[tooseevee]

     A few years ago I realized that my days of feeling totally safe on the Enfield were over. I came close to losing it a couple of times just getting it out of & back into the garage. So I started deciding on something else to at least keep me on two wheels for a couple more years.

     The Honda Ruckus was what I decided on. A it looks like a little urban assault vehicle way more than the little pastel Chinese scooters that are out there by the millions now. & B Honda's been building them for a long time now & they're about as good as they can get. Like alligators.

      Had to wait 2 1/2 whole seasons for it & luckily it was a 2022 Grey one that came around on the guitar. I wanted either grey or black.

      I've ridden it 2 whole seasons now & I love it. It moves around almost weightlessly for me in & out of and around the garage. All the weight is way lower than the Enfield.

      It's super nimble on the road & the only thing I had to train my brain to is that the small tires react way more quickly than a motorcycle. Even glancing at the mirrors the first few weeks took brain retraining because the Ruckus would react to my eye movement & and lean a tiny bit toward where my eyes were looking.     

       My 1st mod was a side stand (Buzzetti). The leverage to center stand it was all wrong & I was hurting myself getting it up. The side stand fixed that. The one drawback is you can't kickstart it on the side stand.

        The 2nd mad was different mirrors.

       The 3rd mod was to the headlights to give me my own switches. I just could not stand having to ride around with both headlights blazing all the time. And running the battery down. 

       The 4th mod was a set of foot pegs outboard of the "floor". I found the 1st season of riding that I just did not feel right with my feet flat on the floor directly in front of me. I felt off balance all the time especially when having to turn right or left from a stop sign or similar. A simple hardwood dowel & bicycle hand grips solved that problem & the improvement in balance is 100%.

        Another addition was an underseat bag, an absolute necessity if you want to go to Ace Hdwr or the grocery store. You can get quite a bit in this bag.

        35 is easy & it will do 40 on the right road with no headwind. But even blasting around at 25 is fun because of the go-cart effect. It "feels" like you're hauling ass  Lots of grin factor. Plus my only 120 pounds is no strain for this tough little engine.

        One of the most interesting things is that there is absolutely no (zero) "starter sound" with this machine. You press the button & it's just running with no starter motor sound at all. Honda has electronically rigged the alternator to be a starter until the engine is running & then it becomes an alternator. It's almost like it starts by magic.

        The ECU that manages this thing is huge. It's 1/2 of that lump in front of your knees. The other half is battery.

       

[AzCal Retred]

" around on the guitar. " I'll "Arlo" that!    <<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM >>

Great that you found a solution and you are having fun on it. Small displacement is underrated. That starter tech is a side effect of the Hybrid-Vehicle tech revolution, better than the Yamaha AT1 Generator/Starter kludge.

So, you keep any "implements of destruction" in that underseat carry-all bag?

Best Regards - ACR -

[Carl350]

   It’s great you’ve found such a cool bike to enjoy, I really like the Ruckus (called as a Zoomer here & no longer available) for being different, you can’t mistake one for something else!
   I can still manage my bikes but year on year they are getting heavier... it must be extra luggage 😄 I’m all too aware that at some point I’ll have to “down size”! Good to know it’s working OK for you.

  A bit off topic but I didn’t know the silent starter/charger they use & it made me smile.... Dynastarts were dynamo starters used on bike in the 50’s, there’s very little that folks think are new, monoshock was on Vincent’s years ago, upside-down forks are really the right way up! as that’s how they started, I have a 1951 Villiers with “upside-down” forks.....

    Anyway, enjoy that cool ride.

[AzCal Retred]

My brothers neighbor had a 1960's era Massey Ferguson garden tractor with the largest flathead air-cooled single I've ever seen in it. No pull starter, no electric starter, all belt drive. It had a car generator I'd last seen as a sprout in my old 1952 Chevy panel truck. I asked the owner if the generator was also the starter, like the Yamaha's did in the wayback. He smiles and says "That's right!" like I'd discovered something that had impressed him as well. There was a relay block that picked up when the key was in "START" that connects battery (+) & (-) to the generator, motorizing it. It's big enough to spin up that old flathead quite smartly, instantly springing to smoking, clattering life. There's very little that's new under the sun.

[Richard230]

My 1963 Yamaha YD-3 had one of those dyno/starters stuck on the end of the crankshaft. I think they take a lot of amps to get them to rotate and start the engine. It worked well because the bike had such a low compression engine. But I don't think I have heard of a similar system used to start a 4-stroke motorcycle engine.

