The rear shock from a 1985 or 1986 Honda Aero is a bolt-on replacement for the Honda Ruckus. The lower mounting bolt from the Aero is a bit longer and more ideal to use, but either bolt will work since they are the same size. I am fool for not taking a photo of both shocks side by side yet. I will do so and update this page next time I have a reason to remove the air box.

I bought what was described as “1986 Honda Aero NB50 rear shock with nuts & bolts” for $27.17. According to eBay, this total was including shipping in July of 2014, and there was no photo on the listing.



How to install

  1. Put the Ruckus on its center stand
  2. Remove air box cover and filter
  3. Remove the bolts holding the back of the air box, leave all hoses connected
  4. Loosen or remove the seat frame because it blocks the top shock bolt
  5. Loosen both the upper and lower bolts that hold the shock
  6. Prop up the rear wheel to hold it in place
  7. Remove both upper and lower bolts
  8. Lower the wheel to the ground
  9. Put the Aero shock in place
  10. Put your scooter back together, dude

Pros

No more bottoming out
It’s a better shock, and the cushion in your ride improves drastically. The rear shock on the Ruckus is horrible. It bottoms out on almost any imperfection in a road surface with a rider that weighs less than 200 pounds. The Aero shock is better, but it’s not hard for a shock to be better than horrible. The best part about this upgrade is that it’s so easy to do once you obtain the part, not that it’s the best rear shock available.

Cons

You realize how bad the front suspension is, too
My focus was immediately drawn to how the front suspension was absorbing impacts. The rear is performing better than the front. This is disappointing because a fork upgrade is going to be way more expensive than a 1980s rear shock swap.

It’s a bit bouncy
This shock does not dampen the spring enough to prevent bounce during large impacts. I might deal with it forever, though.

Related post

I also upgraded my front suspension by replacing the fork springs with a stiffer set. 

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