Noob Question - Stalling on Initial Warmup

piceloni · Post by **piceloni** » Wed May 14, 2008 1:58 pm

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum, and pretty new to my Buddy too. I've had my Buddy 125 for about a month. I have been having a random reoccurring problem on the initial morning warm-up, before I head to work.

The scooter starts up perfectly fine and will idle hard for a few minutes, but then will start to sputter and stall. It will start up again immediately, but without giving it a tiny bit of throttle will repeat the same stalling scenario.

Oddly, everything runs perfectly fine when I start riding; and I don't have this problem when I'm warming-up to head home from work in the evening.

I'd appreciate any suggestions anyone might have. Keep in mind I'm pretty handy, but I'm no gear head.

Thanks.
JD

kilted texan · Post by **kilted texan** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:01 pm

It is prolly just cold engine oil not flowing very well. Like you said it only happens in the morning. I would call your dealer & ask the same question to the service guy.

chadc · Post by **chadc** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:24 pm

I don't have a scooter yet, but this sounds like your idle is set too low. One of the others will probably be able to answer better, buy my guess is you have an idle adjust screw somewhere and if you adjust it you will be fine.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:50 pm

From a previous thread on this very topic:

ericalm wrote:The skill required to do this is no more than the ability to use a screwdriver. If you're feeling adventurous, you can pop open the seat and unscrew the door at the bottom of the pet carrier. The idle adjust is the prominent screw at the top right of the opening (as indicated in photo below). Start the scoot and let it warm up a little.

The service manual says to use a tachometer, but really, I adjust this by ear and by feel... usually adjusting so that the rear tire starts to spin very slowly. I'll usually then take it for a ride and make another adjustment as needed. If someone has a better method that doesn't require buying more hardware, I'm happy to hear it!

It will probably require as little as a quarter or half a clockwise turn to increase the idle just enough.

piceloni · Post by **piceloni** » Wed May 14, 2008 2:53 pm

Gracias, gents!

MarsR · Post by **MarsR** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:08 pm

kilted texan wrote:It is prolly just cold engine oil not flowing very well. Like you said it only happens in the morning. I would call your dealer & ask the same question to the service guy.

I have a similar problem when driving during the cold winter months. I've considered adjusting the idle, but wonder if maybe in the winter I should use 10W40 engine oil instead of the recommended 15W40. It seems like that should help with the cold engine problem. This seems to be the type of change most car manufacturers recommend. Any thoughts?

kilted texan · Post by **kilted texan** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:43 pm

A engine heater. I don't think they make one for scooters but, you could buy a portable space heater set it next to the engine away from plastic parts, they melt easily with heat. Get a plug in timer & set the time to go on & off to warm the engine up just enough so the oil has time to warm up to start.

At that you do not have to adjust the screw. If it does not work you get to play mechanic for a bit. Good luck.