spacer shortening

[abe]

Ya, I wish we could keep all these together. We have tons of similar threads. I guest I'm not a good moderator.

[Ruckass]

or people could just go back and read past posts. Those posts explain quite well what to do. I may sound bitchy but whats the point of rewriting information two or three times, when its already there?

Ruckass

[abe]

If I was a good moderator I would delete threads that match old ones. I don't have the heart.

[chanito]

ok i am bumping this to the front again

[Dandy Dan]

Here's a way to loosen/tighen the variator nut in a pinch. My nut came loose when I was riding (I should have used locktite) anyways, I suddenly heard a loud kinda whirring noise come from my variator so I immediatly pulled over and shut it off (note: you can't really drive anyways anyways but just shut if off ASAP so you don't damage anything). I called my g/f and she drove me out a couple sockets from her place but my variator tool was at my house (far). Anyways, I took off the variator cover and to tighten the nut you can take one of the variator cover bolts and slide it between the variator fins (put it between the special stronger ones). It'll run into the top/bottom of the variator case and stop things from spinning so you can get that nut nice and tight. This also works to loosen the nut. This may be hard on the fins so I still don't recommend it but it works in a pinch.

Normally to take the variator off I suggest making a tool (perhaps someone can repost that pic) or using a strap wrench. An input gun is ok but it's hard to accurately tighten it. Ramming stuff in there also works but it can bend stuff and is kinda crude.

Lastly make sure you use locktite so you don't get stranded. Red or Blue should both work fine.

Get that nut on there tight. It may feel like it's tight cuz the belt is pushing it out, but it may really not be. I suggest looking to see how many threads were sticking out the crankshaft before you opened it and ensure you've got about the safe after (although if you shorten parts in the variator it'll change a bit).

[earwax]

so with the spacer shortening what was the improvement to your top speed?

[chanito]

Stock on a flat surface and a long enough ride you should be doing 37 mph, by doing this mod you will need a longer stretch but you could do on a good day (wind resistance a major factor) 42 mph, so 5 mph improvement is not so bad (14% is actually pretty good), the problem was since you get to a taller, gear accel after 25 mph suffers a little

[sfc]

An easy way to make sure it is on the shaft good enough is to pinch the center of the belt and push it toward the front of the bike, that will move it away from the shaft and you'll find some more room to slide things on a little better

[mouldmkr]

abe said:

Yep ;D

Make sure you smile so you get a good deal.

Hi Abe,
I have a machine shop with all the tools required to make changes to my Ruckus. I can do them the same way the factory would. My question is how long should the spacer be. It appears that 35MM or 1.378 inch is optimal. How much material should be removed from the drive pulley hub? It looks like 1.5MM or .059 inches. If I make 2 washers 1”OD x ½”ID .059 thick and put them on both sides of the variator will it center the assembly?
Sorry but I’m annul about dimensions.
Paul

[bluesmokeracing]

mouldmkr said:

abe said:

Yep ;D

Make sure you smile so you get a good deal.

Hi Abe,
I have a machine shop with all the tools required to make changes to my Ruckus. I can do them the same way the factory would. My question is how long should the spacer be. It appears that 35MM or 1.378 inch is optimal. How much material should be removed from the drive pulley hub? It looks like 1.5MM or .059 inches. If I make 2 washers 1”OD x ½”ID .059 thick and put them on both sides of the variator will it center the assembly?
Sorry but I’m annul about dimensions.
Paul

the variator pretty much centers itself. when u shave the spacer it just moves the outside pulley half closer to the engine. that makes the belt ride higher on the pulley. i suppose u could shim the variator(part w/weights) between the engine and variator but as far as centering, the belt will take up any slight misalignment from spacer shaving.

[Homestar R_U_C_K_U_S]

OK, I got six 6-gram roller weights (along with my BS t-shirt!) in the mail today and will probably try to find time this next week to install those.

One more question for any of you...

After reading through directions that Dan sent me in a PM and this big thread on shortening the spacer, I still feel a bit nervous about that part of the process. It seems simple enough, but it also seems like I could mess something up (I have no machining experience really to speak of).

Since my Ruck has now become my primary vehicle (hooray!), I prefer to not mess it up unless the pay-off would be significant.

