What is a Variator?

A ruckus has whats called a “CVT” transmission, or “Continuously variable transmission”. This style of transmission has no gears and relies on friction to run through the effective RPM range of the motor. Choosing a Variator can be a little tricky and can result in great or poor performance. Typically CVT transmissions are not good at handling high torque applications, BUT are very efficient and cost effective. Almost all scooters use this style of transmission, whether its a Ruckus, a Buddy, a Vespa, even a lot of ATV’s use this style of transmission.

Being that a CVT transmission has no gears tuning it is done via the variator. The name variator is derived from the “variable” portion of the CVT name. Variators come in all different shapes, sizes, & weights. It really comes down to your style of riding that dictates what will be best for you. To elaborate on that, usually you will be looking for higher torque, or higher top speed, and there is a middle ground if you want to be more in between the two.

If you live in a hilly area a variator that will give you more torque is probably a smarter choice, conversely if you live in pancacke land where everything is flat night as well go for top speed. Now note that some additional tuning can be made in the clutch and clutch spring area as well, but we will leave that for another discussion.

Understanding a Variator

As I mentioned before variators come in all sorts of flavors. But before you go buying a new one first you should understand how a variator works. A variator is composed of three main parts:  A drive face, the backplate, the drive boss and rollers.vari_parts

The variator is always used in conjunction with a “Outer Front Pulley Half” this is the fan looking thing that is at the front of the pulley system, and it has a smooth rear face. This part is affixed to the engine output shaft, as the RPM goes up this is the part that the output shaft rotates, which then rotates the belt and the variator. Look at the following diagram (we are looking at the variator from the side).
front-pulley-half

So what does that do? Well as the output shaft spins faster, the belt is also spinning faster, thus spinning the variator faster. As the variator spins faster the rollers inside begin to move outward, opening the actual variator thus putting more friction on the belt and finally engaging the clutch which then turns the wheel. Lets look at a diagram of a variator to see what happens when the RPM’s go up and down:

As the RPM’s increase the rollers move out pushing the belt higher, causing it put more friction on the clutch. AS it lowers in RPM the belt sits lower reducing then friction on the clutch.
vari

Choosing a Variator

Now, this brings us to actually choosing a variator, before we get into the actual variator there is one other lement that can directly impact variator performance. The heart of a variator are the weights. These are circular (or angled if slider weights) weights that affect how the belt is engaged and at what RPM. Generally speaking lighter weights = higher RPM, heavier weights = higher top speed. Now to twist your mind even more there are two types of weights out there; sliders and rollers.

sloder_vs_roller

So technically the sliders allow the variator to open more givine higher top end, and also allows the variator to close more allowing better take offs. I personally have tried both, and still use rollers. Now I am not everyone and like most things it comes down to preference. On paper the sliders should out perform rollers, but this is not always true. Now some people will mix rollers and sliders, and it is very common to mix different weights as well… like 3 9g rollers and 3 11g rollers for example. This is the poit where you will really need to play with it to get it perfect.

Ok so onto the actual variator itself. So variators come in different diameters, differenc drive face angles, and different materials (some stickier than others). Here is a pic of a few different variators, these particular ones are for a Honda Ruckus 50cc, but all motor apply the same theory.

vari-1

vari-2

So just from looking at these 3 you can immediately see they are all different in 3 ways: diameter, drive face angle and material. Notice the Dorby is more of a matte finish and is actually the largest diameter but the most mellow drive face angle. This particular variator is one of the favorites amongst the 50cc Ruckus crowd. It provides great top end without compromising a ton of low end torque. Now the complete opposite of that is the Daytona Drag. This one is the smallest diameter and has a more aggressive drive face angle. This one I was actually using to mob the hills of San Francisco and its great for that BUT, you lose a little top end.

