Modern Buddy

I just picked up a brand new 2018 buddy 125 and took it easy during the break-in. I finally opened it up a little bit and not to thrilled with the top speed or the incorrect speedometer.
When I am doing 55mph it says I am doing around 62.
It seemed that my top speed is around 55mph i didn’t hold it open long so maybe it will go a little faster. Do they go faster after break-in?

Anyone else with a buddy 125 that can tell me what your real world speed is vs indicated speed? Also real world top speed.

Also when I start the scooter it likes a little throttle to start right up.

That all seems perfectly normal for a Buddy 125. You can eke out a little more speed with a windscreen and some variator mods but difference is negligible. The working theory is that the Buddy speedo has always been set up for 12" wheels and on 10"s it's exactly what you report- about 10% optimistic.

The 150 and 170i flavors offer a few more mph but not a whole heck of a lot. I can scream all day long about the ultimate cumulative danger of regularly toodling at 60+ mph on 10" wheels but that's sort of a given. But what you're experiencing is normal and your bike sounds fine. I hope it doesn't diminish from your overall experience.

You should write a letter of complaint about the speedometer to Genuine Scooter Co. They haven't acted on these complaints for the last 14 years; maybe yours will do the trick.

What eggsalad said.. your numbers are what you should expect with a Buddy 125. Same as what everyone else sees with theirs. That is why Buddy MPH numbers are called BMPH numbers on this forum.

eggsalad wrote:You should write a letter of complaint about the speedometer to Genuine Scooter Co. They haven't acted on these complaints for the last 14 years; maybe yours will do the trick.

14 years and they can’t get it right? Wow.
I was wandering if anyone contacted them to let them know of the issue. Don’t know if you are joking but I thought about it.

Is there anyway to fix the issue?

buzzvert wrote:That all seems perfectly normal for a Buddy 125. You can eke out a little more speed with a windscreen and some variator mods but difference is negligible. The working theory is that the Buddy speedo has always been set up for 12" wheels and on 10"s it's exactly what you report- about 10% optimistic.

The 150 and 170i flavors offer a few more mph but not a whole heck of a lot. I can scream all day long about the ultimate cumulative danger of regularly toodling at 60+ mph on 10" wheels but that's sort of a given. But what you're experiencing is normal and your bike sounds fine. I hope it doesn't diminish from your overall experience.

I don’t think I wanna go much fast on this thing. It’s kind of squirrelly at 55mph. Kicking my self in the ass for not getting the 150cc Honda.

My 2020 Honda metro speedometer is dead on and runs 40mph stock.

Rdrett wrote:I just picked up a brand new 2018 buddy 125 and took it easy during the break-in. I finally opened it up a little bit and not to thrilled with the top speed .

The Buddy 125's top speed is only 50+ mph. Anything over 50mph is a bonus. Some people believe that it takes ~1,500 miles to full break-in a Buddy 125, at that point you might see a higher top speed.


http://www.genuinescooters.com/buddy125.html

Rdrett wrote:

eggsalad wrote:You should write a letter of complaint about the speedometer to Genuine Scooter Co. They haven't acted on these complaints for the last 14 years; maybe yours will do the trick.

14 years and they can’t get it right? Wow.
I was wandering if anyone contacted them to let them know of the issue. Don’t know if you are joking but I thought about it.

Is there anyway to fix the issue?

The general consensus around these parts is not "they can't fix it" but rather, "they choose not to fix it".

There are several relatively easy ways to fix the speedometer error at the manufacturing level. Since none of them has been applied in the 14+ years since the Buddy was introduced to the US, it seems safe to assume that nobody at Genuine Scooter Co. or PGO cares enough to fix it.

The easy way to fix it at the user level is to mentally subtract 5MPH from whatever the speedometer says. That's not quite accurate, but nobody ever gets a ticket for going 47 in a 45 anyhow.

I even went as far as to look into speedo cable step down gearing. It can be done, but $80+ for a 3 ounce dingus that essentially amounts to a speedo transmission seemed a tad superfluous. I did lay out a slide rule bezel in Photoshop though....

Put a larger tire on the front wheel, the speedometer will be closer to actual speed.

Rdrett wrote:

eggsalad wrote:You should write a letter of complaint about the speedometer to Genuine Scooter Co. They haven't acted on these complaints for the last 14 years; maybe yours will do the trick.

