The Buddy as a daily driver?

[BadBrains]

Ever since I bought my Buddy I've had this recurring premonition that something bad was going to happen to my truck. She was the first (and only) vehicle I've ever owned, and I felt like she might act out from the jealousy. Lo and behold, last night on the way home from the (human) misses, smoke starts billowing from the air vents. Turns out the cog on the alternator had somehow broken apart and was glowing red hot. Which brings me to my question...

...how is the Buddy as a daily driver? I can get everywhere I need to go on 50mph roads, so speed isn't too much of a concern. Work is only 2 miles away and dress is almost TOO casual so I don't need to carry a change of clothes. My real concern is with transporting groceries, running errands in general, and transporting larger items. Does the Buddy (and racks, etc.) suffice, or am I going to find myself in an unpredictable situation soon?

[madtolive]

sorry to hear about your truck. i have the same fear that my truck, maria panchita, is going to act out of spite as well. more than anything tho, i feel sorry for her, ahving to sit there in the driveway and watch me fall ever more in love with Ines. poor old gal.

as for needing to carry stuff around, you should look up the picture of (was it krusty?) trip to target. assuming you don't have 10 kids you need to buy groceries for, it is my impression that the bud, a rear rack, and bungie cords will do ya.

wanna go get our rear racks today?

[BadBrains]

Yah, its been a long time coming with "White Lightning", but we've had a good run... a lot of memories in that truck. Maybe she's jealous because she's had to give rides to girlfriends and now I've forsaken her for another ride altogether. Somehow I think I'll always keep her parked in my driveway though. I'm going to be THAT guy.

I'll definitely be doing the rear rack thing in the future, but tonight I start the MSF course after work! Can I show up in regular duds or am I going to need to bring all my gear? The first night is just a lecture and textbook work right?

I couldn't find the picture of Krusty and Target, but I'll man-handle some kind of large storage device on the back. Anybody know the weight limit for the rear rack?

[madtolive]

ah, it was the lovely redcass, here it is:

topic2646.html

[BadBrains]

Ahhhh why thank you. I've seen photos of people carrying a thousand chickens or their entire family on a Honda Super Cub, so maybe a bunch of bungees (a gaggle of bungees?) are the answer. I have no shame either, so this sounds like a solid solution.

[charltons]

I've been driving my Pamplona to work, it's about 24 miles round trip and over a large bridge. It's been fine, in fact, it's been a lot of fun. I'm a teacher, and I wear slacks and a dress shirt, so semi-professional dress is no problem. However, since riding my Buddy I've been wearing jeans and Hawaiin shirts more often...

[Corsair]

...how is the Buddy as a daily driver?

IT'S GREAT!

The Buddy is my ONLY means of transportation and I ride daily. I've taken it through Taylor, Hutto, Round Rock, Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Austin (pretty much all of southeast Michigan when I lived there as well). I've driven through both high winds and terrible rain storms (which you probably want to avoid) and it's holding up like a champ

[jfrost2]

I was told once to carry groceries on the buddy, put 1 or 2 bags in the seat storage, tie some bags to the rear rack or rear passenger bars, and loop the handles of the bags around the pegs of the seat opened, then close the seat.

You can hold 5 or 6 bags this way.

[BadBrains]

...how is the Buddy as a daily driver?

IT'S GREAT!

The Buddy is my ONLY means of transportation and I ride daily. I've taken it through Taylor, Hutto, Round Rock, Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Austin (pretty much all of southeast Michigan when I lived there as well). I've driven through both high winds and terrible rain storms (which you probably want to avoid) and it's holding up like a champ

That's what I like to hear! I've now joined you (not entirely by choice) as a scooter only kinda guy. Something tells me I won't want to go back.

And jfrost2, that's a lot of helpful hints for groceries. I wonder if it looks weird when you do a deep turn and the front bag is swaying in the wind like one of those special accessories people put on the back of their trucks (not mine, she's a girl).

[jmazza]

I think it's great too, though I do drive my wife's car every so often.

Obviously there are limits, but I think it's fun to push them. I'll purposely go to the grocery store on the Buddy and see what I can pack.

I've always managed to find a way to get it on there. Don't underestimate putting stuff on the floor between your legs (12 pack of beer works nicely) as well as bungee'd to the back rack right behind where you sit.

[pcbikedude]

I've been riding my Buddy or my People to work for the past year. It sure is a blast. Sometimes I even take the long way to work just to play on some twisties.

[heavypetting]

For daily use, I highly recommend a topcase to store your bungees, rainsuit and other stuff. Givi cases are preferred to the Buddy topcases.
If you get the removable case you can take it with you.

