Proto-Ruckus

Meet the Honda Motra, a JDM-only minibike produced in the early 1980's. Looks like some sort of Jurassic Ruckus ancestor, doesn't it? It's actually better than that, because it's got actual off-road capabilities, a proper 3-speed gearbox, and it's not made of plastic.

The gearbox has a second stage with a lower final ratio across the three speeds for hill climbing with a load, and the bike is capable of carrying substantial extra weight beyond just the rider. No spongy soft suspension like on the Ruckus.

This particular bike was restored by Sammie from TotalRuckus. Check out his thread HERE


He's done an exceptional job, as the bike was a rusty mess to begin with. I also really like the photography, as they remind me of Bow's illustrations.

See his full restoration gallery on Flickr HERE

Aftermarket exhaust in this shot. He says he's only going to use it while he refinishes the OEM one, but I rather like it. Why couldn't Honda make color-matched wheels an option on the Ruckus?

Tiny Terror

I am currently fascinated with Japanese "Monkey" bikes. A lot of bikes get lumped into this category, but the Monkey is the name of an actual model produced by Honda. They also make the Ape and Gorilla, and then other companies produce a few more.

This one has a lot of parts from "Over Racing". You can just about build an entire bike from their catalog, and they make parts for normal full-size motorcycles as well.

Check out their site HERE

I'd love to pick up an XR50/CRF50 and build something crazy, although the frames on those are very different from a Monkey/Ape frame. It might be easier to just get someone to buy an Ape for me in Japan, disassemble it, and ship it to me in a crate.