Genuine scooters in the Cannonball

[tenders]

Not heavily represented - I see two Stellas (BigLou and TigJimmy, both still solidly and impressively in the running), two Kicks (SethHershey/doing very well; GMaster/out after first day), and a Royal Alloy 300 (thegrandyoni/in the game in that class).

Given the success of the 150-200cc range, I’d have expected to see some 170i action in the running.

Wonder why not?

https://scootercannonball.com/riders

https://scootercannonball.com/results/2 ... 0230500000

[scootERIK]

This is purely the speculation/opinion of someone with no Cannonball experience-

The Kick could be a good choice since it is supposed to have a decent top speed for a 125cc the downside is the unknown reliability while doing this kind of riding.

The Buddy 170 isn't fast enough for the cc's and in the past they didn't like to go full throttle all day. An Smax at 155cc is much faster and it has a better handicap(I think.) I think the Honda ADV 150 is also faster and it has almost twice the suspension travel with a ~19cc's smaller engine.

The Royal Alloy 300 is an interest choice. If this one finishes the Cannonball it will be one of the highest mileage RA 300s in the US. I hope it can finish and even beat a few of the Vespa GTS's.

If I ever ran the Cannonball it would be on a Buddy 125. I don't think I could win on it but I trust them and they are the only scooter I know how to work on, and I have lots of spare parts. My second choice would be a Royal Alloy 300 just to try and beat as many Vespas as possible.

Mini rant - My one issue with the Cannonball is that when they post results they only have the riders name and not the scooter they rode. The scooter deserves some recognition too. Plus, it is interesting to see what people rode.

[tenders]

Of course it’s net to impossible to compete with Honda and Yamaha’s design prowess. (Suzuki too.) Never having ridden one I’m surprised that the 170i isn’t considered sufficiently fast for its displacement - is that a function of the final gearing or is the engine just not tuned very well? And what breaks down with prolonged throttle? I’d think the oil cooler would help a lot, especially if Stellas and LXs can hack it.

As a long-standing sailboat handicap racer myself I’m entirely with you on presenting the scooter model more prominently along with the scooter rider. The information is there, though, when you click on the rider’s name in the standings. Right now the top 11 are all SMAX 155, Burgman 200, Honda 150, Honda 125. Interestingly, the first non-Japanese scooter is a Vespa GTS 300 at #12, but the NEXT one at #13 is Seth Hershey on the Buddy Kick.

(Of course they really compete against each other by class so this isn’t a fair lineup, it’s just interesting.)

(Seth owns Metro Scooter in Cincinnati and is a multi-line scooter tech.)

[scootERIK]

Of course it’s net to impossible to compete with Honda and Yamaha’s design prowess. (Suzuki too.) Never having ridden one I’m surprised that the 170i isn’t considered sufficiently fast for its displacement - is that a function of the final gearing or is the engine just not tuned very well? And what breaks down with prolonged throttle? I’d think the oil cooler would help a lot, especially if Stellas and LXs can hack it.

When the 170i first came out if you rode fast for a long time the computer would slow you down to cool the engine off. Since then the problem seems to have been fixed but I don't know what would happen if you rode full throttle for hours at a time. The 170i isn't fast enough because it is only 11.2 hp for 168.9cc while the Smax is 14.8hp out of 155cc and the Honda ADV 150 is 14.5hp out of 149cc. From what I have read an Smax can go 70-75mph and sometimes even close to 80mph. So for the 170i to compete would have to go even faster to make up for having more cc's. The Buddy Kick is 11hp out of 124.9cc so it will get a little bit of a bonus, and I think the Kick has a similar top speed to the 170i. I understand that there is more to it then simply what has a higher top speed but even just a few extra mph can add up over 3,000-4,000 miles.

As a long-standing sailboat handicap racer myself I’m entirely with you on presenting the scooter model more prominently along with the scooter rider. The information is there, though, when you click on the rider’s name in the standings.

I mean in the old results from previous years. It would be nice to quickly go through the old results and see what scooter ran and which did well.

[tenders]

Interesting. Maybe they should be handicapped by horsepower rather than by cc.

[scootERIK]

The Kick and it's rider SethHershey got 2nd place in the <125cc class. That might help the Kick to be a more popular choice.

EDIT: It looks like the other Kick was only able to finish the first day.

Also, it looks like the Royal Alloy 300 finished the entire run and came in 17th out of 66 in the 250cc+ class. That shows some reliability/durability.

[350kmi]

I have had a both Buddy 125s and 170s and on flat ground the top speed of the 170 is only about 1 MPH faster than the 125 according to my GPS. The main difference was the 170 gets up to speed a bit faster and is able to hold speed on hills a bit better than then 125.

Regarding extended high speed riding on the 170, I have had both a 2012 and 2014. The 2012 will sometimes reduced its top speed by about 5 mph on hot days (over 85) after riding 15 minutes at max speed. It doesn't always do this though. The 2014 was been ridden in the same conditions and in 1200 summer miles it has never done the reduced power thing.

I had an Smax for a couple years and it was a very quick scoot. It would reliable maintain 72 mph without working too hard and in the right conditions it would go faster. I jumped on the interstate once with a slight tailwind and was running 75-76mph when I had a chance to pick up a draft from a fast semi where it held 82-83 mph until my exit.

My aunt bought a new Buddy Kick this spring and she has let me ride it a few times. I really like it. It handles really well - the center of gravity feels very low - and the long flat seat is really comfortable. And it is quick. It only had about 300 miles when I rode it so I didn't want to go too hard on it but I was able to hit 62 MPH on my GPS (70 on the speedo) without trying too hard. The engine sounds noticeable smoother and refined on the Kick than my 170 at higher speeds (granted, my 170 has 43,000 miles on it.) I'm seriously thinking about picking up a Kick for myself now. The Cannonball Kick's run adds to its appeal.