Winter update...

So. The ruck went into 'storage' last weekend. And by storage, I mean in my side storage room in my apartment. (In my basement apt) I have an unfinished room under the porch that the previous tenants used for storing boxes that is perfect sized for me to work this winter on her. Sure, it's not heated, and yeah, there is no electrical outlets, but, it has a concrete floor, brick walls, and more room that I EVER had in the garage.

And this would seem to be just in time, too, as I have located hopefully what will be the final 'large piece' of the puzzle: A new motor (with 4 engine hangers, not just 3), complete with 'mini-fatty' rear tire! I will be purchasing it in the next few days from a TotalRuckus.com member...The only badness out of the deal is that I'll have to pick it up in Barrington, which is about 2 hours away from me on the North Side. And I'm slightly concerned that this won't fit into the trunk and/or backseat of my car. But, it's a mini-fatty! I'm so excited.

I also pretty much decided on what I'm going to be doing for a color scheme on the bike : Everything that is chrome/silver (besides the engine) will be powdercoated gloss black, while all frame portions will be painted 'hotrod flat black' (satin clear) with red accents on the frame bolts, filters, and screw heads. Should be pretty hot! I am also going to try and find someone to do some tasteful pinstripes on it too.

So, in the meantime, I have to decide when I'm going to start breaking her down. The general goals of this winter are something like this:

November: Purchase new motor/tire combo. Start prepwork for breakdown.

December: Purchase new handlebar clamp, handlebars. Begin breakdown to frame.

January: Complete wire redux. Chop new exhaust can by 4 inches.
Purchase new drive belt, High gear kit, lighter variator weights.

February: Decide on painter/powdercoater.
Prep frame for paint, pieces for powder.
Begin work on motor upgrades.

March: Bonus $$ from work arrives. Send off parts for powder/paint.

April: Build up begins as soon as parts return. Scooterworks for final tune up.



So there it is. Although it will be a long process, probably filled with some headaches and delays, I'm really excited to get working on it. Nerves are plentiful here... But, once she's completed, I think I'll be pretty happy. I'll be updating with pictures as the build progresses. Until then, I'm just sitting in my apartment dreaming of the next ride where I won't have to wear long underwear.

Not saying nothing...just saying.

Updated Mods

So yeah, it's about time that I updated my Modification list, which has still been growing!

Updated Mods List:

Engine:

Stock Honda GET 49cc
Daytona Drag Variator
Daytona Kevlar Belt
Daytona 6g roller weights
Briggs & Stratton Drop-in air filter
Custom Briggs&Stratton Exhaust (Dubbed the 'Snooki')
Relocated PCV
Open breathers on PCV and Carb
Shimmed Carb Needle

Body:

Removed rear fender
Relocated reflectors with custom spacers
Relocated front turn signals
Napoleon mirrors
Kijima windscreen
Kijima attack bar
NCY lowered seat
NCY move-back seat brackets
CHP Shock
1-off Fog327 Wishbone Frame Brace
ATR Extension
Diamondback Footpegs

Dress up:

Custom flush-mounted battery box reflector bolts
NCY Billet Kickstart
NCY Billet Frame Caps
Battlescooter 'carbon look' keyguard
Black dice stem covers
Bell Handlebar Bag
NCY Gas tank Cover

The next mods to come? Probably new bars/grips. Not to mention the specialness that is my new engine :) Stay tuned!

Slaughterhouse 16

This will be quite a picture heavy entry, as I promised some pics of what she now looks like... And the ubiquitous Slaughterhouse 16 is now officially OVER - Met some really nice people this weekend, as well as saw some older Ruck faces, as well as some new ones - Really had a blast. The change in weather was a bit of a 'shocker', to say the least. Kept quite a few people at home, I think. Regardless, it was still a fun three day event/events.

Friday night started out with a BBQ over at Scooterworks - I organized a meet for some of the other Ruckus guys, but none showed, so I rolled over to the place solo. It was a bit weird seeing my Ruck parked against so many other types of scoots - But she apparently stuck out in a good way, as I was getting all sorts of questions and comments about her, mostly all positive. I did hear a few haters dissecting her, but if I wasn't doing anything right, she wouldn't have gotten talked about at all. I smiled on the inside as I took them out back and worked them over with a tire iron. He he.

