Does it save gas to turn off Buddy 125 at red lights?

ptoxiq · Post by **ptoxiq** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:53 am

If there's already a topic or sticky about this, please provide a link to it. A simple search did not show such a topic. Thanks.

My question:
Does it conserve gas to turn my Buddy 125 off while waiting at a red light?

Another way of asking:
What consumes more gas: a single ignition/startup process or 1 minute of idling?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:55 am

At 100mpg does it matter? Maybe you'd save .0005¢...

jijifer · Post by **jijifer** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:00 am

I doubt it since I think there's a rush of fuel at start up. That was the convention I learned while driving a car, at least. Idle takes up less gas that starting if the idle is only a few minutes.

paige · Post by **paige** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:35 am

Wow, what a scary question. Never turn off your vehicle while you are engaged in driving activities. This includes waiting at lights.

ScootStevie · Post by **ScootStevie** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:42 am

paige wrote:Wow, what a scary question. Never turn off your vehicle while you are engaged in driving activities. This includes waiting at lights.

What would you do if you had to get out of the way of another car in a hurry??? Defo not worth it.

bluebuddygirl · Post by **bluebuddygirl** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:43 am

Yeah, do not turn off your engine. One of the things that you learn in MSF is to put your bike in 1st gear when you stop, so that if you need to move away from something you can. We don't have to worry about that with the buddy, but if you engine is off, that is a problem.

bigbropgo · Post by **bigbropgo** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:45 am

if you have to quickly get out of the way...you can't. if there was a small conceivable difference, it isn't worth the safety factor.

iwabj · Post by **iwabj** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:45 am

bigbropgo · Post by **bigbropgo** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:46 am

bluebuddygirl wrote:Yeah, do not turn off your engine. One of the things that you learn in MSF is to put your bike in 1st gear when you stop, so that if you need to move away from something you can. We don't have to worry about that with the buddy, but if you engine is off, that is a problem.

we posted at the same time but you had it right. not a good idea

ptoxiq · Post by **ptoxiq** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:49 am

Thanks for the replies. I do agree that the risks of disabling one's vehicle while in traffic do not outweigh the possible benefits of doing so.

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:17 am

It's a drain on your battery, as well as everything else mentioned.

About the only times I kill the engine at a stoplight or in a line of traffic is out-of-the-ordinary things: waiting on a train, waiting for the road construction guy to spin the "stop/yield" sign around...that kind of thing. Otherwise, better to just leave it running. Oh: I only do that if there's a car already behind me that's stopped. If I'm last in line, I want to make sure I'm ready for someone to "not see me".

yeauxkneauxit · Post by **yeauxkneauxit** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:48 pm

Dude, what sort of lights are you at?

1-2 min is about it. is it really worth a few cents a week to do this. Major strain on your starter...and like others mentioned, your in traffic and more fuel to start

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:01 pm

Don't turn if off at lights! Dangerous and causes more engine wear with the additional start ups.

I only turn mine off when waiting for a train. Happens a few times/week.

mojobuddy70cc · Post by **mojobuddy70cc** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:43 pm

,if you up front on the light and it has trip-strip put your kickstand down(not jack stand) on the strip it will trip the light (most) of the time, kinda like those magnets they sell, after all your quesiton is about how long the engine is running, right? hence burning fuel? trip the light, but PLEASE watch both ways for other cars!!!

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:52 pm

Some european countries require this by law for cars and motorcycles, many have a system built in that shuts the engine off when it hits idle speeds at red lights. It's all for saving gas, but on a bike that gets high MPG's it's actually more fuel efficient to run the engine at idle at the red light, and easier on the battery.

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:10 pm

jfrost2 wrote:Some european countries require this by law for cars and motorcycles, many have a system built in that shuts the engine off when it hits idle speeds at red lights. It's all for saving gas, but on a bike that gets high MPG's it's actually more fuel efficient to run the engine at idle at the red light, and easier on the battery.

There's a new Honda model that shuts off when idle but oddly the US version doesn't have this feature. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but assume it doesn't actually stop the engine and restart fully every time you stop—it's just not feeding gas to the engine so somehow doesn't idle as most vehicles currently do. Electronic idling, maybe?