Need Advice with Strada RX8 Upgrades

[ktyamaha36]

Hey guys,

Trying to help the girl friends sister out with her scooter. Its a 2008 Strada? RX8 50cc 2 stroke. Ive never messed with these little chinese things before so bare with me as I work on Jetskis for a living..

It died on her at a light the other day and would not start. Shes goes to University of Florida and said the shops there charge like 80.00/hr to work on these things.... Which arnt worth it.

Anyways, I picked it up, checked it out. Easy fix, a new spark plug and it fired right up. (Read already about putting an iridium plug in it which I will do) While I had it apart I cleaned the carb and cleaned the engine up.

She says she would like it to accelerate faster. ( She doesnt go over 40mph around the college)

I started seeing aftermarket big bore kits, pipes, intakes, carbs,CVT weights, etc. I dont want to put a TON of money into this thing..but would like to pep it up a bit for her.

I found a "Hoca" metal intake with Carbon fiber reeds (Her stock intake boot is cracking)

I do not know what gram weights are in this thing from the factory. But would like to go down 1 gram to give her some more pickup. Maybe a better belt? Is there anything I can do with the stock exhaust to let it breath a little better without spending 200 bucks on a pipe thats worth more than the scooter itself?

The scoot only has 300 miles on it, I told her to only run premium fuel and synthetic 2 stroke oil which she has done since day 1 . Any tips or advice would be great!

[teddy554]

the strad rx8 i believe is a r4 clone, you can try lighter wieghts but the slider will get you better performance off the bat and a new performance variator www.partsforscooters.com/169-139_minarelli_variator?sc=9&category=101707. i believe those scoot are the large spline crank and 12mm wrist pin size but the best thing is a bbk www.partsforscooters.com/47mm-2-stroke-Big-Bore-cylinder-set-169-57?sc=9&category=101707 in my opinion for overall better acceleration and power here is the how to 49ccscoot.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=yamajog&action=display&thread=556

[90GTVert]

:welcome2:


The Hoca intakes don't always even fit in the stock cases without filing the cases or the screws on the reed block and the intake is too large for carbs that work well with most 50-70cc setups IMO. I'd suggest just replacing the stock intake, or perhaps get a Motoforce that is a stock intake but slightly larger inside. Also, changing to a different intake setup can cause unnecessary issues with carb/airbox mounting.


Scoots can come with a variety of different weights, but they should be 15x12mm. Your best bet is to weigh what she has now. Tuning the weights may be all you need to make her happier with the acceleration. Perhaps some stiffer clutch springs, depending how it feels on the initial hit off the line. If it bogs, try stiffer springs. As long as the belt isn't worn down, just keep a decent quality belt (like a Bando) in there. Should be a 788-17-28.


You aren't likely to see any real gains from modifying the stock exhaust, unless it's restricted.


A big bore kit would be my next choice if getting the CVT tuned up isn't enough for her. That will likely require another round of CVT tuning as well as carb tuning.

[ktyamaha36]

Thanks for the replys guys.

Im not looking to do a BBC until she burns this top end up.

I dont mind doing away with the stock airbox and running a UNI filter setup and rejet the carb.

I guess I will teake the weights out of it and see what it has. Would getting a complete "high performance" basket and all be better than just replacing the weights?

[90GTVert]

Don't bother with the UNI. It'll make more noise than power. Leave the stock airbox on. Just be sure the carb is in tune if you do anything. I run stock airboxes on much more powerful setups with good results.

For a stock scoot, the aftermarket variator didn't do much for me. I really like them on modified scoots with more power. For now, I'd prob save money and just get the CVT in tune with weights and springs. Here's a bunch of videos of a 49cc project I did that may be of interest. I show lots of CVT work, pipes, big bore, and more...

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD60FEB66F10B4BD6&feature=mh_lolz

[aeroxbud]

I do not know what gram weights are in this thing from the factory. But would like to go down 1 gram

1 Gram is a lot of weight in a variator when 1/4 of a gram can make quite a difference. I would buy a few sets, you can always mix them, like 5g, 6g, 5g in the variator to get 5.5g. It is just a matter of trial and error.