Vento Triton + Honda Ruckus = Vonda Trikus
Mar 30, 2014 10:21:26 GMT -5
2strokd, moofus02, and 4 more like this
Post by gluekill on Mar 30, 2014 10:21:26 GMT -5
This is how my Vento Triton looked when I bought it:
And this is how my roommate's Ruckus looked before it got stolen:
All the Triton's body panels were cracked so I removed them and attached a utility light so I could still see at night. The stock headlight screwed into the front bodywork so it couldn't be mounted without it anyway. This was taken after the front brake caliper seized. I mentioned the difficulty of finding a replacement single piston caliper in an earlier thread, but I then saw it as an opportunity.
You see, around that same time, my roommate had recovered his stolen Ruckus. A friend spotted it spraybombed black and chained up in an alley. He knew it was the same scooter because the odometer had the same mileage on it (10,000!) The thieves had punched out the ignition and hotwired it to a kill switch. They also pried off the locking gas cap. The end result was a messed up electrical system that prevented the battery from being charged which led to the electric fuel pump randomly quitting if the battery was not on a tender at all times. Also the tank was damaged from the prying so the gas cap would no longer stay on, let alone form a seal.
He already had purchased a new scooter by the time his old one had been located, so the theft recovery languished in the garage until I bought it. You see, for all its faults, the Triton had a pretty all right engine.
I had stripped it to its case halves:
The crank was replaced with a reinforced model from MotoForce. Note the smaller splined end. The new bearings were 30,000 RPM tolerant SKF ones.
I used a Malossi Multivar variator, Polini Air Speed finned half, and a no-name performance clutch and bell from Scrappy Dog Scooters. The broken reed block was replaced by a Malossi 4 petal unit with spacer. The cracked rubber intake, carburetor and cracked stock airbox were replaced by a larger rubber unit, Dellorto PHBG21 with pull choke and a Malossi airbox (with tape to vastly increase fuel efficiency while doing basically nothing to top speed.)
To top it off, the exhaust was replaced by this nice-looking aluminum and titanium dealie from LeoVince.
When faced with one scooter that won't run and another that won't move, you find a friend who can weld and push both of them to his shop.
He proceeded to cut the subframe off of the Triton and align it with the back end of the now engine-less Ruckus.
A little grinding, cutting and welding later, the engine mounts were added and a shock mount was fabricated. I bought a Handsome Boy steering stem, forks and brake caliper for $100. Finding an axle that fit took forever, though. The steering stem was milled down to fit in the ruckus frame and then cut and drilled to accommodate a handlebar clamp. Like the Triton, the stock ruckus handlebars are a bolt-on assembly.
The engine was stuffed with Play-Doh and drilled for a vacuum port. This was needed because the Ruckus's fuel tank is in the floor and I used a Mikuni vacuum pump to supply fuel instead of the stock Honda electric unit. Also by this time I had replaced the stock rock-like tires with Continental Zippys.
Cleaning up the wiring took forever. I removed all of the Honda bits and rebuilt the Triton's wiring harness so all the components would fit in the Ruckus battery box. I also did away with that godawful security system and it now runs off of a capacitor instead of a battery. That makes it kickstart-only but allowed me to remove the now-unnecessary electric motor and gears from the engine.
I replaced the fuel tank and installed a Honda Metropolitan sending unit so I could use a gauge and get rid of the idiot light on the battery box. In its place I installed the turn signal indicator which had been attached to the stock Ruckus handlebars.
The stock gauge was replaced with dual Koso digital units. One is a speedometer/odometer/fuel gauge. The other is a tachometer/temperature gauge/clock. The handlebars are from a motorcycle with about an inch chopped from each end. The front turn signal ears were removed and bar-end LED signals were installed. The tail light bracket was chopped and expertly smoothed by my welding friend. In its place is an LED unit with integrated turn signals. The stock seat frame was replaced with a lower one and I installed a Hood Rich Designs storage bin. I also sprayed the frame black to match the hack job that the thieves did on the battery box.
