Modern Buddy

I'm wanting to upgrade from my Yamaha Vino 49cc to possibly a buddy 125. The problem with my vino is obviously top speed is 40mph, but also the ride isn't comfortable. Even if my scooter was capable of going faster, i don't think i would want to go faster on it. I live in Pennsylvania and the roads in my area suck. They're full of potholes and patches, bumps, etc. I went for a ride this morning and my ass still hurts hours later, not to mention i felt like i was gonna get bounced off the seat and the shocks bottomed out several times. These were main roads and just around town riding. My question, is the buddy going to give me a better ride? Will i feel comfortable going 45-50?

The Buddy 125 will deliver. It's nimble like your Vino, but has a lot more power. The ride will be more comfortable as well. You won't be sorry. The Buddy can maintain 45 to 50 with a 200 lb adult no problem. They are great scooters.

That's what i'm reading all over the internet. I wish i could get something with wheels bigger than 10 incjes but i have a height disadvantage, i'm only 5'1" so my scooter options are limited. I don't even know for sure if i'll be able to ride the buddy. I haven't even seen one in person let alone sat on one.

Honestly, the 10" wheels won't be an issue if you spend a little extra and get good tires. The cheap/cheerful tires that these came with stock are OK, but these bikes respond very well to improved rubber.

There is a lower seat available for the Buddy which might be helpful for you:

http://genuinescooters.com/rhlowprofileseat.html

One positive of the 10" wheels is they help keep the scooter nimble which is useful for dodging pot holes and and navigating the best line through rough areas. Some of the rural roads I ride degrade all the way down to gravel and I think the Buddy does fine. Good tires definitely help.

I also have a Vino 50 and I can say the Buddy 125 has a much better suspension. I weigh 185 .lbs and the Vino bottoms out quite frequently with me on it. I have bottomed out on the but Buddy a couple times, but it takes quite a large bump or hole in the road for it to happen.

luciddream2 wrote:I'm wanting to upgrade from my Yamaha Vino 49cc to possibly a buddy 125. The problem with my vino is obviously top speed is 40mph, but also the ride isn't comfortable. Even if my scooter was capable of going faster, i don't think i would want to go faster on it. I live in Pennsylvania and the roads in my area suck. They're full of potholes and patches, bumps, etc. I went for a ride this morning and my ass still hurts hours later, not to mention i felt like i was gonna get bounced off the seat and the shocks bottomed out several times. These were main roads and just around town riding. My question, is the buddy going to give me a better ride? Will i feel comfortable going 45-50?

Start thinking outside the box. While the Buddy 125 is a great scooter, the Yamaha Zuma 125 is an even better one. In my past scooter life, I have owned both. The Zuma 125 with its fuel injected engine and 12" wheels and tires was the best of the 2. You'll pay more for the Zuma but you're getting better reliability and an even better ride both off-road and paved highways. Plus a very good network of Yamaha dealers for parts and service. Top speed is about the same - an honest 55 mph and you'll feel comfortable doing it.

Bill in Seattle
Member Emeritus

I would have a Zuma 125 in my garage right now if i was taller. I live 4 blocks from a yamaha dealer. I can not even tip-toe on the Zuma. That's why i ended up with my Vino.

Zuma 125 is a good bike, but don't buy the bill of goods about it being more reliable than the Buddy. Dollar for dollar, there isn't a better scooter out there than the Buddy 125. Get the lowdown seat for the Buddy. If 45 to 50 is all you are looking to do, the 125 will be a great fit.

And unlike the fuel injected Vino, you'll be able to kick start it if you ever have battery issues. With any of the fuel injected bikes, you're SOL if the battery fails.

The zuma 125 is a wide beast, and heavy. Nothing wrong with them, but if you insist on 12" wheels a vespa would be better.

I know plenty of vertically challenged folks that ride the buddy 125, or even large motorcycles. It takes a while to develop the skill correctly, but the MSF class will help that if you haven't already taken it.

Stanza wrote:And unlike the fuel injected Vino, you'll be able to kick start it if you ever have battery issues. With any of the fuel injected bikes, you're SOL if the battery fails.

The Vino 125 is carbed. I presume you mean "unlike the fuel injected Zuma".....

these will help...good luck...you may be able to find a used vino 125 on CL as well and since there is a dealer right near you you'd be covered for repairs...i have a yamaha dealer right near me as well and i fit on a zuma just fine but still went with a buddy 125 for the fun factor...

http://cycle-ergo.com/
http://www.motorscooterguide.net/
http://www.justgottascoot.com/reviews.htm

Thank you for the links and info! I've found some Vino 125's for sale, but i've been reading that the buddy 125 is faster and better. My preferance leans towards the Vino for styling, but i've read so many great things about the buddy i have to check them out. I just want something that won't lose so much speed going up hill. I've already taken the motorcycle safety course a while ago. I know there are a lot of motorcycles with a low seat height, but i'm getting older and want to stop shifting gears. So far it seems everyone who has a buddy loves it.

luciddream2 wrote:Thank you for the links and info! I've found some Vino 125's for sale, but i've been reading that the buddy 125 is faster and better. My preferance leans towards the Vino for styling, but i've read so many great things about the buddy i have to check them out. I just want something that won't lose so much speed going up hill. I've already taken the motorcycle safety course a while ago. I know there are a lot of motorcycles with a low seat height, but i'm getting older and want to stop shifting gears. So far it seems everyone who has a buddy loves it.

i went through a similar process but i was coming from a motorcycle to a scooter...so knowing nothing about them and being an engineer i began to research and gather as much info as i could to try and find the right choice for me...the link below describes what i was looking for and what scooter companies i was looking at to narrow things down...i don't have a genuine dealer very close to me but i tend to like to try to work on things myself anyway as long as i have the right tools and time to commit...the buddy 125 is a great all around scooter for local roads (as long as you're not looking to cruise on interstates)...if i wanted more speed than 50mph i would be looking at a 250cc-500cc scooter or a motorcycle...the piaggio bv350 and bv500 look nice as well as many of the vespas but the price is also much higher and i like the idea of the cheaper plastic panels on the buddy to replace vs metal panels on a vespa...i liked the style of the vino 125 but the gas cap location under the luggage rack is stupid and people here informed me that it wasn't as fun to ride and aftermarket parts are lacking...the buddy hasn't changed in years so there are a lot of aftermarket parts

craigslist, letgo, offerup and facebook marketplace are good places to look for used scooters

http://www.modernbuddy.com/forum/topic31111.html

point37 did you end up keeping your buddy seafoam green or have you changed it?

Thanks for the link, interesting and informative!

Point37 wrote:

luciddream2 wrote:Thank you for the links and info! I've found some Vino 125's for sale, but i've been reading that the buddy 125 is faster and better. My preferance leans towards the Vino for styling, but i've read so many great things about the buddy i have to check them out. I just want something that won't lose so much speed going up hill. I've already taken the motorcycle safety course a while ago. I know there are a lot of motorcycles with a low seat height, but i'm getting older and want to stop shifting gears. So far it seems everyone who has a buddy loves it.

i went through a similar process but i was coming from a motorcycle to a scooter...so knowing nothing about them and being an engineer i began to research and gather as much info as i could to try and find the right choice for me...the link below describes what i was looking for and what scooter companies i was looking at to narrow things down...i don't have a genuine dealer very close to me but i tend to like to try to work on things myself anyway as long as i have the right tools and time to commit...the buddy 125 is a great all around scooter for local roads (as long as you're not looking to cruise on interstates)...if i wanted more speed than 50mph i would be looking at a 250cc-500cc scooter or a motorcycle...the piaggio bv350 and bv500 look nice as well as many of the vespas but the price is also much higher and i like the idea of the cheaper plastic panels on the buddy to replace vs metal panels on a vespa...i liked the style of the vino 125 but the gas cap location under the luggage rack is stupid and people here informed me that it wasn't as fun to ride and aftermarket parts are lacking...the buddy hasn't changed in years so there are a lot of aftermarket parts

craigslist, letgo, offerup and facebook marketplace are good places to look for used scooters

http://www.modernbuddy.com/forum/topic31111.html

in my past scooter life, I also owned a Vino 125. It was OK but just OK. Comparing carbed scooters to carbed scooters, same engine and wheel size, the Buddy 125 came out on top.

Bill in Seattle
Member Emeritus

I actually have two of each (Vino 125 and Buddy 125) and drive all four at least once a week, as I rotate among them for my twice a day scooter rides. To be completely accurate, one of the Buddy 125s is a PGO MyBuBu 125.

All four are extremely reliable and I would say equal in that respect. I have never had anything break on any of them.

The chrome on the Vino is much better than on the Buddy, and looks "richer". The Vino seat also looks "richer" and the seat material looks to be of better quality than the Buddy.

Top speed is similar for all of them, but the Buddy speedometers are stupidly optimistic.

I am 5' 6" tall. The seat height feels similar and is comfortable on both. The seat on the Vinos feel slightly wider than the seats on the Buddys.

The Buddys are thinner, feel much lighter and feel more nimble than the Vinos. The Buddys are perhaps more fun to ride fast around corners. The Vinos are a bit more like street cruisers. I have factory windshields mounted on the Vinos, but not on the Buddys. The windshields on the Vinos may impact my feelings on why I think of them as street cruisers.

The Buddy 125 rides exactly like a Buddy 50 (I have one Buddy 50) but goes faster. I have never owned, nor ridden a Vino 50.

The Vinos have smaller gasoline tanks than the Buddys. The location of the filler cap on the Vinos are in a tough place if you want to mount a top box. You'll have to remove the top box to fill the gas tank on a Vino 125.

A top box is easier to mount on a Buddy as there is a good accessory rack you can buy for a Buddy. I had to build rear mounts for my Vinos to mount top boxes.

The side stand on the Vinos have kill switches built into them. This is a good feature and Buddy's should have it.

The Buddys have factory storage bins built into the back of the leg shield. Vinos do not. I would say that the biggest defect in the design of the Vino is that it doesn't have a storage bin there. I had to make them by cutting up plastic bins.

The plastic body parts on the Buddys are made out of two types of materials. The headlight covers and upper body parts remain shiny, the lower body parts loose their color and shininess and become soft and are of very poor quality. The Vinos have a much higher quality plastic and finish and remain shiny for life. The plastic body parts on a Buddy fade during extended exposure to sunlight.

The length of time between when you order parts and you receive parts is much less for a Vino, than a Buddy. Both dealer networks have a very good and equal supply of spare parts.

Here is a photo of my Vinos:


Here is a photo of my Buddy 125. The white lower plastic was pink, but has faded to dirty white:


Here is a photo of my PGO MyBuBu 125



Here is a photo of my Buddy 50. The lower plastic was blue but has faded to dirty white:

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luciddream2 wrote:point37 did you end up keeping your buddy seafoam green or have you changed it?

Thanks for the link, interesting and informative!

i kept it seafoam...the color grew on me after a little while...i debated even leaving the flower stickers on it for theft deterrent but i wanted to make it my own and put my own stickers on there...it's almost like a classic car color...i've seen some pretty badass harley riders on a purple motorcycles and no one seems to care...as for me i'm having to much fun on it to care what other people think about the color...i thought about painting it or buying new panels but the color stands out...most scooters around here are black, white, red or blue...this one isn't so it stands out and i like it that way...i keep trying to think of look for ideas of things to put on it to make it funny...people laugh at scooters anyway so i figure i may as well make it somewhat entertaining to look at cause no matter what you do you can't make a scooter as cool as a motorcycle so you may as well embrace the funny...thinking about tassels, a little orange flag, a bicycle bell, funny horn...

thus far the only things i have done to it/for it are:

-maintenance items
-washed/cleaned it
-bought a 12v battery tender plug
-peeled the old stickers and added new stickers (link below)
-added a custom license plate frame
-removed the rear trunk
-added bar end mirrors
-picked up a bluetooth speaker for some riding tunes
-bought a set of bungees for the rear rack
-bought a good lock and cable as well as a reminder cord

http://www.modernbuddy.com/forum/viewto ... 150#370578

I have owned both a Vino 125 and a Buddy 125. Still have the Buddy, so that should tell you something . Fit and finish of the Vino were lovely (see below), but the Buddy will run away from the Vino.

I can only say great things about the 2 active Buddy 125 scooters that I own (I have a third one that I bought as a project bike to resell). I like Genuine Scooters as a brand and am blessed to have a Genuine dealer about 6 miles from my house. After purchasing my first Buddy 125 to replace a used Buddy 50 (also a fun little bike) I tend to agree with many folks on this forum that the Buddy 125 is the best scooter for the price. If you can find a lightly used one, they are even better. Easy maintenance, easy to replace damaged panels, very nimble and quite quick in city riding. I can't say enough good things about them.

vintagegarage, thanks for that info, great comparison between the Vino 125 and Buddy 125! Your thoughts are much appreciated. I really like your PGO mybubu by the way. I can get a used Vino cheaper than a used buddy, however neither are easily found without at least a 2 hour drive from me.
Thanks

vintagegarage, How did you attach the plastic bins you made for your Vino's?

