Modern Buddy

Got another COVID "go get something from the junkyard and do something so I don't go crazy with boredom" project. This one is a Buddy 50 "Riot" edition. Lots of busted plastic up front but my main goal now is tracking a no-spark condition.

Ignition switch is long gone except for the back end of the switch which can be operated with a screwdriver. Doing so with a freshly charged and full battery leads to the lights coming on (no headlight curiously), starter bendix engaging and doing what it's supposed to do- but definitely no spark. Tried a couple coils on the off chance it was the coil (it is never the coil). CDI is intact.

So I'm down to the likely culprits being the voltage regulator and the stator. Before I go pulling plastic to get to the regulator or engaging my handy-dandy flywheel puller for the stator- am I missing something simple? This is my first Buddy 50 project after 5 125s.

Also- anyone have any front plastics that go where the deadlights are on each side?

Well, there’s nothing wrong with the headlight - yet. It’s AC powered via the stator and only comes on as the flywheel rotates; not with the key.

Generic regulators are cheap on eBay, like $10.

Aftermarket CDIs come in cool shiny colors and have flashing lights, but they work poorly - something about the lack of advance at low RPM, I think. A cheapie might help with troubleshooting a completely failed CDI but once you get it running you’ll want to stick with a bland old OEM.

You’ll want a flywheel puller tool if you go after the stator. This is the one I used and it worked perfectly for $8 (unnecessarily, as it turned out - my problem was a bad regulator ground connection):
Zinger 24mm&27mm Magneto Flywheel Puller for GY6 50 125 150cc Yamaha Honda Kawasaki Suzuki KTM Scooter ATV Dirt Bike Repair Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075VM7SG3/

tenders wrote:Well, there’s nothing wrong with the headlight - yet. It’s AC powered via the stator and only comes on as the flywheel rotates; not with the key.

Generic regulators are cheap on eBay, like $10.

Aftermarket CDIs come in cool shiny colors and have flashing lights, but they work poorly - something about the lack of advance at low RPM, I think. A cheapie might help with troubleshooting a completely failed CDI but once you get it running you’ll want to stick with a bland old OEM.

You’ll want a flywheel puller tool if you go after the stator. This is the one I used and it worked perfectly for $8 (unnecessarily, as it turned out - my problem was a bad regulator ground connection):
Zinger 24mm&27mm Magneto Flywheel Puller for GY6 50 125 150cc Yamaha Honda Kawasaki Suzuki KTM Scooter ATV Dirt Bike Repair Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075VM7SG3/

Yep, pulled half a dozen stators for people for the Buddy 125/150. But! I've never sourced and sorted a Buddy 50 stator. Does anyone have a reliable link to an aftermarket stator that'll work on the Buddy 50? Looks to be a 6-pole but I don't know the mount hole or plug config on a lot of the aftermarket ones (and OEM is pretty much not available unless I pop the $90 for it).

I have a stator pulled from a 2014 Buddy 50 that you can have for $40 shipped.

I thought it was the source of a high voltage issue with my friend’s 50,but the problem really was a bad ground connection. I left the new one in place (along with some bad language when the high voltage persisted).

tenders wrote:I have a stator pulled from a 2014 Buddy 50 that you can have for $40 shipped.

I thought it was the source of a high voltage issue with my friend’s 50,but the problem really was a bad ground connection. I left the new one in place (along with some bad language when the high voltage persisted).

PMed. Nice to find the OEM part vs. playing the eBay lottery. Thanks!

Thanks to Tenders, this bikey bike is runny running again. The stator wiring was all hosed up on the existing stator- looks like it took a low impact and pinched the bejeezus out of it. That, and it was just caked with gunk and dirt.

Congratulations! Glad to see that part put to good use for sure, vs. sitting around my garage getting old and waiting for the POSSIBILITY of being put to good use in the future.