changing drive belt

[JOEJOE]

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO REMOVE THE DRIVE PULLEY FACE (TO TAKE OFF THE DRIVE BELT)? AND WHAT ELSE DO IU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS OPERATION?

[chanito]

There is a how-to on battlescooter.com check it out, use a band wrench or a universal holder and the operetion is a piece of cake ;D

[JOEJOE]

WHERE DO I GET A "BAND WRENCH" AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? FOR THAT MATTER, HOW MUCH IS A UNIVERSAL HOLDER?

[Dandy Dan]

To change the drive belt:
1) Take off the drive cover (6-8 bolts, mostly 8mm with one 10mm bolt)
2) Remove rear clutch. To do this you'll need to hold the clutch from spinning while you loosen the bolt (14mm?) in the center. The band wrench is just a strap wrench which is basically just a rubber strap that you fit around and then tighten and it holds it still. These work well but you could also try using any leather belt, or by grabbing it with gloves or using the univeral holder in the holes. It all depends on how tight the bolt is on there.

3) Remove the drive face (outer plate) of the variator (front clutch). To do this ideally you would use the universal holder which is really just a 'Y' shaped tool with prongs on the tips of the 'Y' that fits into the 2 special holes in the variator. That stops the variator from spinning and then you can loosen the nut in the center. It's the same idea as the rear clutch but the shape is a bit different so the strap wrench doesn't work as well....if it's not too tight you could use the strap wrench for both possible but it'd be a bit awkward.

4) Once you got that nut off just slide everything off of the variator shaft (crankshaft) until you get to the belt. Take it off, put the new one on and then put the variator parts back on and tighten things up very well. If you don't get them all the way tight they'll wobble on the shaft and destroy everything (be very careful). At the same time you had the variator apart you should slide the rear clutch off of it's shaft. Then reassemble the variator with the new belt and then ditto for the rear clutch. I'll post a pic of the universal holder in a sec.

[Dandy Dan]

Ok here's a picture of things. You should be able to make the universal tool for less than 5$ using stuff from any decent hardware store. Those long pieces are some kind of bracket or hinge. Make the handle a decent length (atleast a foot) and keep the shorter piece strong too cuz there is quite a bit of torque needed. You do gotta be careful though that they aren't too wide so that they cover the bolt. If this is the case you could drill new holes to move the bolts closer to the inside or just cut down the walls a bit.

[chanito]

Wow! great post DD, a strap wrench is a wrench like an oil filter wrench but the band is either a rubber belt or a canvas belt, and you can buy one at Sears, a universal holder is a tool just like DD draw and you can get it from Harbor Freight or Northern for under 10 dollars, or you can just make your own

[ZoomZoom]

I made my own tool out of a large hinge, cut, drill and tap it for two 1/4 inch bolts which I trimmed to length. Crude but works awesome and now I play with roller weights.

[Dandy Dan]

ZoomZooms tool looks like it would work great for the variator as it looks very strong. The only reason you might not want one like this is that the width between the bolts is not adjustable so you'd be limited in the other uses for it. But if you're only going to be working on the Ruckus variator then it'd be perfect (although you'd need a few tools to make it.)

[ZoomZoom]

It also fits the clutch BTW. I'm not sure what else I might need such a tool for but I can make another one if I need to.

[Dandy Dan]

If it fits the clutch then it should be good for everything you'll need it for. There is another spot on the Ruckus that does require a universal tool (other end of the crankshaft where the cooling fan attaches) but I doubt you'll ever need to go in there. I like how beefy your tool is !!

(note: I just noticed that Chanito somehow snuck 30 posts ahead of me. You guys better reply quick so I can rack up some more posts.)

[ZoomZoom]

I got a set of 8,5 gram rollers and was thinking of trying 3 of those and 3-5's or 6's. Right now I've got 6-7 grams and pushing 61 km/h on the straight stretches, downhill I've got the needle buried. I didn't have my gpsr last run for a more accurate reading but will now that I've got my auxiliary 12v plug installed.

[Dandy Dan]

Just keep an eye on the wear of those 8.5g weights cuz when you mix weights in the variator the heavier ones wear way faster. There is a certain max gear ratio that you'll get to regardless of the weights....it's just that the heavier the weights are the sooner you'll get to the gear ratio. If you went all 3g weights you might not get there until 60mph and by then even with the tallest gear ratio your engine would be blown up. 6-7g weighs should have you at the tallest gear ratio before 61km/hr so I don't think you're going to get anymore top end with the heavier ones but you will lose some acceleration. There is a change that your variator isn't quite maxed out but I doubt there's much room for improvement over a 6.5g average weight like you have now.

[chanito]

I second Dan opinion, i would not go for heavier weights, and great tool by the way, congrats ;D ;D

[ZoomZoom]

So without needing to go to the extreme for the need for speed, that's it for me you are saying ? Chanito your doing 43 mph and other than having a cdi, you have a shaved spacer and stock variator from what I gather. Why couldn't I at least get to 40 mph on the flat stretch? I have the Kitaco variator now.

[chanito]

:)Miami is a very flat city at sea level, i used to get to 43 with the stock 7.5 gr weight/rollers but accel was terrible, so i installed 6 gr weight, accel is greatly improved but the speed is just 40-41 now, maybe you need to shim your needle, Have you done any tunnig to your carb? that maybe the diference

[ZoomZoom]

I haven't mess with the carb so far but I'll do a search on the subject. Sure would be nice having those speed.