Completed the Dr Pulley Slider installation (26g) today and it wasn't as hard as I thought. Took my time, about 2 hours, but I did some cleaning while inside the case (dry brush, air hose). I went by the pictoral that JeffR posted some 2 1/2 years ago. Only have 3,080 mi on my Swing but there was a moderate amount of belt residue. Polished the roller/slider channels with fine steel wool but did not use any solvent or lubricant (anywhere). Did use an electric impact wrench to remove the 17mm variator bolt but my homemade variator tool is 30 inches long which can wedge against the ground while freeing up both hands for the ratchet. Manually torqued bolt to 76 ft/lbs as recommended by Honda service manual. Does anybody recommend using blue threadlock on the variator bolt? I did NOT.
My check ride today was only about 10 miles because it was 105 degrees outside but here is what I experienced:
A noticeable reduction in vibration (no more tingling in the handgrips).
A noticeable increase in overall acceleration, especially midrange.
At 55mph-4500rpm
At 70mph-5300rpm

Good report.

I had asked the owner of union material, Paul Wu. who manufactures Dr. Pulley about lubing the sliders and/or the variator ramp, and he said it was not necessary. I may still put a little bit of dry graphite powder just on the variator ramp, as I am a bit anal about lubrication.

I have never used any thread locker on the variator nut.
76 ft. lbs. is a lot of torque and the nut should not come loose by itself.

I will be installing my 28gr sliders very shortly. I initially thought I had ordered the 26gr, but I checked and they are 28gr, so that is what I'll install. I don't think the performance difference between 28gr and 26gr will
be too significant, but I could be wrong.

I'll likely be selling my J. Costa with only 4k km on it and I do have a set of brand new pins for it as well. That's assuming the 28gr Dr. Pulley sliders are smooth and acceleration is still better than the stock rollers.
More to follow.

Thanks for the response and for contacting Paul Wu at UnionMaterial. This was my first time inside the CVT case and I did consider using powdered graphite in the slider ramps but thought I should hear your feedback first. Will probably use some when the time comes to change the belt. Same caution about not using threadlock. There was no evidence on the bolt that any was used from the factory. Just as a reminder to myself, I almost started the engine with the variator tool still in the housing. Who knows the damage and possible injury that would have caused!

Like you said, I don't know how much difference in feel and performance there is between 26g and 28g sliders. I would think very little. However, there would be a 16g difference spinning around at 5000rpm or so. From what I've read, you might want to hang on to your J. Costa for that occasional "kick in the pants" thrill. For now, the sliders are enough for me but there's that kid inside of me that's always lurking.

Again, Best Regards to all you Teachers out there.

Totally agree bigbird. I'm tempted to buy your J. Costa but once I start tinkering with things, I have a tendency to keep on tinkering with no end in sight. I am very interested in your evaluation of the Dr. Pulley sliders when you use them. My comparison is limited because this is the only performance mod I've ever done on any bike. Your tuned in experience may give me some more insight to my already favorable rating for sliders.

As for teachers, I've had some good ones (a few anyway) in my day. I never did that for a career (unless you count the short time I spent as a flight instructor). I'm not gonna let the "not so good ones" ruin my opinion of the ones who are truly called into the profession. The way I look at it is that we can all be teachers. There's a bunch of you on this forum!

bigbird wrote:
My attitude is if I can help or share my knowledge that's what I'll do.

Wow, very impressive teaching experience. I did not know but somehow it comes across. That's the attitude I've always admired and try to show to others.

In all sincerity,

OK, got the J. Costa out and the 28gr Dr. Pulley sliders and matching slider pieces installed. I put a very light dusting of dry graphite powder on the variator ramp, even though it wasn't deemed necessary.

My impressions:

I am happy to report that I really like the overall experience of the 28gr sliders.
Yes, acceleration is down from the J. Costa, but so is cruising rpm. On the upside, 90% of the J. Costa smoothness is still there. There is no off idle shuddering or vibration like the stock Honda rollers exhibit.

1) Almost as smooth as the J. Costa, but not quite. The reason is that the 28gr sliders operate at a lower engine rpm all the time. Below 3 000 rpm the Honda engine, being a parallel twin cylinder, vibrates. That's just the way bigger parallel twin engines are. The J. Costa never allowed the engine to operate below 3 000 rpm, even during very slow speed driving.
2) Takeoffs from a stop with light acceleration are smoother with Dr. Pulley than J. Costa. There is less clutch grab due to the lower rpm transition as the clutch fully engages.
3) Smoother coasting to a stop with Dr. Pulley. Reason. Lower rpm equals less engine braking. Nice.
4) Definitely smoother and quieter highway driving. Rpm is down by 500 at 100 km/hr. I look forward to lower fuel consumption.
5) The only possible downside I see is less acceleration at high throttle openings. With the J. Costa, the rpm would jump to 6 000, the engine would roar, and the Silverwing would take off. With the Dr. Pulley the rpm will jump to about 4 500 and the acceleration isn't as impressive. But that's OK, as I wanted lower rpm operation with a smooth drivetrain. That's exactly what I got with the 28gr sliders.
6) Easier low speed maneuvering. The clutch is less grabby because of the lower rpm and the throttle is less touchy.

I am very happy with the change.

Fantastic report, bigbird. I was right about your insight with the sliders. Everything you said gave me some understanding of my own experience, even with the J. Costa operating characteristics (which I didn't have). Can see no reason to ever go back to stock rollers.

Enjoy the ride!

bigbird, if you find the graphite gets gummy with the belt dust, may I recommend a product I've used for my DPS weights with no issues. It is CRC Dry Lube.


This image is from Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/CRC-LUBE-06114-Image-Reference/dp/B001EX10GA but you can find it at your local auto parts store.

