Ran Buddy with no oil - Can it be fixed?

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blyons9090
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Ran Buddy with no oil - Can it be fixed?

Post by blyons9090 »

So, I was riding my Buddy 125 when it cut out on me. I started it back up and kept riding. It died again and wouldn’t start back up. When I tried to kickstart it the lever felt totally locked into place, rock solid, seized up. I pushed it home. I later realized that there was an oil leak from the filter not being screwed on tight enough after an oil change. I don't recall ever seeing a low oil warning light.

The scooter is otherwise in great shape. All things considered, do you guys think it’s a lost cause or is worth having a mechanic try to get it going again? I asked two shops in town what they thought. One said don’t bother with it (FWIW I am not a big fan of this shop and don’t consider them very trustworthy). The other said they could take a look at it and see what they could do to get it running. I would hate to have to sell it for parts but also I don’t want to waste time and money on a lost cause. Thoughts?
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Dooglas
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Post by Dooglas »

Well, it depends on whether "no oil" means low oil or actually none. And how badly it overheated. Sometimes bikes do a "soft seize" which doesn't do too much damage, and will turn over after they cool down. If it truly seized, scoring the cylinder, rings, and the like; and perhaps damaging the head gasket or main bearings - then you are looking at a major rebuild or replacement with a used engine from a damaged donor scooter. Assuming the engine won't turn over when cold, I'd probably consider trying to find a low mileage Buddy with other body/frame damage for sale, given the condition of your scooter.
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Point37
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Post by Point37 »

try watching some youtube videos for ideas on how to fix a seized small engine
'10 Triumph Bonneville SE (sold), '00 Yamaha TW200 (sold), '08 Husqvarna SM510R (sold), '05 Honda CBR 600RR (sold), '03 Honda CBR 600RR (sold)
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jrsjr
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Re: Ran Buddy with no oil - Can it be fixed?

Post by jrsjr »

blyons9090 wrote:So, I was riding my Buddy 125 when it cut out on me. I started it back up and kept riding. It died again and wouldn’t start back up. When I tried to kickstart it the lever felt totally locked into place, rock solid, seized up. I pushed it home. I later realized that there was an oil leak from the filter not being screwed on tight enough after an oil change. I don't recall ever seeing a low oil warning light.

...

Thoughts?
Your scooter is totaled. So sorry...

There are folks on here who will disagree. They would drive 6000 miles across two continents through freezing rain in a convertible with the top down to trailer home a scrounged motor they bought for $35 from an insurance broker of wrecked scooters and then rebuild their scooter on their kitchen table only pausing to run their scooter's bodywork through their wife's dishwasher and then, when the scooter was finally running again with the replacement scrounged motor and super-clean bodywork, ride through more sleet and and hail in their underwear to divorce court where they would lose everything in the final settlement except the scooter.

Is this you? If not, then your scooter is totaled. So, so sorry...

:cry:
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DeeDee
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Post by DeeDee »

Yep. Toast it is. Asky skully93 what happens when the oil filter is loose and all the oil runs out.
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Stanza
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Post by Stanza »

About the only way to properly kill a 125 engine is to run it out of oil. There isn't a light to let you know about it either, it's up to you to check the level before you ride. If it was leaking out while riding, that'a rotten bit of luck. Sorry to say it, but you may be looking at a complete rebuild.
PNWbuddy
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Post by PNWbuddy »

I don't know how much you could get parting it out but if only a couple hundred and if you are inclined you could pull the motor, take it apart and check damage. It is a very simple motor, on the order of a lawnmower in complexity. If you can't figure it out or fix it you can still part the scooter out. I'm not a mechanic but I got a hard seized Honda CT90 (I think it was run dry also) running again for very little outlay. It had a scored and pitted cylinder and scuffed piston. I honed the cylinder with a $10 Harbor Freight small cylinder hone and replaced the piston and rings with OEM parts for $30. It didn't need anything else besides gaskets. You can always take a look, it doesn't seem that you would have much to lose.
You can ask your mechanic but I doubt if a professional could give you an accurate estimate without taking it apart and that alone might be very expensive.
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babblefish
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Post by babblefish »

If this were a 2-stroke engine then about the only thing that might need to be replaced is the cylinder/piston/rings. Since the Buddy 125 has a 4-stroke engine, then the list of possible damaged parts is a little more extensive. To make it worst, you may have been riding with extremely low oil for awhile which doesn't help because parts of your engine have been starved of oil for awhile and wearing at a faster rate. If you are using synthetic oil then said wear MIGHT be minimal, if you're lucky.

- Cylinder/Piston/Rings
The piston has definitely seized to the cylinder wall. It is sometimes possible to free it up and replace just the rings but the cylinder wall will have to be honed. Easier and cheaper to just replace all three parts.

- Main Bearings
These carry all the load when the engine is running so if starved of oil they can overheat and burn themselves up. If replacing the main bearings it's a good idea to replace the main seals too.

- Cam
There is a lot of frictional loads between the cam and the rocker arms when the engine is running so if it is starved of oil there is a good chance of galling and overheating of the wear surfaces.

- Rocker Arms
See cam.

- Crankshaft
The wrist pin bearing and possibly the connecting rod big end bearing could go bad if starved of oil.

- Oil Pump
This might still be good since it will always have a little bit of oil in it. But it's a relatively inexpensive part so...

The cam chain and sprocket should still be good.

The only way to know how repairable your engine is is to have an experienced mechanic tear it apart to have a look-see. If all of the above parts have to be replaced, you'll have to decide for yourself if it's cheaper to buy a used engine and have it installed or buy the parts and pay a mechanic's labor charge to repair your original engine.
If your scooter has a lot of mileage on it then I would also think about either parting it out (on eBay) or selling the whole thing as-is and buying either a new or used Buddy. Used Buddy's can usually be found at very reasonable prices. There should be plenty of used Buddy's available in Portland. I got my 2008 Buddy for $450. Of course it wasn't running at the time but being a so-so mechanic I was able to repair it very cheaply.
Some people can break a crowbar in a sandbox.
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JettaKnight
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Post by JettaKnight »

DeeDee wrote:Yep. Toast it is. Asky skully93 what happens when the oil filter is loose and all the oil runs out.
Or me.

Did it twice.


One was completely shot, the other needed a new top end (161 cc & big bore head) and has run for another 14,000 mi.
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