However, never load very heavy items higher than the seat. It's a recipe for disaster, creating a higher center of gravity/instability! If you have to pickup a big bag of dog food, put it on the floorboard and drive slower.

[ScooterMcGee]

(a gaggle of bungees?) .

I belive the proper term is a pride of bungees. Or is it murder of bungees I can never remember

[Othergods]

(a gaggle of bungees?) .

I belive the proper term is a pride of bungees. Or is it murder of bungees I can never remember

lol I love it!

You sir have just brought me out of lurking....

[ScooterMcGee]

(a gaggle of bungees?) .

I belive the proper term is a pride of bungees. Or is it murder of bungees I can never remember

lol I love it!

You sir have just brought me out of lurking....

I do what I can

[Christy]

as far as groceries go...if you'll use canvas shopping bags instead of plastic you'll be able to stack/store more of them on the scoot.

in the seat compartment you can put canned goods or dry mixes (nothing heat sensitive) and use regular grocery store plastic bags (if you desire).

in the top case I can easily fit 2 or 3 comfortably filled grocery bags full.

Then on the storage hook I hook my 2 canvas shoppers. I can fit 3-4 bags of groceries in each shopping bag b/c they are SO much stronger and durable than plastic bags. Depending on how those are packed, I either put them side by side with one more toward my seat and the other 'in front' or I stack them on top of one another. my feet go on either side of them and when I pick up the huge bag of dog food, i just throw it across the back seat and use it as a back rest. it's heavy enough to stay there on it's own.

if you still have additional groceries to place, the back seat would work out great if you have one of those bungee-net-thingies. I love mine and have used it so many times already. for $12 (or maybe it was only $7) it's absolutely priceless!

There's also the option of wearing a backpack and putting stuff in it. i know lots of people who keep a smallish one in their scoots just in case. I've done it before, but I don't keep on in the case with me, yet.

I have put over 500miles on mine in the 5 weeks i've owned it. I ride it as much as possible. it's definitely my daily driver (even though i don't ride every day b/c of only working part time).

[heavypetting]

980 miles in my first 3 weeks!

[Skater29]

I am, another one where my buddy is my only vehicle, though am still stuck living with at my Dad's house, and could get rides from the family, on days with poor weather. As far as hauling, you coud do well with the Genuine Topcase, (which requires rear rack) under seat storage, and backpack. While using backpack be sure to have away to strap it around your waist to keep it from swinging the weight from side to side when leaning to turn, or change lanes. Actually, when I haul a backpack, I kind of find it like being an added backrest. Good luck with the MSF.

[KCScooterDude]

I sell Real Estate and I have to dress business casual for work (okay, I could wear a suit, but it's just not my style) so every morning I put on the tan chinos, oxford shirt and Borns and head off for my short commute (.5 miles, but I usually end up doing three, four miles of joy riding before heading into the office).

The better half, also in sales, has a nice Ford Explorer that takes like $70 to fill up. (She has all of Missouri and Kansas in her territory and does a lot of Interstate driving.)

Since my old Town Car died, I've been inventing reasons to go out and buy another car - any car. Before I bought my Blur, I was obsessed with what new car I was going to get. I got the scoot because I needed to sell another house before putting money down on another car (FULL DISCLOSURE - I actually, I owned another cheap China scoot before this one).

I thought people would look at me funny commuting on two wheels. I've found it to be the opposite - they are fascinated, especially when I tell them I get 70 miles to the gallon. It's actually becoming something of a unique selling position and I'm considering putting my scoot on my Web page and business cards.

I do open houses, meet clients, tour properties, show houses and head out to corporate for endless continuing ed classes and I see absolutely no reason why I need another car. Most clients want to meet you at the house rather than get in your car anyway, so even this hasn't been a problem. There are only one or two times a month where the Explorer is not at my disposal. Guess I would have to borrow mom's Accord or head down to Enterprise to rent for the day if I had to show houses.

BTW, I live in Kansas City. We have sh***y weather here. I've ridden on 20 degree days and I've ridden on 70 degree days (yet to go through 100 degree summer days). A bit uncomfortable, but not a problem. I suppose if it were icy, I'd leave the scoot at home.

Point is - If I can do it, anybody can. We're saving loads of money having one car and when it's paid off we'll be able to pool both incomes into a one kicka** ride (BMW - please send us diesels). As for a second car, if we do end up getting one, you can bet it will be that 2002 or VW I've been dreaming about restoring.

[GaryEPSP]

You can do it, no problemo. I ride year round, even in zero degrees. My only stipulation is that I don't ride on icy streets.

I have cagers, just refuse to drive them, unless I have to pick up stuff from Lowes or Home Depot.

[pugbuddy]

I ride my scoot as often as possible. Of course, we're in tornado/storm weather here now so I still have to use the 14 year old car some days.

I rode this winter down to about 20 degrees and would've gone lower but I had to stop because I could not find a way to keep my hands warm! They froze no matter what gloves I tried. (I'm open to suggestions).

[ericalm]

My only concern with full-time Buddying in Austin would be those occasional torrential rainfalls. Of course, we've had them in L.A. the past couple years, which just meant i rode the train to work and got wet going to and from the station. Oh well.

No trains in Austin, but I remember that it has a pretty decent bus system, at least in central Austin around downtown, UT and north of campus. City buses used to be free for UT students (and may still be), which I used to think was very cool.

I don't think the Buddy would fare well on I35 or the other freeways and there are times when riding the freeway is necessary. But for basic commuting it should do great and if you had some kind of back up, even better.

[ericalm]

I belive the proper term is a pride of bungees. Or is it murder of bungees I can never remember

lol I love it!

You sir have just brought me out of lurking....

I do what I can

I can't remember what was decided as the term for a group of Buddys. I think it was a "band of Buddys," though some smart Alecs pushed hard for a "brap of Buddys."

Ah, here it is. And I've locked the thread so the Brap-ites can't jack the outcome!

[GaryEPSP]

I ride my scoot as often as possible. Of course, we're in tornado/storm weather here now so I still have to use the 14 year old car some days.

I rode this winter down to about 20 degrees and would've gone lower but I had to stop because I could not find a way to keep my hands warm! They froze no matter what gloves I tried. (I'm open to suggestions).

One of the reasons I bought my first scoot in Wichita, KS was because of tornado season. I didn't want to take a chance with getting my classic pickup hailed on.

In extreme cold weather, I ride with mittens I bought at a ski shop. They were spendy but worth it. Sometimes I even put in those heat pads.

Some may say, "Not safe!" but I rode with them alot and never had any trouble. Even rode down to WKRP and back with them.

[jmazza]

My only concern with full-time Buddying in Austin would be those occasional torrential rainfalls.

We have those here too... all the time. I've been caught twice in them where there was nothing to do but ride though it and end up soaked. Now that I bought a lap apron (Corazzo) and a rain jacket that live in the topcase, I haven't had to use them once. Of course.

But that's my biggest worry too, although like I said above we do have one car in our household.

The Buddy actually does ok in rain as long as I go slow, leave longer stopping distance, pay better attention, etc. The front wheel has locked up on me once or twice just because of all the grime we have on the streets- when it rains, even after an hour they look like ice.

[Ken82]

it bugs me out that people own a car and a scooter...

i've been on a bike too long

[DennisD]

I keep a towel and change of clothes (including shoes) at work for the times that I get caught in the rain and soaked. I don't mind getting wet riding except when I have to stop at red lights. That's when its frustrating because you really get soaked when stopped.
Anyway, yes the Buddy is a great daily driver and will serve at least as well as your truck ( ). The more you ride, the more you want to want to ride. You will find ways around, through, under or over the challenges you are presented with in your journey to transportation nirvana.

When I open the garage door in the morning and see that it is raining I take the van. YUCK! If it is threatening rain, I ride the scoot. Threatening rain is not rain, there is a difference. Quite often it never happens or has just stopped on my way to work. Sometimes it then rains like the dickens while I'm at work and then stopped by the time I go home. NEVER PAY ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER CHANNEL! You will miss many great riding days if you do. Face it, they're guessing about an entire region and you're riding in a 5-30 mile or so radius. Think about it.



Dennis

[maribell]

1. Buses are still free for UT students.

2. I drive from Burnet/ MoPac to campus every week day. 25 mile round trip.

3. Get a rear rack, a front rack/ basket and some bungees.

4. I know for a fact that Corsair and Lojical ride on the 35 frontage roads. But they do have more experience than us. I have hit the MoPac fronts around Pville. Not my favorite thing.

5. I have ridden In the torriential rain. If you have to, just make sure you are going home. And get a full face helmet and some gloves, 'cause the rain sucks.

[DennisD]

5. I have ridden In the torriential rain. If you have to, just make sure you are going home. And get a full face helmet and some gloves, 'cause the rain sucks.

Thanks for #5. Yes, one of the advantages of a full face is it keeps rain from beating you to death. My scoots have windshields and I wear a full face so didn't really think about it. Way, way back in the day I was riding my dirt bike home from work (no gear) and the bottom dropped out. It felt like nails hitting me in the face and all I had for eye protection were my safety glasses from work. I put them on and immediately was blinded by rain on them. It was not a fun 15 mile ride home. I was ill prepared for anything in those days, one of those who used to say, "Oh, it'll be ok, nothing's gonna happen!". Yeah, right.

Reading these threads makes me realize how much I have learned over the years and how easy it has become. I know more than I thought I did.

Windshields are good. Gear is good. Preparation is good.

All is compromise, you could do more, you could do less.

Plan, prepare, adapt, overcome, succeed.

Yeah, I know, I'm getting carried away. OK, I'll shut up again.

[ericalm]

Even a full face in the rain has its shortcomings. No wipers! This year, I'll be getting a rain suit i can roll up and stash in the pet carrier and one of these:

[Sparky]

My Metro 125 has been a daily driver for about a month now. My commute is central urban surface roads...but in Quebec, the posted speed limit is more a suggestion than anything. Drivers here do 70 km/h in a 50 if they can get away with it. So far, "Kermit" holds its own in some rather savage rush hour traffic, in a 10 km commute each way.

One thing I find less than useful is the bag hook. I'm used to the more sophisticated types on other scooters; they are the flip-out kind that are closed loops, rather than the Buddy's simple hook. Be careful looping a sack handle around the bag hook, as it might slip off.

[nissanman]

Do your shopping trips like a possibly older consumer. Stop daily instead of weekly. Some milk and saltines one day, tissues and razors the next... you get the idea. Seniors use it as an excuse to get out daily, small shopping trips instead of larger ones works. That's why markets work in larger cities. I base this information on what I learned as a grocery store cashier for 8 years, not just a guess. We all knew the "regulars".

[DennisD]

Even a full face in the rain has its shortcomings. No wipers! This year, I'll be getting a rain suit i can roll up and stash in the pet carrier and one of these:

Hey, I like the squeegee! Good idea. Let us know how it works. I've never really had a problem with rain on the full face. The wind pretty much blows it clear or a quick wipe with the glove. If it gets too heavy I usually raise up higher above the windscreen and it blows clear enough.

Dennis

[kilted texan]

My real concern is with transporting groceries, running errands in general, and transporting larger items.

You could do this.

[GaryEPSP]

Do your shopping trips like a possibly older consumer. Stop daily instead of weekly. Some milk and saltines one day, tissues and razors the next... you get the idea. Seniors use it as an excuse to get out daily, small shopping trips instead of larger ones works. That's why markets work in larger cities. I base this information on what I learned as a grocery store cashier for 8 years, not just a guess. We all knew the "regulars".

This is how we shop, since we don't have kids running around it's easier to do this. Plus, we find we eat healthier because we consume more fresh produce. I think this is because when we used to shop for a week we would let some produce spoil before we 'discovered' it in the refrigerator.

[brimstone]

those wipers are sweet...it rains alot up here.

[Apiarist]

i would love to get rid of my truck, but it is not logically possible due to my need to transport stuff much heavier than my scooter on occasion. something more applicable to others was mentioned as part of the MSF: don't ride if you are tired, not feeling well, or unable to give undivided attention to the ride. you need to be physically and mentally fit to ride. if i got a cold, but it is not bad enough to go to work, i wouldn't want to have to ride there if i didn't feel well enough.

[redcass]

as far as groceries go...if you'll use canvas shopping bags instead of plastic you'll be able to stack/store more of them on the scoot.

Hey Christy, the next time you have it loaded up, would you mind snapping a shot and posting? I haven't yet carried anything on the hook, I'm curious about it.

RedCass

[Christy]

as far as groceries go...if you'll use canvas shopping bags instead of plastic you'll be able to stack/store more of them on the scoot.

Hey Christy, the next time you have it loaded up, would you mind snapping a shot and posting? I haven't yet carried anything on the hook, I'm curious about it.

RedCass

no problem. I was actually going to hit up the grocery store today, so I will definitely do it.

[Christy]

here's me all loaded up with the groceries!


and a full cart of groceries that I began with


I probably should have put a little bit more in the seat and case compartments as those weren't even close to full and my floor board was pretty full. I did squeeze in a little and create a bit of floor space, so my feet were comfortably (and safely) on the platform.

[toddrw2251]

So....where do your feet go again?

[Christy]

So....where do your feet go again?

I did squeeze in a little and create a bit of floor space, so my feet were comfortably (and safely) on the platform.

[sunshinen]

Thursday night, I vowed to get rid of my car. It's having some serious acting out issues.

