Late last year, I picked this up from fellow board member PubBurgers:
He added a lowered seat frame and stretch kit to it. I haven't done much except stash it in the garage and ride it on very rare occasions.
Its a very fun little scooter, and it feels like I'm getting away with something every time I ride it. However, it tops out at about 38 MPH on level ground, and once I leave my neigborhood, I hit a hilly road with a speed limit of 40. Get much further, and the roads have limits from 45-55. So, I only get out on it early in the morning on weekends, in order to keep from getting run over.
I like it more than my commuter/bracket racer scooter, but that one can actually do 55, so the Ruckus can't replace it (yet). So, its time to start planning for some more power (and handling). I bought the bike with more than 1900 miles on it, and decided to take it to 2000 before anything was to be done to it. Here's the odometer as of this morning:
A lot of people have poured a bunch of time, effort, and money into making the original 49cc water-cooled engine powerful enough to propel the bike at safe speeds for modern traffic, but it seems like a lot of them spend more time tuning than riding. The more common route is to swap in a GY6 motor, which is what comes stock in my Genuine Buddy 125. Thats pretty much seen as the easy way, but engine quality can vary. I'm picking another way, that has been done before, but not by many...
The Ruckus will be getting a 244cc Honda vertical motor/drivetrain swap. The plan so far is to use the already installed stretch kit as a basis for a custom motor mount. That'll let me keep the slightly longer than stock wheelbase, without the cartoon-ish stretches I've seen before. With a little hard work and planning, a casual observer won't even realize its not the original engine. The front end will be getting a disc brake, and some real dampers. Cosmetically, I'm going to try to go for a mild custom look, but nothing too radical. I love the dual headlamps, so they need to stay.
I've still got one and a half months before the registration expires on my donor scooter, not too mention keeping my rallycross car together, so right now, this is still in the early planning stages. My hope is to start tearing down and making measurements on the donor in mid-October, and to have everything ready to roll once the snow melts next spring.