A few Rucks in a sea of 'others':


Dual Caddy horns on a Ruck? Sweet!


There was a midnight ride, but I skipped out on it, and instead, opted for a good night's rest and Saturday ride. I was not disappointed!

On Saturday AM, we all got together at Ace Scooters for the Saturday 'Big Ride' - It would go for almost 3 hours, and have as many as 75+ riders (lost count somewhere around 65) ...


In true Vespa style, there were numerous breakdowns, including Yu Wi's 1970's vintage super clean Vespa :


The Rucks all lined up, pre-ride :


Super clean Piaggio :


So only 1 complaint about Saturday:

So many of these 'other' suckers are 2-stroke - YUCK. After trailing about 50 of them spouting oily smoke/breathing in that exhaust, I had a headache. Hazards of the fun, though lol We then cruised our way over to Archie's tap for some burgers. Not a bad afternoon of fun. However, due to my headache, I just rolled home. No nightclub stuff for your old pal Stu.

Sunday was the Gymkhana/Slow Races over at Motoworks - The gymkhana is sort of a obstacle course for scooters, including a small slalom of beer cans, a pirate flag 'planting', and a teeter-totter roll-over. Not to mention that about 25 people are throwing wet sponges at you the whole time. In true outlaw fashion, 1 of our Total Ruckus group stepped it up and won 1st place in BOTH, earning him some props and some free schwag in the process! I just had fun participating. ie: I was out early lol No matter, it was still a fun afternoon. Ended up cruising home with a guy on his ratty chattering vespa. Thing was though, he couldn't stop talking about building up his Ruckus. lol Gotta love it.

Crazy Honda Gyro, 49cc - Yes, that's 2 wheels on the back :


The scene at Motoworks :


A few TR guys ready to do the Gymkhana :


Let loose the sponges :


Pinatas on Scoots :


Ratty Vespa :



Crazy trike:



And 1 more lineup of the Rucks in a sea of 'others', winding up Sunday:


All in all, a very nice weekend - Met some cool peeps from all over Chicago and a few others from out-of-state, saw some cool scoots, and made a couple new friends. Not to mention got some great safe riding in, and noone (to my knowledge) got hurt.

And here she is - I think I got her together pretty well for the weekend!








So *whew* long update. But well worth it.

I think she looks great.

So fresh, so clean...

The fruits of my rainy day labors, appropriately, right before Labor Day.

Disappointing night tonight. Perhaps tomorrow will be better - 70 Degrees and sunny sounds like a perfect start!

One last teaser...

So, today was a rainy day. And as per my rules (see rule 402), the rain meant inside, quiet time for me. So, I spent it in the garage cleaning up the overall look of the Ruck. I spent at least 3 to 4 hours just consolidating wires - Then, wrapping them in either 3/8" or 3/4" split loom plastic tubing/plastic wire conduit, and wrapping that whole thing in electrical tape. It's boring, but, since it was raining and I have no work tomorrow, I had a few beers, put on some Mastodon, and just got er dun. In that mess, there were also 5 or 6 hoses that needed to be rerouted/trimmed. I finished up with some zipties for those, and made sure that she started up. Ha ha - Thankfully, she's a strong runner, with solid connections.

Secondly, I have been collecting a few stickers from various sources for the past few weeks for the gas tank cover. The Ruck has been feeling a bit drab for me lately, and since I still don't want any graphics on the battery box, I have been sticking to my theme of a red accent color. I had to accomplish this by choosing a variety of cool stickers with at least some red in them, then testing their placement, and finally, committing to a layout. I did have one re-stick due to an air bubble, as well as a removal and late addition, but I'm happy of how it turned out.

Lastly, when examining the wishbone frame brace today, I noticed an assload of rust forming on the surface...What does that mean? It means it's time to paint this pig! I used 3 coats of 1200 degree flat black paint (the same paint I used on the bottom of the gas tank). Unlike the finish on the gas tank though, I'll blast it tomorrow with a hairdryer to cure the heat paint a bit, and then bolt the sucker on. It looks nice...the color integrates it more fully into the whole scheme of the Ruck (which at this point is pretty basic, I will admit). I'll snap a few quick pics of what she's looking like these days tomorrow.

