggests that you lightened that crankshaft and flywheels to squeeze out more and more wild power, and yeah you dont need to worry about wild uncontrolled power bond because scooter has instinct smooth power wheel output due to CVT. no need to bore up, just squeeze those lightened crankshaft and flywheel and your crazy good to compete with those bigbikes. here in philippines, we smoke out small displacement bigbikes like a boss using scooters. yeah, changing gears around corners is a big disadvantage. Goodluck guys, hoping to see more episodes from T-max. and feel free to message me if you find im helpful and im willingly to help you guys. ride safe😉
I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) it's more of a European thing. Xmax's here in the UK are really sought after to the point of theft. They're beasts in and around urban areas. Racing them is a whole other thing.
Should've ported the head and install a higher lift cam to have a better air flow, fuel, and horsepower even though you're using the stock block of the engine
I had a Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter to get around to doctor's appointments and physical therapy after a back injury, but it maxed out at 30mph, accelerated like a slug, and struggled up hills. A fuel controller (that also unlocked the rev limiter), a good pipe (in a hospital parking garage, it made a Harley guy jump when I fired it up next to him in the motorcycle parking area. He got a kick out of it and I apologized for spooking him), and a good racing variator with a variety of rollers got it up to 47mph, it held it's speed up hills and easily kept up with cars in city traffic. :)
A couple months late seeing this but I gotta say I really enjoyed this scooter video. Ari and Zack are great together. They keep me feeling young after watching them all these years!! Thanks Revzilla and Progressive!
This makes me feel so much better about tearing down my busted up ZX6R the day before a track day to slap on some Armour Bodies fairings only to get it together and not start. I couldn't believe it, even though it had been mostly sitting for a few months after a crash it just hours earlier it had been running a few hours earlier before stripping off the old body work. After a few hours head scratching and checking various things I realized that my tip over sensor was upside down. I was supposed to be rolling into town to set up camp for the night at Summit Point, a few hours from home, but instead I was frantically reinstalling my body work and getting loaded into the trailer.
I enjoyed that episode alot more than I thought I was going to. Zack and Ari work great together, they can make anything on 2 wheels entertaining. Well done.
I have many... many good things to say about CT XP videos but this one stood out. Love the steps the guys took to make the scooter competitive and the cracks they took along the way. Also, love seeing the Bell headgear, I have the same model in black and yellow though mine is a different design. Cheers
Amazing video! What you guys did with what you had, I could only imagine how that same ingenuity ( or should I say” enginuity ”) would do on a real race team with a real bike! I think you guys are ready for the big leagues! To be able to “Little Rascal” your way to that finish is truly remarkable!
actually the TMAX is very popular in europe and north africa some tunres are getting up to 120 hp from that little 500cc adding turbo kits and since it's has a cvt transmition it's a really good idea
Zack is the type of friend that’s minding his own business and get pulled into shenanigans by his friends and still come out on top. Ari on the other hand is the guy that is gifted(mechanical engineer) on something but still isn’t satisfied with his gift so he goes on trying other things and drags Zack with him. And that’s why this duo works😊
Drillium frame..... BMW engine bolts are aluminum too. Cheap source of m8 aluminum hardware Get the hole saw and step drill out and get to work....light is right
Such a great Channel just great your guys's banter your demeanor your whole overall inspiration makes my weekends that much more enjoyable thank you for starting my day off great with a laugh and two wheels
What a great video! These guys are great. I raced with their fathers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. I remember Zack and Ari when they were kids. Ari's Dad on an RD400 in the 1980s and later Zack as monkey on his father's vintage sidecar about 25 years ago. They're both from good families and are obviously very talented and entertaining.
No idea if you guys checked on it. But when we where kids we tuned scooters , you also need to tune the Vario system jn the back. It uses weights to sling open the vario system. You can get allot out of that thing if done right.
Question for the production and purchasing side: how do you walk the fine line between getting a bike with enough issues that content like shop manual and stuff can be made for it, but also not going into dangerous territory where there is genuine chance of loss of life and limb.
My Yamaha 125cc commuter scooter is now a 229cc watercooled thrash machine. People underestimate how much fun can be had on something that looks no different to your usual scooter. Chances are that there are parts to make that thing really haul
Come on, there is a lot to make more power guys. Air Filter, Throttle Body, Cams, Bigger valve, higher compression or less head gasket layer, final drive, back to stock wheel. Just watch south east Asia boy modify scooter to keep up with bigger bike
You guys have been around, you might want to go to Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and take a gander at the local street scooter scene. They love to race automatics there, and mopeds too.
LMAO…Another great video! Hey when you guys went and fessed up how did the officials take it? Kind of looked like a few fairly stern faces in the short clip.
I feel like the scooter should get another episode, with upgrades that would keep it in class. ie higher compression, lighter pistons, better cvt timing, gearing change, etc. I'd hate to take up the space of another common tread episode, but I think between your guy's mechanical and riding skill, and a bit more time, this scooter can really spread its wings!
I believe one of the top piece of racing advice would be, make as many changes a upgrades to the bike completely untested for race day, lol. I love it!
Does anyone remember who won the ski jump in the 1988 winter olympics? Probably not, but half the world has heard of Eddie the Eagle who came last. The world loves an underdog story and this was a good one 👍🇦🇺
I think I got cheated to watch until the end, never thought I'd be watching scooter race with sportsbike is so much entertaining. This kind of videos are so much likeable everytime.
Scooter racing is actually a pretty big thing in japan and taiwan... small tight circuits really makes short wheelbase low COG machines shine! PS. race gas and ecu tune *might* squeeze it into the 2 min mark imho.
Having to watch it for the second time. Calling this bike a scooter is pushing it though. The T-Max is the sport bike of scooters! The fact that Zack could keep up at all shows you how well it designed. As I said above, I own this very 2009 blue T-Max myself. It's the most fun in corners I've ever had, and I've had quite a few bikes now
In scooter you also need to tune the CVT or the Variator, it can improve acceleration and the top speed of the scoot. just like the manual bikes you can't shift on a higher gear first, The reason why scoots is slow because of its transmission it "shifts" itself into a higher position of belt
Funny enough, in Asia where 110cc up to 160cc scooters are most common. There are people who use those scooters and racing around the track for decades 😂. They tuned their 150cc scooters and actually can get up to 180-190km/hr ( 110mph to 120mph ) where their original top speed lay in between 105-115km/hr ( 65mph to 70mph ) and I do understand the lameness of it to some people but I also understand why they chose to spend thousands of dollars worth of tuning on a motorcycle that doesn’t even have anything interesting about it, the reason being is that it’s just a fun ride. I tried it and oh boy it was hilarious as heck, It will makes almost anyone who owned a fully manual motorcycle dropped their jaws to how stupidly fast that thing can be 🤣
Not gonna lie, so glad you two are back! Also, I thought after seeing the opening scene, that you had stretched the scooter. I can't believe it's that long stock!!!
This is the first video I'm watching from this channel. Although i admit I've known the channel existed for years. Sorry, if anyone felt offended after reading that. So the comments for the video are as follows...... Worst bike ? What the hell are you guys talking about. I love what you've done with it. I love it. I'd rice it everyday. Great video. Great content. Awesomely put together. Keep up the great work. Cheers. God bless.
I have one of these. A 2009 with only 2000 miles on it. No damage. Never dropped. Same color. Nothing wrong with it. Its just been sitting for years in an executive aircraft hangar. Love to sell it.
Revllza. Thank you, I’m from the uk and top gear is a very popular car show and being a biker I have looked and looked for something that can reciprocate that but on bikes. And iv found it, I’m not a religious man, but god bless you guys ❤
I waited until I watched all of the other videos and then watched other channels before this video. I shouldn’t’ve waited, it was much better than I had expected!
Idk how that tmax cvt transmision works. But if you planning to modify a scooter try tune the cvt. Here in my country usually we use lighter roller for the cvt, so it can accelerate a bit quicker
Great fun and it shows what these two competent assemblers and riders can do. The Tmax is a well respected “sporty” scooter, but its complexity! Like many new motorcycles the level of complexity makes me appreciate the “old days” of minimalist air cooled bikes that owners could manage and maintain and cherish.
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Having just listened to the latest Highside/Lowside, I really think Ari and Zack need to make the turbo Bruce dream come true. TurboMAX!
Awesome episode! I used to have a Tmax!!!
It just needs a tank :)
Super happy with my most recent Revzilla experience....My Versys X plopped over on its own, at a party bending its clutch lever. We tweeked it back 70%. At home I ordered a new OEM Kwacker part, $6.83 plus about $10 shipping and tax and what a deal...Came in a couple of days and as the Anti-crastinator that I am, got cracking immediately. Thanks Revzilla!
