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Post by chanito on Jun 11, 2005 22:48:11 GMT -5
Frequent ask questions. Since i got this new tittle of tech wizard i decide to put it to good use and post my answers to this questions, and also hope you guys and girls will help me with some questions and your own answers 1.-Q:Since the ruck is a four cycle if i install a less restrictive muffler i will be flying down the street? A: Not likely, because the people at Honda did their homework, and that muffler is not restrictive, just very quiet. 2.-Q:If i install an aftermarket variator i should be hitting 50 mph? A: Not really, but your pick up speed will improve due to the lower gear effect of the variator, and probably your top speed will improve by a mile per hour or two. 3.-Q:would installing lighter rollers in the stock variator improve my accel? A: Yes, just like the after market variator, the lighter roller weights will allow your scooter to be in a lower gear longer. 4.-Q: If a train leaves station "A" at..... A: Wait a minute, i have a thought time answering ruckus questions already 5.-Q:I want some more top speed what should i do? A: The easiest solution is to grind down the variator spacer to a length of 35 mm, or get a CDI, or both 6.-Q:What is a CDI and what it does? A: A CDI is an electronic device that eliminates the rev limiter, advances the timing by a couple of degrees and get the cold start enrichment to supply extra gas at high engine speeds 7.-Q:I love the look of Japanese zoomers, should i make mine look like them? A: That is entirely up to you, i personally think that the turn signal up in the American and European ruckus is a better option, allows the car in fr to see your turn signals over their trunks, and the horn sound travels WAY FURTHER when the horn is outside of the batt cover, i just flipped it so the head lights cover it a little and doesn't look so out there. 8.-Do blonds have more fun? A: I don't know, I've never been a blond 9.-Q:If 2 cycles make more power, why didn't they just installed one in the ruckus? A: Even though in similar size engines the 2 cycle would make more power, the 4 cycle is a lot cleaner, more fuel efficient and will live longer with less maintenance, all qualities worth having. 10.-Q:Is the engine in the jazz/metro the same as the ruckus? A:Yes, but we have a bigger carb  . 11.-Q:Which shoes should i wear with my red minidress in my salsa metro? A: Gee! i don't know, you should ask the people at our sister site, urban scootin. But anyway please post  12.-I want really high performance, so me and my friends will install a turbo. Which one is best? A: As far as i know nobody makes a turbo small enough for the exhaust flow of the ruckus to generate any kind of boost. I will post more questions and answers later on  |
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Post by tedsmini on Jun 12, 2005 2:14:59 GMT -5
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Post by smacky on Jun 12, 2005 8:45:16 GMT -5
Is it wrong to have made a commitment to one...friend, and at the same time lust after another scooter, I mean...friend, at the same time?  feel the force within kimi, it grows stronger, borrow Will's limp light saber and slay the beast which is kimikaze. great post chanito, need to add. q. what's the best mod i can do to my ruck? my ans. change rear shock. q. can i replace cylinder with a big bore kit from another scooter? a. anyone lurking on this site for any time knows the cyl on the ruck is part of the case. so the easy answer is no, but it maybe possible to bore out ours and put a bigger piston. *chanito answer this one more fully please* q. if i buy one of spoonie's thongs, will my wife get mad if i wear it to the job site? a. ...uh...."edit profanity"... |
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Post by lilruck on Jun 12, 2005 12:30:32 GMT -5
Q: Where is the increase in performance in the H.O. cam? Do you get in increase in torque and speed all the way through the low rpms and to the middle and top rpms, or is the power only up top? Is there a loss in low end power vs the stock cam ? Do you think there is any danger in running the H.O. cam on a ruckus with the Battlescooter CDI without installing stiffer valve springs? I scoot at full throtle alot and dont want to float a valve.
