Ruckus Rune

Rideamotorcycle.com is the newest motorcycle Internet web site, one that takes a totally fresh approach to catering to the street-oriented two-wheeled enthusiast. Rideamotorcycle.com is focused on 3 groups; the established street motorcycle rider, new motorcyclists, or those who do not currently ride motorcycles but are curious about learning to do so. Rideamotorcycle.com LLC Editor at Large: Bill Heald News Editor: Evan Williams Webmaster: Mark Lesselyoung Publisher: Dean Adams Honda Raises a Ruckus with the Rune By Bill Heald "Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."

"The dinosaur's eloquent lesson is that if some bigness is good, an overabundance of bigness is not necessarily better."

We live in times where extreme stuff is becoming quite commonplace. We have extreme sports, extreme politics, extreme imagery in every form of marketing, and even (in one particular restaurant I've visited) Extreme Enchiladas. Even the spelling of extreme has become Xtreme, and has led to such wonders as the peppy Xtreme Chevy S-10 pickup and the Formula Xtreme class in AMA pro roadracing.

In addition to racing, motorcycling has clearly not been immune from this trend. Just in the last few years we've seen the rise of the "street fighter" standard and the "performance" cruiser. Part-andĞparcel of all this is increasing popularity of stunt riding, as expressed in all kinds of videos, competitions and even schools (Like Keith Code's new "Wheelie School"). Thus, bold new ways of designing and riding motorcycles are popping up like moto-fungus all over the planet. There is clearly a lot of envelope pushing going on, which is a double-edged sword to be sure. A lot of this extreme stuff has been bad for the image of motorcycling by expanding on the hooligan side of riding, in addition to getting some extreme riders hurt.

But rather than curse the darkness and focus on the dark side of the whole extreme movement, let me light a candle and praise some corporate wilding that I actually think is healthy. Deep within the carefully micro-managed world of mass-market motorcycle production, a really amazing thing has happened. Who would have thought that a fairly pragmatic corporation like Honda would actually build a production bike that looks near-as-dammit like the concept bike a first-year student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena might dream up?

Now, before you get the wrong impression, I don't want the student analogy make you think I believe the outrageous '04 Honda Valkyrie Rune looks like an amateurish design exercise. What I meant was it has a truly uninhibited quality to it; a clean-sheet, dream bike appearance that looks have been conceived by a fresh, youthful mind with no ties to corporate conventionality (and maybe a penchant for the odd whiff of Caribbean cannabis).

Oh, you're getting the wrong impression again. My bad, as the fresh youthful minds with no ties to corporate conventionality might say. I did not mean to imply the design team that created the Rune was high on some type of illicit hemp. I just meant that they seemed to be a lot of free thinking going on, which is what the best designers get to do when you give them some creative flexibility.

No, it's the folks that decided to actually build this thing who are clearly DUI (Deciding Under the Influence). Or so you might think when you ponder how really, really bizarre this bike is. It looks more like one of Arlen Ness' amazing creations you'd see at Daytona than something you'd encounter at your Honda dealer one row over from the Gold Wings, Interceptors and dirt bikes.

Whether you like it or not (and to be honest I haven't made up my mind yet. I have to see it in person and then actually ride it before I'll spew judgement), I honestly can't believe Honda is building this freakish ride. It's way radical, totally psycho and heap Xtreme. It is every bit as surprising to me that Big Red is rolling this thing out next spring as it was that Harley rolled out the V-Rod last year. That, too, was a very bold move.

I know Evan Williams introduced the Rune to you back in September, but I want to go over some of the hard parts now for you see, it's not just on the visual front where the wildness lurks.

For starters, the only thing this new Valkyrie shares with other Valkyries is the Flat-Six engine configuration (and maybe the starter. I'm not sure). Everything else is more related to the new Gold Wing, although there are far more new bits than borrowed parts by quite a margin.