PLEASE do a short video on balancing beads! there's not much info on yt about it
Revzilla please never stop funding them. They have such great chemistry together. I only buy stuff from you guys because of them.
same
Same 2.0
Great chemistry 👍
Same here
RevZilla, I'm gonna buy something from u because of these guys 😂
„I got passed by a f@cking scooter!“
I felt that dude 😂
Dude went home and sold all his equipment!😂
@@charlesmorris8491and bought a tmax💀💀
My mate did the same when i had my tmax, with lots more swearing, these scoots are great on the twisties especially when modded.
@@Thegeordiemonkey i had bored 530 up to 600 was really snappy little scooter
That scooter had no business looking that badass glowing the pipe on the dyno
even just the nosecone makes it look badass. what a machine!
I was NOT expecting it to spit flames lmao.
It had no business hauling two grown ass men on 1 cylinder to begin with
could i do this in Ohio or Azerbaijan
@@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing When he pulled the head, it was obviously a 2 cylinder.
As a motorcycle enthusiast in Philippines, this is pretty much the story of SEA racing scene. Commuter bikes hopped up for racing. Thank you for keeping your radars globaly.
mfw underbone scooters are ridiculously fast in kart tracks its insane
I know a wr155 supermoto build would beat them but for the price of a used quick underbone, they're pretty competitive for the price
This is seriously impressive. Machining their own parts, rebuilding an engine, transmission, suspension, and then killing it on track day... Ari and Zack do it all. Your skill set and hard work are appreciated and don't go unnoticed!
would have loved to see more time devoted to the build. make the episode longer? sure! :)
@@tjbz At 41:24 Ari tells you where to find more on the build.
@@SingleTrackMined totally. I read common tread too.. just would have love to see more video on it. I know it's a huge production cost and extends the video (etc) but I think it'd be fun to see! especially the (no spoilers) upgrade
They truly are the motorcycle version of Top Gear but they know way more about bikes than the top gear guys knew about cars and they're wayyy faster.
From Thailand here, just saying it was a blast to see Zack and Ari having a blast on a scooter. I'm not sure about the rules of modifications that's allowed to be done to be on the track but I just wish you guys had more time to modify the heck out of that thing and test it out beforehand. The amount of modifications that's done in the racing scene here in Thailand and SEA whether its the strip or the track is absurd here depending on the rules of the race. Just wish to see it was more equipped to race with those track machines. Great video guys, really enjoyed it.
The amount of joy I get seeing a new Common tread video is amazing. You guys are the closest thing there is to filling the void left in my life by the fall of Top Gear.
This is amazing, you should also check out car throttle and auto alex, very early top gear vibes
Yep, they should really have their own Netflix series. RevZilla is a great company, but I feel like they're being held back.
@@MrTmax74i would happily pay $10 a month to see these guys get their own show. This is the best motorcycle content since Long Way Round.
Here in asia we tune the CVT drive I think its not just the Power but the CVT is not optimal for the application that your needing. If you can tune that CVT that bike can give you almost Instant Torque like an Electric bike. Try tuning the CVT first
Who doesn't love the sound and joy of Zacks giggles on the track!
My partner watched RevZilla with me just to hear Zack giggle.
Scooter build from small to big cc are common here in south east asia and here are my tips for circuit build.
1. Make a custom seat with small hump between your thigh. We usually use styrofoam as the base before adding extra layers
2. Use heavier roller or slider for better top end
3. Smaller wheel and tires, approx the size of moto3
4. Intake and exhaust upgrade (obviously)
This is the most common upgrade. Some extreme builder and tuner goes as far as increasing cc and custom chasis.
They probably need to go lighter in the rollers since they might have increased rear tire circumference when they switched to 17s, acceleration seems to have been more of an issue since they get gapped out of corners
They install a big bore kit at 27:18 😂
Tuning the CVT is what you missed, since you change the wheels in to bigger radius. It is what makes the motorcycle slower
As one racer once told me,” there is no winners, only cheaters and losers”😂
If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying...
Also...
If you can't win, cheat. If you can't cheat, start a fight. If you can't win a fight, don't play.
That's especially correct when it comes to best ball golf tournaments
Sounds like the words of a loser. 😏
That racer is a loser, that's why they commented it
Pretty sure that's also the motto of CS:GO
In France, we LOVE the Tmax, there is a ton of them here in the streets !
