Hi Russel,

So, I would like to know about the Jcosta variator from people that have actually used them... (1) Did you gain any higher top speed..? (2) Really - did you notice smoother shifting..? (3) Acceleration better or not?.. (4) What's the real deal?..

The real deal is yes you get better top speed about 5 - 8 kph. ( depends on rider weight and wind conditions)
Yes you get better acceleration, much better roll on acceleration and the shifting is much smoother. J Costa is a little bit heavier than stock so at speed you get a sort of flywheel effect during gusts of wind and slight hills, that helps maintain speed.

I have watched YouTube... looks cool and every thing... but, also someone showed a problem.. keep reading...

I see the design and being a mechanical engineer with tool design... I think it would be a slight maintenance problem.. because you would need to clean often... since those little nub rollers need to spin around during operation... Any dirt get in there - they wouldn't spin and wear a flat spot very quickly - (YouTube)... you would have to take your Jcosta variator and throw in the garbage after that..?

As the variator is spinning at crankshaft speed is is difficult for any dirt to enter and if it does it is not likely that it can get down into the holes for the weights because of centrifugal force. While the weights do spin or move at idle they also slide during operation, so wear in theory is even. But yes the instructions do say clean before installing and do not put any grease on the bushing, as it may cause the self lubricating bushing to stick. There is an offshoot of J Costa than has square section weights, which run in square section holes and they don't spin either.

Why would you have to throw away a perfectly usable variator just because the weights are worn out? Which someday they will, just like any other variator. You simply replace the weights, just like any other variator.

J Costa is a performance variator, the company/technology was pioneered by an ex circuit racing scooter champion so it is easy to see how they might be biased towards attributes that benefit circuit racing type riding. If one lives outside the cities and rides on country roads where one is on and off the throttle because of overtaking traffic and corners or if one lives in hilly country, then roll-on acceleration out of corners seems to be more important. Then J Costa seems to be the variator of choice.

Another difference maybe in business model in that J Costa do not sell variators with a choice of weights for the customer to play with. They sell a variator specifically made for that scooter which has been optimized so it only comes with one set of weights. An after market exhaust will bring out the very best though. On the other hand if you want a circuit racing variator for a scooter they do offer those, but mostly for 50cc European 2-stroke models and the Yamaha T Max as they are the only scooters for which there is are racing classes in Spain. Some of those do come with a selection of weights allowing tuning for different circuits.

There are others like the Italian FR4 which is still based on a conventional one but has angled sliders to pivot the ramp plate as the weights move. Mostly designed with small 50-75cc scooter in mind it can be used on some 150's.

Just like car transmissions there are various choices and designs suited to different driving styles, they all have pros and cons. Manual is easy but requires skill and effort. auto takes away effort but has a tendency to be slushy, twin clutch works well, gives better acceleration, usually has a wider spread of ratios but is expensive. Which one? Depends on the customer?

Hope this helps.

You will probably get more info on a brand specific forum. As this is an English language forum in a Thai speaking country the responses are going to be limited. There are a couple of scooter guys in the motoring section of Thai Visa. You could try a specific search on there?

No doubt Honda make good products but they are making a system for every man. So they have fuel economy to consider and emissions and many different riders and riding styles and cost and... and...so their variator is not "tuned" for maximum performance.

Makers of performance parts are to some extent freed from most of the restraints so they can be more focused. Will you get more performance from an aftermarket performance variator? Yes!

Same logic applies to performance exhausts, performance suspension etc.