• — Last August, I went to take it for the inspection and had to jump start it.
  — A few months later, it was snowing and one of the tires was completely flat.
  — A few weeks later, the battery was dead... for good.
  — A few weeks after that, again it was snowing and the same tire was completely flat. The tires also look like the sidewalls are about to explode.
  — Thursday, I had a final project due in hard copy. There was a torrential thunderstorm, I went to take my car. I couldn't get it to move. I tried for an hour to figure out what was going on. Clearly the brakes were locked on. Turns out the emergency brake was rusted shut.

The damn thing just gets so pissy about being left alone for so long, it never works when I want to use it.

I figure I clearly don't use it that much, and if I sell my car, I'll have a pot of money to spend on taxis when I really need to get somewhere and don't feel comfortable taking my scooter, which will serve me much better than this rusting pile of metal that never works when I need it. I think what I'd save on insurance alone would let me rent a car once a month to run any errands that are too big for my scooter.

[Valgal20]

I should have taken a picture of it, but I stopped by Big Box Mart on the way home from work on saturday- I bought 2 of those plastic sliding drawer bins(12"x18"), 3 bags of grocerys (I work at petsmart so I had a bag of snails already in the top case) and a bundle of flowers for mothers day- one of the bins got strapped behind me on the seat, one between my legs with the flowers and a bag of groceries, and 2 bags in the top case with my Snails. I love my scoot- its my daily driver. I do find long trips (over 24mile round trip) rather tiring, but if the weather isnt bad, its a nice way to drive! I did have to borrow my sisters station wagon to pick up a 75G fish tank, but thats the first time Ive driven a car in a month!

[iinigma7]

It's great as a daily driver. There's usually enough room in the seat for me to pick up "a few things for supper" for my wife. If I run out of room I just try to get creative. Once I had to ship a box that wouldn't fit in the seat compartment, so I just put it on the floorboard between my feet. No problems.

I drive my old Jeep Cherokee once or twice a week to keep everything moving, but the rest of the time it's Yoshi all the way...weather permitting.

[Christy]

iinigma7, I used to live near you! Eastside, off Pelham Rd...I've since moved back to TX where I grew up, but anyway. I just wanted to say HI.

[sunshinen]

My real concern is with transporting groceries, running errands in general, and transporting larger items. Does the Buddy (and racks, etc.) suffice, or am I going to find myself in an unpredictable situation soon?

I already transport almost everything by Buddy. Obviously, it's very rare that I feel the need to use my car. Groceries are easy. I just bought a grocery hand basket and zip tied it to the rear rack. With some stiff reusable shopping bags it works great. I like this better than a top case, because the top is open, so with bungee chords you can transport some pretty large items in there. (And it's much better than the bike baskets out there as it is about twice the size, so you can hold more.)

I actually just bought a batch of chrome baskets because the last one I had, I had bought off ebay and it turned out to be in pretty bad shape. I couldn't find anyone that sells them individually, so just bought a whole set of them (as if I owned a store). I was just going to use them for storage around the house, but if anyone wants one, I think $25 would cover the basket plus shipping, just pm me. I can always pick up some wicker baskets at goodwill for around the house. =)

[iinigma7]

iinigma7, I used to live near you! Eastside, off Pelham Rd...I've since moved back to TX where I grew up, but anyway. I just wanted to say HI.

Hey Christy! You're my first local-ish Buddy contact! I work right near the corner of Pelham Rd. and Hwy 14. Too bad you're not here any more. With the closest Genuine dealer being in Charlotte I don't have too many scooter friends. That's great that you can be back in your stompin' grounds though..."no place like home" and such. Thanks for saying Hi!

[JettaKnight]

...how is the Buddy as a daily driver? I can get everywhere I need to go on 50mph roads, so speed isn't too much of a concern. Work is only 2 miles away and dress is almost TOO casual so I don't need to carry a change of clothes. My real concern is with transporting groceries, running errands in general, and transporting larger items. Does the Buddy (and racks, etc.) suffice, or am I going to find myself in an unpredictable situation soon?

People are amazed about how much stuff I carry and that I'm always riding when the roads are clear. The front hook easily supports several plastic grocery bags; I've found that the straps on canvas bags are too long. Most importantly, a twelve pack of beer bottles fits in the Prima top case.

The only problem is what to do with the long baguettes. A loaf of bread sticking out of my Prima case on my Italia is just too much of a cliche.

[ericalm]

The only problem is what to do with the long baguettes. A loaf of bread sticking out of my Prima case on my Italia is just too much of a cliche.

I've carried one zipped up in my jacket, with the top sticking out. It was the only way I could figure it out. I've also carried bouquets of flowers this way, and have seen riders carrying small dogs like this.