We call him "the king of the city" because it's pretty powerful, confortable and practical.
still amazed on how we are able to watch such awesome content for free. Cheers Zack and Ari. Big thanks to Revzilla for supporting them
They basically are Revzilla's PR firm, same way Ryan is F9s PR firm. Both are Comoto anyway though.
Comoto owns FortNine? I tried to find confirmation on the web ... didn't see it. The concentration of ownership in the biz bugs me. (Comoto owning Rev, Cycle Gear and JP Cycles. Until fairly recently (before looking seeing parallels between websites) I was under the impression that the various stores were competitors. So much for competition.@@Ramonatho
@@Ramonatho I believe you are wrong about Fortnine and Comoto
Another STUPENDOUS adventure with Ari and Zack!! That was awesome and I loved it from start to finish, just like all the other CTXP/Ari/Zack builds and adventures! The support by RevZilla is completely appreciated. Cheers!!
27:12 “it needs more power.”
“And I think we know what it needs to get there.”
MORE STICKERS!
Haha for a second there I thought he was going to break out a turbo! Some people put those on T-Maxes
@@MrTmax74 really? that makes me feel less bad about the thought of putting one on a vintage honda lol. (i am not going to, shes a good commuter)
They removed the red bull body and that made them lose speed.
Thanks RevZilla for showcasing the happiness and love riding scooter, 40:02 Philippine race track in Carmona . Keep it up guys 👍
Some years ago they gathered up the senior writers of a few Sport Bike magazines and entered them in a race with a number of the young Pro Riders. The Seniors did not get to see their bikes until a short time before the race when the limo took them to the parking lot filled with scooters. Scarabeo 500, TMax, Burgman 650, etc, etc which they got to ride for the first time on the way to the track. The heckles and ribbing before the race were nothing compared to the Stink Eye and such after the race when most of the Seniors on Scooters place way to close to the head of the pack for the Pros who ended up behind them. The magazine disappeared one day from my bookcase and I've never been able to fine a reprint or digital copy.
Too bad the boys couldn't get their hands on the Aprilia SRV850 Scooter which had the same engine as the Aprilia Mana850 Sport Bike and could potentially be upgraded with the cylinders from a 1200cc Aprilia.
On a scooter one thing that can help is upgrading the variator to one with a larger outer diameter using sliders instead of rollers to give it a slightly better top speed while allowing it to kick down for a little better acceleration. You need to be able to pull the belt all the way down into the bottom of the driven sheave and have the drive sheave close up getting the belt out to the rim in order to get the max speed which may require a different contra spring to better allow for that. A drive belt that is too worn or improperly sized will not run the sheaves through the full range from high to low and limit your performance greatly regardless of how perfectly you have otherwise tuned the variator and contra. Variator tuning is a very important aspect that has to be considered and it needs to be done taking the weight of the rider into consideration too and more than weight one has to consider aerodynamics of the front, mid and rear faring along with even the riders, gloves, boots, suite and helmet. Also upgrading to a higher compression cylinder and big valve head without cheating on the CC might have gotten you a bit more performance. Stock compression is only 10.1:1 (medium to me) and boosting it to 12:1 along with a big valve head and a larger injector would have likely made a bigger improvement than just adding a few CC.
Best!
I've been following fillipino scooter drag racing (Yes, that's a thing) for several years. One common hack they use is to mount the gas tank in front of the front forks. A major issue with the erganomics of the scooty itself is that all of the weight is in the back. Also, due to the frame's shape, there is no way to have the rider hunch over the tank. A front mounted tank would make the bike more balanced, as well as reducing the weight. Which on a scooter is a premuim.
@@kylejohnson423 Some might be surprised at how well the scooters do against similar sized and even larger motorcycles on a tight track with little to no straightaways.
I did a few simple upgrades on a very cheap Chinese 150cc GY6 powered Vespa style scooter just for kicks and grins going simple with just a better/slightly larger machined drive face, Hoca Variator with Dr. Pulley Sliders plus an entry level upgrade CDI and the difference was amazing. Also experimented with a hydrogen generator on that bike since there was not much to loose and saw a 10 MPH (68 instead of 58) increase is sustainable top speed since the bike no longer ran lean and lost intake pulse so badly that it would starve out and die along with run hot. Oil stayed cleaner too which was a plus since the GY6 clone engines don't have any oil filtration but just a screen and valves no longer carboned up a second plus however no grand increase in fuel economy just a little boost in performance without any MPG lost and perhaps a minor increase in economy.
