Who Doesn't Own / Ride A Buddy?

[JHScoot]

Explain yourselves

Just wondering. I recently saw an ad on Craigslist for a certain once beloved Buddy of a MB member up for sale. It's a great scooter but it seems it has been nosed out by a bigger scooter and MC according to the ad.

Cast asunder, poor 'lil Buddy kicked to the curb after years of loyal service

It is fetching a nice sum, however. And will no doubt go to just as good an owner. Yeah, the screening process must be intense for this one

I must say I never thought this rider and Buddy would part and it made me realize I too will part with the BJ one day. And who knows why? Stolen, accident, broke down....any number of reasons. Would I own a Buddy again?

Good question

So if you've ever owned one or not...if you currently don't...what's up with that?

I wonder what MY reason will be?

[BeefSupreme]

When I was in the market for a scooter about two years ago, I wanted to get a Buddy all due to this forum. My local dealer in Birmingham only had 2 Buddy's in stock with an out the door price of $3,200ish? A little out of my price range, besides that he kept pushing me to purchase a Kymco People for around the same price, which I really didn't care for the body style. Instead I purchased a slightly used Kymco Like 200i from a local power sports dealer for $2,400 otd.

About 7 months after my purchase my girlfriend, tired of riding on the back, found a new 2009 Buddy 125 that had been sitting on the showroom floor of a Power Sports place in north Alabama for three years. She got it for a steal at $2,100. And she absolutely loves it.

Ever since i've been a little jealous. We trade up regularly on rides. I love the way the Buddy handles. Both scooters have their pros and cons.

So in the end only new Buddy's were available and the price was a little more than I wanted to spend. Had I known there were some a few hours a way that were over $1,000 less than what my local guy was offering, i'd be riding one right now. Do I regret my purchase? Hell no, I love the Like, it's been nothing but reliable.

So even though I didn't end up getting a Buddy, I ended up getting a Buddy.

[still shifting]

I could have purchased a Pink 125, I didn't because I owned 3 scooters at the time, also the owner needed cash in a hurry. If, when a buddy in good shape comes up, I will be tempted. Of course I still own 2 scooters at this time. R

[skipper20]

Explain yourselves

Just wondering. I recently saw an ad on Craigslist for a certain once beloved Buddy of a MB member up for sale. It's a great scooter but it seems it has been nosed out by a bigger scooter and MC according to the ad.

Cast asunder, poor 'lil Buddy kicked to the curb after years of loyal service

It is fetching a nice sum, however. And will no doubt go to just as good an owner. Yeah, the screening process must be intense for this one

I must say I never thought this rider and Buddy would part and it made me realize I too will part with the BJ one day. And who knows why? Stolen, accident, broke down....any number of reasons. Would I own a Buddy again?

Good question

So if you've ever owned one or not...if you currently don't...what's up with that?

I wonder what MY reason will be?

I do own a Buddy, a '12 170i Italia, and of all the scooters I've owned and ridden over the years, it's by far my favorite. I feel sorry for those of you who don't own a Buddy. I know that you want to or you wouldn't be on this forum so stop being envious, dump that current non-Buddy ride and do the right thing - get yourself a Buddy. Do it!!

Bill in Seattle
'12 170i Italia
'11 220i Blur
'08 250ie Sport City

[mverps]

I was looking for a good used Buddy last year. I couldn't find anything I liked or was way to much money. I found a kymco Grand Vista and bought it. I really like it. Just wish summer would hurry up so I can get it out of storage and ride.
This is a great forum with lots of people that helped me make my decision when buying my scooter, even though it wasn't a Buddy.

[laurfunkle]

I work at a scooter shop down here in Atlanta and I can't tell you how many people come in here lusting after a Buddy!

Personally I'm on my second one. My first was an '08 light blue Buddy 50 that I got used here at the shop before I started working here. I LOVED it and am so sad that they stopped producing that color! After starting this job I got a taste of a little more speed and decided it was time to trade up. I sold my MUCH loved Buddy to my boyfriend (glad to keep it in the family!) and got myself a red 125 and haven't looked back.

My boyfriend has since traded up as well (he was jealous of my sick speed ) and has a 2006 cream Buddy 125 and we love going riding together!

I'd only consider leaving the Buddy family if I wanted something with an engine larger than 170.

[az_slynch]

Short answer: The Buddy didn't exist when I started scootering.

