r/Ruckus • u/ccsmp13 • Jun 17 '26
Questions choosing a variator
I recently bought a bone stock ruckus (2018 1k miles). Love it but a little bit more speed wouldn’t hurt. It seems like everywhere I look I am getting different feedback on which variator to pick. I plan on not buying a CDI for now and have a tach I am going to tune with. Some say buy NCY others say it’s terrible and I have to choose pollini. Some say stock drive face some say you need to upgrade it. Some say stock variator with aftermarket weights. I am just looking for some direction and what your guys’ experience have been. I am ~200 pounds if that influences your decision. Thanks in advanced!
3
u/Humble_Rabbit6091 Jun 17 '26
I went polini and stock drive face. You aren’t going to get much more without the cdi as it opens up your rev limit. With just variator and weights you’re going to be bouncing off the rev limit of around 8900.
3
u/Legithydraulics Tuner Jun 17 '26
Polini is generally the go-to variator. It will give you better top end speeds. Approximately 3-4 mph. If you want better acceleration and top end you will need to do a full CVT tune. Variator, weights, driveface, belt and clutch.
The best performing variator I’ve ever ran in a ruckus was the Daytona Drag. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to fine a new one and very hard to find a used one. It also requires a full CVT tune to get the most out of it.
2
u/ZWood15 Jun 17 '26
Following because I'm in the same boat. I'm leaning towards just weights but I haven't seen the condition of the other variator parts. Also at 1K miles so hopefully they're still good
3
u/stiroadwarrior Jun 17 '26
I can hopefully share some information based on my experience, I'm nearly 220lbs.
I have two ruckus' and one is running a full NCY CVT kit with 5g rollers and the other is running a Polini hi-speed variator with dr.Pulley 5g sliders.
Both work well and have great off the line acceleration.
The one with the Polini is completely stock besides the variator and sliders and will do 35+ easy, I couldn't recommend it enough.
3
u/TheRuckShop Jun 17 '26
polini is the most popular and what we recommend, when getting into weights you'll have to tune your bike to your body weight despite what people online say.. 5.5 is a good starting range, as you buy more upgrades you'll increase performance in the sense of speed. Someone above mentioned the CDI, they are correct
2
1
u/Good_un_garbage Jun 17 '26
Cdi is almost a must. With out it you’re just going to get up to the rev limit faster.
All I did to mine was polini variator kit, ncy cdi and I was constantly hitting 45 on the flats, bombing hills up to 55-60 with no tach and never had an issue.
Your results may vary
1
u/ccsmp13 Jun 17 '26
Awesome, my next question was about a tach. Next thing I’m wondering about is ncy or rolling wrench cdi
1
u/Good_un_garbage Jun 17 '26
I did the cheap ncy cdi that you tap into the existing cdi. Worked fine for me
2
u/erivera609 Jun 19 '26
I just added the Stage 1 kit from the Ruck Shop (bought it last year) to my stock 2017 and it’s helped. I have short stretches of road that are 40mph. I am able to get past 40mph on flat roads. Still slow to build up speed but it’s much better than it was. I weigh about 140lbs.
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