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Post by chanito on Jun 12, 2005 14:17:45 GMT -5
OK i will try to answer the new questions 13.-Q:Is is bad to desire a ruckus if i already have a metro? A: Totally normal, even thought kimikaze looks good, you deserve a ruckus ;D 14.-Q:Which is the best mod to start in a ruckus? A: I disagree with Smacky, the best first mod "on my opinion" is the variator, but the shock is a great investment 15.-Q:Can i install a bigger bore kit from another scooter? A: No. our motor is just like the motor in your car, you can not separate the cyl from the crankcase, so you have to bore the cyl, and install a bigger diameter piston, that is what is keeping us from doing it. 16.-Q:Will buying a spoon thong, create marital problems? A:Not, if you intent for your significant other to use them or give them to somebody as a present and your better half doesn't find out. 17.-Q:What are the advantages and risks of running a high output cam from battle scooter? A: Probably i should let my fellow wizard DandyDan answer that question, but my experience with H.O. cams tells me that the increase in performance will more likely happen at mid and high rpms, which is exactly what we want in the ruckus, because the variator keeps the rpms at 6k plus, so the motor is always above 6k (mid range) ;D. The valves in our motor are very hi tech (the advantage of having Honda dealing in race motor technology), actually this little 50cc are the most sophisticated motors Honda sell to the public , The chances of you floating a valve are very slim, in any case you should be safe just make sure to check you valve lash frequently |
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 12, 2005 22:36:33 GMT -5
Q: Where is the increase in performance in the H.O. cam? Do you get in increase in torque and speed all the way through the low rpms and to the middle and top rpms, or is the power only up top? Is there a loss in low end power vs the stock cam ? Do you think there is any danger in running the H.O. cam on a ruckus with the Battlescooter CDI without installing stiffer valve springs? I scoot at full throtle alot and dont want to float a valve. The increase in performance is primarily at higher RPMs but I think there is a slight increase across the board. I'd say there's a nice increase from 6-7K and a substancial increase above 7K. I haven't noticed a loss in low end power but if you've got your variator geared right you shouldn't be at low RPMs anyway. I really doubt there's any danger. Abe didn't mention it and the valves are barely opened any farther (like .3 of a mm or .001 of an inch). The biggest difference the cam makes is that it holds the valves open a bit longer instead of gradually opening and then gradually shutting them. I've never heard of any one having any issues with the cam and I'm sure abe would tell us if there was a risk. I'd be more concerned about floating a valve if I was running at really high RPMs (over 9K). Just make sure you gear your Ruckus taller when you put the cam in. I'm always at top speed with my Ruckus and I haven't had any issues (No oil burning, rough idle etc.) When I installed the cam I went from a top speed of approx. 42-43mph to about 46mph (it's hard to tell as I'm way off the end of the stock speedo). This same power than gets you an extra 3-4mph also will get you some boost all around if you got your variator geared right. You'd get a few more MPH if you increase the diameter of the ports at the same time. I didn't do much of this but I will soon. Abe says 50mph is possible. |
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Post by chanito on Jun 13, 2005 19:58:55 GMT -5
 I was expecting, some more questions and some comments, please we need to post as many questions as you guys have so we have them all in one place, and if you have different opinions or not satisfied with the answers then let's talk about them, on another note thanks Dandy the answer was great please feel free to help me with the answers (and you too Ruckass) Anyway, back to the questions. 18.-Q:Hey, i was checking the internet and find this amazing kit for the Today/Dio engine and it will make the engine a 80 cc, since the today is a 50cc and a four cycle. It is the same engine as the ruckus, right? A: Sorry, but no, the today is the cheapest 4 cycle scooter Honda makes, and it use old tech air cooled engines, however the one in our ruckus is a new tech water cooled engine, so the kit will not work on the ruckus. 19.-Q:Wow! the European engine is a four valve fuel injected engine, does it blow the American Ruckus off? A: No, it does not, the design of the head was oriented toward fuel saving, and the throttle of the air flow sensor is only 15mm, plus it has a restrictive catalytic converter/muffler. That said the potential of this engine is amazing, the head should be a direct bolt on, the cam is similar to the one in the ruckus, it only has two lobes and actuates the valves thru very weird looking rocker arms, the ports are Siamese that means that one port in the head becomes two by the time it reaches the valves, so the manifolds from the ruckus should fit (i just can imagine the four valve head with our carb and muffler, plus the Dandy Dan approved H.O. cam), that should fly 
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Post by smacky on Jun 13, 2005 20:13:16 GMT -5
o.k chanito, this one could fill a whole page of it's own thread. how do i jet my carb? what is jetting my carb? do i need shims? what size shims? what size jets? where do i get the shims/jets? do i need a tach to jet my carb? if not how do i do it? what does running rich/lean mean? how can i tell? what are the consequences of not jetting my carb? how much damage can i do if i jet my carb wrong? can a lay person jet their own carb or should they have a shop do it? and on...and on...  |
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 13, 2005 20:23:33 GMT -5
Wow! That's a lot of questions a tough to answer. Basically you a newbie can do. It's not that hard. I didn't know anything when I did it for the first time. There a few threads on here that explain your questions plus hopefully soon we'll have a detailed how-to with pics.
