07' 50CC Buddy Starts But Won't Drive

cinemaphonic · Post by **cinemaphonic** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 12:24 am

I was about to sell my Buddy today and just as the buyer was on the way I warmed the scooter up and took it around the block. Half way around the block the scooter stopped. I could not start it up by the key, so I had to kick start. It started, but very low sounding idle. When I apply any gas, it just stops.

I had to kick start it last week, which I thought was just due to it having been sitting for a month. It has gas, it has oil and this has never happened before. I have only owned it for a year and have not taken it into a shop for a tune up or anything.

Where should I start my research? Could be the Carb, or the battery?

Thanks so much. I'm not very mechanically inclined, but I just want to look into it and see if it is something I can troubleshoot, or if I need to take it into a shop, or just try to sell it as is.

cinemaphonic · Post by **cinemaphonic** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 12:37 am

Update: I got it to run normal for about a minute and then it died again. From my limited research sounds like maybe the carb is gummed up. Could a simple carb spray cleaner do the trick? I just have it idling right now.

Also, if I wanted to try charging the battery what kind of charger should I use? Online they say not to use a car charger, but a trickle charger. it is a Schumacher SC-10030A charger. Can I use this on this battery? Thanks!

cummingsjc · Post by **cummingsjc** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 1:57 am

How often does your bike sit for long periods of time without being ridden? Can I assume that it why you are trying to sell it? It definitely could be a carb issue if the bike doesn't get ridden very often. You could also have a weak battery, but that would not normally affect the idle or gas flow after the bike has started. Try running some Sea Foam gas stabilizer through the tank and it might fix the issue after a tank or two. Alternatively, try cleaning the carb (relatively easy to do after watching a YouTube video or two) or you might have to take the bike to a scooter shop for professional help.

For the battery issue, try something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-0 ... harger/dp/.

cinemaphonic · Post by **cinemaphonic** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:08 am

cummingsjc wrote:

For the battery issue, try something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-0 ... harger/dp/.

Thank you. Yes the scooter did sit for a while without running, but I always put a cap of seafoam in it, but maybe it just sat too long. I actually do have it idling right now with about an 8th of a bottle of seafoam and a full tank. If this doesn't work I'm just going to go ahead and replace the battery and clean the carb. Does look easy. I figure if I can honestly say these things then I can keep the resale value intact. I have hope, it is idling strong and the engine will now run for small bursts. White smoke coming out too from Seafoam I assume.

Do you think this charger will work? It is a trickle charger? Expensive charger and i'd hate to buy another one when I already have this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SC-10 ... ry+charger

Thanks so much!

cummingsjc · Post by **cummingsjc** » Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:42 am

The battery charger looks like overkill for trickle charging a 50cc scooter but the product description specifically stated motorcycles so it should work. I bought a $20 trickle charger from Walmart and it works great but yours should work. Did your charger come with the cables that permanently attach to the battery on one end with a quick disconnect on the other? If you had a way to send that one back I would go with something cheaper with the quick disconnect pigtails.

The white smoke coming from the exhaust is typical to 50cc 2-stroke motors that have sat for a while. Oil pools in the engine over a period of extended sitting and it needs to burn off before the engine runs properly with less noticeable smoke. If you can get it running for extended period of time, I would recommend you take it out on a 10-15 mile ride and you might be surprised how well the bike runs after that. One of the worst things you can do to a scooter is not run it regularly and 50cc 2-strokes are very finicky that way.