Aftermarket pistons HELP!!

[wonderslicer]

DD, if you fit together all the parts you rplace from your Ruckus as you go, by the end you'll have a new one. Ruckus mitosis!

[Dandy Dan]

Yeah that is the plan....the joke around my place is that my bro wants to build a Ruckus so he's always asking if I've got the parts for him to begin assembling yet.

[chanito]

I run out of nail to bite waiting for DD update
And now i REALLY need to meet the Future Mrs DD

[Dandy Dan]

Well I must apoligize again...my #1 goal for this weekend was to take a lot of fresh pics of the Lorax and all the latest parts I've put on him and upload the Mrs. DD pic as well but my parents where out of town with the Digital camera and so I couldn't take the pics and forgot to upload the future wife pics too....my apologies...I have a good pic of her on my computer I just forgot to upload it and now I can't do it for another weekend. I'm sorry.

Regarding the big bore...I don't really have much to update because I spent Saturday morning making a few variator tools and then I was out of time and had to go do some wedding planning. The only thing I got done big bore related was some more run timing. The Lorax continues to accelerate like a Cheetah and I was clicking off 0-30mph times in 6.5 - 6.75 seconds all weekend. I amazed how consistantly it's performing because I haven't done a run slower than 7.03 yet regardless of minor factors like temperature, slight slopes and medium winds.

Another performance measurement that really showcases the difference of the big bore piston is my 0-40mph times. As you can see below, my stock 2006 accelerated up to 40mph in about 22-24 seconds:


Then with the Yosh, the cam, the Polini etc. I was able to drop that time from the low 20's down to about 19 seconds. A nice improvement for sure but nothing like the big bore piston made. A typical 0-40mph with the big bore piston is about 14-15 seconds which is a good 5 seconds faster than ever which is a huge difference. It's really the difference between keeping up with traffic and lagging behind. With the big bore piston my Ruckus is significantly more fun to drive. I snarl away from traffic lights usually ahead of any cars all the way up to 40mph now. I still need to work on my top end jetting because I didn't have chance to do that yet and my Ruckus kinda dies out about 42mph and it does make it 45mph but if it's windy or something it struggles and I know it's got the potential to hold 45mph in hurricane conditions so I just need to dial it in. Also, my parents got a new computer (a Mac) but they haven't installed Windows on it yet so I'm not able to upload my Veypor results right now. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I'm able to use that program again so I can deliver more graphs. I have some sweet runs saved on my Veypor but I can't upload them right now.

[timberwolfmadcat]

HOTNESS!!! My piston arrived and i had to look at it....
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Shinyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyb OOOOHHHHH

[chanito]

:)glad you liked, now please install it it so we can get more people feedback ;D ;D

[Dandy Dan]

timberwolfmadcat said:

HOTNESS!!! My piston arrived and i had to look at it....
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Shinyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyb OOOOHHHHH

Yeah they are total sex panthers. I'm regretting not taking a pic before I installed mine. Save yourself the agony and take some sweet pics and then pop that in and enjoy the Eutopia. The great thing about the piston is that it increases your potential power so much that even with poor jetting you'll be faster than ever.

Chanito: Have you tried a bigger slow jet yet? My 42 slow jet has been working amazing. 42/90 was great 0-25mph but it was too rich above that and 42/85 is great up to about 35mph but still rich above that so I'm hoping 42/83 is gonna be the ticket this coming weekend.

It's great to have a long weekend because I'm gonna finish the big bore jetting, snap a billion pics, upload the Mrs. Durston pic and a few other things. I think the LED tail light is still a month away because I'm waiting for white LEDs for my licence plate and I'm getting married in 3 weeks and then off on a Honeymoon. I don't have a single class during the afternoon though so I'll have lots of Ruckus time come September. I've been a Ruckus owner for over 2 years and I still get all excited when I think about it. My Ruckus has been looking so good lately and I've got some sweet new riding gear (Quiksilver flip flops, O'neal thin fall jacket, etc) so I'll be cruising in style.

[Dandy Dan]

Have I ever mentioned that with the big bore piston my Ruckus does 0-20mph in 2.5 seconds every time? I've never recorded a run outside of 2.4-2.6 seconds yet. If I didn't have the wheelbase extension and I cheated just a wee little bit, I bet I could do a wheelie off the line.

[dano1]

I know it's still early and you "big bore guys" are still sorting out the jetting, but keep us up to date with changes to your gas mileage.

I'm quite sure a posted picture of a big bore kitted Ruckus doing a wheelie would be a very compelling sales pitch.

[Dandy Dan]

Well like I said before, my 42/90 setup was very rich on the top end but I only managed 91kms before the gas light came on (55 miles) which is terrible considering I normally get 140-160kms (85-100 miles). Then I switched to a 42/85 setup which is still rich but better and so far I've got 120kms and counting, so already I've gained most of it back. I imagine with a 42/83 setup my milage will be totally back. With any other engine mod I've made, my fuel economy went to crap when the carb was way off but I've always been able to tune it and get that milage back and sometimes even more. My record for a tank of gas (full to gas light coming on) is 200kms (120miles) which was done with an opened intake and the H.O. cam. I ran that tank almost dry and got over 250kms on it (150+ miles).

[8chpl]

Hey Dan, iI knew some Durstons in Wallaceburg Ontario in the '60's. Would you be related?

[Dandy Dan]

Nah...probably not. My dad is from Manitoba and we just moved to Ontario about 10 years ago.

Here's my latest big bore piston results. I could use a slightly bigger slow jet (45) because now that my main jet is down to an 82 it's a little lean off the line but that's minor considering it's mega fast across the board otherwise.

Stock 2003 Ruckus:
0-30 mph = 12-15 seconds
0-40 mph = n/a
Top Speed = 37 mph (power limited)

Stock 2006 Ruckus:
0-30 mph = 8.5-9 seconds
0-40 mph = 22-24 seconds
Top Speed = 42.5mph (tuck)

06 Fully Mod'd w/o Big Bore (cam, intake, variator, Yosh)
0-30 mph = 7.6-8.2 seconds
0-40 mph = 20 seconds
Top Speed = 40mph sitting up, 45mph (redline limited) in a tuck

Big Bore with 42/90 Jetting:
0-30 mph = 6.5 seconds
0-40 mph = 15 seconds (wow!)
Top Speed = 40mph sitting up, 45mph (redline limited) in a tuck

This setup was great on the low end but it was rich above 20mph and the top end was poor and I only got 60miles on a tank before the gas light came on.

Big Bore with 42/85 Jetting:
0-30 mph = 6.5 seconds
0-40 mph = 14.5 seconds
Top Speed = 42mph sitting up, 45mph (redline limited) in a tuck

This setup was perfect 0-35 mph but still rich on the top end. I gained a few mph and got 80 miles before my gas light came on but it was still rich up top

Big Bore with 42/82 Jetting:
0-30 mph = 7 seconds
0-40 mph = 13.5 seconds (astounding!!!!!)
Top Speed = 45 mph sitting up, part throttle (redline limited)

This setup is a hair lean off the line, it doesn't stumble or anything but it doesn't have quite as much bite. I lose about 0.5 seconds 0-10mph and then it runs awesome 10-30 mph keeping pace with the other jetting setups. Above 30 mph it runs flawlessly and more than regains that 0.5 second 0-30mph deficit (which it lost 0-10mph) and reaches 40mph is a pants pissing 13.5 seconds. That's almost twice as fast as a stock 2006. From there it continues to accelerate and hits 45mph in just under 20 seconds at which point it hits the redline. I can then cruise at that speed sitting upright at about 2/3 throttle if there's no wind or at full throttle on a windy day. It's really nice to be able to hit the redline without tucking. Oh, and my gas milage is totally back to 90-100 miles before the gas light comes on.

This mod has been so satisfying compared to all other performance mods which may make a small difference but leave you wanting more. It feels like a totally different bike 30-40mph.

My plans for the future include a stroker crank (to take me up to about 65cc) and Metro gears. I'm hoping the crank happens next summer and the Metro gears will happen this winter. With the Metro gears I'll be redlining around 53mph instead of 45mph and I should be able to get up to about 50mph without tucking in good conditions and easily hit 53mph in a tuck.

[Dandy Dan]

Here's a rare glimpse of the worlds fastest Ruckus with stock motor:

[chanito]

I wonder when more people will install theirs, i sold ten already and only DD and mine are running

[rucktune]

Jason/Abe at the newly opened Battlescooter Store could offer some sort of package including the piston, variator, etc ... that would be nice!

