Buddy Reliability

Discussion of the Genuine Buddy, Hooligan, Black Jack and other topics, both scooter related and not

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knotsfan
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Buddy Reliability

Post by knotsfan »

Hi, I would like to buy a Buddy Blackjack 150 (got a good deal -$2800 with windshield & 42 miles), but I've heard that they aren't reliable & not good quality. Was told to consider a Vin0\o 125 that it would last longer. Does anyone have experience on this subject? Much appreciated!
Last edited by knotsfan on Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:54 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've got the 125 not the 50, but I put 30k miles on mine in 2 years and never had an issue I didn't cause myself

2 or 3 thousand is nothing at all, thats barely broken in.
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Re: Buddy Reliability

Post by Skootz Kabootz »

knotsfan wrote:Hi, I would like to buy a Buddy Blackjack (got a good deal -$2800 with windshield & 42 miles), but I've heard that they aren't reliable & not good quality. Was told to consider a Vin0\o 125 that it would last longer. Does anyone have experience on this subject? Much appreciated!
I don't know who your hearing your information from but it's bad, and heavily skewed.

Generally Vino's are fine build quality but are slower scooters cc for cc. Truth is Genuine's are considered among the most reliable scooters on the market. Many would say the most reliable. Personally I have 14,000 miles of 100% trouble free riding on my 150 (same engine as the Blackjack) and I have not been gentle. The record Genuine milage so far is 40,000 miles (shout out to BoneGirl). And I'd have to say Genuine's customer service is second to none. I have yet to see any other scooter company go to the lengths Genuine has to keep it's customers happy.

I'm sure others will chime in here but this should begin to get you pointed in a more truthful direction.
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Post by Tocsik »

This being a Buddy forum, you will get lots of replies and all will be in favor of the Buddy. That being said. It's true: Genuine scooters are among the very best made scooters on the planet. Or any other planet for that matter.

I have over 17,000 miles in a little over 2 years and I have made changes to the transmission (after-market variator, roller weights, clutch and clutch bell) plus added the Prima pipe.
I don't baby my bike. I ride it pretty hard sometimes.

The only problems I have had are the following: a stuck needle in the carb (which was fixed under the excellent warranty) and some issues with the rear bearings (also fixed under warranty...the first time). There's a lot of Buddys out there and only a few of us have had the bearing issues.

Don't worry for a second about the quality. Ride both the Vino and the Buddy and make your decision. The Vino is pretty nice looking and quite reliable as well. The Buddy is much quicker and overall faster (this based on much reading from users).

(PS - that's a killer deal on the Blackjack and no Vino can stand up to the 'Jack!)
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Post by knotsfan »

Thanks for the replies, everyone, I just needed that little bit of hand holding. I rode both scoots & love the Buddy, so my decision is made. Tomorrow I will be a Buddy owner, I can't wait!
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Post by sunshinen »

Note which company offers the better warranty. =)

At 12,000 miles, I've had no issues beyond normal maintenance. And that's even after having the motor oil all fall out while riding - twice - due to human error: 1) a mechanic stripped the drain plug, 2) I failed to lube the filter gasket during an oil change I did myself.
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Post by sunshinen »

Congrats, you'll love it.
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Post by Howardr »

I have 21,000 joyous miles on my St Tropez 150. I definitely don't baby my bike. Many of those miles are dirt road or off road. I weigh in at 250 lbs and it has carried my big butt everywhere with no problems.
I'm in the desert and my Buddy has been ridden in temps from the 20's to the 120's, again, no problems. I don't have a Vino, but I don't know how it would be possible to perform better than my Buddy.