Until then, I'm excited for the weekend - Slaughterhouse XVI is happening here in the city - One of the largest scooter gatherings in the Midwest, it should be a really fun time with plenty of Vintage Vespas, Stellas, and all sorts of stuff. I'm genuinely curious as to how many of the fellow Ruck riders will make it out. So far, I'm doing the short city cruise on Friday night, followed by a longer city daylight cruise on Saturday late morning/early afternoon. I'm thinking I might run down to see the schlow races on Sunday...hell, since she's pretty much stock, I might even get in on them...Who knows, eh?

I'm also hoping that I'll meet a few socially awkward Punk Rock Scooter Girls. That would be perfect.

Pics to come.

And now, here's something completely different.

Just like the old Monty Python skits where reality could skew at the drop of a hat, I am about to turn my build sideways and put something on I never thought I'd get.

But, this is just a teaser. You already knew about upcoming wheelbase stretch (shipped today). What you don't know about is...well, he he. Just wait.

I have some work to get done over this next week or two, but if I pace myself, I think I'll be able to get-r-dun by the Slaughterhouse scooter rally on Labor Day weekend.

I think I might just keep everyone in suspense until then.

One last shot from this weekend of the cherry 64 Honda full restore :

A good day.

So today was the much anticipated event of the week : The Scooterworks BBQ and first time meeting some of the local Rucks and their owners. A few of them I've seen around on the Totalruckus.com forums, but I feel that sometimes a forum post really isn't the 'measure of the man' type thing... It was cool to meet them and check out their rides - So much ingenuity and personal style reflection I was truly speechless. I geeked out about scooters hard today. But it was good, as I was surrounded by other people who were just as enthusiastic about scooters as I am at this point.

The meeting spot was Montrose Harbor @ Noon, but due to some unforseen light traffic, I was about 15 minutes early. I proceeded to pull all the way to the turn-around of the Harbor road, thinking that this would be the most likely of spots to meet. 45 minutes and only 2 riders later, we took off down the harbor road, about to head to Scooterworks. Imagine my surprise when we came down the road to spot about 5-6 other Ruck parked all scooter gang style against the other side of the road. It was a sweet sight - some all tricked out, others modified stock, and one with a big ol fatty tire. Here's some of the pics:










We then rolled over to Scooterworks, en masse. It was then then that the GY6/2-Stroke conversions showed up... These are some really custom-type bikes, frames, and finishes. Really sick looking rides, complete with a restored 1964 Honda :







After hanging out and doing the meet-n-greet with the Scooterworks staff, we rolled out about 15 deep to make a Downtown run through Michigan Avenue and then the Museum Drive - Here's us about ready to head out after being some parking lot hooligans on a pit stop :




The day ended with 3 of us heading North on Lakeshore - My first time for LSD on the Ruck. She performed admirably, pegging out the needle at 45 on several occasions. However, I think that the baffles in her temporary Snooki muffler are pretty much destroyed after that high RPM run. She still ran beautifully all day, and I laughed like crazy when I had to put $1.45 in gas during a pit stop.

The only drawback from all this fun in the sun is that I got a pretty nasty sunburn - I need to remember to pack some of that SPF 50 for my pastey ass, eh? NOTED!

One last thing - After today, I'm ordering the 6 inch extension for the Ruck. ASAP. But that means that the floorboard comes off. I'll have to see if wet sanding can spruce up the old tank and frame before the Slaughterhouse Scooter Rally in two weeks.

We'll see.

I'm louder than before...

I was finding that the stock horn was pretty weak. Somewhere around 75db and pretty much like the Road Runner's 'meep meep' kind of sound - Not exactly attention getting. And here in the city, I use that horn ALOT... It's a nice tool to make sure that people see you...

With safety in mind, I ventured over to the Autozone this AM, as I had the day off, and picked up a new 'Blazer 125db Trumpet Style horn' for $15. But it was kind of a long process to get it on, as I wasn't really too sure where it would fit, especially since I have the windscreen set in the uppermost bolt. After some quick decisions while the whole front end was in pieces and a few quick bends of the mounting bracket supplied, it pretty much turned out like this:



So, once removed, the horn is now back in the stock location on the front of the Ruck.



And, just like it would imply, it's x2 as loud as my old one :)

+1 Safety, FTW!!!

Let there be light...

A few pics of the new mods completed last night, this time in the daylight - Complete with new Bell handlebar bag that has been repurposed for a small underseat tool/stuff bag :

Just a quick list...

I was bored last night and besides watching 3 episodes of Mythbusters, I came up with my list of modifications/purchases/and/or/stuff I did to the Ruck. Here you go:


Mods list:

Engine:

Stock Honda GET 49cc
Daytona Drag Variator
Daytona Kevlar Belt
Daytona 6g roller weights
Briggs & Stratton Drop-in air filter
Custom Briggs&Stratton Exhaust (Dubbed the 'Snooki')

Body:

Removed rear fender
Relocated reflectors with custom spacers
Relocated turn signals
Napoleon mirrors
Kijima windscreen
Kijima attack bar
NCY lowered seat
NCY move-back seat brackets
Replacement Shock (not sure what kind -on the Ruck when purchased, but it's definitely not the stock one...)

Dress up:

Custom flush-mounted battery box reflector bolts
NCY Billet Kickstart
NCY Billet Frame Caps
Battlescooter 'carbon look' keyguard
Black dice stem covers
Bell Handlebar Bag


I'll try and snap a few more pics today of the relocated turn signals/new mirrors...

Looking like a beautiful day to ride!

Location...Location...Location.

Just like in real estate, location is KEY.

With that in mind, I did a little 'relocation' on the Ruck, including a flipping of the stock turn signals and reflectors, so now the turn signals are even with the headlamps. Makes for a much cleaner line, and once I get some new handlebars, I'll grind off those ugly rabbit ears where the stock reflectors are now sitting. I also lucked out with the re-purposing and installation of an old license plate reflectors that happened to be just the right size to double as battery box reflector bolts - sweet! I think it looks pretty cool.

Tomorrow, I work from home and need to go get a haircut in prep for the b-day weekend, so I get to ride her during the daytime over to the NorthWest Side. Should be a nice ride as I know a bunch of shortcuts to keep things under 40mph. While I'm out, I'll try and take some more pics of her with all the new stuff, including the mirrors and relocations. But I think she needs a bath first lol

For now, though, here is a few pics to hold you over :)











I am quite pleased at how easily these modifications went - I worked about an hour on it last night, but on account of it being too late to drill anything, I had to finish up after work today...quite an exercise in patience, to say the least. But I got it all buttoned up in about an hour and a half today - ready to roll, no issues. Gotta love that.

Here's to more trouble-free Honda goodness!

Mirrors, no smoke.

So, today at the office I got unexpected mail! That's right, those mirrors I bought from a TotalRuckus member showed up! Not to mention that, but also some 10mm to 9mm motorcycle mirror adapters (which I don't really even need! but still sweet from a future upgrade point of view) as well as a few sweet ass stickers. I know I'm keeping her 'graphic and sticker free' at this point, but I was still appreciative, on the reals.

Here's a pic of how they look - Once I rode them a bit and figured out the best placement, they were super...

Update...

Hey all - I've got a few updates to share:

That POS JB Weld stuff? Don't use it if the repair site will have heat or vibration. The stuff just got eaten alive by it - Ended up having to push the Ruck home last night about 3 miles in the oppressive humidity when the muffler just fell off while riding. I tried to retrieve it, but since it was about 8pm and dark, I didn't feel that driving it home on just a straight pipe was advisable. Way, WAY too loud.