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Post by smacky on Jun 13, 2005 20:30:42 GMT -5
dandy obviously you don't see the humor in my post. chanito wanted questions... I was expecting, some more questions and some comments, please we need to post as many questions as you guys have so we have them all in one place, so i gave him some. |
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Post by SpoonKiller on Jun 13, 2005 20:42:56 GMT -5
Actually the whole jetting and shimming is a big mistery to me  In a couple of weeks after I get a new variator I want to enlarge the stock air box whcih will probably mean jetting and shimming. |
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Post by chanito on Jun 13, 2005 22:17:16 GMT -5
 I also fail to see the humor on your post, but your post have some good questions, so here it goes. 20.-Q:What is this rich/lean business all about? A: The mixture of gas and air explodes in a variety of ratios, with air been the first number (in Weight) from a lot of air with little gas (Lean)to a little air with lots of gas (rich) but the most potent explosion occurs at 14 to 1, so you want that ratio all the time in your engine, the throttle plate is what controls the amount of air, and the jet (a screw with a measured hole) is what controls the gas, the fun begins when you open the throttle, a lot more air goes into the engine so you need to get more gas going into the engine, the way we control this is by installing a needle into the hole in the jet, restricting the flow of gas, now with a diaphragm attach to the needle we can make that needle come out of the jet according to the air flowing into the engine, so more air will make the needle come out more, allowing more gas to flow, hope you are still with me. The engine in the ruckus have been fine tune by the engineers at Honda, to make the carb work with our tune intake and tune muffler, that means that any significant change to any of those will trow the carb out of adjustment, if you modify your intake to flow more air (like opening your airbox) the engine will flow more air than the factory jet can flow gas to keep this ratio, the engine will go lean (way more air than gas), so we have to install a bigger jet, the trick is to install one just large enough to get back to this 14 to 1 ratio, if we go too big the engine will go rich (way more gas than air). Hope i make myself clear enough, if not let me know, i will try to answer some more of smacky questions later
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Post by tedsmini on Jun 14, 2005 0:17:28 GMT -5
Smacky, rich is too much gas not enuf air, lean is the opposite. You can indicate lean by grey schmutz in your tailpipe, rich is black residue. Rich and lean can both effect performance, if you screw up, rich is better it fouls plugs and can build up carbon deposits in your combustion chamber. which when remedied can be blown out at high rpm's. Lean can burn a hole in your piston, very bad. When you run excessively lean, heat in the cylinder builds up as there is not enough gas which acts as a sort of lubricant/coolant and in proper proportions burns cooler than a lean mixture. An extremely rich engine with masses of unburned fuel will wash the oil off the cyl walls causing loss of compression and scoring of the cyl walls and burned rings. I run a Ford Racing truck and getting cooler air into the intake of the supercharger can boost the HP over 30 percent . Hope this helps you understand rich/lean a little better  |
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Post by smacky on Jun 14, 2005 1:19:59 GMT -5
my post wasn't for myself, i definitely don't know as much as you three about this stuff, but i did know the answers to all the questions i posted. chanito wants all the faq's put on this thread, as to make a central database for such questions. in the future i will only post questions that i need answering instead of trying to help the community by posting previous posted, or possible faq's that others might have questions about. |
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 14, 2005 9:03:16 GMT -5
Wow, I really fell for that one.....(sheepishly leaves thread)
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 14, 2005 9:17:44 GMT -5