Tuning a Variator

Tuning can be a somewhat time consuming process but it is well worth the effort you put in. Its the right combination of weights, variator diameter and drive face angle. Which should all be determined by your driving style and conditions. So how do you tell if you have got your variator setup right? Well first of all you will know by riding your bike and keeping a close eye on your speed, and RPM if you have an RPM gauge. But there is an even better way. By simply looking at you variator, this is the most honest feedback you will get from your scooter. The belt always leave a “wear Line” on your variator. That line indicates at top speed where your belt is riding. Ultimately you want that line to be as close to edge of the variator face as possible. if its not, they you need to change some weights. Keep in mind not all variators will let your belt ride all the way to the edge, you need to ride your bike, change some weights, check it, and do it again…

Notice the right variator, you can see the wear line, its not all the way at the edge, however for this variator that was the best it could get after some testing. Keep in mind that just dumping heavier weights in your variator will not make you go faster. There are other factors that can affect this in the clutch, and the variator face angle and diameter.

varis

Hope this helps clean up some confusion, I am not a scientist this is just what I have learned, there are plenty of other resources out there for learning more about variators and transmission tuning.

 
If you have decided to upgrade your front forks and brake to a disk brake system the stock controls will not allow for a master cylinder brake lever to be mounted next to it, as itself has a lever perch built into it. Shaving the stock controls on a Ruckus will accommodate a disk brake lever. Now if Shaving the stock controls sounds scary, you might be tempted to just go buy new controls all together. Going with a whole new control set has more challenges in its self. As you would then have to do some custom wiring as all controls wire up different. In addition the stock controls are really great (in my opinion) so lets get to the grinding.

Here is the necessary tools

  • A dremmel or Grinder (preferred)
  • If using a grinder a 60 grit flap disk
  • Phillips screw driver
  • Paint, I used VHT Wrinkle Plus
  • About 30 mins (shave process)

controls_grinder

First we need to take apart the controls, I’ll leave removing them from the bike up to you, pretty straight forward. You will also need to trim off the notch on the inside of the top potion of the control to use on after market bars, you can see it was already shaved in right control.
controls_screws

so To get the start button removed there is a spring holding it in, use a little flat head screw drive to push it out of the way
controls_springPop

You can push from the bottom of the control also to help release the spring
controls_popspringout

So herewe have the base of the left control, and where we will cut it. For this write up I will be doing the right control, as this is most common because that is your front brake lever position.
controls cut diagram

you want to start on either side cutting in to get rid on the girth of the perch then move to a sanding disk to fine tune. Just really take your time, look ad different angle to make sure your not cutting an area that you shouldn’t be.
controls_cuts

Slowly remove chunks one at a time until you can cut through the perch.
controls_trim

After a bit of sanding we come out with a nice shaved control. Now, I didn’t go into sanding with super fine grit, but you could. I knew I was going to use a thick paint and the sand marks would not show.
Shaving the stock controls

Shaving the stock controls

And after a few coats of VHT Wrinkle and a little heat gun action we have a super clean shaved control.
Shaving the stock controls

One of the best ergonomic changes you can make to your Honda Ruckus is add some foot-pegs or a forward footbar to your ride. Depending on how tall you are you might need some serious leg room to clear your handlebars. Now, the quick and affordable rout is throwing some rear pegs on your bike. Rear pegs will almost always suffice in the sense that they will give you more control, and put you in more of a “motorcycle” riding position. However, personally I am not a big fan of how it makes you look, (tends to look like somewhat like a monkey on a unicycle) and they can tire your knees out, as you are basically in a squatted stance. Don’t get me wrong, pegs are great I ran them for quite some time on one of my bikes, but I moved on for the reasons stated above. Now then, you have a few options you can consider, and it really comes down to your stylistic approach, and where you want your feet positioned. There are a bunch on different options out there for forward foot-bar controls. I have listed a few below. The thing with the foot-bars, is your knees still sit rather high, so if you are tall 6’2 and up you might be really crunched near the handlebars, as your elbows, knees and handlebars all land in the same area. This is where the MNNTHBX PegLegs footbar peg mounts come in.

Foot Bar Options

The following are the top foot bars in my opinion that are out there for the Ruckus. It really comes down to personal preference, height and style. Any of these options are killer:

Dorby Footbar: $200.00
RPRO Monster Kickers: $235.00
RuckHouse Foot Bar: $189.00
MNNTHBX PegLegs: $65.00

They allow your feet to extend past the floor board, and place your feet a good 4-6 inches lower than a foot-bar. The ergonomics are much better. The one drawback to these is that you have to drill two holes in your frame to mount them. Now I’m sure a lot of people hear that and immediately dismiss this product, AS I DID. Well, I decided to give them a chance, and let me tell you I am glad I did. I love them. I am 6’1″ and the position these mounts puts me in is perfect. The install process is very easy so lets briefly walk through it. This is what you get with the basic kit, if you are running a stock floorboard you will want the peg spacers as well. Basically uou get the mounts and four bolts to mount them to your frame. You can see mine are custom powder coated. You can order them either raw (which is what I did) or powder coated “eco black.”

First thing is use the mount as a template to drill your holes. be aware you need to ensure you have at least 1″ of space between the front wheel and the foot mount. Now I didn’t extend mine very far, this was a personal preference, I could have moved the mount probably another inch farther forward for more leg extension.

Next grab your drill, bite your upper lip and drill through your frame. The instructions specify the proper drill bit size.

The hole drilled out

After drilling your holes bolt up the mount with the provided hardware. Look close at the mounts as they are side specific.

You’ll notice my mount is about .5″ from the top, of the frame lip. This was not intentional (luckily it worked out ok), just besure when you start drilling you drill straight, the frame is angled slightly and my drill walked a bit causing this. no biggie thank god

Now that you got them all mounted up just need some standard pegs to bolt on and you are off. I have listed some peg options here, I went with the Killer Scooter pegs, they look sick, and bolt up flush with the corner radius of this mount.

So you have decided to swap out the motor on your Honda Ruckus eh. Well for a lot of us, one of the most important aspects is the rear wheel. What I mean by that is, are we running some chubby, fatty sickness back there? If so the stock axle in a GY6 motor will not work. We need a shorter axle, which when paired with a properly offset fatty rear (7″-8″ Wide), our wheel will be centered.

This is where installing a short axle in a GY6 comes in. For most people swapping their ruck this is a must. So I’m going to walk you through how to correctly change out the axe. I know what you are thinking, “man this does not look easy, I need to open up the motor case….” Trust me, its one of the easiest things you will do.

Things you need for this job:

Here is the basic tools and parts you’ll need to get the job done. Now, depending on how careful you are, its not always necessary to replace the gasket.

  • Time: 30 Minutes
  • 10mm, 8mm socket
  • Impact gun, or lots of elbow grease
  • GY6 Short Axle
  • Gear Oil 75w-90w, bought mine at O’reilly auto Supply
  • Replacement Gasket: Gasket Kit

First you will need to remove the CVT cover on your GY6, This is held on by 10 8mm bolts. (you dont have to remove the kickstarter)

One the CVT cover is removed, you will see two big disk looking things, one is the variatior (toward the head of the motor), and the other is clutch(towards the rear), you will need to remove the clutch. The easiest way to get this off is with an impact gun, they are usually cranked on from the factory.

Next, and this is important or you will end up covered in oil, you need to drain the gear oil.

Now, with the oil safely drained, you see the axle and theres are 7 bolts that need to be removed and then you can open the case. Now I highly suggest you replace the gasket, chances are its going to break, so be prepared and have another handy.

With all the screws removed carefully lift the transmission cover up. ( in this picture I had already remove the gasket and yes mine tore)

Now we need to remove the TWO gears and then pull out the axle

The axle should slide right out with ease

Next we do everything in reverse, tighten up the case with hopefully a new gasket and fill up the tranny with new oil. Fill it until the oil is just about to overflow from the inlet( the oil goes in the same hole you drained it from.

Thats it, now your ruckus is fatty ready all you need is a mount and wheel and your off and running.

 

One of the easiest ways to set your Ruckus apart from the rest is Installing a custom seat cover on your ride. I know it seems intimidating having to temporarily become an upholster, but honestly it’s not that bad.