After awaking today, I formulated a new plan - B&S muffler #2 - What to do differently this time? Take it to a WELDER and have it WELDED. Seems pretty painfully obvious to me now. So, despite the odds, I found a MIDAS that was open on Sunday and drove on down. Classic moment when I handed them the pipe and muffler. They were like : You want us to do what again? ... What's this? Wait... that's a muffler? Needless to say, I think they were won over by the novelty of it all and they didn't charge me a red cent. I just tipped the guy $10 for his 5 min of work. Problem solved! The weld quality? Well, just about what you would expect from a Midas muffler shop on a Sunday afternoon - Not pretty. But, it's sealed. And a bit beefy. I added my own hanger to hold it in place, and man, is it rock solid. Drove all day and hit a MASSIVE chicago pothole today that didn't phase it one bit. It's kinda loud and really making me run lean at the moment...I gotta back off the wide open throttle alot now - Just not enough fuel to keep her happy. If I had this for the long term, I would definitely rejet the carb to the next size up. But, for now, she can run a bit lean and still be nice and peachy.

In other news of note, I finally got a return on my email towards that 'special project Honda' motor that I have been talking about for a bit now. Seems that we will have the details hammered out next week and then shipping will take place sometime near the end of the month. I consider it a birthday present to myself, for sure.

Oh, and I snagged some new mirrors from a Totalruckus.com member a day or so ago for $20, shipped. I can't wait - I think they are going to look schweet :

A nice day.

Here's a few pics of the Ruck down by the Lakefront yesterday...




And one last one...





Even with an effed up exhaust, she still looks sweet, don't she?

Redemption.

If you've been reading my blog lately, I've been really bummed about not having the scooter operational. I'm still in the honeymoon phase with it, so having it not be able to run was tough, despite it looking nice and shiny. I tried to cover her up with a sheet even, to put it out of my mind... But, I couldn't. I had to try something!

I came home with a killer idea from the message boards and a mission : Make/adapt a muffler for under 20 bucks for my Ruckus. Now this is using the existing (cracked off) and adapted/installed a homebrew type of muffler on the Ruck - Not being able to ride was KILLING me...Especially in this great weather!

Parts List:

JB Weld (yeah, I'm not done with this stuff yet lol) $.00 (already had some)
1 copper 1 inch to 1/2 inch reducer (found in the pipe fitting aisle of your local Lowes) ($4.97)
Briggs and Stratton 'Sausage Style' muffler for 8 h.p. engines ($4.88)
1 rattle can 'engine paint', flat black

Here's the photo of what it looked like drying:



And here's one on the Ruck:



It's kinda LOUD. But, it's a muffler, nonetheless. I'm stoked and am about to take her for a little spin to the 7-eleven. My ass needs some refreshment...If I wasn't working later tonight on the software release, it would be some barley soda. But, I'll settle for a coke.

:D

Update: I think it might be a good idea to add a clamp on the larger tip of the reducer before you let this thing dry up...The clamp will make sure that it not only is nice and tight in the channel, but also that the weld has the most surface area it can grab up to to stay put. The heat will weaken it eventually, but if the JB lets me down again, I'll just try over again with some muffler putty and a bigger clamp. Whichever...I got word on the other motor today, so I'm not gonna have this sucker on for that long. But it was still a fun little project to undertake, for sure. And it sounds cool, too :)

Oh, and one last thought: You can forgo the clamp and just drill in a 1/4 inch hole through one side of the reducer, making sure to try and center the small muffer in the larger end. It will be loose fitting, and I don't trust the JB weld as much as some others do. This would make sure that there was a physical metal connection between surfaces = no lost muffler and chasing it down in traffic if the weld breaks. Take a metal screw and screw that bad boy in and voila. You're done. I think that's the first thing I do tomorrow morning.

Can't wait to take it for an extended ride tomorrow to see what side effects come about. My guess? I'll be running a bit lean and probably lose a bit of top end. We'll see.

Acceptance.

So, today after work, I had to get out to the garage again - I have been a bit down about Astrid's current condition, so I had avoided the garage for a few days now. However, I wanted to get that cracked exhaust off of her, so I crawled underneath and bolted on the new exhaust pipe - Much better and wider than stock, not to mention a nice weight savings. The can just bolts right on to the pipe - and since it was basically on, I fired it up. :D The sound was n-i-i-i-c-c-c-e. Very throaty and deep. Perfect, really. And it looks cool as hell, too - doesn't hurt. I was going to take some pics, but I'll wait till the new motor arrives to really start documenting this in photos* The one cool thing about the exhaust is that it has a genuine carbon fiber hanger for the can. Schweet. I immediately took it off.

