No oil=sad buddy

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:04 pm

My wife's buddy 125 was the subject of a demo 'tuneup' yesterday at a local shop. New plug/filter, air, and a belt. Seemed to be well done.

Apparently the oil filter wasn't tightened down very well, and on our way back from a ride today, it lost power. I noticed oil all over the rear. There was a tiny amount left in the case, hopefully no damage occurred. I'll ask the local shop to contact/work with me on Tuesday.

Thankfully they're very close so we can get a pickup or even a push of shame if needed. I just hope it's OK. The scoot has plenty of life left.

ScooterDave · Post by **ScooterDave** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:26 pm

skully93 wrote:The scoot has plenty of life left.

If you ran it very long without oil, I would disagree about the length of life.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 1:35 am

No oil - really unhappy Buddy. Now surely you have read a few of the many previous posts about exactly this happening. Quite important that the oil filter is securely tightened on the Buddy or - well, you already know about the alternative.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:21 pm

well, I had previously trusted the shop to do this type of thing.

Guess my instinct to start picking up a few more tools over the winter is a good thing....

Fortunately it didn't run very long with the leaking oil, so I'm hoping that it will fire up and have no problems.

We'll see what said shop has to say when they reopen tomorrow.

JettaKnight · Post by **JettaKnight** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:00 pm

I feel your pain.

In fact, there's a few of us that do.

For me, I destroyed two - one totally and one partially (which became my current 161 cc after rework).

The damage could be minimal, assuming the engine did not seize.

If it did seize, you're probably going to at least need to replace the top end and potentially the whole engine.

EDIT: I see "it lost power" in the OP. In other words, it seized up. You could flush it with oil and inspect for metal shavings...

The better choice is demand the shop completely replace the engine. It's there fault and they need to accept responsibility.

If you do restart it after adding oil, listen very closely for rattles, pings, etc.

KABarash · Post by **KABarash** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:07 pm

JettaKnight has a point there, the shop fouled up, they should 'make it right'.
It's been one of my biggest fears since the theads of a few years ago when there seemed to be a rash of this type of problem, happly it's not reared up much as of late.
I suppose this is part of why I do little work on my scoot myself, my shop backs their work 100% if I break something it's 'on me'.
Again, talk to them. Their fault, their problem.....

JettaKnight · Post by **JettaKnight** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:15 pm

KABarash wrote:JettaKnight has a point there, the shop fouled up, they should 'make it right'.
It's been one of my biggest fears since the theads of a few years ago when there seemed to be a rash of this type of problem, happly it's not reared up much as of late.
I suppose this is part of why I do little work on my scoot myself, my shop backs their work 100% if I break something it's 'on me'.
Again, talk to them. Their fault, their problem.....

And don't do anything till you show them the problem. Whatever you do, don't try and fix it first, thus obscuring the 'evidence'.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 6:49 pm

It will arrive at the shop on Thursday.

This particular shop has always made things right, but they have a track record of trying to kill my wife. There was a big mistake when her front brake caliper and Master Cylinder were replaced.

When I spoke with them yesterday, they were very apologetic. Not enough to offer to come pick it up, mind you.

I suppose we could have it towed over, but really I think my wife is more than capable of pushing it over.

And you're right. if it blew, they certainly need to repair it, even if it means a new engine. Since everything else is new...

Or they could just let us have a brand new 125

. She seems to like the Blue one for reasons I can't fathom.

JettaKnight · Post by **JettaKnight** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:16 pm

skully93 wrote:This particular shop has always made things right, but they have a track record of trying to kill my wife. There was a big mistake when her front brake caliper and Master Cylinder were replaced.

Brake work? On a Buddy?

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:24 pm

Yep. the caliper went south. The tech claimed it was like $2 worth of parts to rebuild (just seals) but that the labor would put it above the cost of just replacing the caliper. Then the MC ate it. I have the feeling that maybe lines were bad, but everything has been working great since.

Now I have a list of specifically which techs are allowed to work on my stuff, but sadly soon it will just be me. I'm a huge fan of supporting your local shop, but I also need my stuff to work (we don't currently have a car...).

It's never malicious, but 2 of the mistakes could have been harmful or fatal to my wife. We don't always get along, but sheesh.

I've had 10 services and some custom work done on mine, and never an issue.

ravenlore · Post by **ravenlore** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:47 pm

Psst....Scooter Lab has never done us wrong.

/Jus' sayin'

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 2:13 pm

Sadly they have done me wrong, along with several others in my circle. I'm not sure who is still there though...

I'll just do the basics myself. I have most of the tools now and some friends to supervise me. I lack only a few sockets and tire irons.

ravenlore · Post by **ravenlore** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 3:22 pm

skully93 wrote:Sadly they have done me wrong, along with several others in my circle. I'm not sure who is still there though...

I'll just do the basics myself. I have most of the tools now and some friends to supervise me. I lack only a few sockets and tire irons.

Frak. Sorry to hear it!

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 3:59 pm

I have faith that EVERY shop has fantastic, mediocre, and eh mechanics. Humans make mistakes. The lesser mechanics either level up or get pushed out.

I honestly hope all the scooter shops do well. it would help scoots be more popular here in Denver, since they're building so many new homes but not enough parking/roadway.

I've just reached the point where I would rather take my chances and save money

.

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:00 pm

I always say, "Do your own work." That way you will know exactly who to blame when things go south.

KrispyKreme · Post by **KrispyKreme** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 6:56 am

As far as oil changes(motor/gear), do it yourself. It's super easy. You can use the best oil(motul) and it won't kill your pocketbook.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:08 pm

Oh I know. I just preferred to have it looked at when I trusted the shop.

Here's the final resolution:

The engine was damaged. Still worked, but smoked and the tech didn't like the sound of it. Their offer was to replace the engine (or rebuild if needed) and give a loaner for that time. All on their dime. I was fine with this.

My wife decided that she would rather start over. The shop gave her a new 125 at cost minus some credit for the used one that they'll eventually fix and resell. They will do the 500mile checkup as well.

After that, we'll just do our own, TYVM.

It's a bit sad because she'll have a small payment on the balance, and overall I lost out on the cost of the original that I purchased used, a year of maintenance costs, and an increased insurance premium. At least it's new and will be covered by warranty/roadside for a couple of years.

PeteH · Post by **PeteH** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:55 pm

Petey still wonders why the Piaggio oil filter has the 'annular' O-ring rather than a flat-profile rubber washer gasket like every other dang spin-on filter in the world.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:14 pm

They could also have put it in a better spot. The 170i at least is very accessible, though I worry an errant rock or accidental curb hop would lead to a similar fate.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:31 pm

Glad the dealer didn't screw you (though they may have copped a feel).

Post by **jrsjr** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:25 pm

skully93 wrote:Oh I know. I just preferred to have it looked at when I trusted the shop.

Here's the final resolution:

The engine was damaged. Still worked, but smoked and the tech didn't like the sound of it. Their offer was to replace the engine (or rebuild if needed) and give a loaner for that time. All on their dime. I was fine with this.

My wife decided that she would rather start over. The shop gave her a new 125 at cost minus some credit for the used one that they'll eventually fix and resell. They will do the 500mile checkup as well.

After that, we'll just do our own, TYVM.
It's a bit sad because she'll have a small payment on the balance, and overall I lost out on the cost of the original that I purchased used, a year of maintenance costs, and an increased insurance premium. At least it's new and will be covered by warranty/roadside for a couple of years.

Sorry it happened at all, but at least they dealt with you in good faith. That's nice to hear. I hope your wife enjoys the new Buddy. What color is it? That's important, you know!

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:16 pm

done and done.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 9:15 pm

skully93 wrote:done and done.

Nice blue. Where'd you take that picture? You look so far from the foothills,

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 9:54 pm

It was at Rocky Mtn Arsenal. the hill just hides the wide base of the mountains. super nice yesterday, so we went for a ride. Really we were about 10 miles out from the foothills

Post by **jrsjr** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 11:45 pm

Very nice! Thanks for the pic. With that much sky around, blue is sort of a camouflage color, isn't it? (Just jealous)

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:30 pm

I don't blame you! I want to complain when it's not great riding weather. However 'acceptable' riding weather is pretty common, even during the winter. Another month and there will be some downright perfect days.

Thanks to climate change, we sometimes get freak 65 degree days in Jan/Feb. They're frequently really windy (those mountains you see cause a lot of convection) but in town is still a joy.

Modern Buddy

No oil=sad buddy

No oil=sad buddy

Re: No oil=sad buddy