This goes on as a liquid spray but dries quickly leaving a slick surface but nothing to make the belt dust become gummy inside the variator. I spray it on the inside of the variator, on the inside of the moveable plate, on the DPS weights...if it moves, it gets sprayed.

Chris

Thanks for the recommendation. I went to the CRC Canada website and that stuff isn't even listed as available in Canada.
I'm SOL I guess.

If good throttle response, good maneuverability at slow speed and cruising at lower rpm is what
you prefer then maybe Dr.Pulley's HiT clutch is a good option.

get something about the HiT clutches from websites below,

http://www.silverwing600.com/t2845-hit-clutch-in-northern-thailand-hmong-school


http://www.burgman400.it/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28559&highlight=hit+clutch -- Sliding Rollers Weights Dr.Pulley su variatore Polini
--- Inviato: Ven Apr 15, 2011 11:37 am
http://www.motor-forum.nl/forum/list_messages/303125/Burgman-400-K7-Dr-Pulley-Sliders-en-HIT-Clutch-1.html --Lyonel 18 april 2011 19:43

http://www.xcitingclub.es/viewtopic.php?t=8344&highlight=pulley+hit --Embrague Dr. Pulley by Gordo Cooper on 28 Nov 2010 22:23 picture of clutch bell/HiT V4
http://www.xcitingclub.es/viewtopic.php?t=11975 --Embrague Dr. Pulley by Gordo Cooper on 2011,Aug. 17

I spoke to Paul at Union Material, who manufactures all Dr. Pulley stuff, and he also recommended an HiT clutch. Maybe in the future. For me, several special tools would have to be purchased from Honda to remove the stock clutch. I haven't priced out those tool costs yet.

I'm happy with the stock clutch and 28 gr sliders for now, so no immediate plans to do any other drivetrain mods. Next will be a LeoVince slip-on muffler.

bigbird:
I know we're getting off topic but I'm anxious to know more about your LeoVince slip on muffler when you get it (mainly the sound). The clutch thing interests me also. Once I start tinkering..........

I installed my 24 gram sliders ahead of getting my new Honda drive belt because I couldn't stand waiting on the belt anymore. I ordered from Ron Ayers and it was delayed in getting to their shop before they could send to me since they don't drop ship. Anyway, my impression of the 24 sliders is that they are a huge increase in acceleration and smoothness. I have a different experience to share as the 24 gram sliders make it only possible to use about 3,000 RPM and up from take off. Even at 15% throttle it wants to be at about 4,000 RPM to accelerate. I find that getting on our 101 freeway here in North Scottsdale I hit full throttle and get a massive surge as the tach climbs to over 7,000 RPM and holds right up to an indicated 72mph and then a noticeable RPM drop happens as the weights settle and the bike goes back to an almost stock feel above 75 mph. Overall, this has totally quenched my thirst for the J Costa. I feel that it might be disappointing now that I installed the sliders even if there is a slight improvement in acceleration and smoothness. I find that at cruising speeds above 60 mph I am under 5'000 RPM and that puts the Silverwing pretty darn close to my Honda Magna at the same speed. My Magna is still at 4500 rpm while cruising at 66 MPH and gets close to 50 mpg. I've ridden over 200 miles with two up and by myself and averaged around 55 mpg. This is significant as my previous average was 46 mpg. I'd highly recommend the Dr Pulley Sliders. I believe 24 grams is about the best you can do for combined blistering acceleration and cruising economy. I did several WOT runs by myself and with the addition of my 125 lb fiance. I will conservatively estimate that 0 to 60 times at 6 seconds or less with my 225lb frame and a full tank of gas an full sized Givi windshield. So my wing with a 130 lb driver and low profile windshield would probably be capable of sub 5 second rips to 60 MPH with the 24 gram sliders. I'm sure I will get BigBird's opinion on this one too. I didn't buy the Silverwing to win races but I like knowing it can get to speed quicker than anyone really needs to.

BigBird,

at 60 MPH my revs check in at around 4700 RPM once the bike has settled into a cruise at that speed.

I did install the sliders myself and it took my a little over an hour and a lot of headache with torquing down the 17mm bolt because I did not use a torque wrench but rather tightened based on the idle of the scooter through trial and error. Once all the belt slap and play was resolved I realized I was at the proper torque but I will double check this today with a real torque wrench.

I used the dry graphite power similar to what you used actually.

My guess at the acceleration with 24 gram sliders and a lighter rider in addition to low or no windshield is purely opinion but I'm not sure that it is that far fetched. Stock run to 60 MPH happens in 8 seconds and I have heard as low as 7 seconds with a 15 second 1/4 mile ET. The 24 gram sliders at WOT jump to over 7000 RPM in an instant and allow the scooter to build speed until 70 MPH without change. I have to believe that Dr Pulley sliders are the best bang for the buck. I paid $38.00 for mine and $35 for my K&N filter so my mods have been cheap thus far and my scooter is extremely quick. I've got to say that I am very happy with cruising RPM, however I noticed that keeping a constant speed is a little more difficult because of the RPM drop. The scooter slows down when you leave the throttle at a constant position so modulation is required to keep the same speed unless you are going slightly down hill.

where did you find them for $38? I see them for around $60 with shipping in ebay and buggyparts.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dr-Pulley-sliding-rollers-28X20-Honda-Silver-Wing-600-/160638618458?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2566cecb5a

that seems too cheap- are you sure they aren't counterfeit?

I am going to order a set of the 26 grams since nobody was willing to let me borrow a set. I hope I like them.

craaaaap!!!!

Thank goodness for Paypal- I can always dispute payment if need be. I contacted the seller and see what he says. I have looked at other sliders on his ebay page and they all use the same pic, so I think it's just a generic pic.