The Direct Injection 2 stroke 50cc scooters can surprise folks too. Derestricted and set up right you can get well over 65 MPH from them.
Greatly prefer the tall rider Piaggio BV and Aprila scooters in the 250cc range over the others. More nimble and quicker off the line in traffic and with a few minor setup improvements will match top end of many 400/500cc scooters while weighing 100 lbs less.
Best!
Variator tuning is only gonna get you so much speed. That's when you change the rear gears.
@@ItsDaJax Yes and no. For a gear change you usually need to at least increase the bore size and consider a stroker crank, ported big valve head and a bigger bore carburetor and intake manifold along with need to increase drive case cooling and exhaust flow. Then you've gone closer to 180cc/200cc and in racing have jumped classes plus you've gone beyond the simple NoCost/LowCost mods.
Best!
@@neilfromclearwaterfl81 No you don't, just take the wheel off, and change the rear gears, just like a car, it requires no accompanying mods, will they benefit, yeah, needed, no.
Man! You two are endlessly trying to up the silliness factor to the next level! Love it! Zack’s laugh on the track is priceless!
Scooters are highly underrated in the USA. I’ve daily commuted one for years and it’s spectacular
Without a doubt, the ugliest, yet funnest and easiest to knee drag bike I ever had was a '03 Honda Silverwing 600, dubbed Ron Burgundy for it's hideous color and style.
I replaced tires (and drive belts) regularly due to how often it wore chicken strips deep into rear shoe. It dives into melodramatically steep angles on easy curves.
I have had lots of motorcycles, but the one I use in town is a Vespa 250GT
At the end of the day most people buy motorcycles to look cool and be impressive. And, scooters are generally not impressive like a big shiny motorcycle. Even though a scooter is the more practical option for a lot of people.
It should have been a Burgman.
@@NBSV1in other words,most bikers are posers.
In 2015, my dad bought a T-Max 550. I remember being in high school and going 90 mph on the highway sitting on the back. Scooters may not be cool, but a T-Max is pretty much the coolest of the bunch. They kinda rip
Track-built scooters are actually pretty common in Asia. Specifically in Thailand and the Philippines. And thank you for adding some clips to your video on our scooter races here in the Philippines.
For sure, I live in Taiwan and I’ve seen 50cc 2 stroke scooters that can ride on the back wheel.
proud pinoy🙋♂️
People build crazy fast scooter here in south east asia
Yep, im an Indonesian. Have a stroked up 145cc honda click scooter, with keihin 28mm PE carbs and a bit CDI minor adjustment it give a nice 25hp on dyno. Ps : i daily ride it to work.
God, track built scooters are cancerous as fuck, not gonna lie.
u can porting the head cylinder so the fuel can enter the combustion room much better
btw sorry if my english bad love from indonesia
the chemistry between Zack and Ari is so good, love their camaraderie, even better when you know they're childhood friends.
great video as always from these CTXP videos, always incredibly entertaining to watch
One very huge advantage that a maxi-scooter would have in a scenario where you’re pitting it against race bikes in a class which only allows engines with a similar displacement to the scooter is that while they have to shift gears and stuff the scooter is ALWAYS surfing the torque band or peak horsepower range depending on what the transmission decides; no pausing no interruptions; I think it’d be a great candidate for a nice beefy supercharger or turbocharger possibly an intercooler, it would always be in boost and the lack of power interruption would mean no lag, no dead zones at low rpms.
Check out custom snowmobiles. They are CVT drive as well and are often tuned with Turbo's and such. They are faster than you would think.
Revzilla trying their best to put scooters back into the lime light. From a very big passionate scooter fan, I thank you for your efforts 👏👏👏👏
It has been a long time since I enjoyed a video on u-tube as much as this one. Way to go guys. It proves that a low budget scoot can be turned into a real fun machine; cheating aside. The best video ever. I am a 74 year old with only 3 years riding , and you guessed it I ride an 09 TMAX in stock form. Havin the time of my life. You guys are my hero’s. keep us entertained. Yea Haw. Praise God.
That was a 40 min smile. This is the best thing I've watched all year.
Another wonderfully produced and executed video! Thankks!
Having been to this track: 2:02 is super impressive guys. Hats off to you, you had that scooter cookin.
instead of putting bigger bore on the scooter, you guys could increase the compression chamber porting polish both intake and exhaust port custom those cam shaft and remap or retuned the ecu it will increase the power and hp without cheating
From age 19 to 75, these guys know how to have fun. I would live to be the third wheel with these guys, but I have no clue on bike mechanics. Great job guys!