There still are a few kinks to work out, but overall I am happy with it as I made use of two less-than useful vehicles to create something that is both faster than stock and still comfortable to ride while looking vaguely like a production model.
And this is how my roommate's Ruckus looked before it got stolen:
All the Triton's body panels were cracked so I removed them and attached a utility light so I could still see at night. The stock headlight screwed into the front bodywork so it couldn't be mounted without it anyway. This was taken after the front brake caliper seized. I mentioned the difficulty of finding a replacement single piston caliper in an earlier thread, but I then saw it as an opportunity.
You see, around that same time, my roommate had recovered his stolen Ruckus. A friend spotted it spraybombed black and chained up in an alley. He knew it was the same scooter because the odometer had the same mileage on it (10,000!) The thieves had punched out the ignition and hotwired it to a kill switch. They also pried off the locking gas cap. The end result was a messed up electrical system that prevented the battery from being charged which led to the electric fuel pump randomly quitting if the battery was not on a tender at all times. Also the tank was damaged from the prying so the gas cap would no longer stay on, let alone form a seal.
He already had purchased a new scooter by the time his old one had been located, so the theft recovery languished in the garage until I bought it. You see, for all its faults, the Triton had a pretty all right engine.
I had stripped it to its case halves:
The crank was replaced with a reinforced model from MotoForce. Note the smaller splined end. The new bearings were 30,000 RPM tolerant SKF ones.
I used a Malossi Multivar variator, Polini Air Speed finned half, and a no-name performance clutch and bell from Scrappy Dog Scooters. The broken reed block was replaced by a Malossi 4 petal unit with spacer. The cracked rubber intake, carburetor and cracked stock airbox were replaced by a larger rubber unit, Dellorto PHBG21 with pull choke and a Malossi airbox (with tape to vastly increase fuel efficiency while doing basically nothing to top speed.)
To top it off, the exhaust was replaced by this nice-looking aluminum and titanium dealie from LeoVince.
When faced with one scooter that won't run and another that won't move, you find a friend who can weld and push both of them to his shop.
He proceeded to cut the subframe off of the Triton and align it with the back end of the now engine-less Ruckus.
A little grinding, cutting and welding later, the engine mounts were added and a shock mount was fabricated. I bought a Handsome Boy steering stem, forks and brake caliper for $100. Finding an axle that fit took forever, though. The steering stem was milled down to fit in the ruckus frame and then cut and drilled to accommodate a handlebar clamp. Like the Triton, the stock ruckus handlebars are a bolt-on assembly.
The engine was stuffed with Play-Doh and drilled for a vacuum port. This was needed because the Ruckus's fuel tank is in the floor and I used a Mikuni vacuum pump to supply fuel instead of the stock Honda electric unit. Also by this time I had replaced the stock rock-like tires with Continental Zippys.
Cleaning up the wiring took forever. I removed all of the Honda bits and rebuilt the Triton's wiring harness so all the components would fit in the Ruckus battery box. I also did away with that godawful security system and it now runs off of a capacitor instead of a battery. That makes it kickstart-only but allowed me to remove the now-unnecessary electric motor and gears from the engine.
I replaced the fuel tank and installed a Honda Metropolitan sending unit so I could use a gauge and get rid of the idiot light on the battery box. In its place I installed the turn signal indicator which had been attached to the stock Ruckus handlebars.
The stock gauge was replaced with dual Koso digital units. One is a speedometer/odometer/fuel gauge. The other is a tachometer/temperature gauge/clock. The handlebars are from a motorcycle with about an inch chopped from each end. The front turn signal ears were removed and bar-end LED signals were installed. The tail light bracket was chopped and expertly smoothed by my welding friend. In its place is an LED unit with integrated turn signals. The stock seat frame was replaced with a lower one and I installed a Hood Rich Designs storage bin. I also sprayed the frame black to match the hack job that the thieves did on the battery box.
There still are a few kinks to work out, but overall I am happy with it as I made use of two less-than useful vehicles to create something that is both faster than stock and still comfortable to ride while looking vaguely like a production model.
