Who Has Ditched The Battery And Only Kickstart Your Scoot?

twharton

I have a Buddy125 and PX150. I'm just tired of recharging the battery(s) every few weeks so disconnected them both about 3 months ago.

My Buddy starts first kick every time and the PX usually two / no more than three. Last weekend I removed the battery from both scooters. I did an extensive search and with all the hundreds of battery threads I didn't find one that did what I have done.

The only negative I have experienced is on the PX150 my high beam headlight is actually dimmer but it's halogen and the low beam is brighter than the Buddy high beam. I don't ride at night.

Is there a dual battery tender? The electric start...though covenient just seems superfluous to me.

Comments?

lou76 · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:38 pm Post subject:

my extra headlight draws extra juice, so i always kickstart.
and there are battery tenders of all denominations.

illnoise · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:50 pm Post subject:

You entirely removed the battery? On older Vespas, if you run the bike without the battery connected, you'll fry the rectifier, and the turn signals and some other lights run on DC only. Also, to be DOT legal, your taillight must stay on with the engine turned off. Lots of people did a little creative rewiring to get rid of the battery (AC-only P-series wiring diagrams are on scooterhelp.com) but I'd think running without a battery is a bad idea, on the P at least. If it's working, that surprises me, maybe the newer ones are wired differently.

I don't know if running batteryless would have an adverse affect on a Buddy, but if you were going through a battery every couple weeks, you had a serious problem, it takes months without being used at all for a battery to lose charge, and even then, it's usually chargeable.

They do make multiple-outlet battery tenders, BTW.

Also, this isn't an issue on the P, but if the buddy kickstart is anything like the modern Vespa kickstarts, it's not very robust and isn't designed for everyday use, it's pretty much just there for emergencies, several people on Modern Vespa had problems with cracked engine cases or broken kickstart levers from frequent use of their kickstarters. The Buddy design, of course, is slightly different, but it may be an issue.

Bryan

illnoise · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject:

Don't get me wrong by the way, I love AC-only scooters, I've converted a couple of my old bikes to AC-only, but I find it hard to believe that everything's working properly on a modern scooter with no modifications aside from removing the battery, and there are safety issues, if your engine dies on a dark country road in the middle of the night, you're dead meat.

Drumwoulf · Joined: 01 Jan 2007 Posts: 813

robtaylor · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject:

i agree that if you are losing charge so quickly something else is wrong, i started my buddy a few times all through the winter and never put them on a tender or took the battery out and mine start up just fine all the time.

i love the fact that the buddy has a kick lever but i love the electric starter even more, plus how would i plug in my dvd player without the battery? Wink

rablack · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:52 pm Post subject:

I rarely rode this winter. I'd go 3 and 4 weeks without starting up. It cranked every time and I don't have it on a tender. I've only had to kick it once or twice in 2 years.

gt1000 · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:24 am Post subject:

twharton · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:58 am Post subject:

I think it's just low usage. It rarely gets ridden and when it does it's usually a 1.5 mile trip to the store....20 minute wait....1.5 mile trip home and then sit unused for 3 - 8 weeks.

gt1000 · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:33 am Post subject:

Buddy_wannabe · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:41 am Post subject:

...no battery tender .... non-heated garage .... southern MN .... sat from end of Nov till the end of Feb without being started .... brought it out / cranked right over /started right up ....I do kick start now and then just because

Drumwoulf · Joined: 01 Jan 2007 Posts: 813

Drumwoulf · Joined: 01 Jan 2007 Posts: 813

twharton · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:16 pm Post subject:

pocphil · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:34 pm Post subject:

I'm going to echo Beeb's post.

You can not run these scooters without a battery, not even for a little while.

More important than anything, that battery is a capacitor. If you take the battery out of the system, when you rev the scooter all of that charging energy is being handled by the regulator with nowhere to go. You can safely run a scooter on a dead or mostly dead battery, but not one that is shorted internally or sulphated to the point of being useless.

We have replaced countless voltage regulators as a direct result of people running scooters on dead / shorted / missing batteries.

Remember, once your voltage regulator dies, you won't have any of your accessory lighting, no turn signals, no tail light, no horn, no speedo light etc. This may leave you in an unsafe situation on the road some night.

Buy and use a Battery Tender Jr. - At only $39 it's half the cost of a quality replacement battery.

twharton · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:16 pm Post subject:

Thanks phil...already ordered(2). I must say I have been nothing but impressed on the Buddy starting first kick every time after weeks of sitting.

hcstrider · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject:

Most of the time I just use the electric start.

I have not yet purchased a Battery Tender to keep the battery charged. This winter I have been riding my Buddy every couple of weeks in order to keep the battery charged while it is in storage. These battery recharge rides are about 20 – 30 minutes long. In these instances I have been kick starting the Buddy because the electric start would unnecessarily drain the battery. I should just buy a Battery Tender but it is just sooooo much more fun to ride it.

p.s. That is a nice satellite loop of Hurricane Ivan.

RabidChild · Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:34 am Post subject:

cameron · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 4:02 am Post subject:

this is years late, and maybe totally obvious, but the buddy's battery will die unless the key is turned fully counter-clockwise. mine was ridden by somebody while I was out of town and when I got home 2 weeks later that battery was done. doesn't seem to be coming back to life on a charger either...

Lil Buddy · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:50 am Post subject:

EDIT: wow, I was tired when I responeded to this. Didn't realize it was posted years ago.....

TVB · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:31 pm Post subject:

Even if everything works without a battery, and the battery is in poor condition, and you're not using it to start the scoot... I'd still keep it in, for kinda the same reason I kept the nearly-dead battery in my old laptop (which I could only run on AC). The battery wasn't good for much, but when the electricity flickered (due to the third-world-quality grid here) it would condition the power just enough to keep the computer from rebooting.

jasondavis48108 · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:37 pm Post subject:

Kaos · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:38 pm Post subject:

My scooter flat won't kickstart. I've got a high compression piston and gaskets in it, and its just too much compression for the little kickstart cog in the Buddy.

Dooglas

Howardr · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject:

My Buddy will kickstart, but it doesn't like it. There are terrible screeching noises with each kick. It takes multiple attempts, but will eventually start.
I certainly wouldn't want to kick it any more often than I had to.

Howard

jasondavis48108 · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:29 pm Post subject:

I have a really good upgrade battery in my 50cc scoot 9Ah as opposed to the tiny little 3Ah it came with. I still kickstart it almost exclusively though since having the running lights set up on it seems to be a drain on the system. I only use the elect start every once in a wahile to make sure it still works Laughing

LisaLisa · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 3:51 am Post subject:

cant kick because I slid on it one winter day, and it's pushed into the box Sad

Lostmycage · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 5:27 am Post subject:

I'm gonna make this super simple, POCPhil's post is dead on. The battery is a capacitor/buffer for many essential systems on the Buddy. DO NOT run it without a battery. Even a dead battery is better than two dangling connectors.

If you run it without a battery, I wouldn't expect any warranty remediation for the damages that you incur.

Last point, I'm gonna lock this here thread down. It's not going to do anyone any good at all.

If you stumble on this thread and your battery is dead, leave it in until you have a replacement. That's the end of the recommended suggestions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, POCPhil's (necro)post to play us out on the now locked thread: