Bought a New Bike

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

2006 Honda Big Ruckus

From the eBay ad:



More stuff about them:

http://www.motorscooterguide.net/Honda/BigRuckus/BigRuckus.html

 

[Red_Hen]

Looks cool, Rob!

Running?  How does,she ride?

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Runs just fine!  If a little anemic feeling, after the R65... And not nearly as cushy, either.  Probably has a lot to do with the small wheels.  I'm looking forward to replacing the stock shock in the rear.
It has only 7000 "adult-riden" miles on it, and is generally a pretty clean bike, but I wouldn't enter it in any car shows the way it sits.

Apparently to keep these things at the top of their game you have to keep the air filters (yes, two) clean.  One filter is just a standard intake filter that is recommended to be replaced once a year.  OEM ones run $24 USD mail order, a dealer would want $32!
All of the guys on the Ruckus forum recommend K&N so it can be cleaned regularly - and not over filling the crankcase, cause the extra oil just gets blown onto the filter.
Mine has both a very dirty filter and too much oil on the dipstick, so I'll probably be doing an oil change tomorrow.  My K&N kit will arrive on Friday.

The other air filter - and just as important - filters air being drawn in to cool the drive belt.
It looks like this (not my picture)


And this is the fan that draws the air (my night time photo)



While my belt filter was dirty in the same location, it was not nearly as bad as that, and compressed air can clean them easily enough, and new ones only cost @ $2.  I'll be meeting my new dealer's parts dept. next Tuesday to pick mine up.  He got really excited when I told him what it was for.

I think if I decide this is not quite for me, I won't have any trouble getting rid of it!

I plan to put my Fiamms on ASAP (400 watt alternator!) along with my HyperLites.  I do hope to be able to do the 15 miles of urban interstate on this for my commute.  I may even look into transplanting an airhead tail light onto it.  It would be a little bigger and I could slip one of Rick's LED units into it.
I guess I shouldn't have sold mine! lol!

A whole new world!

[2dogs1cat]

Hey Rob, nice ride!  Listen, if Wan can do it, so can you!

http://twofiftymag.com/2011/04/the-power-of-wan/

Have fun.

:^)

[wilcom]

There are packs of Rucki here in Socal. I thought they were chopped Vespas, not stock Honda's LOL

Pretty cool

[nhmaf]

OMG, Rob has gone over to the dark, scooter-side!
Well, we still like you Rob and are happy to have you around.  Maybe things will improve one day and youll be back on a BMW someday.

It looks like that rig is already setup for cargo carrying duty with the single seat and all - how much stuff do you plan on carrying?  There are a few folks in my area with Rucki as well - at least I think that they are - they have the same shape and dual bug-eye headlights, anyway!

[Air4Life]

Best of luck to you Rob.

Scooters are really a better choice as we get past 40.  There's one less thing to think about.  Just don't forget that you now have two side stands to swing up.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

The sidestand will be my stand of choice, except when it is in the garage.

[Melena]

Hey Rob!   [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

That looks like a cool little ride.  Looks great for commuting and shopping and just running around.  Looks like that box in the back would hold plenty of groceries for the week.    [smiley=cool.gif]

Keep us up to date on how it runs.  I may need something like that one of these days for just running around doing errands.

Cheers!  [smiley=beerchug.gif] (that's root beer Rob   )

[suecanada]

I'm a bit late on this Rob but want to let you know that I am happy for you! Also, to help with a bit of good info...I took the wee DR200 cc Suzuki to our vintage races at Mosport this past weekend. 160 miles one way, 4 hours of toodling along at a decent pace of 55 mph. Didn't hold up anyone on the secondary roads. Bike does fine with the speed aspect. Maybe people are driving slower because of the higher gas prices. Whatever it is, it is very possible and lots of fun to take a smaller bike and have it go relatively fast for a minimalist tour! I had all my camping gear onboard too as I was tenting for 3 nights. Any stress that is usually caused by gravel roads disappears. Riding around Mosport park grounds turned out to be fun even though there were lots of people and dirt paths and grass.
These smaller machines are a riot!!
Have fun!!!

[Ed Miller]

Rob needs to update this thread, though maybe he started a new one and I didn't see it.  

[Johnster]

it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than it is to ride a fast bike slow.  Whack that throttle any chance you get Rob !

-John

[Ed Miller]

it is more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than it is to ride a fast bike slow.  Whack that throttle any chance you get Rob !

-John

That will be especially true with the new bike that he got to replace the Ruckus, that he hasn't told us about here yet!  I hope he hasn't abandoned us.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

No Ed, I haven't abandoned you (all).

It's amazing how little time I really have, especially working at a job where I cannot logon to websites and participate.  All I can do is surf...  
I've hardly turned on the TV since I got this thing!  8-)

But yes, gang, after only 5 days of Big Ruckus ownership I traded it in on a brand new Honda CBR250R!



Now I am going to cheat a little bit and just re-direct you to a thread on Boxerworks that has many of the details: http://forum.boxerworks.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5074

I just filled up for the second time in 7 days (4 days straight of commuting!) and I love it!
64.7 MPG on the last fill-up.  Up from 62.5 on the first fill-up.  I do miss that 5 gallon tank, though!
https://www.fuelly.com/driver/dontpanic/cbr250r?fu=3056387

So much lighter than the R65.

I've been putting in a lot of time on the CBR250R forum, too.

And I just put in a request for a week off in Sept., and I plan to ride around hilly southern Indiana and probably spend one night in a motel somewhere.  Kittycat won't like it, but oh well.  (Yeah, I'm pussy  whipped!)

[Lucky_Lou]

Ha a rice burner... put an "L" plate on it and you will have more street cred..  [smiley=lolk.gif]
Cannot say that i have ever seen a Honda Rucki in the UK