Big Ruckus # 12 today

My friend bought new in 08 a Big Ruckus he moved up to a Victory motorcycle. He kept the Big Ruckus and mounted a California sidecar so he could take his dog for rides. He had the side car painted to match the yellow tubing on the Big Ruckus. He has been thinking of selling.

Aw, Geez, Reap; bet they're going crazy over on TR. Will you put a JCosta variator on it?

Mine has been well and truly thrashed: weeds, grasses, and dead sparrows in the air filter, support bolt missing from the pipe, 2 inches of tire plug strand hanging from treads at the rear. When it had to go, a Parts Manager of the local Big Four dealer bought it, so I get visitation rights...

That's been on Ebay and Craig's, as far as I know so far NO SALE ! The side car is an additional 200 plus pounds , not exactly what one would design for 250cc engine . That said it looked pretty good .

TheReaper!

If I keep it for sure on the Jcosta and the Bitubo rear shock . Without the re-jetting and the jcosta the BR pretty much runs for shit IMHO .

TheReaper!

Reaper, every time you post on the rarity of these things, it makes me reluctant to put any more miles on mine.

I took me a couple of years to find the right BR at the right price at the right time.

Congrats on your latest find.

It took me over a year to find my first one , and then I had to drive a long way to get it . If you're worried about it do like so many of us have done , buy another one .

The problem now of course is they have gotten even more expensive as you well know . If you can find another one and can afford it , I would say buy it . I don’t think
you can go wrong on one as an investment long term .


TheReaper!

Hey Reaper, question for you. Are you telling the guys you sell those BR's to to register the VIN on TR so we can see who has the lowest and highest vin#'s?

Congrats on the deal, they are getting a little tougher to find with a decent price tag (way too many over inflated prices IMHO)

And I agree with you in the "It's a BR thing" those who don't own one or ridden one just don't understand.

I register all of them when I get them . As far as the prices go , yes the asking prices are high but asking ain't always getting . I really wouldn't mind the prices if there wasn't so much cosmetic damage on them . I bought one from a guy here locally once that had 500 miles on it , this guy was a real pig , it had believe it or not $1,200 worth of damage on it .
For years now I've been buying every good part I can find as long as it's at a decent discount . I have two huge shelves full of new and used BR parts and I'm still looking for more all the time .

TheReaper!

Did you see this, Reaper?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/mcy/2902360536.html

New I think they were over $400 with shipping , so if it is the last new one available what's it worth ?:eek1

A 50% premium ? That may look like a great deal at some point ?

A used set of hand guards just went for over $250 on EBay . :huh

When things get scarce , they get expensive .

TheReaper!

Quote :They are unique and there are less than 2500 of them in the world , which makes finding one an experience in itself end quote.

There s are only that little of them made? So on my travels through cycle-trader finding one with .5 K or 1/2 miles for 5 grand must make it the last new one left or close to it. Asking price was 5 grand with some room to go down. No I m no telling anyone where because I should have the cash in 2 months if I pull the trigar on it. If not I ll tell whom ever wants to know. The only thing I don't like is the fact the seat doesn't go back far enough for my size 6.5 foot. Someone know if you can mod it ? Also Reaper you ve said in the past anyone whom get s one is going to be dumping another 400 bucks in parts on it to make it 100% . I do like them and really want something to keep as daily transport for the next 10 years.

There were approximately 2500 sold in North America, how many were sold in Japan is unknown. Search youtube for Honda PS250, there are a number of Japanese videos posted. At least one gray import is in Sweden, one in Russia, a few are in Britain, some are in Hong Kong. A 2005 with 300 original miles was on Sioux City Craigslist for $4000 last week, guess it sold.

The ad said $4,500 and the owner told me he would take $4,250 , which was a good price if it was as pristine as the owner claimed .

TheReaper!

You're going to dump more than that in it it you want it to run and handle right . The carb needs re-jetting , the OEM variator needs to be upgraded to a jcosta , and the rear shock needs an upgrade . I put Bitubo's on all of mine , not cheap but VERY GOOD shocks . Now there are people who have BR's , and they say they've been driving them totally stock for years with no problems and they run just fine . All I can say to them is that's fine , if your happy with it like it is then keep it that way . If and when you get one you'll see what I mean .

