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Post by abe on Jun 4, 2004 4:20:50 GMT -5
Hey has any one checked those valves?? My intake was so off it was open after 400miles. The thing stopped working but it ran bad since 340ish.
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frosty
Junior Ruckster
Take your Ruckus to the Woods!
Posts: 62
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Post by frosty on Jun 4, 2004 9:52:47 GMT -5
No, but it's on my list. That shim system seems kind of hokey to me. I'm afraid that when I determine the right shim I'll have to wait a week for the dealer to get one in. frosty
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 5, 2004 16:22:23 GMT -5
what are the symptoms that your valves are off? is a valve adjustment covered under warrentee or how much did u guys have to shell out? thanks
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Post by abe on Jun 6, 2004 5:05:28 GMT -5
A description and pictures have been added to tech on www.battlescooter.comThe valve shims are the same on all newer Hondas. I used shims I had from my CBR. The Ruckus is very easy. The shim sits on top of the valve but has no bucket over top like big bikes and cars. Shims are the best and really easy to learn. It just takes time and you need to write down all your clearances and shims #s on a chart or grid paper. With the Ruckus it's only two valves and you don't need to remove the camshaft. If you want you could go to the dealer and trial and error shims in the parking lot until the clearance is correct. Below is the real way. Please read this part!!!!! I'm not real good at explaining stuff as you may know. So.. experienced people please PM me to help talior my explaination. I will delete any other posting giving other ways to check valves. I want simple layman input also. If this doesn't make sense to you new mechanics please just post replies and I'll answer and taylor the explaination. This is why I don't have this on battlescooter, I need help to make it as clear and exact as possible. A valve adjust is very simple and even more so on the Ruckus. Any one who can build with legos can do it. I'm sure I left something out. So please help me out and then together we can help others ;D Valve check----------------------below 1-the engine must be dead cold, do the adjust after a good night of rest. 2-I guess the valve adjust needs pictures. I'll get some on battlescooter ASAP. 3-valve clearance intake-.004in or .10mm exhaust-.007in or .19mm Find top dead center-remove the spark plug and slowly rotate the engine buy hand until air pushes out, use a pencil to feel when the piston is at the top. Remove the valve cover-check to make sure the cam lobes are at the lowest point, not pushing on the valves. Measure clearance-use a feeler gauge to check the clearance. Find out the max gauge that will fit and the one that just barely drags. Compare-subtract to find the gauge that is between the two you came up with. Compare that number with the recommended clearance(aways use the number in the middle, the book gives you a min and max). Remove the shim-the Ruckus is a snap. You can slide the rocker arm to the side or push down with a finger on the valve while holding a magnetic pen near or on the shim. It will pop out on the magnet. Read the number and write that number and the valve it came from. Do the same on the other valve. Select a shim-the shims are marked like 218 or 198, that's .218 or .198. So then add or subtract from that shim number to make your clearance correct. Pop in the new shim, check the clearance. If it's correct your done! If it's not correct go to the next shim size and check again. If it's perfect button it up and ride like the wind
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 7, 2004 17:42:52 GMT -5
Thanks so much for sharing your expertise abe. I really appreciate the time you put in to battlescooter. I am planning to try playing with my valves this coming saturday. My ruckus has 350miles on it so i figure its do for a check up. The only question i have is what exactly is a 'feeler gauge' and where do i get one? Any hardware store? How much? thanks a million
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Post by scrible88 on Jun 7, 2004 18:17:32 GMT -5
I took my scooter in for a tune-up at the dealer after 1200 miles of pretty much torturous riding. It was running like total "edit profanity", I mean terrible.. It barely made it to the dealer 11 miles away and I had to practically push it up the hills lol When I got it back the next day it ran like new again, they said they went over the entire engine and cleaned out the carb, new sparkplug, new airfilter... Do you think they checked the valves? I have over 3000 miles on my Ruckus now and its running like when I brought it back from the dealer. What do you guys think? Did they do it? Is it covered under warranty?
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frosty
Junior Ruckster
Take your Ruckus to the Woods!
Posts: 62
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Post by frosty on Jun 8, 2004 0:53:43 GMT -5
I don't know your dealer so I couldn't guess. Some are very detail oriented and some thrive on short cuts. That's why I do my own maintence. I may be slower than the dearler tech. but it is done right. frosty
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Post by abe on Jun 8, 2004 7:48:44 GMT -5
It's hard to know. Some dealers have a rep of doing wall service. Wall service is when they lean your bike against the wall some place until you come and pick it up. You say "is it done?" and they say "yep". It's not right but newer bikes are so good lots of techs get tired of checking things that are A OK. They very well could have done it. The Ruckus is very quick and easy. So your Ruckus still runs good scrible88?
A feeler gauge can be found at most auto parts stores or tool retailers. Make sure to get the one that goes down real thin like .038mm(that's real thin). The gauge is about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. It can have up to like 30 thin feelers and each one folds out like the blade on a pocket knife.
You will need access to shims also so start your fun early enough so you can go to the dealer or a place that works on bikes to get some shims. If they give you used shims that's fine, just ask if you can return the shims you don't need. They may let you exchange your wrong shims for the correct used shim. Just ask ;D
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Post by Slater929 on Jun 19, 2004 22:07:51 GMT -5
My local dealer took a shortcut when I took my scooter in for an electrical problem. a 20 amp fuse keept blowing because of a short circuit in the electic system somewhere, instead of fixing the problem, my honda dealer just stuck a 30 amp fuse in it which is too much. So now I take it to a honda dealer a few towns over and they do fine.