*I'm a little nervous still about this whole motor swap out process. But I've had a few answers to my questions from the guy who's selling it and I've determined that I need a couple of things I don't have yet, as well as have some stuff on the current motor that needs to be bolted onto the new - Including the drive face, variator/belt/pulley, and clutch/transmission assembly (I think the clutch? Not sure on that one) I will be parting out the rest as used and just hope that someone wants to buy the engine outright for parts. Considering the low mileage on that motor itself, it could sell in a hot minute. One can hope. But, I'm running low on budget. Consequently, no more body mods will be made to the Ruckus until she has that new motor and is running well - unless I do them myself. Period.

While I have it apart to get the motor replaced, as well as some new parts being added to help with the new setup (ie: 20mm Carb and K&N intake being purchased), it will also give me an opportunity to do a few nice little touches to the bike, including a fresh matte black engine paint rattle can finish on the underframe and unfinished raw parts - making sure that she'll be 'none more black'. I think I might be going with the always trusted dark gray/matte black/burgundy with white & chrome accent theme that I seem to gravitate to. Works for me. Did I mention that the new motor has been painted matte black? Should look super tight!

I'm planning on also relocating a few things on the Ruckus, including the front turn signals. We'll see how successful that is.

I also realized today that I will be selling a thing or two, including the attack bar quite soon. I might lose a few bucks on it in the process, but I really won't be able to use it - With the new motor and eventual stretch job, I'll need a place to rest my feets :) With the stretch, you need a frame support - The frame support I'm looking at would all look goofy with the attack bar, not to mention quite possibly NOT fit. Besides, I think I'll need the cash to cover a major portion of my newly determined essential carb/intake... Too bad...I really liked it - I thought it made the front part of the footrest look like a Police bike.

Speaking of Police :





Cool ass bike, porker!


Regardless, I'm thinking of starting the tear-down tomorrow night - I just need to make some room in the garage for the spread out space I'll need. I am sharing it with 2 cars, you know. If not tomorrow night, then definitely on Saturday. For that, I'll definitely take pics.

Until then...

Exhaustion.

The past few weeks have been quite a rapid pace, but, as they always do, things have slowed down here markedly.

But, I got mail today :) It was the exhaust! Luckily, it only had to be shipped from Wisconsin, so it only took a few days. First thing out of the box? Why the can, of course - To remove that cheesy ass sticker! Sticker removed, I was able to now stare at the loveliness that is my new exhaust. The pipe itself is at least 3 times in diameter as my stock, and weighs at least 3 pounds lighter - not to mention a nice brushed aluminum finish ... Quite a nice upgrade, if I do say so myself!

I have been gathering knowledge about this impending motor swap, and honestly, kind of sweating it. I wish I had a good buddy (preferably one that's mechanically inclined, isn't married, and has a garage) to call upon in times like this, but I'm probably gonna have to turn to the guys over at Scooterworks to get this done in a few hours... I don't know. I'm trying to make some contacts in the Ruckus Community, but it's been a bit hard getting noticed since I can't even ride at the moment.

Oh well. I suppose there are worse problems, eh? I'm still in contact with the 'guy from Miami' about the motor - Just waiting now for an update on when it will be ready to ship.

Until then, I'm focusing on less costly parts that I can pick up on the cheap : Like a new set of bars/grips, a new throttle with a bit less throw on it, and a longer set of fuel, brake, and throttle cables (to prep for the extension). That is gonna look so cool stretched - and I'm forgoing some traditional vinyl graphics to keep her plain, at least for now...The only thing I plan on keeping is the 'Battlescooter' logo graphic I have on the windscreen...

More stuff to come, but as I said - on the cheaper...

I do need to start talking with my brother though about using some of his tools - I will soon start chopping some shit off this frame in order to get rid of that ugly ass stock blinker/brake tree, and a hacksaw, while adequate for smaller jobs, probably isn't the best tool for taking off a welded plate. It is gonna leave a bit of a scar on her rear frame, but there are ways to fix that.

