Damn the Fuzz!

NarMeowZippy · Post by **NarMeowZippy** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:34 pm

Well, it finally happened. I got pulled over on my Buddy. The fuzz caught me!

Okay, so I deserved it for one of the reasons... but not both. My temp plates expired and I completely forgot to put the new ones on. Totally my fault! BUT, the cop said he pulled me over because I was going 35 in a 25. YA RIGHT!

My gauge said 35... but from past experience I've found that I'm usually around 5-7mph under what my gauges say. Of course, being that I'm too sassy for my own good I argued with the cop. He wasn't using the laser gun... but he said he was pacing me at 35. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased. However, I got out of a ticket with my arguement and refrained from kicking his bumper as he drove away.

Anyone else been caught by the fuzz yet? And what the hell is with the gauges. Anyone else feel that it's around 5-7mph off in a 50cc too?

GatsbyGirl · Post by **GatsbyGirl** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:40 pm

Can they even give you a speeding ticket if they don't get it on the gun? That sounds like some "his word aginst yours" bulls*** to me. Especially since 35 in a 25 zone would constitute reckless, wouldn't it?

NarMeowZippy · Post by **NarMeowZippy** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 9:43 pm

Yeah, in WA you can get a ticket without the gun. Apparently he was feeling overly "gracious" today. Such a jerk too. I should have kicked his bumper. It would have been different if it were a motorcycle cop.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:45 pm

It definitely sucks that the speedo is so far off- how are we supposed to know our speed? That's just dumb to build in that much error.

Arguing with the cops usually doesn't get you off the hook, so it sounds like you came off pretty well!

jaded · Post by **jaded** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:17 pm

If the Buddy speedos are anything like the Vespas, it's more like a percentage off not a flat amount. About 9% on my LX.
If your speedo said 35 and your speedo is off 8-10%, you might have been doing 32 or 33 mph.

Motorsport Scooters · Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:32 pm

Every Buddy speedo I've seen reads higher than actual speed. If it says 50mph, actual speed is about 45mph. It seems to be proportionate, meaning that the faster you go, the more it is off.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:37 pm

jaded wrote:If the Buddy speedos are anything like the Vespas, it's more like a percentage off not a flat amount. About 9% on my LX.
If your speedo said 35 and your speedo is off 8-10%, you might have been doing 32 or 33 mph.

Another LX rider slumming in ModernBuddy!

Sucks that you got nailed. The speedo difference should be a % rather than a flat amount, unless it reads 5mph while you're standing still, in which case it's just broken. Unfortunately, it seems that even with GPS there hasn't been a definitive answer to this yet: reported percentages range from 10% to 15%. The deviation on the Vespa speedos is pretty consistent for each model, which makes me wonder about the wide distribution of results on the Buddy.

dru_ · Post by **dru_** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 12:59 am

I suspect it;s a calibration thing, and the parts supplier's margin of error in QC is fairly lenient. I'm planning on tearing down the gauge cluster on my People and seeing if I can adjust it (and while I'm at it, manufacture a new overlay to switch the KMPH to MPH because, even though I *know* it's KMPH it still freaks me out on occasion to look down and see the needle hoveering around 115).

Shellee · Post by **Shellee** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:52 am

ericalm wrote:Another LX rider slumming in ModernBuddy!

Slumming???

Have I mentioned how many LXs I blew past on our group ride last Saturday??

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:19 pm

Shellee wrote:
ericalm wrote:Another LX rider slumming in ModernBuddy!
Slumming???

Have I mentioned how many LXs I blew past on our group ride last Saturday??

No, but thanks for doing so.

jess · Post by **jess** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:16 pm

Nearly every motorcycle or scooter speedo is optimistic. They never underestimate speed, always overestimate. It seems to be an industry standard for all two wheel vehicles. I once heard a (possibly apocryphal) story of a Kawasaki that accidentally got shipped with a speedo that was accurate. They recalled every one of them and tweaked them to be optimistic again.

I don't really know the rationale behind this, although we could speculate for days and come up with some really interesting theories. It's not just the Buddy, though, it's every motorcycle and scooter on the road.

bill · Post by **bill** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:29 pm

I got pulled over three weeks ago on my orange 125. It was late (10:30ish) and I was zooming about some empty residential streets to make a run to the store for something I didn't need (just like to have an excuse to scoot). On my way back, I got pulled over for speeding (40 something in a 25) and running three stop signs (two in a school zone). To compound my trouble, I had just got insurance (State farm $130 a year!), but didn't have it with me and I do not have a motorcycle liscense yet.

The cop seemed suprised that I had a liscense at all, and let me go with a stern warning that he would 'take everything I had'

if he saw me riding like that again. (Normally I would argue with him about what 'everything I had' was supposed to mean, but given the circumstances, I said 'Oh yes sir' and zoomed away.)

MrNatural · Post by **MrNatural** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:36 pm

Whoa!!! He had all those goods on you and he let you slide?!?!?! Did you ever luck out!!!! I think you used up all your "get out of ticket free" cards.