Almost every road racing club in the US is volunteer run, there are tons of opportunities to volunteer regardless of experience level
wow, i love this episode.. knowing yeah, we used to race scooter in asia particularly in philippines, and yeah, scooter race bike is definitely good on tight and lot of lots of corners, knowing you wont need to change gears to maneuver. but in straight out, not that much, but if you get to perfectly tune the gears for high speed straight it might coupe with bigbikes but one thing for sure it got that starting advantage and puling power smooth exiting coners more easily. if you keep that scooter to race more, i suggests that you lightened that crankshaft and flywheels to squeeze out more and more wild power, and yeah you dont need to worry about wild uncontrolled power bond because scooter has instinct smooth power wheel output due to CVT. no need to bore up, just squeeze those lightened crankshaft and flywheel and your crazy good to compete with those bigbikes. here in philippines, we smoke out small displacement bigbikes like a boss using scooters. yeah, changing gears around corners is a big disadvantage. Goodluck guys, hoping to see more episodes from T-max.
and feel free to message me if you find im helpful and im willingly to help you guys. ride safe😉
I do not care what they make a video about, but these two just can not make a bad video, it's pure joy whenever I see them in a video
I've talked so much about making a race scooter. Love that this is done by you guys!
here in italy scooter racing is actually a quiet serious thing, the championships range from 70cc two strokes to tmaxs
I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) it's more of a European thing. Xmax's here in the UK are really sought after to the point of theft. They're beasts in and around urban areas. Racing them is a whole other thing.
in southeast asia too mainly thailand and malaysia, they race small displacement scooters and underbones
@@lt1eg6Correct me if I’m wrong. Isn’t the uk Europe?
@@randygravel2057 Not really.
Not anymore 😂😂@@randygravel2057
Should've ported the head and install a higher lift cam to have a better air flow, fuel, and horsepower even though you're using the stock block of the engine
I had a Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter to get around to doctor's appointments and physical therapy after a back injury, but it maxed out at 30mph, accelerated like a slug, and struggled up hills.
A fuel controller (that also unlocked the rev limiter), a good pipe (in a hospital parking garage, it made a Harley guy jump when I fired it up next to him in the motorcycle parking area. He got a kick out of it and I apologized for spooking him), and a good racing variator with a variety of rollers got it up to 47mph, it held it's speed up hills and easily kept up with cars in city traffic. :)
What generation Metropolitan? I want my 2023 to do that but I know they've made changes over the years
@@esm8m I'm not sure which Gen, but it was a 2012 model year built for the American market.
A couple months late seeing this but I gotta say I really enjoyed this scooter video. Ari and Zack are great together. They keep me feeling young after watching them all these years!! Thanks Revzilla and Progressive!
This makes me feel so much better about tearing down my busted up ZX6R the day before a track day to slap on some Armour Bodies fairings only to get it together and not start. I couldn't believe it, even though it had been mostly sitting for a few months after a crash it just hours earlier it had been running a few hours earlier before stripping off the old body work. After a few hours head scratching and checking various things I realized that my tip over sensor was upside down. I was supposed to be rolling into town to set up camp for the night at Summit Point, a few hours from home, but instead I was frantically reinstalling my body work and getting loaded into the trailer.
Ari + Zack are such a great team and that was a heap of fun to watch - more of these two please!
It just needs a pizza box on the back!
It needs 20 more horsepower and a pizza box
A red pizza box should add 20 hp
Shopee food box would be better
A pizza box...... made from sealed aluminum.......pressurized with nitrous oxide.
@@LEEGOOVER9901 nek di indo kejadian ini
I spent a few days in Mumbai for work. Highly recommend visiting Elephanta Caves, incredible day out there.
This is a nice refreshing departure from the typical CTXP I’ve come to expect. Very nice, big enjoyment.
I appreciate you guys so much cause you are not just TH-camrs… you really know bikes. This was amazing to watch
These CTXP episodes with Zack and Ari are absolutely fantastic!
The fact that you guys were able to pull this out automatically made you champions!!
You guys will always be champions in our hearts !
✊🏻🏍️💨
I enjoyed that episode alot more than I thought I was going to. Zack and Ari work great together, they can make anything on 2 wheels entertaining. Well done.
