The Saga of Sportsman Matt and the Big Ruckus

Well I'm counting down, 10 hours and I'll be rolling the Big Ruckus out for a ride with the Twisted Touring group. Pics to come later tomorrow evening.

OK, so I went off to meet with the Twisted Touring group, with a slight problem.
While prepping my riding gear, my digital camera was nowhere to be found. Then the restaurant we were to meet at was closed. So after finding a second place to meet up and eat at, we rode out, toured south central Mass, and finished up around 1pm.
The downfall of riding was it was 38 degrees out to start, windy, and by the end of the ride, I was in need of a really hot shower, the cold riding gear just didn't cut it, I was getting a cold chill down into my bones.

But I did get my digital camera, it was hanging up on a hook at the girlfriends place, complete with dead batteries...

So the only pic I have is one just before riding back home later Sunday afternoon.

So I'm patiently awaiting news about the new Iron. Well my calls went like this today....

FedEx....WTF are my trike parts......
FedEx....Got the parts, all is well....
Sid's Auto body....got the new fenders for the trike kit, only they are fiberglass not steel.......drop em off Monday before 9 am.....
Pop's.....nervous about this motorcycle safety class....
Pop's.... passed the class....got the new motorcycle license endorsement....trike kit is in....picking up 08 Xl1200L in the morning.....
Ocean State Harley Davidson....your Iron is ready, will have it ready for pickup same time as the XL1200L....

That last call made my day, especially on a Friday the 13th .....

So pics to come, and decisions to be made......will post more tomorrow.....

Well it happened.....





And my father on his new ride soon to be triked.....



And the question, what about the Big Ruckus?

Well its $150 a year to keep registered and insured, so I decided to get the Iron its own registration. ( plus it took 3 of us to get the 565 lb Iron into the bed of my truck at the dealership)

Congrats to you and your dad . I'll bet the Big Ruckus will still be your go to bike , that is of course after you get over the newness of the Harley . Just about every one I know that has sold their Big Ruckus has eventually regretted it .

Oh and your dad , build some memories riding with your dad while you still are lucky enough to have him around .

TheReaper!

Congrats on your new bikes....but I`m SO GLAD you`re keeping that cool Big Ruckus.

Hey Matt...your Harley doesn`t seem to have much fork travel...is that as it should be ??
It`d be a right boneshaker on all our potholed roads and speedbumps like that.

Thats one of the drawbacks. The Iron only has four inches of ground clearance, and with the rear shocks being only 10 inches, the front is lowered to keep the geometry the same as previous sportsters.

So far 174 miles on the Iron, but tomorrow I'll be riding the Big Ruckus around town.

That Iron is a sweet looking bike.

Congratulations!!!!

Matt,

I've followed this for quite a while. Recently I purchasers an '05 BR with 6k miles on it. I really really really LOVE this scoot. Only thing I don't like is that I waited so long to get a scooter.

leeinmemphis, great to hear you picked up a BR. 6K isn't bad for milage, mine has almost 11K on it. Only thing I do recommend is read the posts over on TotalRuckus.com about the modifications and quirks, and second, if it still has the black plastic cover over the belt housing, you may want to remove it and paint the aluminum housing black. Otherwise you may find that premature belt failure that I had happen 4,000 miles later.

took the Big Ruckus out today, still have to get that front caliper cleaned up and the center piston freed up a little more, still dragging a little with heavy use.

And the Iron is going well, 480 miles on it, and sounds like a Singer Sewing machine while running down the road at speed.

Plus I was busy last week building this.......







Funny it started as this back April 14th.....

Matt we have a pretty close taste in bikes. I have recently been looking at sportsters as well. I just read your comment on the housing. I have not read anything about that but I am going out to take the cover off right now. I take it the painting is just for looks but doesn't have to be done right away????? I'm carrying the BR to Ak this year on a family vacation. I have put about 500 miles on it so far and I just love love love this bike. In fact the more that I ride it the more I like it. Especially now that I've got the bitubo shock on it. I thought with the stock shock I was going to knock my teeth loose when hitting bumps. Now I love it!!!!!! I've always gone WAY crazy with mods on bikes but this one is perfect for me.

