Well, It’s Happened

In 2003, writing about the CycleWorld motorcycle show, I wrote:

The Ruckus has “personal injury lawsuit” written all over it. (…) What can I say? it was hands-down the most ridiculous, ugly, pointless vehicle on display in the entire arena. And Grace, Vina and I all loved it. It’s basically a 2-wheeled ATV. You can’t look at it without thinking about ways to hurt yourself riding it. It simply inspires jackassery. It’s just begging to be covered in chicken wire and papier mache, or to be ridden “Bad-Route-style” through the woods while tripping, wearing nothing but cutoff shorts and a gorilla mask. Love it. It’s the future of scootering.

Here we are, ten years later, and my prophecy is fulfilled: Are You F*#kin Nuts? Chicago 2013. Actually it was fulfilled last year, when 40 riders attended the mostly-Ruckus-centered event, but as an expert globetrotting scooter journalist who posts once every two months these days if you’re lucky (you’re not), it passed right under my sad-old-man Cushman-polishing radar. We’ve been seeing more and more hot-rodded Ruckii at our own rallies in the past few years, and as far as I’m concerned, everyone’s welcome at most of our rallies, so we’re glad to have ’em, and more power to ’em, but obviously it’s not my demographic, I can’t even pretend to understand it, and I’m sure they’ve had their own blogs and tumblrs and sext aggregators and whatever it is that hipper, younger, carefree scooterists do these days to justify their existence. So as 2strokebuzz enters its wane of old age (seriously you guys, I need to pull the plug on this thing and put it out of its misery) cheers to the next generation, you’re just as stupid as we were and if you’re luckier than us, you’ll stay that way.

6 thoughts on “Well, It’s Happened”

  1. Then I went on to lecture them about Chicago license/parking laws in the comments of their own posts, like a total haggard bitter grampa.

  2. I would also like to remind all you hipsters that these things were originally called “Play Pocket Zoomers” in Japan. So there.

  3. The other day I was looking at a photo album from this year’s edition of a long-established scooter rally, which contained a picture of a restored-to-better-than-new-condition Lambretta perched on a trailer being towed by a BMW X5. If nothing else, the Ruckus scene is a whole lot more, um, HONEST than the metal-bodied scooter scene has become. I’m always happy to see the Ruck folk…

  4. Absolutely love the Ruckus, and am thrilled that the custom scene for it is finally taking off here like it did over in Japan. A bonkers, engine-swapped Ruckus is on my project list and not coming off until it’s finished.

    As for retiring 2SB, I sure hope you don’t!

    If you do, however, we’d love to have you as frequently or infrequently as you like over around our campfire. Always welcome!

  5. The custom Ruckus scene is super cool, and a great new facet to the ever-evolving scooterverse.

    I am tempted to ask orino why using BMW X5s to haul a restored vintage scoot somehow makes the vintage scene less “honest” (as if he’s an expert on these things), but am reminded of the adage: “Arguing with an idiot is like wrestling a pig; all you get is dirty and the pig loves the attention”.

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