The bins are made out of black Sterlite? dishpan tubs that I got at Walmart and cut with a snips to fit. They are attached to the scooter with a single long 6mm flange bolt that I got at Ace hardware, with spacers and a stiffener between the tub and the leg shield. No drilling or modifications to the Vino itself were done. The long flange bolt replaces the short one that was installed there by Yamaha. I can't remember, but it may have been holding a grocery bag hook.

search on craigslist, facebook marketplace, letgo and offerup...i drove from MA thru RI into CT to buy my buddy 125 and it was def worth it...

what i could find 100 miles from your area over 100cc from decent scooter companies on CL...out of this lot i think i'd be looking at that bv200 or maybe the theft title buddy 125

theft title $1500 no year listed
https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 59196.html

new at a dealer $3200 wheels don't look like the new style so not sure if a 2018 is actually shown in this photo (too expensive, would not go this route)
https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 67652.html

vino with some miles $990
https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 11755.html

bv200 $2000
https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 95808.html

people s 250 $2800
https://martinsburg.craigslist.org/mcy/ ... 36117.html

others that are on the larger side bulk-wise

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 84069.html

https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 68870.html

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 00152.html

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 87238.html

https://altoona.craigslist.org/mcy/d/20 ... 24695.html

https://york.craigslist.org/mcy/d/2007- ... 89629.html

https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 55159.html

https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/mcy/d ... 63203.html

Thanks for the craigslist ads point37. I had not seen the theft recovery buddy. I'm always a little leery of buying someone elses modifications for fear they weren't done correctly. I'd rather buy stock and make the modifications I want if any. I'm not able to fit on the S-max, bv200 or pcx scooters. I am able to fit on the Burgman200. If I go with a maxi scooter, I think I would go with the Burgman. I am considering one that I recently saw for sale about 15 miles from me for $2,200. I do think I would rather stay with the smaller scooters, but it's a consideration. I haven't tried the Majesty, Forza or Silverwing yet.

I have a doubt about 10" wheels

luciddream2 wrote:Thanks for the craigslist ads point37. I had not seen the theft recovery buddy. I'm always a little leery of buying someone elses modifications for fear they weren't done correctly. I'd rather buy stock and make the modifications I want if any. I'm not able to fit on the S-max, bv200 or pcx scooters. I am able to fit on the Burgman200. If I go with a maxi scooter, I think I would go with the Burgman. I am considering one that I recently saw for sale about 15 miles from me for $2,200. I do think I would rather stay with the smaller scooters, but it's a consideration. I haven't tried the Majesty, Forza or Silverwing yet.

no problem...i agree about modifications...i would only buy a bike if it was stock or there were cosmetic bolt on modifications and they had the OEM parts cause the bike is easier to sell down the road...i also agree about the smaller scooters...when i bought mine i wanted something small, nimble, quick and light...not a big, comfortable, slow, heavy couch on wheels...for me it's all about the power to weight ratio...i'm 6' 170# and went with a buddy 125 cause it seems like the swiss army knife of scooters and i'm not planning on riding on the highway...if i was going to do that i would buy a motorcycle cause i like to shift...i bought the scooter for local roads when i want to ride in the summer and feel like wearing sandals to do a couple errands...happy hunting...also download the CL app for your phone...actually works better than the web version i find

this link may help you...
http://cycle-ergo.com/

VintageGarage: That was a really nice review/comparison of the Vino and Buddy 125. I've never seen a Vino 125 before. It is a nice looking scooter. Thanks for the post.

ucandoit.. thanks for the kind words..

i like that the vino has handlebars that you could actually mount things too

My opinion on this is not going to be popular, but I am our resident fan of big-wheel scooters. The pothole situation you describe is a recipe for disaster with any small-wheel scooter. Take a look at a used Honda big wheel scooter or a Piaggio Liberty 150. The Liberty is made in Thailand to keep the cost down and they're quite reasonable even new. The Hondas can be had used at very reasonable prices, especially this time of year.

P.S. I know this is a Genuine forum, so I'll bring it home by saying that Genuine have a 50cc big-wheel scooter called the Venture. I was really hoping they would bring the 150cc version of that scooter into the states but they haven't so far, despite the fact that they got it EPA certified for model year 2018...

I live in Altoona and have a buddy 125. You can come check it out if you want!

Remous thanks for the offer! Glad to see someone close by. Where did you purchase your Buddy?

luciddream2 wrote:Remous thanks for the offer! Glad to see someone close by. Where did you purchase your Buddy?

I bought it off the first owner and they bought it from buynacks up in Ebensburg. That’s the closest dealer of buddy’s to us.

I agree with jsrjr. If the pothole situation is really bad, go with bigger wheels than the 10" wheels that come with the Buddy.