Ruckus variator,works great in SA-50

[RedRucker]

Hi there,

Im noob here but not exactly noobie to scooter tunning. any how i was lucky enough to find an areo 50 for sale locally. i went to have a look at it and found it was in decent shape for a 22 year old scoot. the guy i bought it from sold it to me for a little over $100, due to its "electrical problems" (dead battery & either the start switch or the relay/solinoid are bad). any how.... ive been messing w/ my honda ruckus for some time now and had a few spare stock and aftermarket varis laying around and a box 'o weights you wouldnt belive, so out came the mesuring tools . here is what i found. the ruck/met varis will work on an areo. you will need the vari , the backplate for the vari in question (some use a stock ruck/ met backplate) the drive shaft adapter (drive boss?) from the areo. with the KN vari i have in it now i can do about 45 on flats and push 50 with a slight downgrade (45 is pretty scetchy on 2.75 tires .)

i noticed that even a stock ruck /met vari has longer ramps that dont terminate at the top , they just make a smooth transition all the way to the top. this would prob also lead to high top speed.

[noiseguy]

Hey, that's a great tip! Not to mention that those bikes are more current / common.

So is the variator larger in diameter than the original Aero part?

[RedRucker]

Hey, that's a great tip! Not to mention that those bikes are more current / common.

So is the variator larger in diameter than the original Aero part?

dont quote me on it but i do belive the KN im running is a lil bigger than the areo variator i think the stock Ruckus / Metropolitain variator is about the same outside diam.

oh and by the way a good source for these variators, and weights clutch springs, belts...... www.battlescooterstore.com everything you could need for most jap. made scoots. Plus Jason is a great guy to deal with ( i live ten mins from his shop , that dont hurt either )

[scooterwerx]

the ruckus uses an 18mm belt, right? i wonder if the rear drive pulley would be usable for the dio zx trans swap? i know the ruckus belt is much longer that either the aero or dio belt, i do have a box of ruckus motor parts and an aero! time for some experiments!

[losthope]

i believe they use the same size weights.

[RedRucker]

they all use 13X16 rollers. not sure on belt width, didnt really come to mind , it works though. i wanna try some 8.5 gram rollers and eventually some Dr. pulley slider weights in the aero and see if i cant get a little of that wheelie rippin low end it had w/ the stock vari.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Between you two, if you can come up with (and POST!) a shopping list for an SE/05 to Rux+ZX transmission conversion, it belongs in Technical Documents for sure. I know BattleScooters would find a buyer for more of their stuff.

With stronger engines running taller gears, the stock SE/SA variator transmission seems to be a limiting factor, like a 2 or 3-speed transmission. Variate for top end or wheelie take-offs, but it's hard to get both without a sky-high clutch engagement and a lot of slip.

If the lows were lower and the top taller, we could have it all. Or at least we'd have more of it... Whatever "it" 65ccs can deliver.

Maybe talk to Jason and see if this is already known data?

[scooterwerx]

after some measurement, the ruck variator is 5mm larger than the nb50 one. i mocked it up in a pre 94 sa50 case, it hits the starter housing a little, i dont know if it is the same on the nb50 case. the rear driven pulley is weird on the ruckus. its hard to explain, the whole thing comes apart with a snap ring, both halves of the pulley come apart, id have pictures, but my camera is being less than reliable...the whole thing does go onto the driveshaft though, and it appears to be compatible. it is also a few mm larger than the nb50 piece. i need to get a few more things sorted out, and ive heard that the ruckus guys use the driven pulley from a jog/zuma. is it to get rid of the weirdo clutch arrangement?

[sanjuro]

If you want to gear the bike even taller use the Polini variator used for the Honda Ruckus. It is a much wider diameter than the KN. Don't know if the case is tall enough for it though.

[RedRucker]

as far as the areo goes theres TONS of clearance on all sides... now that BSS and a few others dropped there price on the polini , it might be worth a shot. the posh and polini are hard to tell apart thouigh IMO.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Werx you da Man! Inre front pulley clearance: My front case is that weird SE-A half from the Deej. My back half is of course open. Thanks for the measuring.

Remaining issues are belt width/length required to run Rux vario by itself, probably needing a longer boss, too. Things change again if a larger rear pulley is adapted - which would then require an even longer belt(?) to make full use of the wider ratios afforded by the bigger pulleys at both ends.

Finally if RexRuckus could post URLs to the Posh Polini and KN variators, or at least a website to his favorite Scooter Head Shop, we could browse and dream.

Anyone wanna buy a slightly-used Keli?

[scooterwerx]

WOW! thanks for this tip, ruckster, i dont care what they say about you ruckus riders, youz guyz iz alright by me!


well, i had a box full of ruckus engine from my bros ruckus, and therein a variator. it is 5mm larger diameter than my koso variator for the nb50. it barely hit the side of the starter housing, i took .030 off and it fits great. this is a 2003 ruckus, btw, i dont know if there is any difference throughout the years of rucks. the ramp plate is for the 14mm crank of the ruck, and the nb50 is 12mm. i made a ring that pressed in to the ramp plate to take up the difference, you dont have to, im just that way! i actually was unknowingly running my koso like that, it too has the 14mm ramp plate, weird. anyway, all i used from the ruckus was the variator and the ramp plate, the rollers are all the same, the drive boss fits perfectly, and the end result............it is at least 5mph faster on flat ground, i havent taken to the hill country yet, but it is easily 5mph faster. the ramp angles feel like they are slightly steeper, like lighter rollers could be used. the koso variator had more low end punch, but the ruckus variator kicks its * from 15mph on up. with the leo vince sp3, open filter and this thing, 45 easy on flat ground. picks the front end up at 20mph, no problem. anybody want to buy a slightly used koso variator? hahaha thanks ruckus dude!!!

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Werx, are you running the stock Aero belt? If so what happens when it reaches the edge of that 5mm bigger drive face?

Seems to me that a 7mm longer belt would be needed. The Aero pulley boss serves as an adaptor to the thinner Aero crank and fits the ID of the Rux's Vario?

[scooterwerx]

i used the stock belt, the one that was in it was down to 14.05mm, i had a better one that was at 14.98mm, i HAD a good one coming from hondacharlie but it turned out to be a dio belt, 18mm. i marked a radial line on the face with a sharpie, it goes up til about 3mm from the edge. the aero and ruckus variators both share the same ID, its the ID of the drive boss that is larger on the ruck. i used the stock nb50 piece, it seems to be working great.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

That Sharpie trick is a good idea. I wonder if the length of the belt is the limiting factor here. As it rides up the drive face, the driven pulley loop reaches bottom and can go no farther, ya know? A worn belt might actually work better. I'd be concerned that a new 15.5mm belt might be under high tension and be at risk of breaking as a result.

A longer belt would present a new set of issues at take-off - it wouldn't get all the way down toward center on the drive face, but the extra length would allow it to ride all the way at the edge of the 5mm bigger drive face at speed...

Keep us posted?