[AzCal Retred]

C.R. on a flathead is in the 5:1 to maybe 8:1 range. The generator pulley is smaller than the crank pulley and the generator is maybe 8" across and 12" or so long, so lots of leverage. It works fine on that big one-lung flathead.  The gardentractorpullingtips chart refers to a Kohler K341 35.9 cid (or about 600cc) engine with a CR of 7.4:1. All I know is that ancient engine was the biggest flathead "rototiller motor" I've ever seen.

The attached video refers to a 50 cubic inch flathead garden tractor motor, so about 800cc; 1/8th of a small block Chevy 400 CID motor. << https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP9Nw0aJKH8 >>
Single Cylinder Superstock Engine Steady-State Dyno Break-in Test

http://gardentractorpullingtips.com/engspecs.htm

[Richard230]

Here is an electric utility motorbike design (I have my doubts that it has been actually built yet) that reminds me of the Ruckus. (They are probably trolling for investors.) Lots of open space in the frame. But with that small battery, I doubt it will go as far as a Ruckus before running out of juice.  The company claims a 70km range, but I bet that is at a walking speed on level ground and with light leg assistance.    https://thepack.news/id-design-creates-miunik-salt-a-new-urban-mobility-project/

[olhogrider]

I still have the big fat hog but then I weigh 200 pounds so I'm still comfortable with it. I seem to be happiest when I have a variety of bikes and weird projects to tinker on and ride. My latest is a throwback to my youth. The first bike I ever rode was a Honda Trail 70 in 1969. The rest of the world called it the DAX. With the rebirth of so many of Honda's classic bikes, they brought it back as a 125 with a 4 speed semi automatic trans. Unfortunately, they haven't brought it to the US. The reimagined one has a few changes like 12" wheels instead of 10" and a move to EFI. Plus now they cost about $4000.

So what to do? Vintage Trail 70s are selling for as much as $10,000. Nope. There is an alternative. The Chinese clone. And by clone I mean nearly identical. The clone has a 125cc, 4 speed semi automatic and electric as well as a kick start but no ABS and no EFI. A disc brake on the front is the only giveaway that it's not an original. That and the stickers but those are easily replaced. The best selling and highest quality clone is the Icebear Champion. I bought mine from a dealer in New Orleans. It should be here any day. $1500 delivered! That same dealer sells a Ruckus clone but it is the stretched one like all the kids are riding these days and also has a 125 but a GY6. If you're thinking of getting a CT-70 or Ruckus you really should check out Cajun Maddogs. Also for any automatic scooters, Rolling Wrench on Youtube is great! They just did a variator and clutch mod on a Honda Navi that probably should have been done by Honda from the start!

[tooseevee]

I still have the big fat hog but then I weigh 200 pounds so I'm still comfortable with it.

Also for any automatic scooters, Rolling Wrench on Youtube is great! They just did a variator and clutch mod on a Honda Navi that probably should have been done by Honda from the start!

           I've been 120 now for around 2 years & held on to 130 for a long time. As my ability to exercise decreased more and more the past 30 years, the muscle mass disappeared.

            If I ever decide to mod it and I have vowed not to, it will be one of these high tech variator & weight kits. Not for top speed, but for better power delivery like going up a long grade & being able to sustain a given speed (even if it's only 30) all the way up. And also for any increase in 0-30 acceleration. I'd like it to grunt & grab a bit more from a full stop.

[AzCal Retred]

How's that Ruckus working - still stock?    "Fun is where you find it!"

https://ruckhouse.com/en/

https://theruckshop.com/product/trs-honda-ruckus-performance-kit-for-oem-49cc-motor/

https://www.scooterworks.com/Honda-Ruckus-Mods-C373.aspx?s=Name%20ASC&p=1

[tooseevee]

How's that Ruckus working - still stock?    "Fun is where you find it!"

       I haven't even looked at it since I shut it down for the winter & yes, it's still stock except for the new human-controlled light switch, the kick stand & the outboard foot pegs.

         I'm not modding it mechanically at all ever. I'm just going to ride it. The dollars to MPH ratio is way out there on this engine. Any of the roads I've ridden it on so far (2 summers) don't require more than 35 & feels like you're going way faster; go-cart effect.

     I spent way more time modding & tuning on the Enfield than I should have rather than just riding it & $200, $300 or even $400 for 2 or 3 mph on the Ruckus makes no sense. I "may" f*ck with the variator & the two types of rollers; that's quick & easy & doesn't involve anything to do with the ECU (which is HUGE).

      Just doing the first oil change at 103 miles was very difficult; getting the oil strainer cap back on was a son of a bitch. I had to get up off the ground & go back to it twice.