My Ruckus lives again...

[suprtek]

For reasons I won't go in to, I've not posted here or ridden my Ruckus for many years. My son was the last to ride it before it was stored over 10 years ago. It had about 8500 miles at the time. I bought it new in late 2005. It is a 2006 machine. Sadly, I did not prepare it properly for storage at all. The kickstart mechanism was damaged and the battery had been dead a long time before it was put away. Last weekend I decided to dig it out of the shed just to see if there was anything left worth working with. I always used Royal Purple oil and it was changed shortly before storing it so I just checked the level and made sure nothing felt locked up. I also checked the coolant and cleaned the air filter. There was still liquid gas in the tank but not a lot. I just put fresh gas on top of it (yes, I know I should have drained it). I removed the drive cover to eliminate the kickstarter problem temporarily. I am amazed and proud to report that all I did after that was connect a jump box and after about 20 seconds of cranking it fired up and ran just fine! After the initial hard start, it has started immediately every time since. I checked all the lights, aired up the tires and took it out for a spin. I can also report that it seems just as capable as it ever was. It still gets to its top end of about 37 (its completely stock) even though I now weigh significantly more than the last time I rode it. I've since replaced the battery and repaired the kickstarter. It still needs cleaned up some more but I can't say enough about how good this machine has to be in order to be treated so badly and still perform almost like new with very little work. I'm now shopping for new tires and an upgraded rear shock. This thing has a lot of miles left.

[suprtek]

Wow. I know I was away from the forum for a long time myself but its kinda sad to see how slow things have gotten here.

[suprtek]

Well, new Kenda tires installed. I went with the same size on the front as the rear. I like the look of the larger tire and don't mind a bit of extra height. Also found a shock from an elite80 on ebay for 35 bucks and got that installed too. I'm a big guy so the extra support is a necessity. It's still running great and feels even better with new tires and rear shock. I'm looking really hard at upgraded springs for the forks too but plan to ride it a bit to see how things go. So far I've only spent about $135 for new tires and a used rear shock. I got the battery for free. The fork springs will be another $60 if I decide to go that route. Seems more than worth it to me considering the resale prices on these things are pretty much what I paid for it new in 2005. Looking forward to putting some more miles on it.

[suprtek]

Just went out for another fun ride of about 15 miles or so. I've come to the conclusion that the rough feel of the front end was mainly due to the old tire being way over inflated which also caused the weird tread wear it had. Now that it has properly inflated new tires, the ride is much smoother. I may still upgrade the front fork springs eventually but I'm leaning more towards LED headlight bulbs for my next mod. From what I've read, those bulbs can go a long way towards keeping the battery better charged. If anyone is still reading this, any input about the right bulbs to buy would be appreciated.

[suprtek]

Since the conversation with myself about the new life of my Ruckus has gotten so lively, I'll throw a new subject into the mix. I'm located in Indiana and this state has seen it necessary to recently pass a new law requiring registration and license plates for these vehicles. For some reasons I will present here, I'm making the decision to ignore this law.

-One, I happen to think this new law is just plain dumb.
-Two, it goes against one of the main reasons I bought the thing in the first place in that it costs me nothing to be in storage should I decide not to use
it.
-Three, I removed the license plate holder and threw it away years ago because it hit the fender with every bump due to the original weak shock!
-Four, the likelyhood of getting pulled over is low because I have no plans to drive erratically and traffic enforcement around here is nearly non-existant
due to lack of staffing in law enforcement anyway.

Those are my thoughts on that subject. I'd be interested to hear others.

[suprtek]

I've been accused of talking to myself before but this is getting ridiculous. Are there no Ruckus people with anything to say???

[suprtek]

Guess not...

[G.G.]

I read your story and found it very interesting, of courses there is still Ruckus folks. i just brought a brand new 2024. I think you did great in the revival of your ruckus! I think you should reconsider your plate problem and make it legit. it only make sence to me to plate those thing as i live in Canada and it is the law since forever. It would probably be very cheap to plate it to. Ebay sell plate holder for ruckus. Hope you make it legit and enjoy it for a long time.