Things you need when installing a custom seat cover

  • Time: 30 Minutes
  • Small flat head screwdriver
  • Needle Nose Pliers
  • Electric staple gun I used this one Ace Staple gun
  • Seat Cover: HT-MOTO is a great place to get them, and affordable @ $55.00

I have never had to do any sort of upholstery work, and I found this to be a very easy job. All the custom seat covers out there are already built to form fit the foam on the seat. So really its just a matter of laying it on top, getting it straight, and start blasting some staples in it. Good thing with this is if you make a mistake, its all good, just remove some staples and add some more once you re-align the cover

My tools:

My custom seat cover thanks to “Ruckr” on total ruckus, who makes amazing covers in an assortment of colors and fabrics:

First Grab your screw driver and go around the seat prying the staples up, you dont have to get them all the way out quite yet, as thats what the pliers are for:

After you have pulled off the staples with the pliers you can see the cover will just fall off:

Next Eyeball up the new cover and start stapling it on. Best thing to do is put a staple in the front and the back but not all the way in, as to ‘Tack’ it on, then stretch the center and start from there, going toward the front and back of the seat, along the left & right sides.  As you can see im not perfect, but it doesn’t matter no one is going to see the staples:

Thats really all there is to it, and now you have your super unique seat that will set your bike apart from the rest:

 

The front battery box area of the Honda Ruckus is definitely one of the most distinct characteristics in its appearance. However, on a stock Ruck it is very cluttered, and there is stuff everywhere.

One parts that can greatly clean up the front is getting rid of the stock blinkers and installing blinkers in the battery box. Now, like most people this is a little more tedious a task that just swapping out a couple bulbs.

First if you have not read the post on Relocating The Front Blinkers I recommend reading that first as you most likely will want to cut off the existing blinker arms, dont worry its a actually an easy task. This however is not necessary, but does clean up the front considerably. With this modification you will need to purchase an electronic flasher (a.k.a Led flasher) to replace the stock flasher unit, as these bulbs dont generate enough current to trigger the stock flasher unit, I have used both of the units I lit and both are great. The Grote still makes the ‘click’ sound, and the “Custom LED” does not.

Some Light options and Flasher Relays:

Light Bulb Options:

Flasher Relay Options:

As you can tell there is lots of options, you can find all sorts of flush mount blinkers on eBay. Personally I love the Kijima Blinkers, they have a great nostalgic styling to them, and fit great. I have listed a few relay options, the 552 flasher is obviously the cheapest, but if you decide to go full led (front and back blinkers) the 552 will not work as it needs a higher current to trigger it than an led can produce, thus the electronic flashers above.

Installation is very easy, you first need to remove the back portion of the battery box(larger side) wich comes off with 4 screws. Now take apart one of the flasher so you are left with the bulb in the rubber cup.

Then you need to mark out where you want them, and then drill a hole the same diameter(or slightly smaller ) than rubber deal on the back of the flasher.

Cool now stick the light in the hole (still just the rubber and bulb) and we will now need to use the rubber portion as our guide to drill two smaller holes to secure the bulb with the provided hardware

Now put the light glass on and secure it all together with the new holes you just drilled

You can see here how the light fits in from the backside with the wires running through, and the hardware installed.

Thats it you now need to swap out your old flasher and wire in the new one with the existing wires, and use the existing connections that the old blinkers did and wire the blinkers back up and your done.

So fresh and so clean 🙂

Removal of the stock CVT/kickstart cover, and going to an open face CVT cover has got to be one of the coolest things that you can do to make your ruckus more “tough” looking. I remember the first time i saw this type of mod on a Ruckus I actually didn’t even know it was a ruckus because the bike looked so much more like Chopper. This type of mod is purely aesthetic, and does not do any sort of performance enhancements, except maybe shaving off a tiny bit of weight.

 

CVT Cover options

So you are probably aware of the part on the right side of the motor that has the kick-start lever. This cover basically covers the CVT transmission, and obviously allows you to kickstart the bike if needed. That being said one thing to seriously consider when going to a custom CVT cover is this… How confident are you in your battery? Reason being is once you do this modification to your Ruckus, you no longer have the option of kick starting your bike. For me, this is a very important consideration as i drive my Ruck to work on a daily basis and it needs to start. Luckily my bike always starts and I have no problems, so I decided to go ahead with removing the stock CVT cover.

