Project Raucous - 450cc Turbo Honda Ruckus Project

[John M]

WOW

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[hardEH2]

ComposiMo always puttin the best stuff out I followed that crx build as well, is that another crx with fender flares I see back there? Great doc!

[ComposiMo]

Thanks guys! This thing is going to be awesome! haha!

Originally Posted by hardEH2

ComposiMo always puttin the best stuff out I followed that crx build as well, is that another crx with fender flares I see back there? Great doc!

Thanks! I try my best haha! Yea, the one Project thread (CRX Restoration Thread) is on hold due to family stuff with the owner of the car (he just had a baby girl), and the other CRX you spy in the background is this one:

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2247696

That is my own personal car, which takes a back seat to other projects in the shop, like this Ruckus... so it only gets worked on when there is nothing else to do, or i get tired of working on the same thing... so progress on it is slow. It doesn't need much though. I'd like to have it running and driving by the end of next month.

[Caretaker]

sweeeeet build

[blk2mid2sol]

awesome work! you have some great skills with the tig

[tyco]

keep us updated!

[SlowSOHC-T]

I can't wait to get mine....

Hell of a build man...

[Junk2910]

Simply amazing

[my95dc2]

MORE NOW. I never thought id see the day, this honda will have tourque. nothing like riding a 450f and spinning it through 5th, now its gonna have Nos and a turbo. I love you.

[csubucky19]

wow

[ComposiMo]

Here we are again... today was a REALLY busy day at the shop, so i didn't get as much done as i would have liked, but i got a pretty good bit done

Today i'm going to begin to box the entire rear section in, so that there is enough strength for this extremely torquey motor, as well as because this structure is also going to be the main base for the right-side rear axle mount... So this entire arm needs to be extremely strong.

Here is the trailing arm where we left off...




I began by making a template with some tracing paper of the rear area




Which allowed me to cut out two steel sections... one for the top, and one for the bottom. The top one also had to be notched for the motor mount






So, i started to tack weld it all together...




Before i could go too far, i also had to finish welding up the slots that i had cut in the arm so that i could bend the rectangle steel into the shape for the trailing arm.








Once that was done, i slowly finished welding the upper and lower plates... i had to weld small sections at a time, and let things cool off a bit between each one, so this process took a little while, but it came out beautifully, with hardly any noticable warping, which is the goal








I'm still not totally done boxing, but i was tired of doing that today, so i began working on another project with the Ruckus...

The rear axle blocks... these are used so that you can slide the rear axle forward or backwards to adjust for chain tension. I decided that moving the hub would be easier than making the engine slide for and aft, so that means i have to make these little adjusters. They will be oval shaped blocks, with a bolt in one end. The axle will tighten down on the blocks, and then the bolt is used to "jam" the axle so that it cannot slide forward once the adjustment has been made. fairly simple deal, but very much required.

So, i pulled out my favorite rectangle tubing (seems like i'm using this a lot on this project.. haha!), and drew my lines, marked my holes, and drilled them out.






Then, using the trusty Dewalt grinder, i trimmed out the section in the middle between the holes to form one long oval hole... then, i trimmed a small piece of tubing into two halves, which will become the front and back of this slot.






Then i welded up the halves on the top of the bar..




Then it was time to install the flat sections, which i cut out of a flat piece of steel... unfortunately its a bit thicker than the tubing i'm using, but i can always hide that later.






Once welded, i ground the entire thing down to make it all flush and smooth... It won't wind up like this though, for decent strength, i'm going to run one very nice bead of weld all the way around the perimiter, because in some of the pics farther down, you'll see that there are slight hairline slits that aren't fully welded... the visible bead should look pretty cool though haha!




Then, i have to round off the front and back, so that they are pleasing to the eye when done










And here is a picture of how they will sort of sit when installed... obviously they will be at the same height as the hub center, since they will be holding the axle... I still have to cap off the ends, and install the adjuster nut, but its a decent start for now..




Also, earlier i went next door and bought some temporary bolts, so that i could actually bolt the swingarm to the chassis rather than the slide-through sleeve thing i was using earlier. The stainless bolts i'm going to be using are on their way though.




So, theres where we stand at the end of the day... There will be more boxing in of the rear swingarm, and once the wheel s arrive, and i get the rear axle back from the machine shop on Monday, i'll be able to begin mounting the rear hub, and building the other side of the swingarm
















OH... and for those wondering about how much the motor weighs, it is a bit more than i remembered (i thought it was about 70lbs)... according to my Nitrous scale, it weighs:





87.75lbs... well, i was close hahaha!

[Sic_DA_Nine]

sick as [freak]!

[joshb_]

I cant wait to see this all done

[cubanSiR]

subscribed!!!

[mtny]

You have amazing abilities my friend.

[swade]

This thing is awesome. Cant wait for more updates.

swade

[thehatchninja]

great project, why is the motor going to sit off to the side like that?

[RotiEatter]

My friends and I were discussing your project last night and we were wondering why you even bothered to use a Ruckus?

You clearly have the talent and skill to build a frame from scratch. The only thing I could think of was that maybe its easier to register it in California because you guys need a tag for your 50cc scooters? [we don't need a tag/registration/insurance for 50cc in Ga.] That'd be cool if you could shed some light on this for us, thanks man and keep up the amazing work.

[SlepT ej6]

Cant wait to see more of this project... sick build!

[tequilakid]

Originally Posted by RotiEatter

My friends and I were discussing your project last night and we were wondering why you even bothered to use a Ruckus?

You clearly have the talent and skill to build a frame from scratch. The only thing I could think of was that maybe its easier to register it in California because you guys need a tag for your 50cc scooters? [we don't need a tag/registration/insurance for 50cc in Ga.] That'd be cool if you could shed some light on this for us, thanks man and keep up the amazing work.

Originally Posted by ComposiMo

So, we decided it'd be best to scratch-build a chassis! About halfway through the planning process, the customer decided that he'd like to be able to ride his overpowered go-ped to the post office and the bank, and run a few other small errands, so he wanted it to be street legal! Weeee!

....

Thus enters the Honda Ruckus..

From the first post.

[DsR_andy]

Dam this is so badass!

[.Grimace]

Originally Posted by DsR_andy

Dam this is so badass!

[dustin_68f100]

bad ass build! cant wait to see more progress.

[RotiEatter]

Originally Posted by tequilakid

From the first post.

Fa sho, I re-read that earlier after I made my post, but I guess you can't register it if you make it yourself? I didn't know if you could get a kit car kind of a registration or something.

[Smokinsax]

This is sooo incredible.