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Post by 2wheels on Jul 8, 2004 22:07:14 GMT -5
Scribble88
If you want to know if they adjusted your valves, check the reciept - it should have an itemized account of what they did and how much it cost you?
I'm guessing if it was less than $125, they didn't...
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Post by scrible88 on Jul 8, 2004 23:32:45 GMT -5
Scribble88 If you want to know if they adjusted your valves, check the reciept - it should have an itemized account of what they did and how much it cost you? I'm guessing if it was less than $125, they didn't... I'm going to take it in and have it done. It isn't covered under warranty?
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jul 14, 2004 16:39:14 GMT -5
I'm trying to check my valves but i need some help. I don't know what size the gaps are supposed to be. If someone with the service manual could post the recommended range that would be awesome. Thanks a million, Dan
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jul 14, 2004 17:42:53 GMT -5
I need a bit of help here. I took the head off and the valve cover so i could see what the gaps where. That way when someone does post what they are supposed to be i could just calculate the diff. and go pick up some correct ones. However once i got the head off i couldn't figure out exactly what i'm supposed to be measuring. Abe has some pics on battlescooter.com that show the engine with the cover off, if he could add an arrow showing what to measure that would be grand. An even bigger problem arose when i tried to get the head back on. The rubber seal (gasket??) seems to be too stretched to get back into the groove. I'm was careful not to stretch it cuz i knew i'd have to put it back in so i don't understand how it happened. It seemed a bit big even when i was takin the head off so maybe it always was like that. Anyways, any tips would be so helpful ( i have it in the freezer right now trying to contract it). I need to ride in 2 hours so hopefully i can swing something. Do i need a new one? Thanks for any suggestions, Dan
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Post by abe on Jul 14, 2004 18:18:08 GMT -5
Thanks for helping me remember things I left out ;D Sorry the mechanics didn't bring them up. 1-the engine must be dead cold, do the adjust after a good night of rest. 2-I guess the valve adjust needs pictures. I'll get some on battlescooter ASAP. 3-valve clearance intake-.004in or .10mm exhaust-.007in or .19mm thanks buddy
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Post by Dandy Dan on Aug 15, 2004 17:01:31 GMT -5
Well i'm closer to success than ever. The new pictures on the battlescooter site were helpful. I do have a few question still though. First off which valve is the intake and which is the exhaust? I'm guessin the top one is the intake because i measured that gap to be smaller. The gaps i got were 0.05mm on the top and 0.11mm on the bottom. If the top one is indeed the intake than i'm off by 0.05mm. The shim currently in there is a .222 so i guess i need a .172. (are the shims in metric or imperial? I'm assuming metric). My other question is, is it normal for the gaps to be smaller then recommended? I thought since things wear etc... the gaps would be too big. Did you guys find that your gaps shrunk too or maybe i didn't have the piston is the exact spot?
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Post by abe on Aug 16, 2004 15:14:50 GMT -5
The gaps will get smaller. That's why it's so important to check them The valve on the top is the intake and the one on the bottom is the exhaust. You are correct ;D The sizes are metric. I added that explanation to the tech on Battlescooter
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Post by Dandy Dan on Aug 18, 2004 17:45:18 GMT -5
I went in to my dealer today to get some shims and he insisted that the shims are not generic to all honda motorcycles but each engine uses different ones. I told him i was pretty sure they were cuz i've talked to people who've used shims from their CBR (you did right abe??) but he said it wasn't possible. In the end i ended up paying 6.44 each for my 2 new shims and i've gotta wait a week to get em. That sux cuz i'm sure they have a whole box full in the back that would fit and probably for cheaper too.
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Post by abe on Aug 19, 2004 16:49:23 GMT -5
The price is actually pretty good but they do have a box of shims behind the counter. Every dealer or shop I know about has a box of shims for doing service. I was thinking about doing a tool loan program were you pay a low fee and deposit to use things like a box of shims. When you are done you just mail the box back and you get your deposit.
Some people who sell parts like to be difficult.
14906-KT7-013 SHIM, TAPPET 1.325
This is a part number from a CBR for a shim. The Ruckus has the same part number.
The 1.325 is the thickness but that changes with age or use not by model or year.
Do you have another dealer near by?
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Post by Dandy Dan on Aug 27, 2004 6:20:18 GMT -5
I got my shims finally but i got the wrong size. I had my decimal place in the wrong spot. My stock shims said 222 and 225 on them. I thought that meant 0.222mm and 0.225mm (looking back now i realize that's extremely thin) instead of 2.22mm and 2.25mm. I measured my intake/exhaust gaps at 0.05mm and 0.13mm. I'm going in today to get some different ones. Hopefully they'll let me swap for a 217 and a 218. When i fired up my scoot with the wrong shims (almost 1mm of gap). There was quite the ticking sound. So if anyone else hears that you know you've really make em to small. Lastly abe's bit of advice to use a magnetic pen is a great tip. I don't know how i would have done without. I once dropped one in the engine a ways but thanks to the really strong magnet i was able to suck it out. It's also really helpful for suckin the shims out of their holes. I wouldn't try any of this without one.
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Post by abe on Aug 31, 2004 17:56:40 GMT -5
Thanks Try asking to see the shim box, so you can pick them yourself. Remember to smile ;D
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