Getting My Feet Wet
It wasn't that long before I bought my first scooter that I was riding a chopped Harley Davidson Sportster with 18" ape hangers and too-loud pipes. I wore a club patch, and lived the lifestyle. But there is something about being a husband and a father and being an owner of a company with a management position that wouldn't mesh with the scooter tramp lifestyle. So I hung it up, and became a scooter commuter instead.
My wife Dena supports me in my hairbrained life adventures, and I think that when I turned the corner toward the scooter world, she breathed a sigh of relief. She started it all. She's the one who found the 1966 Vespa GT125, which in turn got me thinking and researching the scooter world. Now I own 4 scooters. My main ride being my '06 Honda Big Ruckus.
The Big Ruckus is a 250cc scoot without all the Tupperware plastic. Open tube frame with a flip-up pillion that makes for a nice back rest. It'll do 75 plus mph, and still get around 67 miles per gallon. At least thats what I average in local commuting. I average under 20 bucks a month for fuel, and I'm diggin that, since my sled is an '86 GMC Suburban. The word now is that the Big Ruckus will not be offered in the U.S. in '07. I've either got a dinosaur or a collectors
scoot.
I outfitted the Ruckus with a Memphis Shades windscreen that I bought used from my pal Monte at his motorcycle shop, and my wife put a Kuryakyn tour pack on the rear "cargo deck" to give me the ability to haul all my junk without having to run a spider web of bungees. Without a plastic body like the Reflex or the Helix, my mule doesn't come with a trunk. Just a cargo deck to utilize however you wish. So I'm set, hot to trot and good to go. And I have.
I bought my BR in early June, and have ridden to work every day since. Granted, we had the nicest Summer and early Autumn that I can remember, but I've found myself in good old Washington rain here lately. But overall I dig the Ruckus the most! I grin like an idiot sometimes, just because I'm riding. I never did that back in my club days. That idiot grin would have probably changed my dental plan. But this is a totally different world. And I like it. By far my scoot is the most comfortable ride that I've ever owned. And boasting aside, I've owned over thirty motorbikes including three HD's.
But all that hoo-rah for another day. For now, I'm jumping into the blog posting world with both feet. I've been encouraged by the Rush Hour Rambler and my wife to begin my own blog, and Little Billy's Scooter Tales is it. This is all new to me, so you veterans can sit back and check out my chicken poop mistakes as I make them, and hopefully laugh at some of the views of life that I'll share. All the while tooling along my little commute in wet and wild Washington State.
Have fun,
Bill
It wasn't that long before I bought my first scooter that I was riding a chopped Harley Davidson Sportster with 18" ape hangers and too-loud pipes. I wore a club patch, and lived the lifestyle. But there is something about being a husband and a father and being an owner of a company with a management position that wouldn't mesh with the scooter tramp lifestyle. So I hung it up, and became a scooter commuter instead.
My wife Dena supports me in my hairbrained life adventures, and I think that when I turned the corner toward the scooter world, she breathed a sigh of relief. She started it all. She's the one who found the 1966 Vespa GT125, which in turn got me thinking and researching the scooter world. Now I own 4 scooters. My main ride being my '06 Honda Big Ruckus.
The Big Ruckus is a 250cc scoot without all the Tupperware plastic. Open tube frame with a flip-up pillion that makes for a nice back rest. It'll do 75 plus mph, and still get around 67 miles per gallon. At least thats what I average in local commuting. I average under 20 bucks a month for fuel, and I'm diggin that, since my sled is an '86 GMC Suburban. The word now is that the Big Ruckus will not be offered in the U.S. in '07. I've either got a dinosaur or a collectors
scoot.
I outfitted the Ruckus with a Memphis Shades windscreen that I bought used from my pal Monte at his motorcycle shop, and my wife put a Kuryakyn tour pack on the rear "cargo deck" to give me the ability to haul all my junk without having to run a spider web of bungees. Without a plastic body like the Reflex or the Helix, my mule doesn't come with a trunk. Just a cargo deck to utilize however you wish. So I'm set, hot to trot and good to go. And I have.
I bought my BR in early June, and have ridden to work every day since. Granted, we had the nicest Summer and early Autumn that I can remember, but I've found myself in good old Washington rain here lately. But overall I dig the Ruckus the most! I grin like an idiot sometimes, just because I'm riding. I never did that back in my club days. That idiot grin would have probably changed my dental plan. But this is a totally different world. And I like it. By far my scoot is the most comfortable ride that I've ever owned. And boasting aside, I've owned over thirty motorbikes including three HD's.
But all that hoo-rah for another day. For now, I'm jumping into the blog posting world with both feet. I've been encouraged by the Rush Hour Rambler and my wife to begin my own blog, and Little Billy's Scooter Tales is it. This is all new to me, so you veterans can sit back and check out my chicken poop mistakes as I make them, and hopefully laugh at some of the views of life that I'll share. All the while tooling along my little commute in wet and wild Washington State.
Have fun,
Bill
posted by Bill Sommers at 7:45 PM
3 Comments:
Welcome to the blogging world! As a fellow scooter rider and blogger I have to say that for me it has been a fine mix.
I think the Big Ruckus is a great machine. It feels like the pick-up truck of scooters. I have seen a few on the road and can't help but think it is the real adventure touring scooter.
steve
Steve, thank you! It was only a year ago that I found out what a blog was. Now I'm driving one of my own.
I've called my Big Ruckus a mule many times, but not a truck. The "pick-up truck of scooters", I like that a lot. A flat bed at that.
Bill
JUST GOT A B.R USED WITH ONLY 57 MILES ON IT...PREVIOUS OWNER MUST HAVE HAD A FEW WING NUTS LOOSE..CAUSE THIS IS THE SWEETEST RUNNING LITTLE BUGGER THAT I'VE EVER OWNED...QUITE AS A SUMMER BREEZ..AND .WITH THAT LITTLE 'V'BELT DRIVE...I CANT SEE EVER GOING BACK TO MY 5 SPEED YAMAHA VIRAGO..EVER..
WIIL KEEP CHECKING THE SITE FOR UPDATES..
ROB
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