[Dandy Dan]

chanito said:

I wonder when more people will install theirs, i sold ten already and only DD and mine are running

I guess the rest of their engines below up

Seriously, it is a bit of a daunting job if you've never rebuilt an engine before. Once you're in there you realize it's not that bad but when you first start taking stuff apart you do kinda wonder if you're ever gonna get it back together. Anyways, great to hear that you've sold ten (24 minus 10 minus 1 for you = 13 left?). I've been spreading the word everywhere I go. I do hope no one else bothers to install theirs because I figure I'm faster than you since mine's an 06 with the cam and Yosh and a billion other things (and I'm lighter) so I'd like to hold on to the title as the worlds fastest stock block Ruckus for as long as I can although that dude in the UK with nitrous will give me giving me a good run for my money if he can sort out his F.I. system woes.

[Dandy Dan]

rucktune said:

Jason/Abe at the newly opened Battlescooter Store could offer some sort of package including the piston, variator, etc ... that would be nice!

A package would be cool except it would be hard to put together something that works for everyone because a lot of people are choosing the Polini variator over the Daytona one they sell etc. If Battlescooter can become a Polini, Kitaco, Daytona and Malossi dealer then they could offer you a choice of variators. Even then a package wouldn't likely happen because Battlescooter hasn't been a part of the piston project. Jason (owner) has always felt that doing an overbore piston is not a worthwhile mod unless you are gonna do bigger valves at the same time and that's a major job so he likely wouldn't sell more than 1 or 2.

Now that the pistons are clearly a success he might reconsider but that would be tough because Chanito could likely get a future run of piston made for cheaper because Wiseco has already done the R&D work with him whereas Battlescooter would probably have to pay top dollar like Chanito did for their first run. I think what it really comes down to is that Battlescooter is just too busy right now to be working on new projects like this so they need to happen at more of a grassroots level.

Performance parts for our 4-stroke engine are quite expensive compared to 2-stroke parts but people are willing to pay it if it makes a real difference like the piston does. I'd really like to see the day when a stroker crank is available too because that could be installed at the same time as the piston so no extra labour would be required and you'd almost double the difference. The piston takes you from 49.4cc to 58.1cc (8.7cc gain) and the piston plus the stroker crank would take you up to about 64cc (almost 15cc gain).

Perhaps if Chanito has the time he will update his website (ChanitoMotor.com) and get the piston on there and have it so you can buy it directly from there. Then maybe someday if the stroker crank happens, a piston/crank package will become available. I'd guess you're looking at about $499+ for that package though.

[ZOOMER46]

do you think that chanito or yourself,could offer a package service to people to
do the complete piston conversion.
maybe if they sent you their complete engine and you stripped it down,
got it bored out and piston fitted,
then re-assembled it,
and shipped it back to them.

or even if they sent you a the stripped engine and you did the
boring and piston on their behalf.
work out a price
,i'm sure their are only a handful of people
on these site's who can currently re-assemble the rucky engine and are
maybe too scared to do the whole job by themselves?

didnt you say dan that you were going to be out of your current job soon?
maybe a possible income for you guys,who know exactly what to do.

and stickers look great btw..

[Dandy Dan]

If someone really wanted it, I'd do that for them but it wouldn't be that cheap and the turn around time would be slow.

If someone sent me a stripped engine case I would need about 2 weeks with it to get it bored out because the shop that I take it to is pretty backed up normally. My cost for the boring/honing work is $117.42 including all taxes etc. so I'd charge $199 for the work because it's quite a bit of running around for me. Then the client would need to pay the shipping cost back to them which would probably be about $30.

If someone wanted to send me their entire engine, the shipping costs would be even more ($50?) and I'd charge an extra $100 for the disassemble/reassemble work.

So in summary:

Complete engine rebuild: $117(boring/honing), $182 labour, $50 shipping back to you = $349 total (Canadian) or $309 USD plus you'd need to buy the piston kit still so you'd be looking at about $600 USD total and you'd need to spend an hour or two removing the engine from your frame.

Stripped Case: $117 (boring/honing) + $82 labour + $30-$40 shipping

[chanito]

I have so many things going on, it will take forever to return the engine back to the customer, that is why the idea of a crate engine sounded so good to me, i could put it together on my free time and just shipped to who ever wanted it, but most people will like his own engine back, and it makes sense So i did not go forward with it