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Post by thunderstRuck on Oct 16, 2008 18:52:34 GMT -5
Would it be feasible to use 2 head gaskets?
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Post by smartbomb on Oct 16, 2008 21:53:23 GMT -5
I don't think so, embossments not right.
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Post by andr01dm on Oct 17, 2008 23:06:06 GMT -5
My Ruck is back together again and, so far, appears to be running okay.. mind you I've only idle'd it long enough to get the idle RPM dialed in, rev'd it a few times and that's it for today.
My Tiny Tach arrived today, so no more guessing. I was running about 2200 - 2300, so it's toned down a little. I've also re-jetted to an 85 main jet, keeping the stock slow jet. I had been running an 80 main jet, which is crazy lean it seems. >.<;
(I thought the carb was flooding at one point, tried the smaller jet, and got caught up in re-doing the head gasket that first time. Totally forgot to put my jet back to something reasonable again.)
I may be fooling myself, but it does sound better too; a bit deeper tone and not as.. I dunno.. "clacky".
Saturday I'll be out for most of the day, so hopefully I can spend time with it on Sunday to break it in, work through the jets to make sure an 85 is going to be okay. I put a lot of time into getting the cylinder head and crank case as smooth as I can. Fingers crossed that it's in a reasonable tolerance range for the gasket.
Also used ARP bolts so they should help keep it together.
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Post by Dandy Dan on Oct 18, 2008 0:01:54 GMT -5
Things are sounding good!
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Post by andr01dm on Oct 19, 2008 20:31:35 GMT -5
After messing around building the Tiny Tach into my bike's battery box I rode around a while, changed oil, rode some more. I used Chanito's seat-of-the-pants method for testing if the main jet is lean or rich and ended up going up to an 88 main jet. That seems to work quite well.. going by the s-o-t-p test anyway. Might try a 90 main to see if that's too rich and bracket the 88 as the best one.
At one point some kids on bicycles rode along next to me and one of them said my bike looked "bitchin!" ^_^
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Post by andr01dm on Oct 21, 2008 19:58:15 GMT -5
Today was an eventful day:
Good news Went to a 90 main jet and rode to work and back.. it's not terrible, but seems to have lost some power accelerating, so I'll likely drop back to an 88 main jet. This is good as it means I have probably bracketed the right jet for my bike, though I've yet to do a spark plug colour test on it as my new plugs haven't arrived.
Bad news Another oil leak. But I suspect it's the seal at the back of the case, rather than the head gasket, so it's easier to repair. Still means pulling the engine out and doing a bit of a tear-down and re-build. Yay. If it is the head gasket again I might just rebuild it back to stock and sell the bike.
More bad news It snowed during my ride home and it was excruciatingly cold. >.<; So I think that's about it for the riding season in Toronto.
Almost the worst news Shortly after starting the ride home I was side swiped by a taxi merging into my lane, but I managed to stay shiny side up. High siding at 40 km/hr, in rush hour, would have been very painful, if not fatal. Whew!
Assclown didn't even stop.. just waved, 'My bad for almost killing you. Oopsie.' >:(
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Post by Dandy Dan on Oct 21, 2008 21:39:59 GMT -5
Regarding the rejetting, sounds like things are coming together. It takes quite a bit of bumbling around with different jets before you really start to understand how things work and what to look for. An 88 jet sounds about right for your Ruckus.
Remember for the plug colour test to start with a new plug and give it a bit of time to change colour.
About you oil leak? Do you think it's coming from the seam where the two crankcase halves meet? Or from one of the seals on the crankshaft? If it's a crankshaft seal then you don't need to drop the engine. If it's the seal though, then you need a complete engine rebuild.
About the cold....you can do it! Ride all winter! I rode all winter in Ontario for 2 winters a couple years ago. I live in Brampton one winter and near Waterloo the other. The riding just gets funner in the winter....suddenly a lack of power isn't an issue.
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Post by andr01dm on Oct 22, 2008 13:04:58 GMT -5
I'm going to take a look at the engine this evening and see if I can pinpoint the source of the leak. Hopefully it's just the crank-shaft seal on the generator side.. that appears to be where the side of the engine where the oil is coming from.
I have to drain the coolant, remove the radiator and pull the generator out to check it. Not fun to so in 3° c.. really wish I had an indoor garage...
Even if it's the crank case I think I can repair it without having to take apart the cylinder head again.
I've heard of folks riding through the winter.. I did ride up into November last year before it got too cold for me. Maybe if I get better gloves and some goggles...
Thank you. ^_^
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Post by thunderstRuck on Oct 22, 2008 15:03:19 GMT -5
Heated grips are available at Canadan Tire.
