The previous owner took a header into something and mucked up the steel supports that hold on the front shield. Apparently his insurance totaled it out even though it rides fine. (No weird vibrations, idle is good, not killing batteries, etcetera.) Even after it had sat for a year it fired right up and I was able to ride it home without the hood. Scored it for a sweet $360 on Halloween.
Be warned, I don't know much about this, or any vehicle's terminology, so this post is gonna' get a little strange. I have used the search on the forums for some of this, and have hit the end of my Google-Fu concerning the rest of the internet in regards to Genuine Buddy scooters and my following list of alterations. So now I come to you.
Let's GET IT ON!
- PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: After riding Budget Stallion home from purchasing last October (Engine works like a champ. Starts, idles, no weird vibrations at various speeds.) I hammered the front shield's central mount (That one screw in the middle) back into a place that almost lets me clip in all the little tabs around the outside edge.
This required I beat on that "T" post that sticks of the main component mast with a hammer also. This is already done and I'm not going to consult an actual technician about what I may or may not have done to the steel substructure there. I'm in fact probably gonna' hit it a little more to try to line it up, unless someone has a better idea.
What worries me, is that some strange, chalky white body filler(?) fell out while I did this. I've been riding for a few months since then and I haven't noticed any catastrophic failures yet. If you know what that was, please chime in. It tasted alright though. - Rear View Mirrors! I already purchased and installed these. They're a little short, and serve to do little more than inform me about cars that I could stupidly change lanes into. Exactly what I need and nothing more.
- Battery cover and floormat!: I need to just buy these components. The previous owner just lost them, but for how well the thing ran, and the price on a 3 year old vehicle, I couldn't really grouse.
There aren't a lot of Scooters, much less buddies around, but I'd love to turn them up without going through the local dealer. I just can't shake my weird apprehension for talking to any automotive dealership. If someone magically has a spare they'd part with, I'm open to that.
Right now I just hold the battery in with my mighty foot of mighty holding.
A lot of the web services I've seen have an offputting 90's Geocities aesthetic that turns me away from doing business with them also. - LED Lights! Also running lights! I've seen it written that Genuine disables the "Dead lights" on US models, but I intend to enlist an electrician friend of mine and get those spliced back in. I have WHITE LEDs, AMBER LEDs and an adorable variety of vanity Speedo LEDs in the mail right now. If any of these just won't work for whatever reason, please let me know before I try to cram them places they shouldn't be.
- More LEDs? I can't really find any information about the legality of adding some sweet underglow in Idaho. I work graveyards, and the bike is black. Completely Black. If anyone can help me find more information about quality products/methods for this while staying within the confines of the law, that'd be super. That said: Budget Stallion could seriously stand to have some sweet purple underglow. Largely so I'm not just another shifting black shadow with a headlight to some thoughtless drunken cager on my Friday Night commute.
I'm going to have the bodywork off to get to the instruments anyway. - Paint. This is the most contentious part of the project for me so far. I'm really not concerned with doing a bad job, as much as I am the "Black bike in the blackest night daily commute" thing. I'd like to do a Macross/Gundam inspired Red/White paintjob To match my brain bucket. The problems I'm running into are as follows:
Automotive paint is expensive, and goes onto metal primarily. It also requires an airbrush.
Rustoleum enamel spray cans are cheap, and I have a long history as an artist doing art things...
...to tiny models...
...with acrylics and brushes.
If I could get some suggestions, anecdotes, pictures, you name it, regarding doing a quality looking rattlecan job on the plastic (fiberglass?) body of a Buddy, I would be ever so grateful.
I've done a considerable binge of watching tutorials on youtube, but I never have much context for how long the paint lasts, what kind of primer people are using under the rustoleum enamel spray, etcetera. Ventilation and workspace are non-issues.
Can you paint the black plastic bits with any long-lasting success? (Below the seat, floormat, convenient glovebox analogue.) - UNLIMITED COSMIC POWER! Are the 125 models restricted? I can't find that information clearly anywhere. If it is, I'm well and away beyond the Idaho limits for special licensing, so that can be removed with extreme prejudice. My previous bike was much larger. (and ancient) I miss having a top end that doesn't leave me feeling undergunned on the local highways.
If someone can point me in a direction on that, I'd again be very happy. - Other Junk! Do you guys have any nifty safety ideas, or know how to attach some hard saddlebags? I'd love to hear your suggestions.
Missile Racks maybe?
), if you're comtemplating a big bore kit (BBK), be sure to get one meant for a 125cc engine, not a 150cc. Their wrist pin (the thingy that holds the piston to the crankshaft) sizes are different between the two: 13mm for the 125cc vs 15mm for the 150cc engine.
I've been trying to put it back the way it should be.