I was riding around town today doing a few errands.



Anyway I don't mean to be spamming your thread. Just wanted to say how much this thread encouraged me to go with the BR. I'm keeping my eye out for a second one. If I can come across one I'll sell the helix and have two BR's.

Well Matt , it looks like we gotta another Big Ruckus fan to deal with .He's already talking about BR #2 , that's when you know for sure the guy is hooked . I remember after I got all my mods done and I was driving up the drive way in mine thinking , they don't make these any more I should look around for another one just in case .

TheReaper!

I saw this thread last year and had never heard of the model before. A week later an 05 came up for sale in Nova Scotia so i did a ride and ride (2600km trip documented on RidetheRock.com.). I just wanted to say thanks to you for giving me the info and inspiration. Damned thing is downright addictive.

Welcome aboard. Cool ride, and don't be afraid to share your rides with the group. (Posting Big Ruckus pics here is fine by me)

Reaper, looks like there seems to be a trend here, and I'm thinking it's because the BR is one of those got to give it a shot type machines that will surprise you as to what it can really do.

And Leeinmemphis, I pm'd you tonight, as soon as I get pics of the cover I'm removing I'll post them along with sending you a pm.

So far the Ruckus has been running excellent, maybe this weekend I'll get around to changing the spark plug as planned.
(The Iron on the other hand has a slight oil leak and is going in Tuesday for it's 1k service to keep the warranty valid)

You know the old saying. Harleys don't leak oil They mark their territory.

That's true, so true.

Well I dropped off the Iron at the shop to get the 1000 mile service done, and then realized my SPOT tracking unit was still on the bike and still on. Nice part, I know where the bike is

Downfall is that it's going to rain off and on the next few days, so I'll be putting miles on the truck rather than the Big Ruckus (wouldn't mind giving it a bath, but figure riding isn the rain isn't as fun as it sounds (especially without a windshield or rain gear)

So Saturday I get the Iron back, Sunday maybe I'll take the Big Ruckus out for a spin in the afternoon.

My last three Harley's didn't leak at all. A 90 Fat Boy - 95 Electra Glide Ultra - and a 2001 Electra Glide Ultra. Not one drop! Maybe Sporsters are more prone to leaking - don't know about that. The Fat Boy did have a trans leak - someone at Harley it seems put the input shaft seal on backwards. Took a few thousand miles to start leaking - was fixed via warranty.

Well I've been busy...
First the oil leak was excess assembly lubrication that they missed on the top of the valve cover.

And the Big Ruckus is running excellent. Matter of fact I needed to get my pickup truck yesterday, so how to get it back home without leaving the bike there? Well I loaded up the Big Ruckus with those POS Tri Fold Ramps from Harbor Freight, had them strapped to the cargo area on the back of the Big Ruckus, and rode down to get my truck back. Got there, loaded the BR into the back of the truck, and drove home.

Sad part is it's raining the next few days, which means less riding and more gas consumption driving the truck around.

I have a lead on a BR in my area...6000 miles. Dealer inventory.

They want $4800 for it. I know it's overpriced; but how bad IS it?

I would have looked at it today but I got a call from the dealer's repair shop...the "air cleaner" needed to be replaced and it wouldn't be going out the door until it got a new one FedEx'd. I'm not familiar with the air box on a BR...does this mean the previous owner drilled holes in the other side?...or is it just that the air filter is a cartridge type, where a lot of crap has to be replaced to change it?

I have to decide by tomorrow. Dealer is a hundred miles away; I'm gonna go and then decide; either trailer it home or walk away. Tomorrow's my Saturday; I do it or I don't do it.

Input?

$4800 sounds high considering the mileage. The air cleaner is a plate inside a housing, and not a common stocked part by most dealers.
I say take it for a ride and then decide, they are a good fun machine.
And I paid $4200 out the door for mine with 4000 miles on it from a dealer so keep that in mind and don't be afraid to haggle them down.