At any given point you can find dozens of custom Honda Ruckus examples floating around on Craigslist and eBay. Extended swing-arm conversions and bespoke paint jobs are pretty run of the mill modifications and I’ve never given much thought or attention to bespoke Ruckus examples, but today’s thoroughly modified build is a different story altogether.
This particular example was built by John Ward of Composimo Fabrications in North Carolina, the same shop that’s churned out a handful of beautiful Grom customs we’ve featured over the years – this 2013 Grom build is one of the most popular bikes in Bike-urious history, from a page view standpoint. Composimo specializes in customizing modern small-displacement machines such as the Ruckus, Grom, Z125 Pro, and K-Pipe. Put simply: if you’re looking to thoroughly transform a small contemporary scoot, Composimo is the shop you want to do it.
According to the seller, more than $25,000 was poured into this 2011 Ruckus build – a claim that’s fairly believable as the parts list on this one is staggeringly extensive. Though I’ve never been a big fan of the Ruckus, it’s hard not to appreciate how much work went into this build. In addition to a generous amount of top-shelf aftermarket components, this bike also boasts a handful of parts that were custom-fabricated specially for this project.
At the heart of this build is a powerplant from a 125cc Yamaha Zuma that’s been bored and stroked to 203cc’s. Almost every part of the motor is an aftermarket unit, including the Taida rocker arm set, 3.2mm stroker crank, 65mm piston and head, high-torque starter, and King cam. The bike’s 36mm throttle body and intake manifold, CNC race clutch bell, race clutch, oil cooler, pump, and oil-pump cover are all Koso units, while the cooling fan, ten-hole fuel injector, CVT kit, race torque driver, compression spring, and magnetic drain bolt are all from RC Scooters. The build also has a Hotlap exhaust complete with extra bung welded on.
Wrapped around the upgraded Yamaha engine is a custom chassis that features a one-off chromoly rear-frame from Composimo who is also responsible for the Honda’s custom side mounted shock mount, one-off steel Zuma 125 motor swap mount, custom rear-set setup & mounts, billet side panels, custom radiator mount and shroud, one-off side mounted kickstand, and bespoke fiberglass tail section.
This example was also fitted with a Power Commander, Antigravity lithium battery, Baja designs S2 racer edition LED headlight, Koso engine temperature gauge, Radiantz LED taillight with integrated brake and signals, Motogadget M-Lock keyless start system and Motogadget disc blaze front turn signals. The purple Ruckus has dozens of small yet professional touches such as its Rat Design under cowl, Travis spec custom carbon diamond-stitched seat, Minimoto Lab billet neck cover, gas tank modded by Composimo, MOON mooneyes gas cap, Downstar spiked lug nuts, and Drowsports carbon fiber front gauge pod.
Like much of the rest of the bike, the suspension on this 2011 example consists of all aftermarket components. Up front a set of RRGS lowdown forks is held via a billet aluminum triple tree topped off with a Rat Design handlebar clamp holding a set of Webike hurricane handlebars wrapped in Biltwell grips. In back a top-shelf Ohlins mono-shock unit is paired with an Ohlins rear-strut. The build also features an Ohlins steering damper, and a handful of other one-off parts from Composimo.
The braking hardware on this Ruckus is made up of a Frando 6-pot HF-4 caliper with 260mm disc in front while a 4-pot HF-6 caliper is paired with a 200mm disc in back. The build also sports a Frando 7NB Front master cylinder, billet reservoir with CNC cap, and a custom rear foot master cylinder and rear caliper bracket & caliper modification from Composimo. The entire build sits on a very special pair of Rotiform rims (wrapped in Michelin rubber) that – according to the seller – are the only Rotiform wheels ever made for a Ruckus.
Overall this is a beautifully finished Ruckus example and is by far the most extensive customization I’ve ever seen using the Ruckus platform. Every inch of this build was meticulously gone through and parts appear to have been selected carefully. The current owner claims this build took roughly three years from start to finish and is now capable of speeds around 100mph. While I don’t love this bike’s purple paint job, it does look professionally done and does pair well with the custom frame’s “satin purple” powder coat – courtesy of Charlie’s Chop Shop.
Based on the extensive work and the laundry list of performance parts, it probably won’t come as a surprise to hear that the asking price on this example isn’t cheap. It does appear the seller is somewhat flexible on price and is also interested in/open to potential trades, though it’s still hard to justify charging the price of a brand new FZ-10 for a custom Ruckus, even if it is a particularly cool and well-built one. Either way, this almost certainly won’t be the last thoroughly transformative, small-displacement build we see from John Ward of Composimo Fabrications.
You can find this one-off Zuma-powered 2011 Honda Ruckus for sale here on Craigslist in Queens, New York with a price of $13,000.