Got Lucky today with a Buddy

brush pick · Post by **brush pick** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:27 pm

Hey ya'll, I got lucky and found a great Buddy. As they say, patience is a virture. Just yesterday I was this close to buying a People S 200, but
in my heart I knew I wanted a Buddy so I decided to hold out. This
morning a new Buddy came on CL. It is a 2009 two-tone Buddy
with 1 mile on the odometer. She bought it new in October but never
rode it. She hasn't even titled it yet. I gave her $2500 which is quite a deal. I have a couple of important questions. Obviously she has never
ridden it. It has the same full tank of gas it had when she purchased it.
(it was delivered to her by truck). The gas looks clean and light amber in color, but
there is sentiment sitting at the bottom of the tank. Should I do something with the gas tank to clean it? Also, it has a dead battery.
I wasn't able to run the engine before buying it, but this doesn't worry me given the circumstances. On the way home with my Buddy in the back of the truck, I stopped at a parts store and bought a battery charger. It is a 12 volt charger with a 2amp and 6 amp setting. Is the
voltage system a 12 volt on the buddy? And where is the battery located? I don't want to just start unscrewing panels until I have a better idea of where things are. I will post pics later tonight. Thanks!
ps.. oh yeah, it's a 150cc.

Vic · Post by **Vic** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:41 pm

Congrats on your new International Series Buddy (which color is it: blue, green or red and yellow)?

I would wait until you get some advice from some folks here on the forum before starting her up. I would doubt that she put any stabilizer in the gas and it is likely bad. I would not want to have that running into my scooter's engine...

Congrats,
-v

Lil Buddy · Post by **Lil Buddy** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:43 pm

Great find!! The battery (yes it is 12v) is located under the rubber floor mat. Pull the mat up, undo the two screws, flip the cover and there she is. Use the charger on the lowest amperage setting you can, or better yet....kick start her and go for a nice looooong ride!! Oooh wait, if your new to scootering, you might want to save that long ride till you get more comfortable.

Edited: Didn't realize the gas was from last Oct. Smart move deciding to drain it.

MikieTaps · Post by **MikieTaps** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:45 pm

drain the gas if you can... if you absolutely cant... get it through that motor ASAP and get clean gas in the. The battery is under the black foot floor panel in the center, just lift up the rubber.

Orange Guy · Post by **Orange Guy** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:48 pm

Considering the deal you got, I say spring for a trip to the dealer for a thorough checkup. It'll give you peace of mind knowing it's ready for the road.

The battery is under the floormat. You have to remove that and then take out a couple screws to get at it. If the battery doesn't hold a charge, you can get a new one at a battery store for about $60.

A_Hunter · Post by **A_Hunter** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:54 pm

Odds are the gas in the tank has completely destablized. It needs to go. Get a siphene pump and empty the tank. A good pump will also remove so of tv sediment as well. Then refill with new gas. Have fun and ride smart.

brush pick · Post by **brush pick** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:57 pm

Orange Guy wrote:Considering the deal you got, I say spring for a trip to the dealer for a thorough checkup. It'll give you peace of mind knowing it's ready for the road.

The battery is under the floormat. You have to remove that and then take out a couple screws to get at it. If the battery doesn't hold a charge, you can get a new one at a battery store for about $60.

Thanks! I was looking on Youtube for a how-to about batteries for the
Buddy but was coming up empty handed. I would have never guessed
it was under the floor mat. I will slow charge it on two amp. I also
have a turkey baster which I am going to use to extract the gas out
of the tank, and then put fresh gas in. I would like to get the sentiment out too, but that's not likely. What's that I read about stabilizer in the gas?

Vic · Post by **Vic** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:39 am

When letting gas sit for a while you can put stabilizer in it to keep the gas from getting all funky and nasty. That gas has been sitting since at least October, that is at least 9 months. As small as these engines are, and the miniscule quantities of fluids they take, seems to me there is no reason to take a chance and end up with a huge repair bill.

Having roasted enough meats and used a lot of turkey basters in my time, I very strongly recommend against using one to try to siphon gasoline. Even if you get one of the nicer ones made of silicone instead of rubber (not good for petroleum products) they still drip and I sincerely doubt you will get ANY of the sediment out. Getting a fouled up carb and clogged jets, just because you didn't want to spring for the right tool for the job will have you kicking yourself, that I can promise you.

I used Sta-Bil in my gas tank before storage last year.

