How Realiable is your Buddy?

[NorCal Scooter]

I am looking to buy a new scoot. I really like the look of the buddy. The problem is that the nearest dealer is at least three hours away. How often is maintenance required on this scoot? Will this scoot fit a 6' 200 plus guy ok or should I be looking for something else?

Thanks

[brat]

The buddy does fine with the 200+ lbs. I have had a lot more weight on it than that. As far as taking care of things at the dealer. You can easily do the oil changes and I have not had anything gio wrong other than leaving the key on and running the battery dead. Others can tell you more about living far away from their dealers.

Susan

[DO3]

I'm 6', 200 lbs and I fit ok, but one up riding only. I can put my 6 year old on the back but that's about it with out feeling cramped.

I've only got 700 miles on mine but it's been rock solid, fires up every time.

[rajron]

I want to say something but I am smaller and lighter than you, for me my scoot has served me well but of course I would always want more pwr.
My scoot has been very reliable the only service performed by the dealer was the first checkup otherwise I have done all the other routine stuff like oil.
I ran low on my hydraulic brake, the front brake, otherwise everything has been running great. She is less than 7 months old and only has 3K miles, when the weather changes I will be putting much more trouble free miles.
So for me it has been a good choice and have never regretted my purchase.

[jperkins]

I have owned my Buddy since September and never had a lick of trouble with it. As far as size goes, I am 207lbs and I have never even for a moment felt like I was slowing the Buddy down. Hope this helps.

[hermitgirl]

I ride my Buddy every day; I bought it in September and have a little over 3100 miles on it. Not once has it ever given me any hassle! I've ridden it rain or shine, cold (27 degrees was the coldest) or moderate temp. I've been on rough roads, smooth roads, slick roads and taken it on day trips.

Succinctly: With the 2 year warranty and roadside assistance, should anything happen, you're STILL set. Just drive safely!

[gt1000]

My favorite recommendation for folks looking at bikes is to try them all on then take them all out for test rides. This won't tell you everything about the bikes but you will learn a lot.

I'm 5'9" and 150 and the Buddy is comfortable for me, for the most part. One peculiarity of the Buddy is the curve of the foot boards, if your shoe size is bigger than, say, a 10, your feet might feel...odd. It actually bothers me a little so I ride with my feet back on the passenger "pegs", almost like rear sets. I find this position very comfortable.

Performance-wise, I'm now pretty confident that the Buddy 125 is the best bang for the buck of any scooter in its class. Average to above average top speed and above average pickup. I've left Fly 150's and LX150's pretty much in the dust. Firm forks up front and a very nice monoshock in back. A very powerful disc up front, a pretty worthless rear drum, overall good stopping power.

Since it's a new model, reliability is uncertain. But, if you spend some time on this board you'll see that some folks have many thousands of miles already racked up. I've only got around 600 miles on mine but it seems very reliable. It always starts with a couple of cranks, no matter how cold it is. Build quality seems very nice. Not quite as impressive as a Vespa or Kymco but better than a bunch of others, including my old Aprilia. And, like someone else said, at around $2600 out the door with a 2 year warranty, it's hard to go wrong. I originally really wanted something more expensive but after riding the Buddy I just couldn't justify the extra expense.

[lobsterman]

I can safely say my Buddy is reliable.

I should maybe also mention my dealer is less than 10 miles from my house, so if I did need maintenance it would be pretty easy to get there. You have to decide on the distance factor yourself, but there are people here who are pretty far from their dealers.

I ride mine on my short (7 mile one way) commute all the time, and the Buddy starts every time for me, even when it's been 20 degrees.

Let us know what you decide. If you wait just a little while, you can probably snag an 07 Series Italia special edition Buddy and be the envy of everyone here.

[mybuddy]

Ditto, like everyone else, my Buddy has not let me down yet. 20 mile one way commute and the buddy holds up really well.

[peabody99]

I think we can get a gauge of the reliability, b/c the Buddy isnt really new. The PGO bike has been around a while. I rented a Bubu (same thing) in Hawaii. It had 6000 km on it. I asked the shop (they rent and sell) if they were reliable and he said "extremely". Mine ran fine, although it clearly had been wrecked SEVERAL times and was poorly maintained. I think the first service has to be done by the dealer, but the others can be done yourself or my any scooter shop. Warrenty is the only place where you may have an issue...but it sounds like very few people have had to tap into that service.

[Keys]

I have over 4000 miles on mine (bought it in August) and ilt has been VERY reliable. I DID have an issue, though, with what we thought was the stator...turned out to be a bad ground wire. I live about 240 miles from my dealer and have done all maintenance myself. Easy.

--Keys

[gt1000]

I think we can get a gauge of the reliability, b/c the Buddy isnt really new. The PGO bike has been around a while. I rented a Bubu (same thing) in Hawaii. It had 6000 km on it. I asked the shop (they rent and sell) if they were reliable and he said "extremely". Mine ran fine, although it clearly had been wrecked SEVERAL times and was poorly maintained. I think the first service has to be done by the dealer, but the others can be done yourself or my any scooter shop. Warrenty is the only place where you may have an issue...but it sounds like very few people have had to tap into that service.

I would certainly tend to agree. The only reason I hedged my bets in my previous post is because riding conditions in those other countries can be very different.

PGO has a pretty good record for reliability and support so I feel very good about this scooter. And judging by the number of folks with 2000 plus miles in just a few months, I think my faith is well placed.

[lou76]

6000 mi in 4 months with no real issues...

[SirLexelot]

With respect to the size and weight issue, I'm 6'3" and 200 lbs. and I'm comfortable on the Buddy. The floorboard space is definitely limited, but you get used to it. Aside from that, it's a remarkably comfortable bike. In fact, being as tall as I am, I actually prefer the smaller size of the Buddy over other scooters because it's more manuverable.

I truly believe that it's the best scooter available in the US for quality/reliability/price combination. Nothing comes close. A few Vespas may be nicer, some Kymcos may be equally reliable, but the Buddy is the best overall.

[polianarchy]

I'm much shorter but much heavier than you, and I never feel like I'm slowing the Buddy 125 down at all. If anything, it's too peppy!

Since you're so tall, you might want to do a sit-down comparison, since it's really the inseam leg-length that makes the difference, not so much height. My best friend is 6'3", and his legs fit just fine. My brother is 6'1", and he can barely tuck his gangly legs in enough to ride.