14 years and they can’t get it right? Wow.
I was wandering if anyone contacted them to let them know of the issue

Given that reading high like that occurs with every brand of scooter on the road, I wouldn't expect a sudden solution from Genuine. Most of us just remain aware of a correction factor and apply it if necessary. I have seen a few folks use thin strips of colored tape to mark the actual point on the dial for 20, 40, and 60 (or whatever).

Not all are as bad as the PGO/Buddy. The Honda and Yamaha speedometers on the scooters and cubs I have are only slightly optimistic.. perhaps 2-3 mph at 55 mph.. We should probably give this topic a rest.. been discussed many times on this board.

I read the title "way off" and expected over 10 mph difference...


7 mph is well within normal.

There's reason we use the term bmph - Buddy miles per hour.

There! Fixed forever.

buzzvert wrote:There! Fixed forever.

I don't personally know you, but I love you for this.

You can also buy something like the Trailtech Vapor which not only allows you to calibrate the speed based on wheel size, but also has a tachometer and temp sensor.

I want one! The big issue is unless you go with naked bars on a Buddy, there aren't many good spots to mount it.

Mine was worse. 9 mph off

eggsalad wrote:

buzzvert wrote:There! Fixed forever.

I don't personally know you, but I love you for this.

Haaa, thanks. I wanted to design a sticker that affixed to the bezel but then I just went to go ride bikes and forgot all about it for a year. The formula is:

Actual Speed = (.875)*(displayed speed) or, rounded:

Displayed Actual
10..... 9
20..... 18
30..... 26
40..... 35
50..... 44
60..... 53
70..... 61
80..... 70

Almost all scooters, and even most motorcycles, have this problem
https://www.cycleworld.com/sport-rider/ ... eedometer/

personality wrote:Almost all scooters, and even most motorcycles, have this problem
https://www.cycleworld.com/sport-rider/ ... eedometer/

Tough to fix a mechanical gear-based speedo.

buzzvert wrote: Tough to fix a mechanical gear-based speedo.

Well, it's not that tough, you just adjust change the face of the display. I mostly posted the link though to back up my claim that it is a common problem with motorcycles as well.

personality wrote:

buzzvert wrote: Tough to fix a mechanical gear-based speedo.

Well, it's not that tough, you just adjust change the face of the display. I mostly posted the link though to back up my claim that it is a common problem with motorcycles as well.

Exactly what I was thinking, someone should make a new face.

Rdrett wrote:

personality wrote:

buzzvert wrote: Tough to fix a mechanical gear-based speedo.

Well, it's not that tough, you just adjust change the face of the display. I mostly posted the link though to back up my claim that it is a common problem with motorcycles as well.

Exactly what I was thinking, someone should make a new face.

Well, I'm guessing it's also tough to crack open the speedo and replace that. Don't they typically make that hard to prevent odometer tampering?

JettaKnight wrote:

Rdrett wrote:

personality wrote: Well, it's not that tough, you just adjust change the face of the display. I mostly posted the link though to back up my claim that it is a common problem with motorcycles as well.

Exactly what I was thinking, someone should make a new face.

Well, I'm guessing it's also tough to crack open the speedo and replace that. Don't they typically make that hard to prevent odometer tampering?

Unbelievably easy to roll back the odometer on a buddy.
All you would have to do is make a shaft with a grinder and hook it to a drill.

Not sure how hard it would be to open the speedometer and replace the face, most likely it will just be held together with plastic clips.

Rdrett wrote: Unbelievably easy to roll back the odometer on a buddy.
All you would have to do is make a shaft with a grinder and hook it to a drill.

Not sure how hard it would be to open the speedometer and replace the face, most likely it will just be held together with plastic clips.

After watching Ferris Beuller's Day Off, I thought you couldn't go in reverse.

JettaKnight wrote:

Rdrett wrote: Unbelievably easy to roll back the odometer on a buddy.
All you would have to do is make a shaft with a grinder and hook it to a drill.

Not sure how hard it would be to open the speedometer and replace the face, most likely it will just be held together with plastic clips.

After watching Ferris Beuller's Day Off, I thought you couldn't go in reverse.

I have tried to spin the front wheel backwards and it didn't take miles off, but I haven't tried spinning the shaft that goes to the odometer.

The best way to get a low mileage Buddy is to ride it until the odometer rolls over. You get 100,000 miles of fun and your resale value goes way up.