2020 Honda Ruckus (NPS50)

[Graham Piccinini]

It was my birthday Eve when this thing popped up on Craigslist. Thankfully most people hangout on Facebook Marketplace these days, so I ended up being first to contact the seller, even though it's been posted for couple hours. I came, paid, and went on a 50 mile ride home in heavy non-stop rain. Never owned a moped, scooter, or motorcycle. But always loved the look of Ruckus. For the past week and a half (since my birthday) I just can't stop riding it. I look for any reason to ride it, whether it's 1 mile to the store, or 15 miles to work. Rain or shine, absolutely love it! I'm 6'1", about 310lbs, so needless to say I look funny on it. "No ragrets" though. Not a single one. This is absolutely the most fun I ever had below speed limit! Don't know how this is so much fun, but it is. Hard to explain. Currently it does exactly 38mph on flat, and drops to 30ish in hilly sections. On my 3rd tank of gas, and first two gave me 110 and 115 miles per gallon. I achieved extra 5 miles per gallon by changing the oil that was overfilled severely by previous owner. Also upped the tire pressure from 15psi up to 30psi. Recommended is 25psi, but I'm a heavy rider so bumped it up a bit. Overall very impressed with this 49cc Honda.
Anyone else here has a moped for errand duties?

 

[bruckus]

You got yourself a great little bike. I bought one new in 2007. My two boys rode it through their teens and it went with both of them to college. Needless to say many years and 10,000 miles later it is not in as nice shape as yours. Enjoy.

 

[FADEC]

I've been riding bikes for almost 50 years, and I just don't see the allure of these things.

 

[JoelB]

I'd love to have a little 50 but the road in front of my house is 40mph and it just isn't safe to be so slow. 125 is as small as I can get really.

 

[SatinSilver]

Looks brand new. How come previous owner sold it so soon? Great write up.

 

[gman2304]

Sorry….30 mph and with a top speed of 38 mph, urban big city maybe. But on hilly 45 mph plus roads where you’re sharing the roads with 80,000 lb Peterbilts, this seems dangerous to me.

 

[02SE]

I'd suggest some riding instruction www.msf-usa.org, just to give you better odds against the brain-dead, texting, make-up applying fools out there.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Looks brand new. How come previous owner sold it so soon? Great write up.

Previous owner bought it brand new in beginning of 2020 and rode it occasionally til August 2021. He racked up 2600 miles in that time and sold it to me for about 40% of the original MSRP. I think by end of this week I'll cross the 3k mile mark on the odometer.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Sorry….30 mph and with a top speed of 38 mph, urban big city maybe. But on hilly 45 mph plus roads where you’re sharing the roads with 80,000 lb Peterbilts, this seems dangerous to me.

I leave early everywhere I go and always choose back roads with max speed limits of 45MPH. Works out great so far. Another thing that helps is to let the GPS make a route for a bicycle. That really opened up some streets for me that I did not know existed, even though I lived in this area for 14 years now. If I ever replace the Ruckus, it will be with a Honda Trail 125. Simply because I like getting 115 miles per gallon, and Trail 125 can actually hit 55MPH, which is plenty for me.

 

[DuckRyder]

Nice… there’s quite a custom market around these if I’m not mistaken, you could probably get a few more MPH and/MPG out of it with a pipe and some gearing changes… or big bore kit.

Point of order Technically a moped has pedals this would be a scooter.

Good color too!

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Nice… there’s quite a custom market around these if I’m not mistaken, you could probably get a few more MPH and/MPG out of it with a pipe and some gearing changes… or big bore kit.

Point of order Technically a moped has pedals this would be a scooter.

Good color too!

Thank you! The big bore kit for this engine only bumps it up from 49cc to 58.1cc... A chinese clone 49cc scooter can be big-bored to 100cc much easier. Difference is that Honda engine is water cooled and the block design doesn't allow a big bore due to coolant passages. Chinese 49cc clones are air-cooled, can be bored out to 100cc, but nowhere near as reliable.
And scooter it is then! Thanks for clearing that up, as I didn't fully know the difference myself.
As far as mods - rejetting a carb and opening up intake and exhaust does yield some gains, but at the cost of reliability. So I'm gonna stay away from that option. For now looking into CVT upgrades/tuning, as that seems to be the most effective way to gain power and speed without losing reliability. I'm sure once I lose a few pounds, that will help as well.

 

[ad244]

I like the look and the ease of the CVT. Unfortunately, I'd get run over trying to ride at 35mph around here. If you're able to survive at those speeds, then Ruckus away!

 

[troop]

I was really close to picking up a new Ruckus for both me/wife to bomb around on. At the last moment, the wife said she really had no interest in riding one. Soooo, having a m/c endorsement, I opted to spend less $$ and pick up a new Benelli TNT 135. It'll hit a corrected 58mph with my 210# load. It's a hoot

 

[maineiac]

I joined the scooter club last year as a way to get around on our RV trips without towing a car behind us (called a "toad"). I went slightly larger(Honda NS-300) to get better speed and acceleration and to accommodate us 2-up. Although I'm a card carrying motorcycle rider, the thing is fun to ride and "Honda dependable".

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I was really close to picking up a new Ruckus for both me/wife to bomb around on. At the last moment, the wife said she really had no interest in riding one. Soooo, having a m/c endorsement, I opted to spend less $$ and pick up a new Benelli TNT 135. It'll hit a corrected 58mph with my 210# load. It's a hoot

That thing is sweet! I'm guessing a Honda Grom clone?

 

[troop]

That thing is sweet! I'm guessing a Honda Grom clone?

Yup .. Designed by Benelli/Built by SSR.

 

[iahawk]

way to go, glad you're enjoying your new scoot! Scooters are a blast to ride and that one will last you a long, long time if taken care of.
Every motorcyclist should own a scooter at least once. There is something so enjoyable about just twisting a throttle and going.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Threw a set of Yamaha Roadstar saddlebags on it for a couple "cargo heavy" trips. Not gonna lie, I kinda like it... It almost doesn't stand out too much and somewhat adds to the utilitarian/rugged look of Honda Ruckus, IMHO... May have to look into a more permanent attachment to the frame, as now bags are just hanging on shoestrings.

 

[jeepman3071]

That thing is sweet! I'd love to find one. I've ridden dirt bikes and ATVs for years, but I think the appeal of the moped is the ability to putt around neighborhoods and urban areas, as well as parking it pretty much anywhere. I work on a University campus where parking is a nightmare, and I've thought about getting one just for when I have to go to the other side of campus for meetings.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Deleted post, started a new thread instead.