I have also heard about a stabilizer and cleaner that you might want to consider dropping in your tank once you get rid of the yucky stuff and fill it with good stuff called Seafoam.

The packages tell you how much to add with a certain amount of gas.

By the way, before storing, after adding the stabilizer you need to run the engine to get the stabilizer through the whole system-not just the tank. Also, make sure to store a scooter with a FULL tank to prevent condensation issues, just top off with your gas can that is also full of stabilized gas. Simple.

Cheers,
-v

chloefpuff · Post by **chloefpuff** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:23 am

nudge nudge wink wink
oh wait, that's not what you meant

Congratulations, sounds like you got a great deal!

brush pick · Post by **brush pick** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:10 am

chloefpuff wrote:nudge nudge wink wink
oh wait, that's not what you meant

Congratulations, sounds like you got a great deal!

Thanks here is a pic of my Buddy. Unfortunately I went ahead with
the turkey baster. I didnt get your warnings until it was too late.
I got as much of the old gas out as possible leaving just a swig
on the bottom. I poured in fresh gas and drove it a couple of miles
to the gas station to check the air pressure. I might buy a siphon
pump and do the job again. I am obsessive and don't wait to
take anything to chance. Where do I get one of these siphon pumps?
Apparently the battery wasn't even dead. Neither I nor the owner
whom I bought it from remembered that you have to pull in the
left brake lever to start the engine.
Well apparently my pics are too big to send. I will have to decrease
the pixel size. Sorry. But it is the green 150 International.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:14 am

chloefpuff wrote:nudge nudge wink wink
oh wait, that's not what you meant

I was very disappointed that this thread turned out to be about buying a scooter.

brush pick · Post by **brush pick** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:08 am

TVB wrote:
chloefpuff wrote:nudge nudge wink wink
oh wait, that's not what you meant
I was very disappointed that this thread turned out to be about buying a scooter.

I am a little bit bothered by something. Me and the dude (the seller's boyfriend) loaded my buddy into the back of my van. We were both
very careful. When I got back to my apartment complex, I grabbed the
first dude I could find and asked him to help me lift my Buddy off.
I think he may have grabbed it by the freaking muffler, I don't know.
I couldn't see what he was doing. This really bothers me, damn OCD.
It seems fine, but who knows. Also we hit the Right side mirror on the
top of the van. I noticed tonight that the threads of the mirror are
out of whack. When I turn the mirror all the way in it's screw hole until it is snug,
the mirror is too far foward and thus useless. In order for it to be
useful, I would have to pull the mirror back towards me, which in effect
loosens the screw and leaves the mirror arm loose. The round mirror itself is marginally adjustable.
Is this a common problem? Have you ever had to lift your buddy off
of the back of a truck or van? Did you worry about grabbing it in the
wrong place?

Vic · Post by **Vic** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:52 am

Your mirror is fine, there is a little nut down at the bottom of the mirror stem where it meets the headset, just use a box wrench to tighten it down.

I put a little bit of BLUE (NOT, I repeat NOT the red) loctite on the mirror threads to help keep it from loosening.

If the nut is a little hard to loosen just be patient, when I put my windshield on we got the mirror's nut stuck and had to fool with it for a few minutes too. It will loosen with some persuasion.

-v

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:23 pm

The trick to properly tightening and positioning the mirror stems is to position the mirror "too far back" by about a quarter turn, screw down the nut that holds it in place, then push the stem forward into the proper position. This gives the screw an extra bit of tightening with the additional leverage provided by the stem.

(Also, keep reminding yourself that the right-hand mirror screws backwards.)

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:50 pm

brush pick wrote:Got Lucky today with a Buddy.

double entendre?

fretman · Post by **fretman** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:05 pm

When I got back to my apartment complex, I grabbed the
first dude I could find and asked him to help me lift my Buddy off.

Clevester · Post by **Clevester** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:26 pm

brush pick wrote: I would like to get the sentiment out too, but that's not likely.

My Buddy is full of sentiment! It adds to the value! Put that back in there! or send it to me! My Buddy could use more sentimental value!!

/sorry, I couldn't resist.

brush pick · Post by **brush pick** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:59 am

Clevester wrote:
brush pick wrote: I would like to get the sentiment out too, but that's not likely.
My Buddy is full of sentiment! It adds to the value! Put that back in there! or send it to me! My Buddy could use more sentimental value!!

/sorry, I couldn't resist.

haha I should know better, or no better.

Modern Buddy

Got Lucky today with a Buddy

Got Lucky today with a Buddy

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