Complete body panel swap?

TTaM · Post by **TTaM** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:24 am

How difficult would it be to do a complete swap? The body panels are identical across the engine sizes, correct?

The reason I'm asking is this spring I bought my gf a red Buddy 50. She loves it, but secretly so do I. I ride it quite a bit, so I decided to shop for one of my own. I've found a 125 locally in the color she's always wanted, pink. She doesn't have a MC license, plus the 50 she can park for free downtown at a bike rack while the 125 needs to go to paid motorcycle parking. So I thought I could buy the pink one and swap all the panels.

Will this work?

Will it be ridiculously difficult for a shadetree mechanic?

Capt_Don · Post by **Capt_Don** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:01 am

Every buddy I have seen looks dead on the same, body wise.

TTaM · Post by **TTaM** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:33 pm

Aside from the Buddy nameplates on the side panels of course.

Are they fairly easy to get on and off?

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:54 pm

If you haven't pulled the tupperware off a buddy before, it could be very difficult. Some panels overlap others for fit/finish effectiveness. There's an order to take the components off without having problems. Start with the seat, work your way down. As for the front and floor, start with the front panel, then do the head gear and work your way down. To pull the lower panel of the column head off, you will need to remove the handlebars. Lots of bolts/screws of different sizes but it's hard to really get them mixed up as long as you are paying attention to what you are doing.

ThreeSheets · Post by **ThreeSheets** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:19 pm

Not to hard, just like ^ said, you have to take them off in a order because alot of pieces fit together.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:41 pm

The only caveat would be if the 125 is a 2006. The 2006's had a smaller headlight, so the headset plastics are not the same. As for working on it yourself, it's not too hard. If you get stuck, put up a post here and someone will probably come to the rescue pretty quickly. Dig through the tech library for hints. Most especially, the articles about tail light and headlight work will give you some insight into how those plastics go together.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:51 pm

It's not difficult, but it requires patience and a steady hand.

mhardgrove · Post by **mhardgrove** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:47 pm

If you want it to look like a 50 there is absolutely no need to go about swapping out every body panel... You can do a few things like peel the "125" section up on the decal and snip it off leaving only the "Buddy" section of the emblem, or get with a dealer, buy 3 "Buddy 50" decals and swap them in place of the 125 and snag a dealership vanity plate to put on the rear. Honestly, most cops or people of authority won't notice the difference between the scooters, unless you're going top speed with your "50"...

Check your state laws, if you must carry insurance in your state and are ever involved in an accident or are caught speeding and it's determined you're attempting to mislead your "motorcycle" as a "low power scooter" and you don't have a motorcycle license, may not be a good day for you.

Hwarang · Post by **Hwarang** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:09 pm

FYi, if you search on overseas (primarily Tiawanese and Chinese) sites for "PGO BuBu" you can find a whackload of colors not available here in the US. Like, Bass Boat Pink (Pink with metallic flake) and such.

To answer your question directly, swapping the panels is incredibly easy. It requires a screwdriver and a small socket (for the bolts under the floormat). The hardest part is not breaking the little plastic tabs when you extract or insert the part. Don't force it!

mhardgrove · Post by **mhardgrove** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:33 pm

+1 on taking care not to break tabs, this plastic is rediculiously fragile when it comes to the tabs.

Bass boat pink, wtf??!! Silly Asians!!!

BootScootin'FireFighter · Fri Jul 27, 2012 2:43 pm

mhardgrove wrote:Honestly, most cops or people of authority won't notice the difference between the scooters, unless you're going top speed with your "50"...

Check your state laws, if you must carry insurance in your state and are ever involved in an accident or are caught speeding and it's determined you're attempting to mislead your "motorcycle" as a "low power scooter" and you don't have a motorcycle license, may not be a good day for you.

+1... I highly advise against changing to 50cc decals and skimping out on insurance, tags and M endorsement. I peeled the 125 off my panels, and if I have to park in downtown Washington for a while, I'll take the license plate off and throw it under the seat. If it was a common occurrence, I'd get a Velcro backing for the plates, but I'm not at that point yet. They rarely bother scooters parked off roads in Northern Virginia unless they're inhibiting pedestrians, or a maxi scoot.

As for the panel swaps, super easy to do. If you can handle a screwdriver and do things in order, it's no problem. I've seen a Pamplona converted to a "Pamp Jack" after a panel swap.