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Post by JHScoot »

you made the right choice. Blackjack owners don't want a Vino, but plenty of Vino owners want a Blackjack

its faster, performance oriented, original, and a lot of fun to ride. a real hootenanny :shock:

you can do things with the Blackjack the Vino would not do nearly as well. like pull ahead of Mustangs at lights

also, its funny how many are still misinformed about Taiwanese scooter quality among the MC community, and even many Japanese and Italian scoot riders. although they may hold a bias

the Buddy is a Taiwanese scooter. that is its origin, as is most of Genuine's product line, saving the Stella. in the years its been out its gotten nothing but great reviews and accolades and is loved by its owners. or at least looked upon with warm thoughts :)

anyway, Genuine (PGO Taiwan made scoots), Kymco, and SYM are the major Taiwanese scooter players. others exist, but most people act like "wtf" when you tell them your scooter is a Kymco. "a what?" so best just to leave it at those three for now

anyway, you now own one of the most Badass 150cc scooters on the planet, made by PGO Taiwan for The Genuine Scooter Company. a good three steps ahead of the Vino, at least. honestly, a Vino next to a BJ is like a Corolla next to a new Camaro

be very happy, you made the right choice. the Blackjack just reveals more of its goodness to you as the miles pile up :wink:
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Post by knotsfan »

Thanks everyone! I can't wait to put my first 1,000 miles on my Buddy!
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Post by Sparky »

I've owned both a Vino 125 and my current Buddy 125. The Vino constantly shed bits and bobs, had the muffler crack off twice (known issue with an overly long bolt), and finally had a header pipe leak that had me sell it off after repairs. The engine itself was a trooper. But I was surprised how many issues it had despite bearing the Yamaha name.

The Buddy 125? Solid after three years of riding on Montreal's beat-to-hell pavement and many all-day and long-weekend multi-hundred mile trip. The only issues were a bent rim from a surprise pothole and the odd vapour-lock issue (have cap vented if not already done, try not to overfill tank). Honestly, I'm not sure you can kill a Buddy unless it involves an accident or catastrophic clumsiness with a wrench.
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Post by ericalm »

Congrats on the new scoot and welcome to the forum!
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Post by BuddyLicious »

I bet the people passing on this ignorant and wrongful info with bias towards the buddy,are confusing what they have heard thru the grapevine on Chinese scoots.These people probably clump Taiwanese scoots with Chinese.
It's amazing what one can learn thru a little research but for many it's easier to pretend they know it all.
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Post by ericalm »

BuddyLicious wrote:I bet the people passing on this ignorant and wrongful info with bias towards the buddy,are confusing what they have heard thru the grapevine on Chinese scoots.These people probably clump Taiwanese scoots with Chinese.
It's amazing what one can learn thru a little research but for many it's easier to pretend they know it all.
There's also this little company called Vespa that HATES Genuine and the Buddy and has done their best to smear their reputation and denigrate the scooters. Meanies.
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Post by birdmove »

I've heard nothing but good concerning the reliability of the Buddy scooters. I've heard of the exhaust mounting bolt issue on the Vino 125, but if you keep an eye on that known weak point, I've heard they are quite reliable too. The Vino is supposed to be somewhat slower, but a good scooter too. Leftover Vino 125s are going for from about $1700 to $2000+ plus whatever fees. They are also supposed to be discontinued S OF 2010.

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Post by Kaos »

The Buddy is AWESOME for reliability.

I put 32k miles on it in 2.5 years, doing between 50 and 150 miles a day on it.
No problems at all. The only reason its not STILL my daily rider is that I pulled it apart to install a MUCH bigger motor for racing it.

Thats right, I love it so much that I'm upgrading it insanely instead of buying something else!