In my Opinion all of these are sick, but one just really speaks more “custom” to me. I love the Composimo version A LOT, but I didn’t want to spend that much.  Plus I liked the idea of it all being one piece, and the Milling in the center of the MNNTHBX version is just waaay sick, it really gives it a “finished” look. I think the others are great but look a little unfinished to some extent…BUT, this is just my opinion. Installing a custom CVT Cover is a breeze, really all you have to do is remaove the bolts holding the stock cover on ans swap if for the new one!

AK Garage Works CVT Cover:

Composimo “ANkle Biter”

MNNTHBX CVT Cover:

So if you have been following any of my reviews you will see that I previously had a Daytona rear shock and was really pleased. However after a little while (especially because I was going the fatty route) I wanted to get a more adjustable replacement.

Adjustable meaning I wanted control over the ride height of the bike. However, I wanted true adjustability, a shock that has a really wide range of height adjustments. Most spring type of shock allow for only marginal height alterations, thus you need to order a specific height and if its the wrong height for some reason, you gotta send it back and do it all over again.

Now, a lot of shocks out there do have some adjustability, but in essence you are usually adjusting the spring tension on most of the options out there. I had heard of this “Doppler shock”, and a lot of people seemed to like it, especially the heavier folks, like me. I weigh about 210, and I need a shock that can take some punishment while mobbing through the crappy streets of San Francisco on my Ruckus.

After quite a bit of research I really found that for the price the Doppler was a no brainer.  A lot of people veer away from the doppler because they think it wont fit, it sure will. But be aware any tire wider than the stock rear and it will rub pretty bad. Adjustable in ride height from 260mm to about 210mm, and because its air pressure based the ride is just about as good at 210 as it is as 260.

The super rad part is adjusting the pressure to your liking is dead simple. All you need to do is plug in the Doppler Air Pump (sold separately ($54.00), and find what you like.

I have has this on my bike now for about 6 months and I wouldn’t have anything else. When I put my fatty kit on the bike sat too high, no problem let some air out, bam good to go.

Here is the shock on my current setup with a 12″ fatty rear.

The Doppler can be purchased from a number of places, but the best pricing that I have found (and they carry the pump) is at MX-Performance.com

One of the things I really wanted to do away with on my Ruckus was the stock mirrors. They are huge, ugly, and make lane splitting quite a challenge. I searched around for quite some time tying to find exactly what I was looking for. After lots of Ebay scrolling, and web searching I found exactly what I was looking for and they where only $24.00!

Choosing mirrors is not the easiest thing to do, some people are more concerned with functionality and other more concerned with a particular look, functionality aside. For me, mine needed to have a wide view, bar end style, and look sweet. I live in San Francisco and this Ruckus is my daily driver everything that goes on this thing needs to function well.

I really liked all of these mirrors, bu the mini mirrors where to small and the the arm style mirrors where to big. So the CNC nub style ones where my choice, and I love them, great mirror great visibility and the price is just right. I have provided the links above to purchase any of these mirrors but there are other places to buy them as well, just do a quick google search for “bar end mirror.”

The grips in the photo can be found here: CNC Grips

Once you have modified you Honda Ruckus to the point where you needed to remove the stock speedometer, or have just decided you don’t like it, lets look at some replacements. There are a lot of good options out there that range in price size and function, though I will only be mentioning a few.

In my situation as many, I removed my stock front forks and drum brake setup and up graded to an NCY front end. Now, the stock NCY front end kit will in-fact still allow you to use the stock speedometer as it it provides you with a new speedo gear and cable. For me, I had a daytona 5-star wheel and an ATR hub that needed to fit up there, and the stock speedo is a no go in this situation. The reason for this is because in order to center the wheel (with custom spacers) it would not physically allow a gear driven speedo. I did a lot of research and landed on the Veypor VR2. Installing a Veypor VR2 speedometer is actually quite a straight forward process.