[suprtek]

Thanks for taking notice G.G.! Congrats on your brand new Ruck. I respect your opinion regarding the plate issue but I just can't bring myself to do it. You're correct that the cost would be low. That's not what bothers me. What bothers me is the reasoning behind it. They are penalizing law abiding people in an effort to also penalize those breaking the law.

[skuuter]

This Site used to be "THE" Website for Ruckus/Metropolitan info and fun...sadly it got stale, and fizzled to it's current self...I'm a long time Moderator here, and moved on to larger Scooters and Motorcycles...I also started the very first Ruckus Rallies in the Smoky Mountains...well, I'm back with a green/creme colored 2024 Honda Metropolitan Scooter...maybe try to stir new interest here if possible...

[conceptr1]

Just an opinion but just being that the ruckus is a “motor driven vehicle” that goes above 30mph and has all the legal vehicle equipment to be street legal (lighting,turn signals, horn etc) why not register it as a vehicle? All it takes is is 1 “jerk” to see you and hold it against you to make the situation worse.

[suprtek]

Well I've still been riding off and on but not a lot because its still cold here. I finished off that tank of gas though so now its running on new clean fuel. I also decided to replace the drive belt. I had no issues yet but figured at around 17 years old and 8500 miles, not a bad idea. I used a Gates brand belt because I know they are quality products. Had to fab up my own clutch/variator tool to get the nuts off but it wasn't a problem. Pretty basic job. I added an over sized cargo basket to the front because I carry a large lunch cooler to work and want to keep an eye on it. May try to post a pic later. Still considering replacing the headlight bulbs with some lower wattage leds to help the charging system keep up. Although I've had no issues with that either. The non-standard battery I installed seems to be holding up great.

[suprtek]

Nov 23, 2023 5:55:05 GMT -5 skuuter said:

This Site used to be "THE" Website for Ruckus/Metropolitan info and fun...sadly it got stale, and fizzled to it's current self...I'm a long time Moderator here, and moved on to larger Scooters and Motorcycles...I also started the very first Ruckus Rallies in the Smoky Mountains...well, I'm back with a green/creme colored 2024 Honda Metropolitan Scooter...maybe try to stir new interest here if possible...

I like the color scheme on your Metro! I keep having thoughts about changing the look of my Ruckus. I was thinking changing all the white to bedliner. Might be a lot of work to tear it down to do it right. Maybe a winter project.

[suprtek]

Well it seems I'm still just talking to myself but maybe someone will benefit from it someday. My ressurected Ruck is still going strong as if it was never shut down all that time. I've been surprised by the gain in performance from just replacing the drive belt. The old belt did not appear to have any noticeable wear. I measured the width of the old belt and compared it to the new one and noticed almost no difference. However, I seem to have gained 3-4 mph from replacing that belt. Not bad! The only thing I can figure is maybe the old belt was compressing or flexing width wise resulting in it riding lower in the variator. My non-standard battery seemed great for a while but now seems to be failing. It was a used battery to start with that I ran a repair cycle on with a charger I have. I have access to more of the same battery. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to use another one just like it or get a proper standard battery. The factory style batteries don't cost that much so we'll see. When the battery did fail, it kick started very easily which was good to see. I've commuted to work with it multiple times now and had a great time doing it. I'd do it more often if I could but weather is not cooperating.

[suprtek]

On a side note, even though I've had it on the road quite a bit, there's been no hint of any problems due to failing to register it and put a plate on it. If you haven't read the entire thread, its supposed to be required in my state but I'm just a rebel. I really don't anticipate that there will be any issues unless I get stupid and attract negative attention to myself. I also added a large black metal cargo basket to the front. I carry a rather large lunch cooler to work every day and this works well. I eventually plan on fabbing a rear cargo rack and relocating it to the back. I'll probably combine that upgrade to the color change I have in mind.