GOVERNOR questions

[br13f]

does anyone know how to take off the governor, so i can go past 44 mph downhill? or where the clutch is located on it because i know its near or on the clutch?

[chanito]

The governor is part of the ECM (computer) and it cuts power to the coil, depending on the model at 8k or 9k, you will need an aftermarket CDI to bypass the rev limiter

[Dandy Dan]

2003-2005 Rucks redline at 8000 RPM which is about 40mph and 2006-present Rucks redline at 8850 RPM which is about 43-44mph. The only way to get rid of the redline is to use an aftermarket CDI ($165) which eliminates it so you can fly down hills faster but you still won't gain much if anything on flat ground. It's a lot of dough for just more speed downhills.

Alternatively, you could gear your Ruckus taller via a bigger rear wheel, an aftermarket variator or difference final drive gears which would mean you'd redline at 45-50mph instead of 44mph like you are now but that taller gearing will likely have adverse affects on your acceleration and your ability to cruise when it's windy etc. If you gear your Ruckus too tall you can wind up slower than you are now because it doesn't have the power to pull a dramatically taller ratio.

[ezp]

hey guys, I've got an '03 with a Pollini and I'm topping out at 40 on the flats, so I'm assuming that I've hit the rev limiter. The Ruck wants to go faster on the flat, I want it to go faster on the flat, so I want to get the CDI to bypass the rev limiter. will the CDI really not let me hit 34-44 on the flats?
thanks.

[Kami no Chiizu]

The CDI will eliminate the redline. If you've got enough power to keep pulling past 40, it should. But if your Ruckus is only making enough power to haul you to 40, it won't do anything (except bomb down hills)

How fast can you go down hills?

[ezp]

ha, i don't mess with hills too much. I went down one right when i installed the pollini and I got into the oil symbol. I'm not too interested in bombing hills, but I would like the Ruck to pull into the 42-43 range on flats...so's i can keep up with 45 mph traffic a little better.

I have a couple o' rookie questions...let's say a nice fat Posh CDI pulls me into 42-43 on flats, what RPM will I be at (6g rollers, everything else stock, for now!)? And will this flat 42-43 RPM be dangerous for my engine? Again, I don't want the CDI for hills, I want it for traffic, and I feel like the Pollini just wants to kee going.
Thanks again.

[ezp]

a little bumpy bump for the questions I posted right up there...anyone anyone?

[chanito]

???I would say that at 42-43 mph you are probably runing your engine close to 9k rpms, so it should be safe al long as you change your oil often, Honda installed a better PCV system in the '06 and later, and that have give them the confidence to rev to 9k, older models with the simpler PCV system should have the oil monitor more closely to prevent gas in the oil from ruining your engine

[Dandy Dan]

With lighter 6g rollers your variator will upshift slower but it should get to the same final gear ratio eventually. In stock form, the gearing maxes out around 30mph and then your RPMs rise linearly from that point but with the 6g rollers you'll upshift slower so you won't get to the final gear ratio until 35-40mph I would guess. At 42-43mph you should be at the same gear ratio as stock (or very close) so I would say around 8500 RPM. However, you also have the Polini which has a taller final gear ratio than stock so I would imagine that you are actually hitting a slightly taller gear than stock despite your lighter rollers. Accordingly, my guess is you are around 8200 RPM at 42-43mph. With a Polini I redlined around 46-47mph at 8850RPM so you can extrapolate from that what you'd be revving at at 42-43mph (assuming you're upshifting all the way to this max ratio).

With all that said, I don't think a CDI is going to do much for you. Keep in mind that a CDI does three things:
1) Bypasses the throttle position sensor so you can run an aftermarket carb
2) Removes the redline
3) Advances the ignition timing for a smidge more power

Of those three changes, only #3 is going to help you when you're cruising along at any speed less than 47mph (so virtually all the time). You'll be able to bomb hills at over 50mph (if they are big hills) because of the no-redline but for normal riding only #3 is gong to help you and the effect of #3 is very minor. The advances timing fires your sparkplug a smidge sooner which adds maybe 2% more power. Realistically, you might gain 1 mph of top speed for normal cruising. IMO, it's not worth it.

[ezp]

Guys, your willingness to help brings a tear to my eye. Dan, I have read you list of 3 things a CDI does at leat 100 times, yet your patience is amazing as you always post it without a hint of frustration!

BUT, here is the conflict: i'm redlining on flats at 40mph. It feels as if the Ruck wants to keep pushing the RPMs up which would result in a higher top speed. It can't go faster, it's redlined. The CDI eliminates the redline. Since it truly feels like my Ruckus wants to increase past my top speed of 40mph, my hypothesis is this:

The CDI, by bypassing the redline, will allow the Ruck to continue to increase the RPMs, and this increase in RPMs will result in an increased top speed (on flats) of 42-43mph.

Since at my tallest gearing with my Pollini I feel like I could continue to increase top speed, I hypothesize that removing the redline with a CDI will result in a continued linear increase of RPM and a top speed of more than 40mph.

Is this a correct hypothesis?

Really, this calls for an experiment and data, it's the only way to test a hypothesis. The problem is, it could be $160 down the drain. That's an expensive experiment. For $160 I could buy a new rear shock, my Tanax blue tint mirrors, adaptors, pegs, and hole caps...

WHAT TO DO!!!!!!!!!