The truth is that 35 mph does me fine on almost every road I'm on in my town. 42 mph would certainly be awesome, but I can't help but feel that if I screw something up, my Ruck will be doing 0 mph instead.

So my remaining questions are...

Is it OK to only switch over my roller weights? Or is shortening the spacer a mandatory thing to do to accompany the switch in roller weights?

If I only switch the roller weights, I realize that won't help my top end, but it will give me quicker acceleration on take-offs, right? (Will it put me in a category of matching my old Elite 50 on the take-off or not quite?)

Will the roller weights help with accelerating while cruising too? I mean, if I am going 25 mph and then I twist it to full throttle, will I notice a pick-up there too?

Lastly... is there any reason for me to go with a mix of three stock roller weights and three of the 6-gram ones, or should I just figure to replace all six of the stock ones with the new 6-gram ones?

Thanks,

h*r

[greendale]

chanito said:

...the problem was since you get to a taller, gear accel after 25 mph suffers a little

I just can't see how a shorter spacer can affect anything below your old top speed. At lower speeds the weights and the clutch spring is the only thing that determines the gearing, no? I mean, it's not like the spacer was hitting at 25 mph before, right?

[chanito]

well since you shorten the spacer it allows the pulley to get closer sending the belt further out. is like getting into the bigger gear on the crank in your bike your accel will suffer but eventually you would get enough momentun to get into a faster top end (normally you will like to keep the front gear smaller untill the bike moves fast enough to get into a larger gear) it afect the gearing because before the gear was smaller, but shortening the spacer is like adding a bigger gear but the weight will go there as soon as the engine spin to 6k (more or less, depending on the weights) so it will skip the old gear and just go straight to the big one. Does it makes sense now?

[zoomerman]

Normally to take the variator off I suggest making a tool (perhaps someone can repost that pic) or using a strap wrench.


Here's the tool I made:

mypage.uniserve.ca/~hhgordhh/parts%20004.jpg

The part that says .69 on it upside-down, should be doubled up, it bends too easy.

[greendale]

chanito, so what you're saying is that if you don't shorten the spacer then you will reach your highest gear at 25 mph? And when you go from 25 mph to your top speed of 35+ mph that is just the engine going from 6000 rpm to 8000 rpm in that gear?

Fair enough. I just imagined that the variator would hit the highest gear later. Maybe at 30 mph or so.

[Dandy Dan]

I believe that's generally what he's saying. However lighter roller weights cause the variator to move slower so you'd hit the top gear ratio at a higher speed. Stock it might hit it at 25mph (I don't know cuz I don't have a tach) but with 6g weights you might move that up to 30mph or so. The higher up you move it the higher RPM's it's gonna run at while it's accelerating so if you move it way up you would hit the redline or just run dangerously high if you have a CDI.

[Homestar R_U_C_K_U_S]

OK, I installed my 6g rollers and am enjoying the benny of getting off the line more quickly and easily, but back to this spacer issue.

I realized today that the main reason I am reluctant to start filing away at my spacer is that if something goes wrong, I am SOL and Ruck-less. So here's my idiot-of-the-day question: is there anywhere online where I could just buy a shorter spacer? Or is someone here willing to file a separate one down for me and ship it to me?

See, I have no problem with experimenting on my Ruck, but if something isn't right about it, I'd like to be able to just put it back to the way it was.

h*r

[chanito]

OK senhor Homestar, there is not need to be afraid, the spacer can be a little out of flat on one of its ends, so if you just file carefully until you get to 35 then just stick this side first into the crankshaft, so the true machine surface is doing the work against the other machined surfaces, remember a little bit of patience goes a long way, and a new file helps with this job greatly, actually you will have to really mess up to have your scooter unridable (if there is such a word), so file away and enjoy your ruckus

[Dandy Dan]

If you really don't want to do it I'd sell you mine for 2$ plus actual shipping costs. I've got an extra one shortened to 35.000mm because I shortened mine and then later switched to an aftermarket variator which means I put the stock 36mm spacer in. To get to the max gear ratio you do need to file off some of the lip on the driven face (outer plate) too. This isn't hard as it's soft metal and any file will do. Just make sure you use enough washers to make up the width you file off.

[Homestar R_U_C_K_U_S]

Dan,

"You've got mai... er, a PM!"

h*r