19.-Q:Wow! the European engine is a four valve fuel injected engine, does it blow the American Ruckus off? A: No, it does not, the design of the head was oriented toward fuel saving, and the throttle of the air flow sensor is only 15mm, plus it has a restrictive catalytic converter/muffler. That said the potential of this engine is amazing, the head should be a direct bolt on, the cam is similar to the one in the ruckus, it only has two lobes and actuates the valves thru very weird looking rocker arms, the ports are Siamese that means that one port in the head becomes two by the time it reaches the valves, so the manifolds from the ruckus should fit (i just can imagine the four valve head with our carb and muffler, plus the Dandy Dan approved H.O. cam), that should fly Do you know for sure that the H.O. cam will work or it is just close so it might work? If is really is fully compatable I'd work on getting one. It's something we gotta look into. |
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Post by chanito on Jun 14, 2005 20:50:49 GMT -5
 Smacky, i thank you for your interest on this forum, and for posting question that might interest the forum, so please do not stop posting questions if you think we are missing them, also it would be great if you can post your own answers, because maybe you can make people understand certain topics better, also if you have a different opinion than the one here go ahead and post yours, and we can talk about it and get an interchange of opinions. Dandy Dan, i like you, think is something worth looking into it, however this is one of those things i have heard about, and seen the pictures (the cams look identical), BUT i have not find the specs for the 4 valve cam to compare it to the one we have, i will keep looking (i will probably end up ordering an Italian shop manual), as soon as i can confirm it i will post my finds here
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 14, 2005 22:45:23 GMT -5
Where have you seen pics? Do you know of any italian sites that have an online 'microfiche' like Ronayers.com? There was someone on this board a few mths back that had a restricted euro Zoomer but I don't think it was the 4 valve. Perhaps someone will join this site with a fuel injected Ruckus.
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Post by Dandy Dan on Jun 15, 2005 14:29:38 GMT -5
I've put some more thought into the 4 valve head and I'm come up with potentail hang ups.
1) There is a nipple going into the intake port that goes to the carb or airbox or something on our machine. Does the F.I. Ruckus use this port for anything? If not we'd have to drill one and press a nipple in which complicates things.
2) Our Piston has pretty deep cutouts for our 2 valves. With a 4 valve head these valves wouldn't line up with the cutouts. As a result they may hit the piston or it may just mess things up. Perhaps the valves are smaller and might fit though.....
Do you think this head would even flow better than a heavily ported 2 valve head? We may be able to come close just by doing a severe porting job which would be cheaper (if you do it yourself). New 2 valve heads are 98$ US so the euro head should be around that plus tax, shipping and any import charges if you can even find someone who'll sell it to us.
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Post by chanito on Jun 15, 2005 22:16:48 GMT -5
This is kind of touchy, The nipple you are talking about is vacuum source for the pair valve, you can opt to eliminate the pair altogether, or drill and tap the head for a 1/8 fitting (very easy), or just epoxy a fitting A while back the Italian magazine motociclismo run an article on the ruckus and they had some nice pictures of the engine and "looks" like the European zoomer uses the pair valve, so in any case it might not be an issue. The piston will have to be replace, but i thought of that as a great excuse to bore out the engine (now we have to convince Wiseco to make us the pistons ) The last part is the most tricky, so i will try to explain it the best i can, when a valve opens the area between the valve face and the valve seat is call the curtain, this area is where the flow occurs, the funny thing is that the curtain from two small valves is larger than one from one big valve, but you can make one ported 2 valve head flow better than an unported 4 valve head, but not more than a ported 4 valve head, the bummer is that all of this is just speculation and water bottle talk until we get the facts, so far i can not even get the measurement of the us ruckus cam (like bearing face diameters and cam length), we might have to get your stock cam and measure it and buy one from overseas to confirm our suspicions
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