There is always a way.

More to come...

2 down

I made a purchase yesterday on Ebay that I wasn't planning on. Seems, this one particular exhaust for the Ruckus, which I'd seen other places for just around 300 bucks, was listed for half that price. Whatfuch? Yeah, I totally had to get it.

Here's my new exhaust:




And what it looks like on a bike that's similarly colored as mine :




Should be pretty sweet, provided I can remove that cheesy ass sticker/graphic. *Update: You can! Removed pretty easily with a fingernail and some elbow grease*

In other news, I made an offer on that Honda motor - and it has been accepted! Allow me to explain how this all happened:

I have been frequenting a particular message board lately : www.totalruckus.com And while there, it seems there is quite a cool little community around the Ruckus all over the country/planet that just love to interact and geek out about our scooters! It is through this board that I have already gleaned a great amount of practical knowledge about all sorts of interesting stuff - Like carb differences, rejetting, and also all sorts of 1-off brackets and parts/techniques as sent in by the posters themselves. It was this that allowed me to find the motor - It previously had 300 miles on it, and is being further checked out before it will be shipped. So I'll have to baby her for the first 100 miles or so, as she's getting new seals/gaskets from basically a Jedi Master of small engines. It's practically like getting a brand new lightsaber as made by Yoda himself. And it's all GET goodness with a little something thrown in thanks to some Yankee ingenuity. Love it! I will be hammering out the details with him in the next several days for shipping information, etc, but things are looking good that I'll be getting that new motor and exhaust by the end of the month - No more muffler/case mount woes for your old pal Stu.

So check two off the list:

Status:

1.) MOTOR - CHECKED OFF THE LIST
2.) looking at Kein
3.) Leo Vince brushed aluminum Performance Exhaust
4.) Thinking of going with Kitako
5.) ATR or Battlescooter
6.) unresolved
7.) unreasolved
8.) Probably going with Kitaco

I have not been in the garage since yesterday afternoon. I soon will be covering her up with a sheet until she's fit to be seen again.

I'll post a few pics of the motor/exhaust when I get them!

Build blog?

Although it was never meant to be as such, this is turning into a 'build blog'... This was only supposed to last a few weeks, tops!

But, you see, after today's major malfunction, it's brutally clear that my summer riding is over just as it began. I have been in contact with a guy in Miami about a motor. Wow, that sounded so sketchy! Seriously though, it is the type of motor that I have seriously been looking for : 50cc Honda Ruckus GET with some sweet mods on it. Turns out, this guy 'went to the darkside' (as he puts it) by swapping out the Honda engine for a Chinese GY6 150cc motor. While on the surface this appears interesting, I have no desire to trade Honda know-how for Chinese unknowns. I think I'll achieve the gains that I'm looking for without losing my Honda soul in the process.

But, what this also means is that our costs have now tripled - Which, in order to properly absorb, must be spread out over the next 6 months or so - This will truly test my patience and resolve, not to mention test my budgeting skills!

Potential build list:

1.) 2009 Honda motor
2.) 20mm Carburetor/intake
3.) Aftermarket exhaust
4.) CDI
5.) Engine bracket extension
6.) speedometer/tach combo
7.) grips
8.) throttle


Status:

1.) Got a LEAD
2.) looking at Kein
3.) Yosh carbon sounds really deep - not like a mosquito
4.) Thinking of going with Kitako
5.) ATR or Battlescooter
6.) unresolved
7.) unreasolved
8.) Probably going with Kitaco

I'll be updating as the months roll by, and the parts roll in! Lets hope that she'll be ready for next spring!

The muffler bites the Dust

So...

I got her all ready last night for her debut at work - Got it washed and detailed (by yours truly), and even managed to get a spectacular night out riding in uncommonly light traffic. This is what she looked like before I took off for work... That morning light does make her look extra sparkly! :






And this is how she returned to her resting spot in the garage:



I am stunned. I mean, a cracked muffler?!? This is almost too much. I am already in too deep on this to just walk away. But, can I really deal with a motor swap? Decisions, decisions.