In terms of performance numbers, as of now they haven't released any horsepower figures on this motor yet. But, it's safe to say the ponies will likely be Clydesdales, or at least steroid-enhanced Percherons. The engine is fuel injected with six 32mm throttle bodies and two-valve heads (read: more torque than an angry mom pulling you out from under the bed after you broke her favorite vase during that failed indoor buttonhook pass to your little brother). There's a five-speed tranny, dual radiators, an 1,100 watt alternator, hydraulic clutch and shaft final drive.

OK, all this is regular Honda huge-bike stuff, although more stylishly executed and topped with a seamless 6.2-gallon tank. But there's some serious extremism in the suspension department, as Honda wanted something speci lb. beast that stretches a whopping 69 inches between the axles (less than a yard shy of the Mini Cooper automobile, by the way).

In front we have what Honda calls a "trailing bottom-link" design, which "transfers axle load through pushrods and linkage to two upper shocks-one housing the main spring and one a sub-spring and damping system. The unique suspension system offers 3.9 inches of compliant travel and superior stability."

Got that? It looks reminiscent of designs that were popular many, many years ago. We'll see how she flies when it hits the mean streets filled with potholes, expansion joints and frost heaves. You never know about alternative engineering solutions. This fork arrangement might suit the bike perfectly. Or, it might be a case of form over function and a bit of a disappointment. We'll see.

Out back, you're probably thinking there's twin spring towers like most cruisers, right? No way. Here Honda gets really funky and robbed the design from (of all things) their RC211V World Champion GP bike. Say what? Yessir, I speak the truth. The Rune has the same design as the new CBR600RR, which is based on the GP bike's swingarm-mounted shock. This is trick, cutting-age racing stuff on a bike nearly as long as a compact car. The benefit in terms of handling in bumpy corners may be like putting Ohlins on a hook and ladder truck, but hey, it's Xtreme, man.

Finally, there are some absolutely colossal linked brakes on some absolutely huge chrome wheels holding absolutely enormous tires. Everything else of interest is aesthetic, meaning you just have to really look at the thing and scratch your head in wonderment. Is this gorgeous? Ugly? Classic future-tech, or aesthetic nightmare? Are we witnessing a bitchin' breakthrough, or a bold blunder?

All I know is the company didn't play it safe with this machine. And, I have to say good on Ôem for that. This is a concept bike that somebody decided they should just build as is, for it looks like very little was changed from sketch to assembly line. This is a wild and avant-garde creature, and as far away from a basic motorcycle as mankind has come.

I can't talk about the Rune without mentioning the new Ruckus, because the latter is the antithesis of the former. There's no extremism here, unless you consider this bike extremely simplistic. Where the Rune is a boisterous Beowulf, the Ruckus is a tiddling Tinkerbell. In fact, the Ruckus would make a dandy dinghy or pilot boat for the Rune, and in the latter case could come in really handy when navigating the big bike through a congested Burger King parking lot.

The Ruckus is as elemental as the Rune is extreme. It's a street-legal rolling pipe assembly with big tires, a liquid-cooled 50 cc Single and a helmet lock. Like the Rune it is a motorcycle, true, but it weighs roughly 600 lbs. less and has no pretensions about being a one-off "custom." No, this is basic two-wheeled transportation that has a certain bohemian scooteroid quality about it, and it goes very quietly about its business.

I like the yin and yang of these two new Hondas. I intend to ride them both as soon as I can, so I'll feel I have truly experienced manufacturing diversity. And whether you like either of these queer ducks or not, I applaud any company that occasionally hikes out to the edge and does crazy, risky things to see how the market reacts. The Rune won't be built in big numbers, but the fact that it's being built at all is a pleasant surprise.

Oh, and the Ruckus? Shoot, they may build a billion of these things and cover the earth with them for all I know. I already see myself getting one and then stealing the headlight off a Rune, and attaching it to the little wheezer with wire and duct tape. Every now and again, one must make a bold statement even though you have no clue what you're actually saying.