Handling feels "buttery" after 700 miles - questio

richard · Post by **richard** » Thu May 27, 2010 10:15 pm

I got my buddy 125 at the beginning of May and have been using it for my daily commute ever since. The past couple of rides I have been on i have noticed that the scoot seems to glide around a bit more seemingly from the rear end. I am totally new to scooting so it could be that I am just getting more comfy. Could it be the tires breaking in? The suspension? It has just made me more reluctant when cornering because I don't want to fishtail or slide out. Am I just crazy? Anyone else experience this? Thanks!

juice · Post by **juice** » Thu May 27, 2010 10:59 pm

Make sure your tires are fully inflated. Good luck .

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Thu May 27, 2010 11:03 pm

juice wrote:Make sure your tires are fully inflated. Good luck .

this

richard · Post by **richard** » Fri May 28, 2010 12:52 am

All right, I'll definitely check the pressure before I head out again.

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Fri May 28, 2010 2:06 am

FYI, it's a good habit to check your tire pressure roughly every other fill up...

bpatrick5 · Post by **bpatrick5** » Fri May 28, 2010 2:10 am

Skootz Kabootz wrote:FYI, it's a good habit to check your tire pressure roughly every other fill up...

Amen! The 150 and 50 seem to drop air pressure at about 5+ PSI within a week of filling the tires.

richard · Post by **richard** » Fri May 28, 2010 11:44 am

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I checked pressure on both tires. Rear was around 27± and the front was right around 30. Maybe I am just getting the "feel" for the ride since I'm not so tense on the bike now. I might have someone else with more experience take a ride on it and let them decide if it feels all right. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Fri May 28, 2010 1:22 pm

With your scooter on the center stand and the rear wheel off the ground, grab the rear wheel and make sure it does not have much/any side-to-side play. Other than that, my suggestion would have been air pressure, too.

Good luck!

ScooterTrash · Post by **ScooterTrash** » Fri May 28, 2010 1:36 pm

richard wrote:Maybe I am just getting the "feel" for the ride since I'm not so tense on the bike now.

That would do it

richard · Post by **richard** » Fri May 28, 2010 3:22 pm

Ran out to the parking garage and wiggled my rear wheel. It wouldn't budge, so I think I'm all good. Probably just new rider jitters freaking me out. Back to work...

Vic · Post by **Vic** » Fri May 28, 2010 5:00 pm

I am not exactly sure what "buttery" means, but I know that when I (finally

) understood and started countersteering it was a little bit disconcerting to me at first because the scoot is so very responsive to countersteering, it feels very different than trying to wrestle the scoot into submission and the whole thing just goes...

Perhaps you have learned a more effective method of controlling the scoot and did not realise it?

My suggestion is to go out and practice-a lot-to see what your skill level is and what you and your scoot are capable of doing.

-v

richard · Post by **richard** » Fri May 28, 2010 5:48 pm

Vic, that's a great point. I guess by buttery I meant smooth and easy. It's as if the ride has gone from stiff and solid to loose and flickable. It just freaked me out a little bit because all of a sudden I was able to basically glide all over the road without much effort at all. I especially noticed it when coming to a stop light as I would kind of meander to a complete stop by snaking back and forth a bit as opposed to an inline halt. I'll take your advice and just keep practicing. I'd rather find out how far and fast I can lean in a parking lot than on the road with traffic.

Cheshire · Post by **Cheshire** » Fri May 28, 2010 7:28 pm

Ah, that's what you mean by buttery. What's your odometer at?
In addition to the above (and

to relaxing

) it might be your rear shock breaking in. When mine settled in I noticed it immediately. Namely, "hey...that stretch of crappy pavement didn't rattle my teeth this time! Woohoo!"

richard · Post by **richard** » Fri May 28, 2010 7:52 pm

I'm about to kiss 800 miles. I was wondering if the shock could have something to do with because I had been pushing the envelope (for me, probably not for the Buddy) when taking some twisties near my home. It seemed to start shortly after I had worked up enough courage to do that kind of riding, and promptly made me second guess my ability to handle the bends. It was definitely a night and day kind of feeling though, like something had settled in.

lilguy · Post by **lilguy** » Mon May 31, 2010 3:04 am

I have a Buddy 50 and I know exactly what you're talking about. Thanks for posting this. It definitely feels "flickable" and scared the crap out of me last week. I've been taking it much slower ever since, because it feels like the bike could slip so easily. Could be just the "break in" of the bike?

Vic · Post by **Vic** » Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:54 am

It might be more a case of rider break in than scoot break in

.
I am a little concerned that you say it meanders all over when coming to a stop and you are not coming to an inline stop. Am I understanding that correctly?
.
If you are trying to come to a stop without turning, are you able to do that? If it is not allowing you that kind of control I would suggest that you have someone else (preferably someone with experience, like your mechanic) ride it and see if it handles fine for them.
.
Also, if this is an issue definitely do not ride on wet, slippery, gravelly (is that a word?) or otherwise compromised surfaces. When riding on these kinds of surfaces it is extremely important to necer change more than one variable at a time, by "variable" I mean speed or direction, primarily. Each of these variables reduces your traction and on compromised surfaces your traction is also reduced. If you are meandering around when coming to a stop, you are turning-changing direction, and you are stopping-changing speed, and I am concerned that you may slip and go down.
.
Hopefully I am not clear and it is not a problem. I just laid my scooter down when trying to take off from a stop, I was on some of that super slippery mud that I dub "K-Y mud" and hopped on, twisted the throttle and down it went, the next thing I knew my scooter was laying on the ground between my feet. It has a few minor scratches and I am going to touch those up, but it still sucks.
.
Cheers,
-v