Ruckus At Blue Devil Riders Show

NEW BRITAIN, CT – There was a Ruckus at Blue Devil Riders Bike Show at Central Connecticut State University today. In fact, there were at least three 49cc Honda Ruckus scooters at the show, and two of them were tricked out to the max. They got loads of attention from attendees, which their owners said isn’t uncommon. So did the wide variety of motorcycles that were displayed at the show that was staged atop a parking garage.

“Everybody loves it,” said Corey Brown of his purple 2009 Ruckus. He rode down from Enfield, CT on back roads. “Everything’s custom built. It probably cost more than most of the bikes here,” he said. A quick glance revealed custom wheels, a stretched and powder-coated frame and an eye-catching spiral exhaust pipe.

A company called DorbyWorks in Florida did the exhaust. “I ordered it in February and just got it at the end of March,” said Brown, who said he bought a Ruckus because he wanted something different. “I could have gotten a motorcycle but I wanted something that stood out,” he said.

Paul Halverson of Meriden, CT likewise wanted to ride something unique and his 2010 Ruckus was also one-off. The scooter’s simplicity appeals to him. “In your spare time, you can tinker more. The work doesn’t stop if you want to keep building it,” he said.

A Ruckus only has a 1.3-gallon gas tank, but it gets more than 100 miles per gallon. Top speed is in the vicinity of 40 miles per hour.

At the other end of the extreme at the show were some heavyweight Harley-Davidsons as well as everything in-between. While the threat of rain in the morning may have tempered attendance, there were a sufficient number of different bikes to make the show interesting.

Showing off his modified 250cc Honda Rebel (above and below) was Matt Godbout of Newington, CT. “It was Dad’s bike. It was ugly so I did it up a little bit,” he explained. It got new tires (knobbies in front and a white-wall in back), the fenders got cut, the frame painted and a solo seat added.

Giving his 2011 Honda CBR600RR a once-over so that it would look good was Tom Nienczyk, also of Newington.

The Blue Devil Riders Bike Show was held in conjunction with a car show, which not only offered cars but vendors and at least one strenuous activity.

Sport bikes dominated the motorcycle show area.

However, there were a couple of classic models.

George Mackey of Hudson, NH brought down his 1970 Triumph T120 Bonneville.

And Kevin Fitzgerald brought his 2000 Harley-Davidson XLH1200 Sportster.

Here are a few more pics from the show: