Since the weather has been so unpardonably warm these days, I decided to finally get out on the tarp in the empty parking space next to mine and get this expansion chamber / muffler installed and recalibrate the CVT to take advantage of it.

An expansion chamber is a neat little exhaust hack for 2-stroke engines that causes the engine to burn more fuel/air mixture on each stroke, giving you increased power (and decreased gas mileage, but what can I say, I'm a fashion of slavery). Read about how they work here, and look at an informative animation of one in action here.

This HOWTO will illustrate how to install the Racing Service Zero Super Euro Chamber Corsa on my 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR Evolution.

The particulars should be the same for any late-model (2000 or newer) Jog, and the concepts and procedure should be the same for any Japanese scooter.

More after the jump... (i.e. click "Read more" below!)

A more aggressive drive pulley on a scooter with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) will improve performance by reshaping the power curve of a CVT and increasing the ratio of the top end.

This HOWTO will explain how to upgrade the drive pulley in a 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR scooter, but should be applicable to any late-model (2000 or newer) Jog or CV50 (frame number SA12* or SA16*). Basic concepts will also be applicable to any scooter with a CVT (I learned much of this from reading about Italian scooters.)

For an excellent explanation of CVT technology, see Howstuffwoks' article on the subject.

Top speed before modification: 65kmh

Top speed after modification: 70kmh

Link to Flickr set.

A high-flow air filter can get more oxygen into your engine every stroke, which increases combustion and gives you more power. It's also quick and easy to do.

This HOWTO will walk you through installing a Daytona-brand Turbo Filter on a 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR, but should be applicable to any late-model (2000 and newer) Jog or CV50.

Link

What could be in this big brown box?

Could it be one of these?

Second in my super-popular series of HOWTOs for the 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR. I replaced the stock speedometer, which topped out at 60km/h, with a Kitaco custom one that goes to 120km/h. I now know how fast my scooter goes: 70km/h.

Today I hope to get outside and replace parts of the transmission to up that further.

HOWTO upgrade the speedometer (Flickr set):

HOWTO: Replace the Speedometer on a 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR

So as some people in the world may know, I live in Japan and have a much-beloved 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR, which I bought in Sept. 2006 not only as a means of transport (rush hour traffic jams mean nothing to me now, as I zip between cars, between lanes, and in front of stopped cars so I'm always the first through the intersection), but also as a "fixer-upper," as there is an almost endless array of custom parts available for these bikes in Japan (and elsewhere--but they all begin in Japan). The legal speed limit for a 50cc bike is 30km/h, but even stock this went over 60, at which point it hit its RPM limit.

The limit can be bypassed by replacing the CDI unit, which is what I did in the following HOWTO on Flickr.

As I make various customizations to my scooter, I will be photographing the process for any other English-speakers who might be coming in my wake. The instructions for these upgrades can be terribly brief, and always in Japanese, with a few very poor diagrams. By photographing my progress and detailing the problems I run into, I hope that others in Japan (or Oz or NZ, where this bike is also sold), or just other people who have Jog-family 50cc scooters around the English-speaking world can have a point of reference when converting their putt-putt grocery-getter into a roaring (okay, whining) slightly-faster grocery-getting BEAST.

Provided the bike doesn't get stripped of its custom parts some night, which is what happens to these bikes a lot of the time. =(

So, without further ado, here is the first HOWTO I penned on replacing the CDI unit:

HOWTO: Upgrade the CDI on a 2006 Yamaha Jog ZR