New Buddy 170i Owner - Few Questions

[vdeschamps]

Hello there,

I recently traded my Harley Davidson Sportster for a Buddy 170i. I fell in love with that little machine and wanted to say goodbye to my Harley to acquire something new, which has a warranty and which is easier to park and use.

I've been riding for four days and already put 80 miles on the Buddy. I mostly ride to commute to work, stuck in DC's traffic like many people.

Here are my questions:

1) After riding for a while (more than 20 minutes), it feels as if the bike goes slower and is less responsive. Is it just my imagination or is it at all possible? I followed the guidelines from my dealer when it comes to breaking-in the scooter.

2) The front lights (which are not the turn signals located on the handlebar) are not connected/working. My dealer told me that these lights are there because the Buddy's are sold in other countries where the local governments require running lights. Could you confirm that these lights are not supposed to be running?

3) My dealer told me that the certificate of warranty will be mailed to me vs. filling out the warranty card which is on the owner's manual. Is that common practice?

Many thanks in advance for your assistance. I don't like to communicate my joy of owning this machine too early (and jinxing it), but I really, really love my Buddy and am so glad I purchased it.

Vincent

[olhogrider]

Welcome to the scooter world. It is possible that as the scoot warms up the intake is less dense which would result in less power. It is also possible you are just getting used to the power output.

The front lights are not connected. They don't meet DOT specs. That's why they are referred to as "deadlights". There are ways to connect them as running lights or turn signals. If a search for that term doesn't get you the info, ask again.

My warranty info came in the mail but that was long ago.

[vdeschamps]

Welcome to the scooter world. It is possible that as the scoot warms up the intake is less dense which would result in less power. It is also possible you are just getting used to the power output.

The front lights are not connected. They don't meet DOT specs. That's why they are referred to as "deadlights". There are ways to connect them as running lights or turn signals. If a search for that term doesn't get you the info, ask again.

My warranty info came in the mail but that was long ago.

Many thanks, olhogrider!

[Dooglas]

Yes, the dealer registers you for the warranty. And, yes, that is a common practice these days. Piaggio/Vespa does it the same way.

[TVB]

2) The front lights (which are not the turn signals located on the handlebar) are not connected/working. My dealer told me that these lights are there because the Buddy's are sold in other countries where the local governments require running lights. Could you confirm that these lights are not supposed to be running?

To clarify: they aren't designed to be used as running lights at all; in Taiwan they're the turn signals. In the process of adding the USDOT-compliant* turn signals on the handlebars, the deadlights are simply disconnected as redundant. Using them as running lights would actually put just a little too much extra drain on the Buddy's power plant, and eventually kill the battery unless you replace the bulbs with something drawing less power.

*The deadlights aren't far enough apart.

[vdeschamps]

2) The front lights (which are not the turn signals located on the handlebar) are not connected/working. My dealer told me that these lights are there because the Buddy's are sold in other countries where the local governments require running lights. Could you confirm that these lights are not supposed to be running?

To clarify: they aren't designed to be used as running lights at all; in Taiwan they're the turn signals. In the process of adding the USDOT-compliant* turn signals on the handlebars, the deadlights are simply disconnected as redundant. Using them as running lights would actually put just a little too much extra drain on the Buddy's power plant, and eventually kill the battery unless you replace the bulbs with something drawing less power.

*The deadlights aren't far enough apart.

Thank you for the clarification!

[squasher5]

I have a Buddy 50, and of course have deadlights. But I like them a lot, so I found a site on the internet that sells a harness to wire them up......about $25.00, and a very easy install.

However, I found out later that it voids your warranty. But that did not happen for me, as I had a warranty claim and took it into my dealer....they just ignored the fact that the deadlights were working.

Certainly at night it makes a nice difference in your ability to be seen. I have not found it to be a big drain on the battery. The decision, of course, is yours.

[ericalm]

However, I found out later that it voids your warranty. But that did not happen for me, as I had a warranty claim and took it into my dealer....they just ignored the fact that the deadlights were working.

Certainly at night it makes a nice difference in your ability to be seen. I have not found it to be a big drain on the battery. The decision, of course, is yours.

It only voids the warranty if you have an issue that can be traced back to or linked to the use of the part. So basically, an electrical problem that might stem from using those lights or from their installation.

If you use them as running lights, not signals, incandescent bulbs will drain the battery quite a bit. It's much better to use low-wattage LEDs.

[guzziknight]

See the 2nd post in this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=25118&highlight=deadlights

I installed them on my wife's Blackjack. Work great, took about 10-15 minutes to install, and we haven't had any battery issues yet. I tied them in to the headlight, so they only come on when the bike is running.

[BeefSupreme]

Being as the Voodoo scooter parts site is offline, you'll have to private message member "VSP", i think I paid $58 for the bob combo adapter. We've had it installed on my girlfriends buddy for 7 months with no battery issues. The deadlights have bulbs already installed, all you have to do is plug in the harness. It makes a huge difference when riding at night as far as visibility goes. I might swap them over to LEDs at some point being as the consensus is they draw too much power, but we haven't had any problems so far.

[PeteH]

The site's product page (http://www.voodooscooterparts.com/Voodoo_Products.html) is alive and well, but yes, you'll need to order from member VSP via private message.

[vdeschamps]

At this point in time, I wouldn't do anything that could void my warranty. Last night (after 6 days of owning the Buddy), I had to take it back to the dealership for a malfunctioning kill-switch (which prevented me from starting my scooter).

Fingers crossed this will be fixed soon.