I have many... many good things to say about CT XP videos but this one stood out. Love the steps the guys took to make the scooter competitive and the cracks they took along the way. Also, love seeing the Bell headgear, I have the same model in black and yellow though mine is a different design. Cheers
“We gotta tear into it and see what’s wrong.”
I think Zack meant to say Ari is going to be the one to tear into and figure out what’s wrong😂
I'm sure Ari let him hold the flashlight
Little thing like a piece of a valve missing.
Amazing video! What you guys did with what you had, I could only imagine how that same ingenuity ( or should I say” enginuity ”) would do on a real race team with a real bike! I think you guys are ready for the big leagues! To be able to “Little Rascal” your way to that finish is truly remarkable!
Finally! You two lunatics kept us waiting long enough! Another inspiring video for 'motophiles' worldwide, scooters are now cool...
Scooter always cool... we got scooter races, usually drags in south east asia
Still making the best motorcycle content on TH-cam. Y'all are treasures
Genius! Favorite Zach and Ari video of all time! Scooter Gang for life.
actually the TMAX is very popular in europe and north africa some tunres are getting up to 120 hp from that little 500cc adding turbo kits and since it's has a cvt transmition it's a really good idea
I like the video in the first 10 seconds. 😂 I absolutely love these Frankenstein projects! More please!!!!
That was a blast!! The most fun entertainment that I have watched in a long time.
The fact y'all did so well with a single gear scooter only 31ccs above stock is quite impressive.
It's not single gear, it have a variator, which is more infinite gears.
Zack is the type of friend that’s minding his own business and get pulled into shenanigans by his friends and still come out on top. Ari on the other hand is the guy that is gifted(mechanical engineer) on something but still isn’t satisfied with his gift so he goes on trying other things and drags Zack with him.
And that’s why this duo works😊
This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen, I absolutely love it, make more frankenbikes!!
Now I have to see them do the rest of the typical changes to brakes, suspension and see what it can really do in the correct class
Drillium frame..... BMW engine bolts are aluminum too. Cheap source of m8 aluminum hardware
Get the hole saw and step drill out and get to work....light is right
That opening of the garage door going up was pure gold
Such a great Channel just great your guys's banter your demeanor your whole overall inspiration makes my weekends that much more enjoyable thank you for starting my day off great with a laugh and two wheels
And above all you guys are honest and that's really what matters
"what's this 2:02?"
"Cheating.... Cheating..."
😂
What a great video! These guys are great. I raced with their fathers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. I remember Zack and Ari when they were kids. Ari's Dad on an RD400 in the 1980s and later Zack as monkey on his father's vintage sidecar about 25 years ago. They're both from good families and are obviously very talented and entertaining.
Hahahah Zack's manic laughter while passing people on the track
No idea if you guys checked on it.
But when we where kids we tuned scooters , you also need to tune the Vario system jn the back. It uses weights to sling open the vario system. You can get allot out of that thing if done right.
Question for the production and purchasing side: how do you walk the fine line between getting a bike with enough issues that content like shop manual and stuff can be made for it, but also not going into dangerous territory where there is genuine chance of loss of life and limb.
Structural components must be solid. Anything else just has to not explode into flames too fast/suddenly.
My Yamaha 125cc commuter scooter is now a 229cc watercooled thrash machine. People underestimate how much fun can be had on something that looks no different to your usual scooter. Chances are that there are parts to make that thing really haul
This is brilliant! Can't wait to see the full video
Every time the feet go on the pegs waaay back there I chuckled..great riding!! That is a given...
Come on, there is a lot to make more power guys. Air Filter, Throttle Body, Cams, Bigger valve, higher compression or less head gasket layer, final drive, back to stock wheel. Just watch south east Asia boy modify scooter to keep up with bigger bike
oh ya and put less weight rider on it like Herin
This was awesome! Best content on TH-cam. Driving slow machines fast will always be more fun than driving fast machines slow.
You guys have been around, you might want to go to Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and take a gander at the local street scooter scene. They love to race automatics there, and mopeds too.
Common tread has brought a top gear level of entertainment to the motorcycle world. Absolutely love this channel and these guys🤙🏼
LMAO…Another great video!
Hey when you guys went and fessed up how did the officials take it?
Kind of looked like a few fairly stern faces in the short clip.
Yeah, they didn't look too terribly pleased.....
I feel like the scooter should get another episode, with upgrades that would keep it in class. ie higher compression, lighter pistons, better cvt timing, gearing change, etc.
I'd hate to take up the space of another common tread episode, but I think between your guy's mechanical and riding skill, and a bit more time, this scooter can really spread its wings!
Would love to see you guys hack this thing up to reduce weight, maybe optimize gearing, and fix the ergos!
Needs a peaky cam, for sure.
I believe one of the top piece of racing advice would be, make as many changes a upgrades to the bike completely untested for race day, lol.
I love it!
20% nitromethane ftw
Does anyone remember who won the ski jump in the 1988 winter olympics? Probably not, but half the world has heard of Eddie the Eagle who came last. The world loves an underdog story and this was a good one 👍🇦🇺
revzilla the only reason I subscribed was because of these guys video, pls dont cut their show
I think I got cheated to watch until the end, never thought I'd be watching scooter race with sportsbike is so much entertaining. This kind of videos are so much likeable everytime.
Scooter racing is actually a pretty big thing in japan and taiwan...
small tight circuits really makes short wheelbase low COG machines shine!
PS. race gas and ecu tune *might* squeeze it into the 2 min mark imho.
Not sure if you watched the entire video, but they have footage from the tmax series at 40:54
Having to watch it for the second time. Calling this bike a scooter is pushing it though. The T-Max is the sport bike of scooters! The fact that Zack could keep up at all shows you how well it designed. As I said above, I own this very 2009 blue T-Max myself. It's the most fun in corners I've ever had, and I've had quite a few bikes now
Who can't watch these two knuckle heads on another scooter!
The scooter videos are always a great watch
In scooter you also need to tune the CVT or the Variator, it can improve acceleration and the top speed of the scoot. just like the manual bikes you can't shift on a higher gear first, The reason why scoots is slow because of its transmission it "shifts" itself into a higher position of belt
Funny enough, in Asia where 110cc up to 160cc scooters are most common. There are people who use those scooters and racing around the track for decades 😂. They tuned their 150cc scooters and actually can get up to 180-190km/hr ( 110mph to 120mph ) where their original top speed lay in between 105-115km/hr ( 65mph to 70mph ) and I do understand the lameness of it to some people but I also understand why they chose to spend thousands of dollars worth of tuning on a motorcycle that doesn’t even have anything interesting about it, the reason being is that it’s just a fun ride. I tried it and oh boy it was hilarious as heck, It will makes almost anyone who owned a fully manual motorcycle dropped their jaws to how stupidly fast that thing can be 🤣
Not gonna lie, so glad you two are back! Also, I thought after seeing the opening scene, that you had stretched the scooter. I can't believe it's that long stock!!!
This is the first video I'm watching from this channel. Although i admit I've known the channel existed for years. Sorry, if anyone felt offended after reading that. So the comments for the video are as follows......
Worst bike ? What the hell are you guys talking about. I love what you've done with it.
I love it. I'd rice it everyday.
Great video. Great content. Awesomely put together.
Keep up the great work. Cheers. God bless.
You guys can ride!!! I own R6 and cannot lean over that much or go nowhere close to speeds they were doing on the track
Seriously cool guys, great engineering & and fun video. I’m about to review the 540 TMax on my channel here in Australia.👍
Big respect to both your guys🙌🏻 "dad" scooter is killing🔥
I remember both of you as snotty kids running around the pits at Loudon! good to see you're still hanging together.
I have one of these. A 2009 with only 2000 miles on it. No damage. Never dropped. Same color. Nothing wrong with it. Its just been sitting for years in an executive aircraft hangar. Love to sell it.
What country?
@@ElijahShepley USA
Revllza. Thank you, I’m from the uk and top gear is a very popular car show and being a biker I have looked and looked for something that can reciprocate that but on bikes. And iv found it, I’m not a religious man, but god bless you guys ❤
I waited until I watched all of the other videos and then watched other channels before this video. I shouldn’t’ve waited, it was much better than I had expected!
Getting Mythbusters energy from this show, I love it, you guys and your crew are just excellent.
Idk how that tmax cvt transmision works. But if you planning to modify a scooter try tune the cvt. Here in my country usually we use lighter roller for the cvt, so it can accelerate a bit quicker
Great fun and it shows what these two competent assemblers and riders can do. The Tmax is a well respected “sporty” scooter, but its complexity! Like many new motorcycles the level of complexity makes me appreciate the “old days” of minimalist air cooled bikes that owners could manage and maintain and cherish.