Welcome to the club :)
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Post by gearhead »

i have the buddy and had an 07 vino. When i sold my vino, it had 15k miles on it. The buddy gas 10k miles on it currently. They are both great scooters. The buddy is a lot more peppy than the vino
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Post by Mikie M. »

There is such a thing as bad luck, of course, but the odds are heavily stacked in your favor as an owner/operator of a Genuine Scooter. They (Genuines) are at the top of the heap and far superior to anything produced by Piaggio, Honda, Yamaha, or Lambretta. I grudgingly put Genuine Scooters on par with Aprilia, but give the nod to Genuine as to reliability and parts cost. When you ride down the boulevard women will faint, small children will cheer, and men will shake their fists at you. Enjoy. 8)
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Post by BootScootin'FireFighter »

Mikie M. wrote:There is such a thing as bad luck, of course, but the odds are heavily stacked in your favor as an owner/operator of a Genuine Scooter. They (Genuines) are at the top of the heap and far superior to anything produced by Piaggio, Honda, Yamaha, or Lambretta. I grudgingly put Genuine Scooters on par with Aprilia, but give the nod to Genuine as to reliability and parts cost. When you ride down the boulevard women will faint, small children will cheer, and men will shake their fists at you. Enjoy. 8)
let's also note that not only are they incredibly reliable and versatile, if and when they need maintenance, parts, or service... that's also incredibly affordable verses some "other" scooters.
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Black Jack vs Vino

Post by BoneGirl »

Hello to all of you folks!

I have a 2009 Black Jack with almost 15,000 miles in less than a year. I have not had one single problem since day one!

I didn't like the loudness of the performance pipe and traded for the stock pipe. My gas mileage is much better now as well. I have had a top speed (GPS read) of 78mph on a straightaway road and I'm 200 pounds!

I loved my 125cc and I love the 150cc. I get a little better giddy-up-and-go on steep hills now (40mph vs 25mph).

I can't say enough about the Buddy scooter. I believe they are made to ride and I do it all tear long. Maybe mine run so well because I do run them and they don't sit around.

I have a friend with the 125 Vino and I think he just happened to have a lemon because it was a dog from day one. Not much experience with many Vinos but for the money, I would always go with the Buddy.

BTW I made my Black Jack a Pinkster 150cc! :P
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Post by Syd »

And if memory serves, someone got what, 40,000 miles on their Buddy 125 before Genuine made an offer for it that the owner couldn't refuse?
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Tee! Hee!

Post by BoneGirl »

Syd wrote:And if memory serves, someone got what, 40,000 miles on their Buddy 125 before Genuine made an offer for it that the owner couldn't refuse?
Yup! :lol:
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Post by rollin thunder »

Love my 09 Blackjack..........No problems and quality is EXCELLENT....
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Post by Coffeejunkie »

My Blackjack is fantastic. She has been a loyal ride for almost two solid years, and even after an accident and my lack of skill, she's still going strong; welcome to the club.
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welcome

Post by Tam Tam »

Congrats on the Blackjack!!!!....my first buddy was a 2006 black and silver 125, and when i got back to scooting, I tested several scoots: the new kymco like, a new blur 220i, and the honda pcx. But the Blackjack felt the best, like my old buddy, but better. The shocks, the extra 25cc, the prima exhaust, the flat black paint job....all are wonderful!!!!
So, welcome to Modern Buddy, and to the 21 Club, the group for blackjack owners and associates. Post some pics of your ride for all of us at Modern Buddy!
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Post by rollin thunder »

The new Logo came out great.....Any idea when we'll be able to buy them? Looking forward to the spring. group rides and pics. Can't beat it.
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just have to...

Post by Tam Tam »

Just have to get them made, my friend. For those who will be at amerivespa new orleans, i will have some with me to sell/give away. Once they're made, i'll sell them at cost, no need to profit. just make um and sell um. Sorry have not had much time to do them up yet
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Post by buddy boy »

There are other reasons to buy Genuine, too. Being an intuitive person, I like the vibe I get from not just the scooter, but the people that have them. The scooter is quality and the people who inhabit them ( we don't just ride them, we personalize them, we worry about them, we take care of them) are genuine as well. We're not perfect, just interesting. I'm glad you decided on a Genuine. Welcome and good luck.
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by hachi08 »

BoneGirl wrote:BTW I made my Black Jack a Pinkster 150cc! :P
Image
OMG, your Pinkster 150 is adorable!!!!! <3

Oh, and to keep on topic: I've found Genuine Buddies to be terribly reliable. By my Buddy 125's one-year anniversary in Marxh, we'll have over 10K miles without any problems (though she did idle a bit funny after getting rear-ended by a dumb driver, but that's not her fault!) I'll admit that I ride my Buddy pretty roughly. I tend to drive in the 45-55MPH range and have taken her on some rough trips. We've even made it over the Gerald Desmond bridge a couple of times with no problems, though I draw the line at taking her over the Vincent Thomas bridge!
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by Tocsik »

BoneGirl wrote: Image
Hm, I've never seen a herd of fire hydrants before :roll:
.::I know the voices in my head aren't real, but man do they come up with some great ideas::.
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Post by Mikie M. »

Please forgive my gaff as to gender. For you young ladies who happen to be a Genuine scooter owner/operator, remember; when you ride down the boulevard women will glare with envy, small children will cheer, and men will tip their hats. Enjoy.
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Post by KRUSTYburger »

Congrats on your new scoot, knotsfan! I just want to chime in with everyone else in saying I've got over 13,000 miles on my Buddy and I've never had a single mechanical problem. I've only recently changed the spark plug and the belt (neither of which looked like they needed to be changed). You will get miles of smiles with the Black Jack! :D
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Post by r0sa »

Hello and welcome to the forums Knotsfan.

I have no doubt that you'll love your scoot.

I currently have 10,000 miles on mine and it's been good to me for the most part. I've never really did any maintenance on it except for changing the motor/gear oil and recently my stator went bad and my belt snapped and shredded to pieces :? BUT it was my fault, I rode for 10 freakin' thousand miles so I'm really surprised it all lasted for that long.


Have fun riding and be safe out there!
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Post by Dooglas »

I have owned both a Vino 125 and a Buddy 125. Owned the Vino for 3 years and the Buddy for 4 years (still have it). I would rate both scooters high for reliability. I would highlight the Vino for particularly high build quality and would give the Buddy points for best performance.
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by Len »

BoneGirl wrote:Hello to all of you folks!

I have a 2009 Black Jack with almost 15,000 miles in less than a year. I have not had one single problem since day one!

I didn't like the loudness of the performance pipe and traded for the stock pipe. My gas mileage is much better now as well. I have had a top speed (GPS read) of 78mph on a straightaway road and I'm 200 pounds!

I loved my 125cc and I love the 150cc. I get a little better giddy-up-and-go on steep hills now (40mph vs 25mph).

I can't say enough about the Buddy scooter. I believe they are made to ride and I do it all tear long. Maybe mine run so well because I do run them and they don't sit around.

I have a friend with the 125 Vino and I think he just happened to have a lemon because it was a dog from day one. Not much experience with many Vinos but for the money, I would always go with the Buddy.

BTW I made my Black Jack a Pinkster 150cc! :P
Image
Bonegirl, tell me about all the maintenance you had on your first and second Buddies.
How often did you have to change the belt and did you need to change the rollers and variator? at what mileages? Was there anything that needed to be done to the Engine other than the schedules maintenance? Seems like these Buddys run like a modern Car.

your input is helpful to me as I am trying to decide between a vespa and a buddy. YOUR Experiences are leeaning me in the Buddy direction.
thanks for your input.
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by Len »

[quote=BTW I made my Black Jack a Pinkster 150cc! :P
Image[/quote]

Bonegirl, when you changed your new buddy to a PINK one; did you paint it or just purchase all new plastic body panels and change them out?
TVB

Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by TVB »

Len wrote:Bonegirl, tell me about all the maintenance you had on your first and second Buddies.
How often did you have to change the belt and did you need to change the rollers and variator? at what mileages? Was there anything that needed to be done to the Engine other than the schedules maintenance? Seems like these Buddys run like a modern Car.
Wait.... you mean parts sometimes have to be replaced? ;)

My Buddy 50 only has 11K miles on it, but the only parts I've had replaced so far are the front brake pads, a spark plug, and the tires. Might have been a filter or two somewhere along the way. Oh, and one brake lever that broke off when I let the scooter tip over. That is not typical. :)
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by Quo Vadimus »

TVB wrote: My Buddy 50 only has 11K miles on it, but the only parts I've had replaced so far are the front brake pads, a spark plug, and the tires. Might have been a filter or two somewhere along the way. Oh, and one brake lever that broke off when I let the scooter tip over. That is not typical. :)
Seriously not the belt, rollers?
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Re: Buddy Reliability

Post by Dooglas »

knotsfan wrote:I've heard that they (Buddys) aren't reliable & not good quality.
Not sure where you got this guidance but I'd say it was not well informed. We've had a Buddy for 4 yours. It has shared part of that time in our garage with a 125 Vino and the rest with an LX150 Vespa. The Buddy has given perfect service over that period with no attention but routine servicing. If you are looking for reliability at reasonable cost, you can't do much better than a Buddy IMO.
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by TVB »

Quo Vadimus wrote:
TVB wrote:My Buddy 50 only has 11K miles on it, but the only parts I've had replaced so far are the front brake pads, a spark plug, and the tires. Might have been a filter or two somewhere along the way. Oh, and one brake lever that broke off when I let the scooter tip over. That is not typical. :)
Seriously not the belt, rollers?
Not unless the mechanic did it without telling me. Which is entirely possible, I suppose. Unlike many people here, who are into scooters because they like working on them, I really have no interest that stuff. I'm all about the DIY in other parts of my life (e.g. I run my own dns, smtp, imap, http, and ftp services; I built a ramp for my scooter; I have created working computers out of spare parts and free software; I used to brew my own beer), but the internal combustion engine and its associated systems are something I just don't care to deal with, so I let "the shop" do that for me. Late last year they said I'd need a new clutch soon, but they didn't mention replacing it when I was in for a "do what needs to be done" session early in the summer, and the bill was fairly affordable, so I don't think they did that.
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by MYSCTR »

TVB wrote: ...I just don't care to deal with, so I let "the shop" do that for me. Late last year they said I'd need a new clutch soon, but they didn't mention replacing it when I was in for a "do what needs to be done" session early in the summer, and the bill was fairly affordable, so I don't think they did that.
I enjoy a relationship with "the shop" knowing they (Vespa Dallas) appreciate me as a repeat long term customer and only suggesting something needs done when it needs done - not 50% or even 20% before it is used up.

That said, when we hit 10,000 miles we asked to have everything looked at replacing plug, belt, rollers and anything we thought should be changed to "start fresh" so we did not have any surprises leaving us broke down on the road.

Of course then we had the whole darn thing rebuilt (different shop) and have FINALLY got it all back together after some mods on our own and we are so ready to ride! (See pics to be posted in another post). We have found with basic simple maintenance the Buddy to be very reliable. That is not to say something will never go wrong - or frustrate you. They are an import and sooner or later you may just run into one of the few items (mostly aftermarket products they sell) that needs dealt with at Genuine and yet they don't seem to think so.
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Post by peabody99 »

I have had the remarkable fortune of using what I believe to be the best scooter shops on the US (the WORLD? :D ), Pride of Cleveland and Motorsport Scooters in San Diego, so my Buddy (and Vespa and the boy's Kymco) have always been perfect. But I have to say you know when belt/rollers is done because there are more $'s in the bill. I had that done at about ~9300, and POC told me there was still some life in them, but I went ahead and had them changed before I moved west. I think people get them done much sooner though-although I am not sure why...just make sure they are inspected. My Bud is nearly 12,000 and other than oil changes, tires, a spark plug, and the belt/rollers- all original and doing well.
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by BoneGirl »

Len wrote:Bonegirl, tell me about all the maintenance you had on your first and second Buddies.
How often did you have to change the belt and did you need to change the rollers and variator? at what mileages? Was there anything that needed to be done to the Engine other than the schedules maintenance?
Rollers and belts every 12-15K.
Oil Changes about 4K
Variator: Never
Spark Plugs: One a year
Air filter replaced as needed (just look at it and you'll see it's dirty)
Gear Oil once every 2 years.

Nothing else.

Regarding the panels: I just swapped out the Black Jack Panels for pink. I like the white seat so took off the black and red one. I love the Buddy, the price, the ease of maintenance and the reliability. I just turned 21K in 19 months. Top speed can't be beat, either!

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Post by peabody99 »

^ I need to get on your oil change schedule!
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by Len »

BoneGirl wrote:
Len wrote:Bonegirl, tell me about all the maintenance you had on your first and second Buddies.
How often did you have to change the belt and did you need to change the rollers and variator? at what mileages? Was there anything that needed to be done to the Engine other than the schedules maintenance?
Rollers and belts every 12-15K.
Oil Changes about 4K
Variator: Never
Spark Plugs: One a year
Air filter replaced as needed (just look at it and you'll see it's dirty)
Gear Oil once every 2 years.

Nothing else.

Regarding the panels: I just swapped out the Black Jack Panels for pink. I like the white seat so took off the black and red one. I love the Buddy, the price, the ease of maintenance and the reliability. I just turned 21K in 19 months. Top speed can't be beat, either!

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Bonegirl, what type of oil are you using, regular petroleum or Synthetic?
MYSCTR
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Post by MYSCTR »

peabody99 wrote:^ I need to get on your oil change schedule!
We are using synthetic - and although it is supposed to be 5K mile oil, they recommended changing it every 3,500 - 4,000 miles. In calculating the true costs of scooter ownership, the service costs were a big factor, second only to tires and we were interested in saving time (to and from the shop 32 miles away x 3 scooters) and money (actual cost of all those services).

So we adopted the following maintenance schedule for our three new Buddy scooters as they were broken in:

1st Service @ 300 miles
2nd Service @ 1200 miles
Oil changes @ 4200, 7200
Big service @ 10,000 to include gear oil, belt and rollers plus anything else needing attention.

Looking at Bonegirl's post – we could even spread this out to reach 12,000 miles for the big service and probably do fine.
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Quo Vadimus
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Post by Quo Vadimus »

Uggggggh. Kind of depressed to learn that Daisy is eating belts at the same apparently accelerated pace as she eats brake pads. I'm at 4500 miles and definitely at the prescribed change amount of wear. Rollers had quite a few flat spots so I figure I'll be putting sliders in while I'm in there.

Starting to look at electric bicycles... though I'm sure with my luck I'd go through a battery every month!
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pugbuddy
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Post by pugbuddy »

How often did you have to change the belt and did you need to change the rollers and variator? at what mileages? Was there anything that needed to be done to the Engine other than the schedules maintenance? Seems like these Buddys run like a modern Car.
I just had a major check-up done on my 125 (second one in 17k miles). The dealer changed the spark plug and belts. Neither had been changed before, to my knowledge! The rollers are in great shape. I get the oil changed every 1k miles but otherwise I don't do anything else special.
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Robert Wayne Henderson (May 16, 1932 - July 28, 2009).
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

Quo Vadimus wrote:Uggggggh. Kind of depressed to learn that Daisy is eating belts at the same apparently accelerated pace as she eats brake pads. I'm at 4500 miles and definitely at the prescribed change amount of wear. Rollers had quite a few flat spots so I figure I'll be putting sliders in while I'm in there.

Starting to look at electric bicycles... though I'm sure with my luck I'd go through a battery every month!
It's quite possible that with a Buddy 50, you're running at high RPMs more than with a 125/150 and going through belts and rollers faster.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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BoneGirl
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Re: Black Jack vs Vino

Post by BoneGirl »

Len wrote: Bonegirl, what type of oil are you using, regular petroleum or Synthetic?
Mobil 1, Full synthetic, 10w x 40
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