Great Speedo Options:

Veypor VR2: $200.00

  • RPM: Yes
  • PC Download: Yes
  • Date/Time: Yes
  • Odometer: Yes
  • Fuel level: NA
  • Trip Computer: Yes

Koso Speedo Tachometer: $170.00

  • RPM: Yes
  • PC Download: No
  • Date/Time: Yes
  • Odometer: No
  • Fuel Level: Yes (with addl parts)
  • Trip Computer: Yes

Daytona Speedo Tachometer Combo:$190.00

  • RPM: Yes
  • PC Download: No
  • Date/Time: Yes
  • Odometer:No
  • Fuel Level yes (with addl Parts)
  • Trip Computer: Yes

I have not listed all the option here, these are the ones that where on the top of my list for consideration. In reality all these are great options, and for the most part they all have the same feature set, just comes down to your taste. I went with the Veypor because the screen is nice and big, the buttons are easy to hit with gloves, and it is full of options, more options than any of the others.

Installation is not all that tough, but can be a little daunting. The instructions actually very good, you just have to actually read them… ;). So lets go through the install.

First, find a place to mount it, I have a Kijima handlebar clamp, and I wanted it to fit snugly in the middle, after a little girding with the Dremmel, fits like a charm.

After that I ran the speedo sensor line down the front forks and mounted it to the back of my brake caliper mount. Now This can be done a number of ways, some prefer mounting it to the back tire, in my opinion its a waste of effort. However, if you do not have a disk brake setup, then going to the rear might be the easiest route, depends on your setup. When mounting the sensor be aware the BUMPY SIDE GOES TOWARDS THE MAGNET.

Next, mount the magnet to the wheel, or in my case I mounted it to the disk rotor. The magnet needs to be within .75″ of the sensor, this is very important. I roughed up the surface on both the rotor and the magnet and used some JB Weld, to secure it down!

Next we off to start wiring the thing up, for this I would remove the whole battery box. This part is actually very easy. I have a picture here illustration the wiring schematic to help. Pretty self explanatory except the RPM wire which we will cover next.


I put the control box in the battery cage, now I have a Ballistic Battery so I have a lot more room than you might if you still have the stock battery. So findig a good home for the unit might just need a little looking around.

So pretty easy right, lets tackle the RPM wire first (the white one) Tere are a lot of opinions out there about this, but I found the most reliable source for this. In your battery box you should have a lone blue/yellow striped wire. If you splice into that bad boy you will have the most solid RPM reading possible. I suggest soldering it on, but you can use the supplied crimps instead.

Boom, done with the RPM wire, next we need power for our Veypor, for this we need a “switched” source. That is a source that only gets power when the key is in the ignition and turned on. So we are going to use the old power lines for the original speedo. Dig into the front out the batter box and find a cluster of wire connectors, there will be like orange, cyan,… a bunch of bright colors. Find the green and the black. These are the ones we are going to use. So the green is NEG and the black is POS. I soldered the green to the black and black to the red wire for the power source.

Give it a test turn your key and it should fire up indicating you did it right (make sure the harness from the control box to the unit is connected). That’s it for the install part next is calibrating the Veypor.

The RPM reading is basically dead on if you used the blue/yellow wire @ around 2000 RPM at idle. So setting up the speedo portion os rather easy. The hardest part is measuring the circumference of the wheel. What I did is mark may tire and mark the ground, then roll the bik until that mark came back around again and marked the ground one more time. Then measure between the two points. For me it was 47.5″ (this is smaller than stock as I have a 90/90-10 front tire).

Now that we have our measurement we need to go into the settings and change the measurement from Metric to Imperial. This does two things shown MPH instead of KPH, and changes the measurement system from mm to inches. Now go into configuration > weight/wheel/Launch. You will enter your weight, the launch sensitivity which I set to 0 or crazy things happen, and then enter the wheel circumference. BUT be aware you need to enter it in tenths. Thus for me 47.5 inches equates to 0475. Bam!, we are done, there are tons of other settings you can go nuts with, as well as setting time and date. Hope you like yours I love mine great purchase and great customer support!!!