Buddy's take a lickin' and keep on tickin'
Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff
- Howardr
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- Location: Tucson, AZ
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Buddy's take a lickin' and keep on tickin'
I just finishes reading the thread comparing the Chinese and Taiwanese scoots. While I've never owned a Chinese scoot, I can attest to the quality of my Buddy.
I'm not a daredevil and I don't do stunts on my scooter (except that wheelie that went wrong and I ended up on my side in somebody's front yard at 1:00 am, but that's another story) however, I will take my scooter anywhere I feel like going. Last year I went hunting for a ghost town. I was on some fairly rough dirt roads and the Buddy performed admirably.
Here in Tucson, there is a mountain range just out side of town. I've post pics of group ride we've done before. It's one of the top motorcycling rides in the nation. You climb almost 6000 feet in 26 miles of twisty, 2-lane roadway.
What a lot of people don't know is that there is a back road up this mountain as well. It is single lane, 4-wheel drive only, rarely used by any one. I decided to take the "road less traveled on the Buddy.
This was 30 miles of switch-backs, less than single lane road, because some of has washed away. There were large rocks to dodge and large patches of deep, loose sand. It was so steep in sections that even at 5-10mph, where I have the most torque, I couldn't accelerate. It was about 105 degrees at the bottom and I rode 2 hours of 60mph highway driving just to get there.
The buddy did great! I did meet an SUV that was coming down the mountain. I saw his license plate and thought "Montana?" but I'm sure he got one look at me and thought "A scooter?!"
To add to the Buddy accomplishment, it has 11,000 original miles on it. I've got a Prima pipe and an NCV variator and clutch upgrade, but no rebuild or overhaul has ever been done. This, dear reader, is a quality bike.
I'm not a daredevil and I don't do stunts on my scooter (except that wheelie that went wrong and I ended up on my side in somebody's front yard at 1:00 am, but that's another story) however, I will take my scooter anywhere I feel like going. Last year I went hunting for a ghost town. I was on some fairly rough dirt roads and the Buddy performed admirably.
Here in Tucson, there is a mountain range just out side of town. I've post pics of group ride we've done before. It's one of the top motorcycling rides in the nation. You climb almost 6000 feet in 26 miles of twisty, 2-lane roadway.
What a lot of people don't know is that there is a back road up this mountain as well. It is single lane, 4-wheel drive only, rarely used by any one. I decided to take the "road less traveled on the Buddy.
This was 30 miles of switch-backs, less than single lane road, because some of has washed away. There were large rocks to dodge and large patches of deep, loose sand. It was so steep in sections that even at 5-10mph, where I have the most torque, I couldn't accelerate. It was about 105 degrees at the bottom and I rode 2 hours of 60mph highway driving just to get there.
The buddy did great! I did meet an SUV that was coming down the mountain. I saw his license plate and thought "Montana?" but I'm sure he got one look at me and thought "A scooter?!"
To add to the Buddy accomplishment, it has 11,000 original miles on it. I've got a Prima pipe and an NCV variator and clutch upgrade, but no rebuild or overhaul has ever been done. This, dear reader, is a quality bike.
- Attachments
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- Here I am, enjoying the ride.
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- I've got to climb to the top of that and beyond.
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- This is looking backward, down the hill.
- IMAGE_422.jpg (80.56 KiB) Viewed 1776 times
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- You can see some of the sand at the bottom of this pic.
- IMAGE_423.jpg (79.72 KiB) Viewed 1776 times
Iron Butt Association Member Number 42256
Club - The Sky Island Riders.
Publisher: The Scooter 'Zine thescooterzine.com
Club - The Sky Island Riders.
Publisher: The Scooter 'Zine thescooterzine.com
- olhogrider
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- Location: Vegas Baby!
- Skootz Kabootz
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Arizona mtns climb
OK, here's a guy who knows what boondockin' is all about! Super ride and far more fun than down to the village for whatever! And the Buddy is quite capable of these class 6 roads/ ruts. Keep on scootin' !
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- Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:56 am
- Location: Colorado Springs
I do gold camp road regularly around here on my 50.
Its not as wild as that, but it is six miles of dirt road on former railroad grade, through a few railroad tunnels.
The view overlooks Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor area, and is AMAZING.
When I'm done, I scoot through the Cheyenne Canyon road, which is a (paved) steep drop through sharp corners, and more gorgeous scenery.
Anybody in the area, this is a ride WORTH DOING, both for the fun of the ascent/descent and the view.
Here is google directions for those interested.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source= ... 5&t=h&z=16
Its not as wild as that, but it is six miles of dirt road on former railroad grade, through a few railroad tunnels.
The view overlooks Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor area, and is AMAZING.
When I'm done, I scoot through the Cheyenne Canyon road, which is a (paved) steep drop through sharp corners, and more gorgeous scenery.
Anybody in the area, this is a ride WORTH DOING, both for the fun of the ascent/descent and the view.
Here is google directions for those interested.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source= ... 5&t=h&z=16
- Howardr
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- Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 9:42 am
- Location: Tucson, AZ
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I did dirt roads on my stock tires as well. The important is to keep your speed down, watch for rocks and loose sand or gravel and be especially careful while turning. I have done a lot of dirt roads on my buddy and it always performs well. I wouldn't race it on dirt, but taking a casual ride to see some things that you can't see from the asphalt, I'll do it any day.
Howard
Howard
Iron Butt Association Member Number 42256
Club - The Sky Island Riders.
Publisher: The Scooter 'Zine thescooterzine.com
Club - The Sky Island Riders.
Publisher: The Scooter 'Zine thescooterzine.com
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- Location: flower mound/lewisville
buddy takes a lickin and keeps on tickin
I whole heartedly agree!!! my Buddy is a trooper!!! I take him anywhere I want as well, not to mention on a rainy day we slid for a good 50+ feet. I held on to him as long as I could but the force to strong we ended up seperating. I got up walked over to him took him directly to Vespalewisville where besides cosmetic damage he was only slightly out of alignment. They aligned him ordered my parts 10 minutes later I was back on the road. I have put Buddy through the ringer, he is hard to break!
P.S. I had the most AWESOME raingear on( which I ordered fromVespalewisville as well)I walked away with one fabric burn and no damage to the gear. Now the impact to the pavement left internal injuries, but nothing chiro and massage did not cure!!!
P.S. I had the most AWESOME raingear on( which I ordered fromVespalewisville as well)I walked away with one fabric burn and no damage to the gear. Now the impact to the pavement left internal injuries, but nothing chiro and massage did not cure!!!
- Becktastic
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I just heard about you doing this ride Howard and I had to come have a look for myself.
You are absolutely crazy and I love it!
These pictures do not do justice to how brutal that road really is in places (probably because stopping to take photos is the last thing on your mind when it gets really gnarly). I did it the other weekend on a borrowed dirt bike (TW200) and still had a pretty wicked wipe out. I am thouroughly impressed by your scootering skillz!
You are absolutely crazy and I love it!
These pictures do not do justice to how brutal that road really is in places (probably because stopping to take photos is the last thing on your mind when it gets really gnarly). I did it the other weekend on a borrowed dirt bike (TW200) and still had a pretty wicked wipe out. I am thouroughly impressed by your scootering skillz!
Lift heavy eat clean!
- Coffeejunkie
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