Won't start...any suggestions?

avidgirl · Post by **avidgirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:04 pm

Much to my surprise, my Buddy 125 wouldn't start this morning. I rode it home last night at midnight with no problems, everything was fine. Then this morning, the starter would try to spark the engine but with no success. I've called my dealer and he thinks that maybe its a bad battery.

I must say I'm a little miffed. I've only got 39 miles on my new Buddy and have been tender with the scoot so far.

One thing Genuine needs to pay attention to is that they fail to include the phone number for roadside assistance with the materials that come with the scooter. I had to have my dealer give the number to me. There should be a card included with the roadside assistance info along with the owner's manual.

GatsbyGirl · Post by **GatsbyGirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:15 pm

Is it a 1-800 number? If so, might be a good idea to go ahead and post it here for everyone.

I was just thinking last night that I needed to program it into my cell phone, but now that you mention it, I don't have it.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:18 pm

Did you try the kickstart?

I am also still waiting for the service number. Apparently the company that provides the service is supposed to send a packet with the pertinent info, but they have been very slow in doing so. Give your dealer a call, and they should be able to give you the number.

avidgirl · Post by **avidgirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:22 pm

Here is the number for those in need:

Roadside Assistance - 866.311.8982

I did try the kick start but with no luck. My dealer said that the 125 requires a hefty kick, so maybe I don't have the muscle to put behind it.

I'll have to wait until later to call roadside assistance. I'm at work and won't be home until after 7PM. My husband said he will take a look at the connections for me to see if anything is wrong there. Maybe he can find something that I missed when I took a quick look this morning. Of course, I really have no idea what I'm doing, so that could be one reason why I didn't find anything!

hermitgirl · Post by **hermitgirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:23 pm

The # for roadside assistance is 1 (866) 311-8982. Make sure you have your VIN# and the time you got the scoot.

A note- when it comes to towing, they'll only cover about $150 worth of the towing expenses, but they do check the estimated price for you beforehand.

hermitgirl · Post by **hermitgirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:24 pm

A minute late!

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:31 pm

avidgirl wrote:Roadside Assistance - 866.311.8982

Excellent- thanks!

A copy of that number will be in the scoot momentarily...

germ · Post by **germ** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:39 pm

Thanks. I'm writing that number under my seat with a sharpie. Thank god for the 2 year warranty and roadside.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:07 pm

avidgirl wrote: I did try the kick start but with no luck. My dealer said that the 125 requires a hefty kick, so maybe I don't have the muscle to put behind it.

I've found that with more miles the kickstart becomes easier. Not sure if it's the scoot, or if I've just gotten better at it (not that I kickstart the Buddy regularly, but I do practice with the Bajaj). Perhaps your husband will have better luck kicking it over.

Does seem like the battery is the likely culprit. Was the key in the "on" position after you parked it last? If you've got a voltage meter, you can check the charge of the battery and that will tell you right away whether it's good or not!

avidgirl · Post by **avidgirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:35 pm

No, I took the key out of the ignition last night.

My husband does have a voltage meter so I'll try that when I get home.

Stupid question - can I jump the battery of the Buddy with my car battery? Would I blow anything up if I tried this?

toga28 · Post by **toga28** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:46 pm

Avidgirl -

When I got my Buddy, I rode it home from the dealership just fine, then went out of town for the weekend. When I returned, it would not start. After several kicks, I got it started, and rode around for a bit. When trying to restart, I had to kick start it again. Like, I kicked it about 35 times before it would start. Serious kick starting action.

Anyway, long story short, I guessed it was just a dead battery from the amount of time it sat at the dealership (probably flawed thinking, I know), so I made sure to ride around for about 30 minutes after starting it. Seemed to fix it, and now it's fine.

So, I'd suggest just going out and kicking the heck out of it and seeing if you can get it started. I ended up holding the throttle down ever-so-slightly while kicking it to give it a little extra gas & help the starting procedure. That's my two cents.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:47 pm

avidgirl wrote: Stupid question - can I jump the battery of the Buddy with my car battery? Would I blow anything up if I tried this?

You should be able to, but make sure that the car is not running, otherwise you will certainly hurt your electrics!

Motorcycle jump-start how-to

ellen · Post by **ellen** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:51 pm

39 miles isn't very much. Your trips might not have been long enough to get the battery fully charged.