[Dandy Dan]

Your assessment of the situation makes sense. There are two possible explanations for your apparent redlining at 40mph:

1) You're mistaken that you're hitting the redline when you're really just out of power
2) You're hitting the redline which would be caused by having those light roller weights

Assuming you are correct that #2 is the case, there are two solutions:

1) Buy a CDI to ditch the redline
2) Toss heavier weights in the variator to gain back your taller gearing

If I were you I would try solution #2 first as it's much cheaper (free if you still have the stock weights) and it should confirm that you were indeed redlining at 40mph if you can now easily cruise past that speed. If you do the CDI then you can eliminate this redlining but you're going to be revving really high if you are able to cruise at 45mph. I would say that you need to get your taller gearing back first with heavier rollers so that you don't hit the redline until atleast 45mph and then if you still want to go faster then I would grab the CDI. If you just grab the CDI now then you're going to be revving your Ruck pretty high as you cruise along above 40mph.

[ezp]

AH HAH!!!! The heavier wieghts experiment is waaaaaaay cheaper. I'm 165lb fully clothed + about 5-7lbs cause o' my bag I take to work...total aprox. 170lbs. What size wieghts? Don't tell me I'm going to have to start mixing and matching different size wieghts!!!! I was under the impression that 6g, for a guy my size, was the magic #.......?

It's possible that I'm mistaken about the redline, but I just have a feeling it wants to go faster but something is holding it back. it's a 2003 too.

ok, thanks again Dan, i have to learn a bit more about the taller gearing before I go and make more hypotheses......

[Dandy Dan]

Normally 6g is the magic number...the Polini comes with six 5.6g weights and three heavier 7.2g weights which are intended to be mixed in if the 5.6g weights prove to be too light. Did you toss in 6g weights or the 5.6g ones that came with the Polini. I weigh almost exactly what you do and I've used all 5.6g weights with great results but for some reason this doesn't seem to work for everyone. Most people report great results with all 6g weights but some people report early redlining so it kinda has to be done on a case by case basis. If you still have the three heavier weights that came with the polini then I would mix those in (every 2nd one) and see how it works. However, 40mph is pretty good for a 2003 Ruck with just a variator. Also, one thing I didn't realize is that because your Ruckus is a 2003 it redlines lower (8000 RPM) so redlining at 40mph does make more sense. In light of that, I wouldn't say your weights are causing you to redline prematurely.

I would say that your Ruckus is likely geared very well and hitting the redline at 40mph is about normal for a 2003 with the lower redline. Accordingly, heavier weights won't likely do much other than hinder your acceleration. If you feel that you slam into the 40mph redline hard enough to warrent using a CDI to exceed this then go for it but if you're brushing against it very softly then you are likely only losing out on 1-2mph.

[ezp]

My Pollini was bought used, and the Pollini weights sent to me by the previous user were absolutely finished. So, the first thing I tried was some new 6g Metro stockers. I never got to try mixing and matching, and in order to do that, I would have to start buying rollers or perhaps a roller assorted kit.

I was thinking about it last night, and of course, as you last posted, I started to wonder about sacrificing acceleration with the heavier weights, which I do not want to do. It's already a butt clencher every time I take off from a green light and 10 cars are behind me! I will be getting the blue clutch springs ASAP, but I need to come up with $$$ for some Tanaxers also, so's I can get it all at one time from BOWLS.

I'm considering playing around with some different weights, but, I also don't like reassembling the variator b/c of the risk of not getting the splines alligned correctly. I know of the horrors associated with that mistake, and since the Ruckus is my only ride, I tend to be cautious. My wife would, well.....let's just say the Ruckus would become a major problem.

I'm still torn....although I'm leaning towards the CDI. Whenever I can come up with the 160+shipping I will immediately let you know the results. I think I would like to buy the Posh CDI (for a 2003 Ruckus) from BSS. Do you have any recommendations or anything that I need to consider? I figure that CDI is, well, just as good as any other, and it's tailored for the 2003.....
thanks again.

[Kami no Chiizu]

I weigh about the same as you, and with mixed polini weights in my polini variator, I was reaching just touching the marker for 40 mph on my 2004 Ruckus.

I lost a bit of speed over the summer, and haven't done much to try to pinpoint it, 'since I'm lazy, but I did try switching weights, hoping that maybe they were worn down. I put in Metro 6 grams, and she gained a touch of speed, so I'm inclined to say that 6 grams are better than mix polinis. Oh, and when I ran all 5.6s, I couldn't get past 35 mph.

Just thought I'd toss in my experiences with the weights.

[ezp]

nice, thanks kami, that helps. sometimes it's a bit hard to get other pre '06 experiences.

i can't do anything till i get some $$$. Then i have a huge list of stuff. the question is....do I get rid of those stock mirrors that make me cringe everytime i look at 'em, or do I go for that 50/50 chance of a couple extra mph with the CDI.

i'm telling you....big bore is getting more and more sexier every day!

again, I promise, I'll let you guys know what happens.

[stimpy433]

I have a 2003 ruckus and will be installing a polini as soon as it gets here from battlescooter.com. From what you guys are saying I should use the 6.0 gram stock met weights since I'm heavier (240#). But what about the "blue" springs for the clutch??? Will they help even if you haven't installed a CDI???

[chanito]

Actually stimpy at your weight installing 6 gr weight will kill your top speed, i am 220 and 6 grams were too light , the CDI will be a total waste of money, so do not get it, i did, and i was not getting the rev limiter before and i did not get to 8k after either , so get the polini keep the stock weights (rollers) and loose some weight

[ezp]

stimp, the blue clutch springs, from what I read (i don't have them yet) are good for improving acceleration off the line, so they will help regardless of whether you have the "controversial" CDI. Regarding the rollers, 6g is good for me at 160-170lbs. Like Chanito said, you need larger rollers since you weight 240lbs, perhaps 7.0 or 7.5g. Check BSS, you need 16x13mm for the Polini. By the way, the Polini is great, it made a huge difference with my '03.

[stimpy433]

Thanks guys, do you think i could use the 7.2 gram weights that come with the polini??? Will the heavier weights have a negitive affect when my lighter weight wife rides it??? Shes maybe half my weight, if that......