I got my first bike, a '64 Vespa 150 (VBB2) back in '87. My next scooter was a '74 Rally 200 (VSE1), which I got around '94. Back then, you could buy a vintage Vespa for a hundred bucks.

When I got back into it, I started small with a free '81 Express SR (NX50M). Then I bought my '87 Elite 80 (CH80) for $500. Wasn't aware of the Genuine line until 2009. By that time, I had five scooters and didn't think I needed another one.

I've ridden the famous "Iron Buddy" before. Handles well and goes like stink! My only beef with the Buddy is the skinny legshield; it doesn't do much to push the bugs and cold air aside. The rest of the bike if well-screwed together and the attention to detail is pretty darn good.

[lascooterservice]

:raises hand sheepishly:

while i don't own one, i certainly ride a lot of them...

-g

[Wolfhound]

Out of my 4 scooters(I have an Ice Bear trike that I call the IckyBear which explains why I dont list it!!) MyBuddy 170i is definately my favorite ride.
Have had good service out of my TGB rides but overall prefer the speed and handling of the Buddy.

[pattio]

I never had a Buddy that I called my own. During the time I had a dealership, before the recession, I didn't use floor-plan-financing so its fair to say that I 'owned' several hundred of them during the time between when I bought them from Genuine to when they went to their new homes. I did have a bit of a bond with a black 125 that became the shop/loaner bike, with many happy memories of ripping around on our regular group rides. The only Genuines I own now are my Stella (full-custom with a Vespa Rally200 motor) and one never-sold Rattler110 that I keep because I liked the rarity and chutzpah of it.

[Stilts]

I had one. It got nicked. Then I got my 4T Stella which I had been drooling after since I heard they existed. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on my Buddy 50 and if I had more room (and $$), I'd get another one.

[okcgravity]

I used to have one….

I had a 2010 Buddy Pamplona "The Bull"

After 11 months and 8,000 miles we got run over in a parking lot and tweaked the frame. The person who ran me over just bought the bike from me for what I paid brand new, then added a almost 2 grand for being a pain in the butt. Can't argue with that.

Due to my being 300lbs and riding 2 up with my GF we decided to look for something a little bigger. So I got a GTS 300. The GTS has a more power to haul me up onto the highway better and I now have over 11,000 miles on the GTS.

It is hard to compare the Buddy with the GTS as the GTS is over twice the price and a VERY polished scoot. However, I still recommend Buddy's to people all the time and I do miss the "flick ability" of the Buddy. I usually describe the two bikes to people as the GTS is a Cadillac it cruises and floats down the road. The buddy is like a BMX bicycle with a motor strapped on, you think about being in another lane and magically your there.

Miss my Buddy sometimes, he was a great bike.

[Wolfhound]

Good analogy!!

[Scooterboi]

Was looking for a scoot and a quick look on Craiglist produced several possibles (Kymco, Sym, Genuine, etc.) but looking at the forums told me the Buddy 125 was reliable and fun, plus it was a great price with less than 1K miles.
I thoroughly enjoyed it but where I live just about requires highway travel sometimes, plus I wanted to go touring (I know, I know). I also have no room for more than 1 scooter. I fell in love with the site though, so I got the BV350 and joined the MV site and still check in on MB occasionally.

[rfman81]

I have been silent on this forum for awhile, I too owned a buddy for one year, however bought a vespa gts and sold the buddy due to space but irony is now also have 1981 p125x project. So apparently I didn't try to find space hard enough.
I miss it, I also recommend buddy's to everyone.

[agrogod]

Hands down and only makes sense to me, the RH50 was a far superior look than the bunchy looking Buddys on display. Yes they all looked small and toy like compared to the RH. Had to go with my small voice on this one.

[Rippinyarn]

I got my Blur 220 back when they came out as I had a 12 mile commute into Detroit. It was 15 minutes on the highway or 30-40 minutes on Woodward so I went with the displacement and 'bigger scoot' for visibility. Now I work out of the house and am thinking of selling the Blur in the spring as I can do almost everything I need to do on the little Aprilia or my vintage Vespa. If I had gone with a Buddy 125 or 150, I'd just be keeping it for the fun of it. Oh well.

[OldGuy]

I have a Roughhouse, since I like the more aggressive look. We looked at Buddys for my wife but ended up with a used Vespa LX50 because it is a little more spacious. I would like to have seen her get a Buddy, but the Vespa's geometry/ergonomics were better for her.