You might want to consider getting a Battery Tender Jr.
A good thing to have anyway for our balmy CT winters

mybuddy · Post by **mybuddy** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:23 pm

Not trying to be a jerk here, but is the kill switch on the handlebar turned off?

I had problems starting my buddy a few weeks ago, the kickstart would not do anything and it sounded like it wanted to but did not start. I finnaly realized that the kill switch was flipped. After that it started right up. I felt like and idiot

GatsbyGirl · Post by **GatsbyGirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:28 pm

Speaking of the kill switch, if you don't already it's a good habit to get into to always turn off your scooter by hitting the kill switch first. You should also do this first thing if you lay down your bike since you don't want it running when it's horizontal and/or on top of you.

Also, it's an added little security feature because most thiefs aren't scooter savvy enough to know about it and will leave alone a bike they can't start.

hermitgirl · Post by **hermitgirl** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:43 pm

GatsbyGirl wrote:Speaking of the kill switch, if you don't already it's a good habit to get into to always turn off your scooter by hitting the kill switch first. You should also do this first thing if you lay down your bike since you don't want it running when it's horizontal and/or on top of you.

Also, it's an added little security feature because most thiefs aren't scooter savvy enough to know about it and will leave alone a bike they can't start.

I follow this method every time, not only to turn off the bike, but also when I park it for that security bonus you mentioned. It's a good habit to get into.

Not too long ago, I was riding far up on the seat, and my knee bumped the ignition key off, right in the middle of switching lanes! For a moment I thought I had flooded the scoot, and I coasted to stop, wondering how the heck I was going to get him started again. Fortunately I was relieved to find it was just ignition key, and now I make sure I sit much farther back!

avidgirl · Post by **avidgirl** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:23 am

Thanks for the info everyone, especially the motorcycle battery jump how-to. Very helpful. I got home from work later than expected but will try jumping the scooter battery first thing tomorrow.

I'll put the battery tender on my list of things to purchase for my scooter. That list seems to expand every time I blink these days!

Hopefully I'll be up and running again tomorrow morning.

Thanks again!

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:36 am

Any luck in getting the Buddy fired up?

That list seems to expand every time I blink these days!

That is one list that will never get shorter!

avidgirl · Post by **avidgirl** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 2:13 am

vitaminC wrote:Any luck in getting the Buddy fired up?

Yes, my husband was able to kick start it tonight. Now I have to take my turn riding to get the charge back up. He is out taking a spin right now. Er....will I ever get the charge back in the battery or will I have to buy a new one?

That list seems to expand every time I blink these days!
That is one list that will never get shorter!

Oh great! Probably just about the time I finish buying all the gear for my Buddy, I will get an overwhelming urge to own yet another scooter.

Post by **jrsjr** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 2:51 am

avidgirl wrote:
vitaminC wrote:
Any luck in getting the Buddy fired up?

Yes, my husband was able to kick start it tonight. Now I have to take my turn riding to get the charge back up. He is out taking a spin right now. Er....will I ever get the charge back in the battery or will I have to buy a new one?

If your husband was able to kick it to life, then I bet $100 that you sucked some trash into your carb and he cleared it by giving a couple kicks. A mechanic who's prepped a bunch of new Buddys told me this is not uncommon with Buddys right out of the crate and that he usually just kicks them back to life just like your husband did. Personally, I'd be in favor of bugging my dealer to take a look at it to make sure you don't have a repeat problem. If it does happen again, try kicking it maybe two or three times (don't worry about actually trying to start it, you just want to turn the motor a couple times) and then hit the electric start and see if that doesn't get you going again.

As for your battery, I don't think that ever was the problem, so I don't think you'll have any trouble charging it up as you ride.

I've been wrong before though (cough cough), so check with your dealer and let us know how it goes.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 2:53 am

avidgirl wrote: Yes, my husband was able to kick start it tonight. Now I have to take my turn riding to get the charge back up. He is out taking a spin right now. Er....will I ever get the charge back in the battery or will I have to buy a new one?

Great! Since it's still new, you should be okay once you get a good charge in it. Move the battery tender to the top of your list, just in case...

Oh great! Probably just about the time I finish buying all the gear for my Buddy, I will get an overwhelming urge to own yet another scooter.

Sad, but true. You can make it last longer by owning two scoots at once, then it takes twice as long to accomplish everything you want!