TheReaper!

Thanks reaper just on unanswered question , Can the seat rails be modded to go back farer then they do. Seem even on the rear most setting it's 3 inches to little.

You know what they say ? "If you've got the money we've got the time" . Sure the whole fixture could be moved back by any tool and die / fixture maker . The plastic rear deck would have to be altered but that is also easy enough . You could also have a good welder re-do the floor boards a couple of inches forward . By adding some spacers upward which I think would have to be done any way , another inch of space could be gained .

I am also a little big for the BR , but I just place my feet out on the very top of the floor boards . I got used to it and left well enough alone . The seat hardware looks like this below. It operates like a manual car seat . If you look at part# 27 that is the track and would have to be moved back and up . All that said If I were you I would look elsewhere for a scooter , 6-5 is a stretch for any 250 scooter . You need to rip the plastics off some thing like a Silverwing and make it into a Ruckus style scooter . I’m reasonably sure you wear a TALL sized suit ? Unfortunately for you they don’t make a TALL sized Big Ruckus .



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To each his own, but I'm just a regular Joe, and I'm not paying $600 for a scooter windshield. ..lol
I appreciate Ferraris and Porsches, and I understand the allure of having something rare and collectable, but I'm just not going to buy into a bubble, especially late in the game.

Remember when Honda CT70's were all the rage a few years ago, and people were paying absolutely stupid money for them? Well I sought out the most pristine Honda ST90 I could find, and bought that instead. Not only did I get a rare, original bike, but I got a better bike than a CT70, in minty, unrestored condition, for about a third of the asking price of a minty CT70. Rode the wheels off of it for three years, then sold it for a small profit. It's nice to enjoy one's hobby (and even better to make a few bucks from it), but I try to make sure to keep the emphasis on enjoying the hobby, and not so much on the money end of it. (Not slamming anyone, and again - to each his own)

That won’t happen to the Big Ruckus unless another better Big Ruckus comes along . (FAT CHANCE)
I had a guy in the Netherlands try to buy a pristine pair of 2005’s I had , he was pretty
much willing to pay whatever I was asking . I wound up selling the pair to a gun dealer
from northern Michigan . He told me that he had seen one at a show about a year before ,
and began looking for a like new one ever since . He told me flat out that he knew he was paying
top dollar for them , but he wanted them like new and didn’t want a project . Then a few months ago
I sold one for even more to a 39 year old Ohio woman who was the head Gynecologist at
an Ohio hospital . My customers ages have ranged from 39 to 76 , all of them had money wanted a nice one
and was willing to pay up to get one .
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My point is there is another customer out there that has the money , wants a pristine super low mileage BR
and is willing to pay for it . There were 882 2005’s and 1448 2006’s known to have been built , that is a total
of 2330 . There were a few 2007’s made for the Japanese market and that was the end of it . Long story short
the more time goes by , the more valuable they will become , ESPECIALLY the low mile pristine ones . Full price
retail out the door was a little over $6,000 when they first came out , it won’t be long and you will see the nice
ones selling for more than retail . It won’t be any different with the OEM NOS accessories , I’m already seeing it
in the accessories .


Right now there might be a couple hundred low mileage ones left , and there will be even less as time goes by .
I personally have 3 extra ones in my collection and they’re not for sale .


TheReaper!

I m thinking its time for you reaper to do a real right up on them byond the crappy page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Big_Ruckus . Why not edit the wikipedia page to reflect what you know. It's just not that great of page right now.

Hear, Hear; another vote for a Reaper write-up..

A good opportunity for you to discuss & disseminate the kind of special insight only you BR Menschen have:

- how the JCosta and upjets really wake them up, allowing 80+ freeway, all day for days on end with no sweat;

- how the brakes might, possibly, be a little underwhelming for that kind of performance, so vigilance is called for;

- how high-speed, long-distance sustained riding will cause the temp light to come on in very hot weather after a time, despite tha fan and liquid-cooling; slowing down to about 70 "fixes" that, but the real "fix" is addition of air scoops to the intakes, whether the hard-to-find & expensive OEM type or some sort of homemade kluge.

Damn; I think that retro-fitted front disc and EFI would make the BR perfection itself. "Plumbling truck" aesthetics are part of the charm...