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Post by chanito on Oct 22, 2008 18:22:22 GMT -5
I'm going to take a look at the engine this evening and see if I can pinpoint the source of the leak. Hopefully it's just the crank-shaft seal on the generator side.. that appears to be where the side of the engine where the oil is coming from. I have to drain the coolant, remove the radiator and pull the generator out to check it. Not fun to so in 3° c.. really wish I had an indoor garage... Even if it's the crank case I think I can repair it without having to take apart the cylinder head again. I've heard of folks riding through the winter.. I did ride up into November last year before it got too cold for me. Maybe if I get better gloves and some goggles... Thank you. ^_^ I really admire you guys riding in that cold weather, i cry like a baby when it goes bellow 20 C or 70 F :'(
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Post by Dandy Dan on Oct 22, 2008 23:36:42 GMT -5
A windscreen helps A LOT in the cold. My 2nd winter I had one and it was way better. If I ride through another winter, I'd wire up a heated vest and maybe grips. Also, shielding your hands from the wind with some hand guards (i.e. like dirt bikes have) helps a lot too. Some scooters have these built in (i.e. Elite 80).
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Post by andr01dm on Oct 23, 2008 18:46:23 GMT -5
Heated grips are available at Canadan Tire. I'll check into that, thank you for the suggestion! :D
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Post by andr01dm on Oct 23, 2008 18:49:37 GMT -5
A windscreen helps A LOT in the cold. My 2nd winter I had one and it was way better. If I ride through another winter, I'd wire up a heated vest and maybe grips. Also, shielding your hands from the wind with some hand guards (i.e. like dirt bikes have) helps a lot too. Some scooters have these built in (i.e. Elite 80). Getting a windscreen is on my to-do list. I've looked around at hand guards, but didn't find any that seemed suitable for the Ruck. Meanwhile; I found time this evening to check over my bike, after jetting back to an 88 main, and it looks like it's a coolant leak, not oil. I'll have a stab at fixing it this weekend.. hopefully I can do it without having to drop the engine. *fingers crossed*
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Post by andr01dm on Nov 1, 2008 15:28:20 GMT -5
Attempted to repair the coolant leak (its leaking at the o-ring where the metal tube connects the engine to the radiator) using a member's suggestion of Vasoline on the o-rings.
It turns out that using Vasoline on the o-rings is a bad idea. I idled the engine and ran it around a little in the parking garage and it appeared to be working. But then during a short test ride my bike leaked (gushed!) coolant at an even greater rate, causing rapid over heating and a blown head gasket.
I think that's it for me. I'm done. Just need to figure out how to dispose of a broken Ruckus. :(
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shawna
Junior Ruckster
Posts: 58
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Post by shawna on Nov 2, 2008 16:26:45 GMT -5
Attempted to repair the coolant leak (its leaking at the o-ring where the metal tube connects the engine to the radiator) using a member's suggestion of Vasoline on the o-rings. It turns out that using Vasoline on the o-rings is a bad idea. I idled the engine and ran it around a little in the parking garage and it appeared to be working. But then during a short test ride my bike leaked (gushed!) coolant at an even greater rate, causing rapid over heating and a blown head gasket. I think that's it for me. I'm done. Just need to figure out how to dispose of a broken Ruckus. :( Why didn't you just replace the $2 oring? Don't give up on the Ruckus. You are so close.....
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Post by smartbomb on Nov 2, 2008 16:44:29 GMT -5
Just fix it. What you ahve not done is to assure that the blocks deck and the head are absolutly flat. Chanito's head gasket is only one layer and very thin, like 0.010". Although this is excellent for performance, it is very unforgiving to any variance in the deck beyond 0.0004-0.0005", thats 5 ten thousands of an inch.
You have not verified that your sealing surfaces are absolutly flat and I bet the overheating that multiple blown gaskets you have had has caused your head and deck to be slightly warped. A stock head gasket could take this up this amount of warp but not this high performance gasket.
I previously advised you to do this but check your deck surfaces and mill them flat. Then use a surface plate and fine paper to lap your decks absolutly flat. Any machine shop that does race quality work can easily do this. This is standard procedure with MLS gaskets and turbo motors.
Do this and yuou will be fine.
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evilkaneval
Ruckster
Hi my name is Justin and I'm a Ruckaholic
Posts: 155
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Post by evilkaneval on Nov 2, 2008 17:25:27 GMT -5
this is bad publicity for the BBK. I am planning to do my ruck this winter, but now a bit scared. I don't ever want to get that discoraged that I want to dispose of my ruck. Can someone please tell me that I won't have theese problems when I do mine?
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Post by smartbomb on Nov 2, 2008 17:45:50 GMT -5
this is bad publicity for the BBK. I am planning to do my ruck this winter, but now a bit scared. I don't ever want to get that discoraged that I want to dispose of my ruck. Can someone please tell me that I won't have theese problems when I do mine? Don't let it scare you. You cannot ingore the basics of good engine preperation no matter what you build. All of this is so simple. The machine shop that bores your block can do it. Its standard procedure for good engine building.
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evilkaneval
Ruckster
Hi my name is Justin and I'm a Ruckaholic
Posts: 155
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Post by evilkaneval on Nov 2, 2008 20:02:50 GMT -5
Ahhhh... Thank you, you've eased my woes.
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Post by andr01dm on Nov 3, 2008 6:16:36 GMT -5
Yes, well I will be continuing to work on it after all. I'd much rather not, but given how much I've invested in it so far it'd be stupid not to.
Please ignore my earlier post. Next time I spend a couple of hours pushing it home I'll avoid discussing it on the Internet until I've calmed down.
smartbomb: This time I will be taking it to a shop to get it machined.
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