Replacement Engine cost

[keith]

I'm trying to buy an '03 Ruckus from a sealed bid Police auction. The unit does not have a key so I will not be able to even hear it run, much less ride it before I buy it. In the worst case scenario, what will a replacement engine cost? Are there other "biggies" I need to be concerned about? The unit only has 2800 miles on it and appears to have been fairly well taken care. At least no big cosmetic defects. However, it is a theft/recovery unit and there is no telling how it was driven after stolen. The local Honda dealer says $106 for the ignition and helmet lock assembly. Does that sound about right? Thanks for your input. Keith

[Dandy Dan]

Good luck with the auction...About the key, since you don't have the key or know what the number is the dealer will need to open up the ignition and check the number in there. Don't let the Honda dealer put a new ignition and helmet lock in unless they are actually destroyed, just get a replacement key.

About potential problems with it, I wouldn't really worry about how it was driven so much as how it was maintained. Most Ruckus's are driven at full throttle 90% of the time and they are meant to be driven this way so you can't really drive it too hard. Do you know how long it was stolen for? It's unlikely the theif changed the oil so if it's been stolen for most of the 2800miles it may be needing one badly.

Actual potential problems with it are fairly few, the drive unit (inside the case on the left side) has several parts that do wear out but at 2800 miles you should still be fine until maybe 5000miles. There are some weights in there they do wear down and they like to be changed every 5000miles or so. Anything that might be wrong in this area isn't a huge deal as it's easy to fix and all the parts should be under 25$. I imagine nothing's wrong here though.

The most major thing that could be wrong with it is that the crankshaft bearings could be gone. This would result in kind of a metallic whirring/grinding noise that gets louder as you speed up. A new crankshaft is about 82$ US and there's some info on here about how to change it but it is a lot of work. My crankshaft bearings went at about 12,000miles so you should still be fine.

I'd say that less than 1000$ is a good price for this Ruckus if it looks okay. If it's over a grand you could buy another one that you'd be able to test out first. Are you allowed to poke around with the bike? If so, try out the kickstarter, make sure things seem normal. If you can hear grinding with this then there will be major problems later. Also, pull the dipstick and see if there's enough oil in there, that it's not grey (water in oil) and it doesn't look majorly old. There's also a bolt at the front of the engine you could pull but you'd have to drain the oil first. Inside this is a screen that filters the oil. If you check this and see metallic flakes then that indicated a major problem so steer clear.

If you do need a new ignition because the old one is damaged then still get them to check the # on it so they can buy a new one that lines up with the helmet lock and GAS CAP (did they mention this?) so you only need to replace the ignition. To check and see if the prices they are quoted you are fair go to RonAyers.com and then OEM Parts -> Online Microfiche -> Honda -> NPS50 -> 2003 Ruckus and find the part. They've got all the official prices on there and that's what your dealer should be charging.

Oh, for a replacement engine you are looking at about 300$ for a used one. They pop up on ebay once in a while and I know a guy who'll have one for sale soon.

[zoomerman]

Are the ignition wires hanging out ? Maybe someone here could tell you which ones to join to make it go. I suppose you turned over the motor with the kick-start to see if the engine is seized ? And checked the oil.

The ignition price seems right to me.

Regarding abuse by the robber, it's pretty hard to abuse these things, you could do a big brakestand which could overheat the motor, or you could jump it. Have a look for cracks in the frame, especially on the aluminum parts.

That's my 2 cents,

Zoomerman

[keith]

Thanks for the prompt replys.
We went back, looked her over once more and left our sealed bid. The oil was dirty, but did not have any shavings or milky color. We did turn over the motor, so at least it's not locked up. Someone fabricated a muffler out of a piece of pipe, so that could have caused some problems, depending on how long it's been like that. Most likely, they opened my bid as soon as we left so they could tell their preferred buyer what the highest bid was, but who knows? Anyway, if I get the bid, I'll take possession like I took my wife - for better or worse. Maybe I'll have better luck this time. They're supposed to let me know on Jan 31st. Thanks again. Keith.

[Dandy Dan]

So what's your top bid? Given the risk I even think 1000$ is too high. Suppose you are the highest bidder...do you get it for your bid or for one increment higher than the next highest bid (ie. I bid 500$, you bid 900$, you get it for 510$ or 900$)

I'm surprised you didn't mention the muffler early...are you gonna shell out for a new one or get a cool aftermarket piece (250-400$)

[keith]

I didn't mention the muffler earlier because I did not see it when I first viewed the scooter. These things(scooters, four wheelers, motorcycles) were packed in like sardines, only areas exposed were the top and front. Only after I got your reply did I return to get a better look. If I win this bid, I'll own the scooter under the market value because my bid was under $500.00. That should leave me room to fix the scooter up, play with it for a year or so and still get my money back. This is actually a project for me and my soon-to-be 16 year old son. When he was 13, we bought a Yamaha Zuma and kept it for about 15-16 mos. and only lost a couple of bucks on the resell. My intent is to let him participate in the decision making, fixing up, having some fun, and then take a cut of the profit. Sort of a Real Life Economics 101....If we can be so lucky. If he wants to modify it, we'll have to come back here for the advice. About the muffler..what will the cool aftermarket do? Just sound better? Look better? Get better gas mileage? More power? All of the above? Reading here, I think I would like to change the rear shock, but what else can be done on the cheap?Thanks. Keith

[Dandy Dan]

The aftermarket exhausts will hopefully look better, sound louder and better if loud is your thing and your power will be unchanged or less. Unless your Ruckus is heavily mod'd with a H.O. cam and big bore piston the stock exhaust should perform the best both for speed and milage.

For the rear shock there are some on battlescooterstore.com and on ebay. You're looking at 75-180$...most are in the 75-95$ range. These are a big improvement over the stock one but if your just looking to make a profit then you're best off to just keep it stock. I do have a used shock for sale that still looks nice. It's the 260mm (same length as stock) Showa from the battlescooterstore website. It's gold with a red coil and retails for 90 something. I've used it for a year and I'm want 40$ if you're interested.

[timberwolfmadcat]

or go to a local dealer and get a yamaha zuma shock which is much stonger for about $60 US

[Dandy Dan]

stronger than stock or the than the Showas?

[timberwolfmadcat]

its about double the stock, dunno how it compares to the showas