Anyone Have a Honda Ruckus? Problems..

[Geneman]

Hi Peeps. I use this as a pit bike. The bike only has 1600 miles on it.

So it has a problem I cannot solve. Starts and runs fine: starter seems strong...Runs fine. then 10-15 min later simply dies while running. ( WHEREVER I AM..) . no correlation with hitting a bump and dislodging anything like a ground wire or something. (Plenty of gas). Then , when I try to start, it turns over well but does not catch...seems no spark at all. ( Throttle does not help). Of course brake lever held in for the safety switch.

I had this problem two weeks ago and I went all out: carb removed and cleaned, new spark plug, new Yuasa Battery ( the old one was original so at end of its lifespan) ( the new battery is a good one… 130 bucks straight from the dealer. No china crap). Cleaned all terminals. Checked fuel pump and added new filter.

I checked the stator on a multimeter… it increased a few volts with throttle when bike running so seems ok ( dealer told me these very rarely go bad).

My first thought was the stator not charging the battery, so the coil was being fired by the battery, which eventually wore down the battery ….. but the battery seems strong ( and iis new) and stator seems ok. Plus. immeditaely after it dies, the bike still cranks strong but does not catch. so does not seem to be the battery or starting circuit.

I did not replace any of the relays. All the fuses are good.

Ignition switch short? heat induced ground / wire disruption. ( this does not seem to be true as next day , still cranks but no fire)

Any thoughts? running out of ideas here and loath to take it to the stealer...

(I cannot find a Ruckus Internet Board to ask this q as robust as Pelican.. )

Thanks for looking. Frank

[john70t]

There are two roads: Gas and Spark.

If the tailpipe smells like gas after kicking over, that won't be it, unless it's completely flooding.
(It would at least try to burp a few times)

First recharge battery while disconnected. Should be 12.4-12.6V minimum after surface charge is bled off. Ground to battery good.
All wires and connections should be tight.
All fuses not blown.
Check voltage (or continuity when off?) of clutch safety switch. Open vs pulled. Switches usually click audibly. Might need adjusting.
Use a spark tester on a plug wire grounded to the frame and watch for spark.
Coil may have gone out. Check continuity of primary and secondary windings per book specs.
12V supply voltage to the coil is there as well?
Go upstream to the points or electronic ignition. whatever it uses.

An engine will run on battery alone for a while. Battery voltage is easy to check. Off/On/Running.

[stevej37]

I would also try asking the same question on here...if you haven't already.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-ruckus-scooters-126/

[908/930]

Likely has a fuel filter in the gas tank check or change it.

[Tim Hancock]

Is the fuel cap vent plugged or if switchable is it closed? Running fine for a bit then dying is a classic symptom of a plugged fuel vent.

[Crowbob]

Intake valve is too tight.

There are shims for it.

Pictures and a description have been posted in tech on www.battlescooter.com

The valve shims are the same on all newer Hondas. I used shims I had from my CBR. The Ruckus is very easy. The shim sits on top of the valve but has no bucket over top like big bikes and cars. Shims are the best and really easy to learn. It just takes time and you need to write down all your clearances and shims #s on a chart or grid paper. With the Ruckus it's only two valves and you don't need to remove the camshaft. If you want you could go to the dealer and trial and error shims in the parking lot until the clearance is correct. Below is the real way.

Please read this part!!!!! I'm not real good at explaining stuff as you may know. So.. experienced people please PM me to help talior my explaination. I will delete any other posting giving other ways to check valves. I want simple layman input also. If this doesn't make sense to you new mechanics please just post replies and I'll answer and taylor the explaination. This is why I don't have this on battlescooter, I need help to make it as clear and exact as possible. A valve adjust is very simple and even more so on the Ruckus. Any one who can build with legos can do it. I'm sure I left something out. So please help me out and then together we can help others

Valve check----------------------below

1-the engine must be dead cold, do the adjust after a good night of rest.

2-I guess the valve adjust needs pictures. I'll get some on
battlescooter ASAP.

3-valve clearance
intake-.004in or .10mm
exhaust-.007in or .19mm


Find top dead center-remove the spark plug and slowly rotate the engine buy hand until air pushes out, use a pencil to feel when the piston is at the top.

Remove the valve cover-check to make sure the cam lobes are at the lowest point, not pushing on the valves.

Measure clearance-use a feeler gauge to check the clearance. Find out the max gauge that will fit and the one that just barely drags.

Compare-subtract to find the gauge that is between the two you came up with. Compare that number with the recommended clearance(aways use the number in the middle, the book gives you a min and max).

Remove the shim-the Ruckus is a snap. You can slide the rocker arm to the side or push down with a finger on the valve while holding a magnetic pen near or on the shim. It will pop out on the magnet. Read the number and write that number and the valve it came from. Do the same on the other valve.

Select a shim-the shims are marked like 218 or 198, that's .218 or .198. So then add or subtract from that shim number to make your clearance correct.

Pop in the new shim, check the clearance. If it's correct your done! If it's not correct go to the next shim size and check again. If it's perfect button it up and ride like the wind :P
Last Edit: Jun 12, 2006 at 9:40am by Dandy Dan

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Is the fuel cap vent plugged or if switchable is it closed? Running fine for a bit then dying is a classic symptom of a plugged fuel vent.

That was my first thought too.

[porsche tech]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Is the fuel cap vent plugged or if switchable is it closed? Running fine for a bit then dying is a classic symptom of a plugged fuel vent.

Or is a fuel line too close to something hot (exhaust) causing a vapor lock. I remember the 914 fuel filter being next to the right heater valve under the car and when the heat was turned off in hot summer weather, it would blow the heat right onto the fuel filter. Vapor lock was not uncommon on those. Maybe vapor lock.

[LWJ]

Does it have a solidstate ignition? Could that heat up and fail? I know you mentioned the stator. I have a two stroke husqvarna with a stator and a solidstate CDI.

[Geneman]

Hi Friends. well it was short just below and behind the ig switch. one of those cheap quick splicy things where three wires go thru a small plastic block then you squeeze it together ... wtf... unfriggin believable. apologies for wasting the brain trust time!��. time to get back to not so perfect wimmins! cheers frank

[Bill Douglas]

Pleased it's sorted. A fun bike like a ruckus needs to be in going order all the time

[porsche tech]

At least it was a simple fix. Glad you found it quickly.